But They're Suited!

Because Al Can't Hang asked...

2008-01-21T22:25:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I'm still here. Playing poker now and then. Anyway...

Because Al Can't Hang asked

WORST POKER PLAYER EVER

Back at the tables

2007-01-14T18:49:00.000-06:00

Well, after a bit of a break during the holidays, I jumped back into the fray this month. Pokerstars had a deposit bonus that expired on 1/2, and I deposited 400 to get a 100 bonus just before the time limit.

I'm actually suprised how well I've been doing since taking the break. I'm up about $130 in my bankroll from playing .25/.50 and .50/1.00 NLHE earning FPP to get my bonus, and I'm about 350 points into the 1000 I need to clear my bonus.

Maybe taking a break from playing has somehow helped me focus more now that I've returned? Or maybe lots of new fishies have hit the water since the holidays? Whatever it is, I like it.

What I'm Reading

2006-12-04T13:24:00.000-06:00

Time for yet another installment of What I'm Reading. I know you've all been holding your breath waiting for this, so...

This past weekend I went on a bit of an SnG rampage. I played 6 Turbo SnGs on Stars on Saturday (mostly the 3.40/10 player), cashing in 4 of them including 1 first place finish. One of the ones I didn't cash in was when I tried to take it up a level and play the 6.50/9. I bubbled out of that one. Oh, well. Then on Sunday I went at it again, but with less stellar results this time. 5 3.40/10 played, 5 finishes out of the money.

Today while lunching, I was catching up on some older posts at ScurvyDog's Blog (Sounds of a Suckout) that I'd bookmarked in my feed reader, and noticed he'd been playing SnG's lately, too. Here are 3 posts with some great SnG content that gave me something to think about:

Let's Get Grindy (first 3 paragraphs)

Two-Outer Magnet

4th Place, Baby, 4th Place

One thing about my game that definitely needs to improve is my aggression, especially on the bubble. It still surprises me when I bet out in position on a flop I missed and the rest of the players in the hand fold (2-4 players).

I think I'm going to keep banging away at the $3.00 turbos for a bit, as it's less of an impact to my bankroll when variance sends my win rate south. Of course, that wouldn't be as big a deal if I hadn't
1) Decided to mess with real money 2-7 Triple Draw after about 1/2 hour at a play money table,
2) Managed to increase my buy-in by 2/3rds in the first few hands of said cash money game, and
3) Tried to "get back my losses" by losing that buy-in and another. There go my 4th place winnings from the 4.00/180 the other day.

2-7 Triple Draw

2006-12-01T23:12:00.000-06:00

Playing 2-7 triple draw for the first time for real money can be rather high variance.

That is all.

What I'm Reading

2006-11-28T12:50:00.000-06:00

In another attempt to post fairly regularly, I decided to do a regular "What I'm Reading" post. Give some link love to the stuff I've enjoyed, and possibly alert some people to stuff they may not have seen, though I imagine I'm usually last to the party on most (if not all) of this stuff.

Over on CardSquad, Wil Wheaton has a great article on a Barry Tanenbaum article: "Are you a a long term winner?". I haven't read the original article yet, but it sounds good from Wil's summary.

Since I'm at work, and lunch hour is over, that's all for now. I may add more later, or maybe tomorrow.

By the way - has anyone heard of (or used) CheckYourBets.com? If so, how did you like it?

Long time, no see (or poker)

2006-11-26T21:06:00.000-06:00

The fall hit the area, and it was nice to be outside. I took advantage of that. I mostly kept up with reading poker blogs, but didn't play poker or write here (obviously).

About 2 weeks ago I started dipping my toes back in the poker water. I started playing some limit poker at Stars, and did fairly well. Typically ended with winning sessions - sometimes just barely, sometimes doubling up before quitting. One thing about Stars since the demise of Party Poker for US players: there are now LOTS of players that WAY over value TPTK when straight and/or flush possibilities exist on the board. WEE!

Tonight I played one of the 4.00+.40/180 tourneys at Stars. I played a few of those (not sure how many - less than 10) before taking the poker hiatus. I decided to give one a try tonight. I managed to get 4th place for a 57.60 payout. First time I've finished in the money in one of those. I might have to try that again sometime.

Of course, all of the above happened only in my imagination since I live in the USA.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2006-10-03T19:26:00.000-05:00

We all know about the impending doom (or not) of online poker. No need for me to rehash that. I've read here and there about the various plans of various poker sites, etc. I read on CardSquad that Neteller hadn't really said much yet. Well, when I logged into my neteller account I was prompted to review and agree to new terms of use before proceeding to my account. One paragraph in particular has piqued my interest:

12. Other Member Obligations

12.1 You are prohibited from engaging in any of the following:
(i) using the NETELLER Service to obtain a cash advance from your credit card ( or assisting others in such activity); (ii) using the NETELLER Service for any purpose contrary to laws, statutes or regulations applicable to you, including without limitation, those concerning money laundering, fraud, criminal activity, financial services or consumer protection; (iii) sending unsolicited email or similar methods of mass messaging (spam); (iv) harassing or engaging in obscene, rude or abusive behaviour against us or any of our representatives; and (v) tampering, hacking, modifying, damaging, interfering with or otherwise corrupting the security or functionality of the NETELLER Service, or attempting to do any of the foregoing.

And this part:

14. Limiting Access or Terminating your Account

14.1 At our discretion, we may suspend or limit access to your Account (including without limitation, placing a hold on funds in your Account, limiting your ability to send or redeem, transfer or withdraw electronic money from your Account, limiting your payment sources) or terminate your Account, at any time and for any reason, including but not limited to the following:

(g) we believe your Account has been used or allegedly used in or to facilitate fraudulent or illegal activity;

That bolded sections (emphasis added by me) is very interesting. Could that be their loophole to stop allowing US players into their accounts? Anyone know?

What I've read lately

2006-09-14T16:24:00.000-05:00

I'm considering starting a new semi-regular feature here: "What I've Read Lately". A post of links to interesting pokery stuff (and occasionally non-pokery stuff) I've read around the interwebtubes lately. If you have a strong opinion on this, please let me know.

First up in this inagural post:
Grading the WSOP's Cast of Characters: The Newcomers over at PokerBlog.com by Change100. This is a good rundown of some of the new cast of characters from the WSOP main event running on ESPN. I haven't watched the episodes she's mentioned yet - their stored on my Tivo - but she gives me things to watch for as I play catch up this weekend.

