I was thrilled to know I am the first PokerStars-sponsored player to win the TLB Weekly. So when I thought what should I write about it for the blog, one thing came to my mind: the beginning of my career. Why? Because the way I see low stakes tournaments has a lot to do with winning the TLB.
I started playing regulary in the "youth teams" of PokerStars back in 2007, grinding low stakes SNGs. I always valued volume and regularity to get the minimum variance I could. And would only move up after I got enough positive numbers and was convinced I was crushing the limits. This is good because you get very confident when you move up.
I use this line of bankroll management in the MTTs as well, and I can't complain about the results. I was top 10 in 2010 annual TLB, top 6 in 2011, top 12 in 2012 and I have already won the weekly TLB two times (one last year before I joined Team PokerStars Online). It is true I have been playing more and more high stakes since last year, but lately I scored many points with two $2 buy-in tournaments with more than 7,000 players, for example.
When you give the same importance for all tournaments you play, no matter the buy-in, you can have volume with a more controlled multi-tabling. The next session depends on the last session. If things are not going well in the last days, there is no problem in mixing more lower stakes tournaments and skipping some of the high stakes.
Confidence is very important to be a winner in this game. And nothing gives more confidence for an online grinder than a beautiful, healthy, positive and blue graph pointing to the sky. So, when you are having too many bad days, move down, win something, scream "Vamooo!" recover your confidence, and remember you can play the game.
That's my advice: love them all.