---
I know I'm late to the party on this, but there is a great series of posts at PokerNews.com about the 2 million chip discrepancy at the WSOP Main Event. It is rather detailed, but if you enjoy that stuff then this is a good read. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Go check it out.

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ScurvyDog has a great post up about the death of poker blogs. Go read it. Now.
Oh, and it looks like there is another no-lose bet available. I learned of it on ScurvyDog's blog, so go check it out there.

Ok, it's quitting time at work so that's all for now.

What a rush!

2006-09-12T22:47:00.001-05:00

I just finished playing another 1.00/45 tournament on PokerStars. At one point, once we'd made the final money list (top 7 pay), I was down to an M of less than 1. Blinds were 400/800 and ante was 50. I had less than 1200 left in my stack. I was about to go out. I had K6o. Table folded around to the cutoff. He raised to 2400. SB folds. All I have left is T366, so I push. Figure I was getting tired and I'd go to bed. He turns over KK. A 6 hits on the flop, and a 6 hits on the turn. A suckout kept me alive.

At that point it was still a 2-3 way battle for who would go out 7th. A couple of other big hands, and suddenly I'm in #2 with 18K chips. A few other big hands, and suddenly it's heads up. I have 61K and my opponent has 6k. I managed to chip them up to 20K before putting them out. First place, baby!

One thing did bug me though. Several times I told my heads-up opponent NH and wished them GL when we'd get all in together. Never got a response. I don't know why some people need to be that way.

Anyway, good night at the tables and a good bump to the bankroll.

The tournament progress continues

2006-09-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

Played another 1.00/45 player tournament at Stars tonight. Made the money again. Not first, but that makes 4 money finishes in a row in that tourney. A few more finishes in the top 4 or so and I'll move up a little in buy-ins. I'm thinking about the 5.00/45 at Stars next.

Poker, poker, poker, poker, poker, poker, poker......

2006-09-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

It's been a slow last couple of weeks on the poker scene. I've played a couple of tournaments on Stars here and there, but for the most part I've been enjoying other parts of my life that have been neglected lately. Like reading (though some of it has been poker reading), and photography (though just beginning so I suck), and spending some time outdoors since some cooler weather has arrived.

As far as the tournaments go, I've been fairly pleased with my results. I've been applying some of the techiques I've been reading about in the books I've been reading (Harrington Vol. 1 and doubleas' book), and it's been working out well. I haven't moneyed in every tournament, but I've finished fairly high when I didn't money. I could probably play in a little higher buy-in tournaments, but I'm really enjoying playing in ones that are low enough buy-in that I can practice the stuff I've learned without freaking out about losing the buy-in.

I think my playing may increase some, so my writing should increase some. Don't give up. Stick around. Hopefully it'll be worth it.

I have "you make the call" type post coming because I really want input from my readers. First I need to figure out which tournament the hand hit in, and get the hand history so I can track down the actual hand and post it here. Look for it in the next day or two.

Semi-Poker, Semi-Life

2006-08-24T21:20:00.000-05:00

I've played a little lately, but very little. Other things coming up have been keeping me away from the tables. Spending a little more time with the wife while she is between classes, doing a few projects around the house, stuff like that.

When I have been playing it's mostly been the very low SnGs at Stars. Typically the 1.00 MTT SNG, sometimes the 1.50 turbo (18 player). Doing so-so. Not too much donkey play, but not winning either. Hitting the money about 1/2 the time, and making the top 10 (out of 45) when not in the money.

Also got a couple of books, so I've been spending my lunch hour at work educmacating myself. Watch out! Book learnin' will make me feared!

I've been reading about the Bash. Sounds like a blast. Wish I could be there, but alas it will not happen. Not that Sooted will be missed. :-)

I need to start commenting more on blogs. I read lots of good stuff, but since I read it all via Bloglines I rarely comment. So if you don't see comments from me, don't think I'm not reading. I am.

Adam LaBare mentions some new fancy whiz-bang software thingy about poker. He's looking for beta testers, so drop him a line.

Hopefully I'll hit a few tournaments this weekend. And hopefully I'll cash out. Slowly building that bankroll.

That's all for now. I humbly thank you for your attention to this point.

Quick update and stuff

2006-08-08T11:33:00.000-05:00

I've been pretty busy with non-poker stuff, but I've been squeezing in some time here and there. No spectacular wins, and no huge losses. Just keepin' on keepin' on. There have been a few bad beats, but when are there not bad beats? At least I found somewhere to post them next time it happens.

So I got this girly chat thingy that all the cool bloggers talk about (the Yahoo one), and only Bloody P (Thanks, dude!) has added me to their list. Not only that, but he's never on when I am (but it hasn't been that often lately). So am I not worthy of being part of everyone else's girly chat contact list? I just want to learn - LET ME LEARN!

Poker Savvy continues to kick butt. I got an email from them about some freeroll tournaments and such. Go check them out. Really. I'd love to get the referral credit, but even if I don't, go check them out. They rock. Link on the left.

Found a hole in my game

2006-07-26T22:57:00.000-05:00

I found a hole in my game. I fold 45o before the flop unless I'm getting in for free on the big blind.

My pocket pair of 9s got beat (made 2 pair, 5s and 9s) by the guy that stayed in TO A RAISE in middle position with 45o.

AAARRRGGHHH!!!!!

Did I miss something?

2006-07-26T17:28:00.000-05:00

I've been playing a little limit hold'em on Stars today. The .05/.10 tables. Did I miss something in my poker reading, or is 7T suited a good starting hand in middle position (UTG +3)? I saw that same thing - 7T suited - played down to the river and either mucked (so it shows in hand history) or turned up several times in the 45 mins. or so I played. What is going on? Or am I the lost one?

New best quote

2006-07-25T15:38:00.000-05:00

I am starting a new feature on this blog - The Best Quote.

The inagural winner of The Best Quote, with a placement somewhere in the template (yet to be determined) until the next The Best Quote replaces it, is from Sir Al Can't Hang in this post:

What's the mating call of a lemur? "But I had odds to call you!"

There is no regular schedule on this. It's not weekly, monthy, or even yearly for that matter. The current The Best Quote reigns until I find a new The Best Quote.

Now go read the post.

Time for a change

2006-07-23T19:52:00.000-05:00

I think it's time for me to go back to PokerStars for a bit. Too many bad beats with people that won't lay down hands have put me into the scared money category. I'm having to play a little over my bankroll at Poker.com in order to earn the comp points to get my bonus money. But I have until September to clear the bonus money, so I think I'll take a break.

My bankroll at Stars is a little bigger, so I can be a little more comfortable with my play there. Plus, I was having a fairly good tournament run at Stars before switching to Poker.com. I think I need to switch back for a bit just for my sanity.

Finally got a girly chat thing

2006-07-21T23:17:00.000-05:00

So I finally got an account on one of the girly chat things. Yahoo messenger. If you want to add me, email me and I'll give you the info.

Man, crickets can chirp loud!

2006-07-21T13:24:00.000-05:00

Yes, I hear the crickets chirping around here. I think I saw a tumbleweed go by the other day. It's been a while since I exposed more of my personal stupidity to the world. I made a comment over at Bloody P's blog and it made me realize how long it's been since I posted here.

Nothing of major importance to report on the poker front. Still plugging away at my bonus at Poker.com. Had a few ups and downs on the bankroll balance, but most of my plays have been good. A couple of donkey plays here and there, but when I get bored, WATCH OUT!

From the stating the obvious department: Playing at a fish tank like Poker.com has its good and bad sides. The stuff people call pot sized bets with TO THE RIVER just amazes me. Logically I know that I need to root on that behavior every chance I get, because in the long run it will make me money. But when you get a $30.00 pot (at the .10/.25 table) sucked out on you on the river because some lemur can't lay down bottom pair then hits his set, well that just sucks. Oh well. Overall my balance is everything I deposited originally plus 1/2 of the bonus money I'd earned so far, so I'm only down 1/2 my bonus money. This after being down so low on a couple of bad beats that I barely had the buy-in for the .10/.25 table. I know - if I'm playing that close to the edge I'm playing above my bankroll. But the .10/.25 table is the lowest that will still give me comp points that I need to earn my bonus. And I'm fine tuning my game hoping to catch that up before I'm done with bonus chasing there. At that point, it'll be back to Stars for a bit.

I really miss playing at Stars. It's still my favorite place to play. But right now the bonus is just too easy to earn at Poker.com to go back to playing for no bonus at Stars. But never fear all you Stars players - I'll be back donking off my chips in no time at all.

Oh, and it's time for an intervention on Bloody P. He thinks you can make beer out of wheat. Wheat is for BREAD! BARLEY is for BEER!

Oh, and a thanks goes out to G3Poker for signing up through me at PokerSavvy, then completing his play requirements at Poker.com. I got a few more savvy points for him doing that, so I really appreciate it. I'm gonna use my points for Amazon.com gift certificates and share them with my wife. That will score some brownie points in the poker department, for sure.

Oh, and if anyone can tip me off to where all the girly chat goes on among the poker bloggers, I'd appreciate it. I'd love to join in one of the blogger micro limit games on Stars that I'm always reading about. If I am worthy of even daring to think of joining. I think it'd be awesome to play with some of the authors I read on a daily basis. I've not gotten comfortable with risking a chunk of my roll on one of those tourneys yet, because I don't think there's hope of me finishing in the money in that kind of field, but I'd love to play some micro-limit sometime. If anyone feels like they can share the info with me, please let me know.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll be doing some fishing (instead of feeding the fish) on Poker.com tonight.

--
Play Poker. Get Free Stuff. And send a blogger to Vegas. Check out PokerSavvy

Live poker tournaments are so rigged!

2006-07-13T10:11:00.000-05:00

So I was watching some of the PPT (Professional Poker Tour) last night on the Travel chanel. At a side table there was a 3-way all-in. KK vs. TT (I think, hard to recall), vs. 33. Flop comes AK2. Turn comes 5. River comes 4. So the pocket 3's beat the set of Ks on the river.

LIVE POKER TOURNAMENTS ARE SO RIGGED!

Stating the obvious

2006-07-11T22:11:00.000-05:00

Variance is a bitch. A total bitch. Beat me up some more please.

That is all.

Review of Poker.com

2006-07-04T22:18:00.000-05:00

I've now earned 5000+ comp points at Poker.com, which means I've played at over 1500 raked hands - even more counting those where everyone (but one) folded pre-flop. I've been playing the .10/.25 tables, and each raked hand earns 3 comp points. So I've played enough hands there to give it an overall review.

The software it uses requires you have the flash player version 8 installed. It will install it if you don't have it installed, so that is taken care of for you.

The play seems rather fishy, but beware - there are some educated sharks in those waters. At one table I sat at for over an hour one player literally limped in on every single hand. I am not exagerating. I had my QQ broken by him making a full boat of 9's over 4's on the river. Yes, he played 94o.

The software did have a tendency to make my laptop reboot sporadically. Sometimes it'd be an hour and a half into a session, other times it'd be 10 minutes in - though that happened after rebooting and logging back in. In the middle of a hand suddenly my laptop screen would go blank, then I'd get the "Starting Windows" progress meter on the screen. Fortunately most of the time I was out of the hand, but at least once I had people betting into me when I'd flopped a straight. Oh well.

On a positive note, it doesn't use the characters like Party Poker and others. It lets you have an icon along with your name similar to Stars. This works better for me as I tend to associate the picture with the player. They have a large variety of icons to choose from or you can upload your own.

Traffic is still somewhat of a problem, though. Whenever I logged in they had around 2500 players logged in. That makes for somewhat sparce table selection and when I was multi-tabling I managed to have some of the same players at each table I was playing.

They do have some interesting bonuses. First of all there is a bonus code to get a 100% match on your first deposit. It takes 200 comp points to earn back $1.00 in bonus money, and they'll pay it out to you in $10.00 increments. You also get an entry into a daily freeroll for those that have made their first deposit. The entry is good for a week, and you can use it every day for that week. You also get an entry into a satellite to their WSOP tourney whenever you earn 400 comp points in a 24 hour period. I also managed to earn an entry into a $4k freeroll for the amount of points I've earned, but I don't recall what the requirement was.

Edit: A couple of things I forgot in my first pass. First, when you fold in a heads up situation (that isn't an all-in - not sure why they do that), then you can check boxes to show only one card or both. I like that feature. Also, when you're folded to in a heads-up situation you can select the "rabbit" button which turns over your cards and plays out the board to see what would happen. That is kinda fun, too, in the right situation. (Props to g3poker for reminding me of that last bit.)

Overall I would rate it 2.5 out of 5. The majority of my experience is with PokerStars so everything is compared to it. Stars isn't perfect, so it only rates a 4.5 on the scale. Will I keep playing there? I might until I've earned my bonus money because it is fairly easy to earn. Will I stay there long term? Probably not.

If you want to try it out, go through PokerSavvy to sign up. You only need to earn 1000 comp points (approx. 333 raked hands at .10/.25, fewer hands at higher limits) and you get 750 Savvy points. 750 Savvy points = $75.00 in gift certificates at Amazon.com.

--
Play Poker. Get Free Stuff. And send a blogger to Vegas. Check out PokerSavvy.

26 SnG at one time?

2006-06-30T07:38:00.000-05:00

g3poker has a post about a player doing 26 SnGs at once on Stars. Links to video included. Check it.

Poker.com quest continues

2006-06-29T22:44:00.000-05:00

I played about 3 hrs. on Poker.com tonight. First I played the First Depositors $500 freeroll. Played about 45 minutes and went out 34th out of 76. Oh well. At least it didn't cost me anything to enter.

Then I went to the .10/.25 tables. Did fairly well there. Bought in for the max of 25.00 and cashed out for 55.xx. Not too bad. I've also earned 700+ of the 1000 points I need to qualify for the PokerSavvy points. I still need around 15k or so to qualify for my deposit bonus, but less than 300 to get my 750 PokerSavvy points. I'm thinking I may cash them in for a $25 and $50 Amazon gift certs. Get some books on pokerin' or sumpthin. Maybe learn to play good pokerin.

Until next time........

Update to the PokerSavvy freeroll

2006-06-28T21:56:00.000-05:00

I went out 7th out of 36 total entrants in the PokerSavvy freeroll. The top 5 places paid, with first getting 400 and 5th getting 40. The big dogs like BoobieLover, Mookie, and some others. I did way better than I thought I would, but it never feels good to be put out after being the 86% favorite on a hand going into the turn (river?). Anyway a good time was had by all. Or at least it seemed that way.

I still need about 550 Comp points on Poker.com to qualify for my PokerSavvy points. The jury is still out on whether I'll continue to play there after that. Yeah, there's this whole bonus thing, but whatever....I don't like the site that much, but I like it better than some others I've played.

My ring game seesaw continues. I managed to go up $38.00 playing .25/.50 at Poker.com, took a break for dinner, then managed to go back and give it all back before the start of the freeroll. At least most of my losses were bad beats, which at least means I'm not playing poorly or playing bad hands. Always have to look on the bright side.

That's enough pokering for tonight. Check you tomorrow.

Joined Poker.com

2006-06-27T22:53:00.000-05:00

I joined Poker.com tonight in preparation for the freeroll tourney tomorrow. I joined through PokerSavvy and got a 100% matching bonus, and as soon as I earn 1000 comp points (3 points per raked hand at the .10/.25 table) I'll get 750 Savvy points. I can then cash those Savvy points in for a $25.00 and $50.00 gift cert. at Amazon or Target. Or I can save them up, register at more sites, and get better prizes. I kinda like this. This is the first time I've done this with PokerSavvy, so I'll let you know how it goes.

I played some .05/.10 before I realized I wouldn't get Comp points for it. Lost a couple dollars. I moved to the .10/.25 table to earn the comp points. I bought in for the max and made approx. 5.00. But since the place has the -EV blackjack, which is a soft spot for me, I ended up about $2.00 down on my overall bankroll. But I think the blackjack bug is satisfied for now, and the next several times I play I'll be able to avoid the blackjack.

Another thing to like about Stars - no stinking blackjack!

So, go sign up for PokerSavvy, then sign up for the tourney and stuff. It'll be fun.

--
Play Poker. Get Free Stuff. And send a blogger to Vegas. Check out PokerSavvy

Back (in Black??)

2006-06-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

I'm back. Nice break. I haven't played any poker yet, but I started reading blogs again today. Watch out poker bloggers - comments are coming your way.

The next time I actually get to play may be the PokerSavvy blogger tournament on Wednesday night. For details email matt at pokersavvy (dot) com. If he verifies that your a blogger, he'll hook you up. It's a $1000.00 freeroll, so check it out.

Also, check out PokerSavvy in general. They manage things well, and seem to take good care of people.

--
Play Poker. Get Free Stuff. And send a blogger to Vegas. Check out PokerSavvy

Time for a break

2006-06-16T08:49:00.000-05:00

Last night I played in a 2 table Sit and Go on Stars. Went out 4th, so I went out in the money, but at the bottom. It was the result of yet another river suckout by someone playing cards they should have just thrown away. For about 5 seconds I wanted to throw my laptop against the wall. Luckily I realized how stupid that would be before I did it.

Anyway, that made it clear - it's time for a short break. Though I know the river suckouts are part of the game, and I've been on the giving end of my fair share of those, right now they just seem to be getting to me. Ao I'm gonna step away for a week (including both of the next two weekends). No playing, but even worse no poker blog reading. Reading the poker blogs just makes me want to play, so I'll stay away from those. That'll mean I have a lot of catching up to do when I return, but that's the breaks.

Catch y'all later.

Going to miss the blogger tournament at Stars

2006-06-15T08:10:00.000-05:00

I'm going to miss the blogger tournament at Stars. I really want to play, but will be out of the house and no where near a computer. And I can't change my plans. Drat!

Sorry to disappoint all of you that were planning to push me off pots with your big stacks! :-)

I missed all the action!

2006-06-14T12:57:00.000-05:00

I've been fairly busy the last few days and I missed all the comment action on my last post about buying in for the minimum. I didn't even have a chance to check the email account tied to my blogger account. I get comments emailed to me but since I never checked the account I didn't see them. Thanks for all the comments everyone. Imagine how blown away I was when I see comments from the authors of the blogs I read regularly. I had no idea they even knew my puny little blog was around.

The comments can be best summarized as follows:

Buying in for the maximum maximizes your leverage, particularly against the smaller stacks at the table.

If you are trying to avoid risk, then move down in levels

Let me address the second issue first. I am playing the .05/.10 and occasionally the .10/.25 NL tables with a total bankroll of 150+. A cpmmon theory of bankroll management says that you don't risk more than 5% of your bankroll at one time. 5% of my current bankroll is approx. 7.50. The max buy-in for the .05/.10 table is 10.00. So I either need to go down to the .02/.05 tables (ouch), or be willing to risk more than 5%. I am not uncomfortable playing at the .05/.10 tables. But if I'm trying to build my bankroll management discipline, I should move down. I'll have to think about that. I really don't want to play at the .02/.05 tables again.

I think there is a valid argument for buying in at the minimum. By buying in at the minimum and playing only premium hands, I've had people try to push me off hands purely because I was the short stack (best I can tell at showdown) and end up doubling me up. And lately at the tables I've been seeing, I've been either the only player or one of maybe 2 players that had stacks less than the maximum. If every one at the table is over the max, then even when I bought in at the max I would still be the short stack and still be pushed around. It seems to be that buying in at the max in this case is no help to me.

Another suggestion was to try tournaments if I wanted to play like that. I've been playing tourneys and doing fairly well in them (see some previous posts for details). I used to have a decent cash game and I've been trying to get it back.

And a little background about me is probably due. I've been playing for a couple of years, have won money and transferred most of it out - not huge amounts, but a few hundered extra dollars is fun to have. I started over with 50.00 and have been trying to build up the bankroll agian. I've never gone over the .50/1.00 table online and 1/2 live. I always have bought in for the max in the past, but lately (last month or two) I decided to try this min buy-in strategy I'd read about somewhere. I'll try to find the source again and post it here.

Another thing about the minimum buy-in is that when I win a hand, I've won the hand outright. I didn't just push someone off a hand by using a big stack. I know I like that aspect of it.

Oh, and the last couple of times I played I bought in for the max. Even before reading these comments. :-)

Thanks for stopping by everyone, thanks for the advice, and keep it coming. I'll probably cotinue to mix up the min buy-in vs. the max buy-in and see how it goes.

Oh, and Waffles, it's all good man! I must say that had I expected you to read my post, then that's the kind of reaction I would have expected. :-) I've been reading you for quite some time, and I can tell how you've matured some, both in your attitude and your writing. That definitely makes the occasional flame-fest easier to take. :-) I'm not unsubscribing yet.

Followup to the Cash Game post below.

2006-06-11T21:26:00.000-05:00

g3Poker posted a comment on my last post that said:

Im not that much of a NL player, i play it sometimes on stars on the micro limits but if then i always buy in for the maximum. It happens twice that i had the nuts in one of the early hands and could put it all in and got called by an player that got me covered and thinking i was trying to buy the pot - its a very rare situations but it happens so: Why do you block that opportunity for you and buy in with just the minimum?

I've been buying in for the minimum lately to limit my risk when people try to put me all in to push me off a hand. If my risk is minimal (minimum buy-in plus whatever I've made at the table so far), then there is little risk to calling their big push when I think I have the best hand. It seems to me that situation comes up more than the situation g3Poker described when he managed to double up.

Any thoughts out there on this?

Cash game coming back

2006-06-10T23:40:00.000-05:00

Tonight I wanted to play a bit, but I didn't want to enter any tournaments or anything. I was getting started kind of late relative to the amount of time I had left to play so I figured a cash game was in order.

I sat down at a .10/.25 table at PokerStars. I bought in for the minimum (5.00), and after playing 90 minutes I managed to triple my buy-in. I was starting to feel a little tired so I decided to call it a night while I was up a bit.

I believe I have found one of the problems with my cash game. I can get pushed off by aggresive players. People raising big with second or even third pair. In tournaments I have a little different attitude - if I call them, and lose a bunch of chips, the actual money invested does not change. If I call at a cash table, and lose a bunch of chips, my bankroll has taken a hit. I think I just need more confidence in the hands I play and I need to watch my opponents more closely and monitor the hands they play. If I watch what they play I may have a better feel for when they are just trying to buy a pot.

It feels good to get back to the cash game again. Maybe I can keep some balance in my play moving forward and do both the cash games and tournaments.

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

2006-06-07T07:49:00.000-05:00

I'm continuing my slow and steady trek up the mountain of progress.

Wow, did I actually write that? Well, to punish myself I'll leave it and let the world mock me.

I've been plugging away at my quest to improve what I do best (besides complain, that is) - tournament play. I've been hitting the 1.00 + .20 /45 person tourneys at Stars. I've finished first once (14.00 payout), and 7th once (2.00 payout), and out of the money about 5-6 times. Since I've been using PokerTracker, it shows my ROI on the 1.00 /5 table tourneys at > 100%. So those seem to be working ok for me, too. Once I can place in the money consistently in those, I'll take a shot at the 4.00 / 180 tourneys.

Now on to the cash game. I don't want to get away from it completely, so I've been playing a little here and there. Last night I played the .10/.25 no limit table. Well, actually, on two of them at one time. Overall a nice profit. I turned $5.00 into $20+ on each table in a little less than an hour. I still can't believe that people will call a post-flop pot-sized bet (3.00 - 5.00) with second pair, low kicker when paint is on the board. Oh well, keep doing it. Once in a while you'll suck out on me, but most of the time you're money will be mine.

I've also set a new rule for bankroll management. For cash games, I'll never buy in for more than 5% of my bankroll, with a stop-loss limit of 3 buy-ins. For tournaments: If I take a shot at something like the 4.00 / 180 and don't finish in the money and still want to play, I'll move down to the 1.00/45 or something. That way I get to keep playing, keep practicing, and hopefully keep building my bankroll.

Updates, catching up, and blah blah blah

2006-06-02T08:19:00.000-05:00

Not a ton of pokering the last couple of weeks. I've played a few tournaments here and there, but the old regular, non-virtual-felt life has intruded a bit. Sorry for not posting for two weeks. And thanks to Bloody P for calling me on it - I really do appreciate the wakeup call. I've still been following everyone else's adventures via Bloglines, but I've just failed to update here.

I've gotten pretty consistent with the micro-buyin single table tourneys (ROI > 50% per PokerTracker), so I've decided to branch out a little into the small multi-table SnGs. I think I'll start with the 1.00 + .20 / 45 person ones at Stars. I played them some back in the day, and did ok with them. And I've gotten my bankroll to a comfortable enough level that I can finish out of the money in several of those before I start feeling pressure to money. Actually I could finish out of the money in several dozen before feeling real pressure, but it just bugs me to see my bankroll slip by more than 10-15 percent without some kind of recovery when I'm playing tournaments.

I dabbled in a little NL cash game play here and there, too, mostly at the .05/.10 tables. I think overall I've been break-even. One night, after almost doubling my buy-in, I stupidly tried to push someone off of a pot by overbetting and lost. This person had been calling down with bad cards, etc. for quite some time so I guess I thought it was time for me to make a nice profit. Well, it didn't quite work out that way and I was felted. Oh, well...back to the tourneys.

The thing that really confuses me about this is that when I started playing poker online, I did MUCH better at the cash games. And for the time invested, the cash games are much more profitable. But it seems that I've recently completely flip-flopped. The cash games are sucking me dry, but the tournaments are treating me right. What is that all about?

Until later, good luck at the tables. And I'll update more. Promise. :-)

Some lessons are learned the hard way

2006-05-15T23:24:00.000-05:00

I've commented recently on how I need to focus on tournaments. I seem to be doing pretty well on those lately, and not so good with the cash games.

I've been playing tournaments at Stars the last several days. One day I play a sit-n-go. Get first and win a nice sum (for micro-limits). I then decide to dink around with some ring games. Proceed to give back to various cash game players the profit I just made off the tournament. I play 3 more tournaments - this time turbo SnG's. I manage to break even - well not if you count the tourney fees, but for the regular entry fees. Still better than my recent cash game experience.

Tonight I play 3 SnG's. I finish out of the money in the first two and second in the 3rd. So I finish down just a hair. But I still show at approx. a 50% ITM rate in poker tracker, as well as approx. a 50% overall rate of return on tournaments. If I can just stop giving it away in the cash games, maybe my bankroll will go up a little.

Cashing out

2006-05-10T08:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, so for the first time I want to cash out of a site MORE than I transferred in via NetTeller. What is involved with that? Why do they all have that restriction that you can only transfer back to NetTeller the same amount you transferred in? How do I get the rest out? Pay them to send me a check or something?

I guess maybe I'll transfer out what I can from WPX, and maybe leave the rest to keep playing with until either it goes away or I get it up to a reasonable amount to be worth getting a check. I transferred in 100, and right now my balance there is 146.xx with some rakeback still to come next Monday. 50.xx doesn't seem like enough to be worth a check, but who knows. What do you think?

DEMS QUADS BEETCHES!!

2006-05-10T08:20:00.000-05:00

Last night I ended up playing at the World Poker Exchange for a bit. The skeptic in me originally logged in to check and see if my rakeback got deposited as scheduled, and it had. Then I decided to look over the tourney list and see if there were any guaranteed tournaments that would provide an overlay. Unfortunately I had just missed the early 1K tourney that went off with 69 players, but I was in time for the $500 guaranteed which only had 3 players signed up with 26 minutes left until start. I decided to monitor the tournament lobby and play a little .05/.10 NLHE while I waited.

Bought in for $2.00. A few hands in, paying blinds, etc. I'm down to around 1.50. I get 88 in late position. I raise it to 2xBB. I should have gone 3x or 4x, but I was a little gun-shy at that point, having had several good hands broken by calling stations. A couple of chairs to my left it got raised to .40, then UTG+1 raised it to .60 with everyone else dropping out. I called, as did the other raiser. Flop comes AA8. WOO-HOO! Full house! I bet .40. Raiser one raises to .60, UTG+1 calls. I then go all-in for whatever I had left. Raiser 1 goes all-in also, as does UTG+1, making a side pot. Turn is a 2. River is an 8! WOO-HOO!!! DEMS QUADS, BEETCHES! I win 7.xx. The side pot gets chopped because both of the others had aces full of 8s. That was a fun hand.

The 500 guaranteed tourney ends up getting 45 players, so I decide to bail. I sign up for a 2.00 + .20 5 person SnG, and while waiting (FOREVER) for the table to fill, continue the ring game. Nothing else notable in the ring game.

In the tourney I hit a few good hands, and managed to hang on for 2nd. I was pretty evenly matched in chips when heads up started. I pushed with a less than stellar hand thinking either I'd make the tourney all but over or I'd be out because it was almost time for the Mavericks/Spurs playoff game to start. Well, I was out. :-) Good enough to cash for 3.00. And since they give me my rake back, that is a 1.00 profit. Good enough.

A couple of additional comments about the World Poker Exchange:

Apparently in their SnG tournaments there is no "lobby" to check stacks, rank, payout structure, etc. Not that with 5 people you need that all that much - that is just a personal preference.

WPX also makes it easy to get to the World Sports Exchange. Your bankroll at WPX is really in a World Sports Exchange account, and when you buy-in at a table that amount gets transferred to WPX. Now that means that it is very easy to make sports wagers as well. Since I've been playing at WPX, I've bet on the Spurs game last weekend (bet 11 to win 10 - I know, bad odds, but I was sure the spurs were going to win it, and they did - big), made 4 $2.00 wagers on the Kentucky Derby (with one of them being a win ticket on Barbaroa or whatever, which covered all my bets and gave me a $4.xx profit), and again last night on the Mavs in the Mavs/Spurs game (10 to get 13 with the mavs getting 2.5 points) and I won. This is not good. I do not want it to be so easy to give back the money I grind away at poker to earn. So far it has turned out OK for me, but I know that long term that is not likely. I think I'll try to transfer out of WPX soon. But I have to wait until at least next Monday for the rakeback I earned last night to be credited back to my account.

Tournaments, Tournaments, Tournaments

2006-05-08T21:07:00.000-05:00

I've been playing a lot of tournaments lately. Even before I read this post on Change100's blog, I was already thinking along these same lines. Focus on what I'm good (or at least better) at to try and build up the bankroll and then use the padding to improve other areas of my game.

I've really done much better at tournaments lately than at ring games. So I played a few tournaments this weekend. I played the 3.00 turbo SnG's at Stars and either placed out of the money or finished in 1st. That has given me a nice profit of $20 or so. A few more weeks of this, if I can maintain my current win ration (or something close) and I should have a decent enough bankroll to dabble in the .50/1.00 NL Ring Game.

I'm going to try and play 1 tournament a night, 4 nights a week. If I exit early, (within the first 20-30 mins), then I'll start another. Otherwise I'll be done for the night. Let me know what you think of this plan.

Tournament at WPX

2006-05-05T20:36:00.000-05:00

So I decided to play one of those 1K Guaranteed tournaments at WPX that TripJax talked about. I monitored it down to the wire (last 2 minutes) and only 75 or so people had signed up. That turned into 79 by the time the tournament kicked off. That is a $210.00 overlay on a $10 + $1 buy-in. 9 places paid. I managed to just barely hang on and go out 9th for a $35.00 payout. And since I'd made enough at the site already to cover my buy-in, it was almost a freeroll. At least in my mind it was. So it was a $24.00 profit overall.

That is the first time I've played in a tournament that big, other than when I first started at PokerStars and played in those HUGE $1.00 + .10 MTT's on a Sunday night.

I think that'll be all the pokering for me for this evening. Time to relax and watch a movie (for Bloody P: with my wife! :-)).

Thanks, TripJax (if you ever even see this post) for recommending WPX. I don't think I'm permanent there, but it's fun for now.

More blog pimpage

2006-05-05T08:06:00.000-05:00

I learned of a new blog recently - Adam LaBare's Poker Blog. I saw the username on the PokerSavvy forums and had not had a chance to check it out yet when the author emailed me about checking it out. I've only been reading it for the last day or so, but it looks good so far. He is on a quest to go to the WSOP. Apparently he went last year as well. Look it over and see what you think.

In the interest of fair and honest criticism, I must say it is kind of frustrating when catching up on old posts to have his Blogger blog nested inside is regular website. Separate scrolling windows - yuck. Sorry Adam - but I gotta call'em as I see'em. Other than that it looks like it'll be an interesting read.

World Poker Exchange

2006-05-05T07:36:00.000-05:00

The other day I read a post on TripJack's blog about the World Poker Exchange (that is not any type of affiliate link). They offer a 100% rakeback deal, meaning that whatever you pay in rake on the hands you win you get credited back to your account on a weekly basis. There is even a special rake tracking section in the cashier window to show you what rake you've accumulated. It only updates at the end of a session. I'd prefer it to update after every hand that you won.

I have to agree with TripJax's description. Tables are semi-soft - several players push with second pair, etc. I've played the .10/.25 and .25/.50 tables and have generated a small profit even without the rakeback. I deposited $100 Wed. evening, and I'm up approximately $20.00 after 2 evenings of play. The biggest issue is finding a table to play. The traffic is so low there now that what tables have action are typically full. Last night I had to go on a waiting list on two different tables and wait a few minutes to get a chair at one. I know - wow, wait a few minutes, you poor thing - but I'm used to sites like PokerStars where there are always tables with open seats and have 80% of the chairs full.

TripJax also mentioned the guaranteed tourneys that have a good overlay - also due to the low traffic. I monitored the $1k guaranteed last night, and though I don't recall the exact final count it was definitely below the 100 required (at a buy-in of $10.00) to cover the guaranteed prize pool. I had planned to play in it, but the crowd got past the point that I felt I could finish it at a reasonable hour - assuming I finished in the money, that is.

How long will I keep playing at WPX? Not sure - I've only played there 2 evenings, and I miss PokerStars already. But that is typically the case when I try another site. I'm always comparing it to PokerStars and always finidng PokerStars to be better.

New poker blogger and blogroll addition

2006-04-28T08:05:00.000-05:00

One of my readers that makes semi-regular comments is named Thirsty. Well, Thirsty now has a blog. Check it out - it's brand new. I've added it to my bloglines account, and if there's good poker content showing up there then I'll add it to my blogroll on the left.

And I also need to introduce the latest blogroll addition: Bloody P Plays Poker. I've been following the blog via Bloglines for a while and I've been enjoying it. So check it out when you have some time.

New game plan

2006-04-28T07:41:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting here, but what free time I've had in the evenings I've used to play a tourney (or two, if I go out early in the first one). I've spent a little time in the ring games, but very little. My focus has become tournaments, and I've been sticking to the 1.00 + .20 /45 person SnG tourneys at Stars, with one exception of playing a 1.50 + .25 turbo /18 person when I was short on time one evening.

I've done fairly well in the tournaments recently, at least for me. I've been working on my tournament play and it has paid off. I finally started using PokerTracker and it is showing me that I am in the black on tournament play. I've played 13 of the 1 + .20, paying 15.60 in entries and fees, winning 35.00 for a net of 19.40 (ROI 124.36%), finishing in the money 6 times. I've played 1 of the 1.50 + .25 and finished 3rd for 5.40, making a profit of 3.65 (ROI 208.57%).

Now I know this is not a big enough result set to be any indicator of solid tournament success. But analyzing my play shows that I've made very few "stupid" moves. One tournament where I finished 4th, I was the chip leader and had 2 back-to-back major suckouts from the same player to put me out. He even said "sorry" after the second one. First hand I had pocket AA going in, and on the river the 4th club hit the board to give him my flush. I had half my stack in - he was all in - so he doubled up. Next hand I get all money in pre-flop with KK. He calls, shows QT. A T hits on the flop, then the third T hits on the turn and I'm out. It's been little stuff like that.

Last night I finished 7th. I went out on a hand I could have played better, but was next-to-last in the chip stacks and felt the need to make a move with 99. Got called by JJ and that was it. So, didn't have the best hand going in, but with an M < 2, something had to be done. With a 2.00 payout for 7th, the tourney still paid for itself.

So my PokerStars bankroll now stands at 54.xx. I'm going to continue to focus on tourneys with some occasional uber-tight ring game play here and there. Once I build my bankroll up to 100.00, I may start trying the 5.00 tourneys and see how that goes. Any comments or suggestions?

I also played some at Party Poker in the last week. I logged in there after reading about people having money added to their account. Sure enough, there was a $20.00 bonus waiting for me there. Just play 200 raked hands and it's mine. And I can use their 20.00 to play my 200 raked hands. Ok, great. I play about 90 hands late last week, run my balance up to 26.xx. Then I forget about it. I realize Wed night that I had to clear another 110 hands that night, so I transfer in some money from my Neteller account and do some 4 tabling at .10/.25 to get my hands out of the way. I make it in about an hour, but along the way manage to give away most of my bonus money. I just end up with an 9.00 profit, which I transfer out (along with the money I transferred in) and it sits in Neteller waiting for the next bonus opportunity.

Two lessons learned here: 1) I still don't like the Party Poker interface much, even with the recent upgrades, and 2) I am not ready to 4 table. I need to focus on what I'm doing more in order to make good decisions and 4 tabling doesn't allow me to do that. I've done 2 tables, and I'm pretty comfortable with that, but I think I play my most effective poker when I have the time to watch the other players on the hands I'm not involved in. Helps me to push those small edges a little more.

Pokerstars tourney

2006-04-20T22:25:00.000-05:00

I just finished a 1.00 + .20 45 person tourney on PokerStars. I almost went out in the first few hands when I had several bad beats on consecutive hands. I was down to around T600 by the time the 2nd blind level hit (15/30). Then I finally hit a hand and doubled up. Suddenly I was back in the thing.

I'm glad I held on. I managed to win the entire tournament. $14.00 payout. I did give a bad beat to my opponent to swing the tourney my way when he had about a 2-1 chip lead on me, but I figured it was just payback from the bad beats I took in the first few hands.

Anyway, overall a fun time. I paid 1.20 to play 2 hrs of poker and make 14.00 (net 12.80). Not a bad night.

Blogger tourney sponsored by PokerSavvy

2006-04-20T22:17:00.000-05:00

PokerSavvy is sponsoring a tournament to send a blogger (or multiple) to the WSOP. Prize money is just the entry fee to the tournament ($1500), but that makes it a freeroll for ya. There is no entry fee - you just have to be a blogger. Go to their site and check it out. If your not signed up, then sign up. So far they have been outstanding to deal with. The next poker room I sign up for I am definitely signing up through PokerSavvy.

Click the logo on the left or the link in this post to sign up.

So far, a great run at Titan

2006-04-14T22:45:00.000-05:00

I didn't get set up in time for the PokerSavvy tourney on Tuesday, but I decided to go ahead and try Titan for a bit anyway. I made a $50 deposit, and got $50 in bonus money to work off. Every 400 points earned gets me $5.00 of my bonus money released.

So far it's been a pretty good run. I've turned my original $50.00 deposit into approx. $235.00 as I write this, including the $15.00 in bonus money I've earned. I'm still playing, and my peak was 269, so no telling where it will end up. I'll update this post when I'm done.

The first evening I played the .25/.50 table, but since then I've been playing the .50/1.00 tables. I'm playing pretty tight, and mostly just mining the points. So you'd think that when I've sat at a table for 3 hrs, seeing the flop around 10-15% of the time, and reraise you on the flop or turn, people wouldn't continue to bet then call my reraise all the way down with middle pair. But hey - who am I to argue if they want to give me their money.

I've also played one Maui tourney, and came in 3rd. So far 100% in the money. Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead? :-)

At first I didn't like the titan interface much, but I'm gradually getting used to it. The table interface is ok, but I really don't like the hand history interface. Maybe it just takes more adjusting. I don't like that it doesn't report the total pot anywhere, and the rake.

I'm going to keep playing Titan until I have the 4k points needed to clear my bonus, then I'll rethink it.

Oh yeah - and if any of you that have an account on Titan haven't heard, they're awarding everyone points at the Titanium VIP level until midnight Sunday, regardless of your current VIP level. So hit the tables.

Update: I ended the evening at approx. $225.00.

Update 2: /span>Cheapsk8 asked in the comments if it was Limit, NL, or Pot Limit. It was no limit. And everyone probably knows this already, but the weekday evenings seem to be much softer than other times.

Long Time, No See

2006-04-11T19:37:00.000-05:00

I've been away for a bit. Dust has gathered around here. Sorry about that. Shortly after my last post I broke my arm. Luckily it wasn't very bad, but it made it difficult to use a keyboard for quite some time. But I'm all healed up now, and back in action.

I had hoped to kick things off tonight with that blogger freeroll on Titan courtesy of PokerSavvy.com, but didn't get it all set up in time. I never had played there, so I had to download and install the software, register with Titan, then go to PokerSavvy and get the ad code to put in my blog (see the left) and then email them for the code. I just missed the cutoff. Got home from work a bit later than I planned. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

I must give kudos to the PokerSavvy people though - not only were they VERY prompt in responding to my email, but also were letting me slide in. I hadn't updated in a while, so they thought the site may be dead.

But no worries - I'm back. Maybe I'll move a tad bit of my money from Stars over to Titan and play a bit. See how I like it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh, and go check out PokerSavvy. They didn't ask me to say that. They just seemed so cool when working with me that I think you should check them out.

The Grind Goes On

2006-03-02T22:26:00.000-06:00

I've been grinding it out at the .25/.50 LHE tables on FCP the last couple of nights. Short sessions, approximately 1 hr. each. Last night I think I approximately broke even, +/- .25 or less. Tonight was a little better. Ended up 3.70 overall. Not big money, but it made me happy. But I had played on Tues. afternoon for a bit and took a minor hit, so all of this is just getting that back.

The bonus money earned last night hadn't cleared today. I guess they've modified their processing a little and now the cutoff is earlier in the evening or something. So tomorrow I should see the bonus earned on Wed. night, and Sat. I should see the bonus earned tonight. Either bonus amount won't be big. At least at the micro-limits, the rake is capped at the little bet (.25 in this case). And you only get rake credit for bonus purposes on the hands you win. Oh well - free money is free money.

I think this weekend I may hit a couple of SnG's or something. I still have some money at Stars to play with, too - maybe I'll spend a little time there.

Good luck at the tables everyone, and thanks for dropping by.

FCP Bankroll: 49.71

Grinding away

2006-02-27T22:12:00.000-06:00

A short session of .10 PL HE at FCP tonight. 2 tabled for about 45 mins. Lost a whole buy-in (10.00) on the second hand at the first table. Got completely sucked in by a slowplayer, thinking my pair of As were good.

That is when I fired up the second table. Good news is that between the two tables I made up all but .35 of what I started with tonight. So overall the evening was productive.

Yes, my bankroll balance below shows up .40 from the last bankroll balance. That's because it includes the bonus money I earned at FCP over the weekend. Remember - they credit the earned portion of my bonus money to me daily. So really my loss was just some of the bonus money. Takes a little of the sting out. :-)

FCP Bankroll: 50.94

Same stuff, different day

2006-02-26T22:10:00.000-06:00

Misc. ring game play over the weekend. Bankroll took a minor hit on Fri and Sat, but had a minor recovery today. .10 PL HE at FCP. People betting and raising to showdown with middle to bottom pair. I just don't understand that.

FCP Bankroll: 43.xx

Update:
I decided to hit the ring game a bit more after posting the above. A couple of minor wins, but 1 major profit hand. Bought into the .10 PL HE for $10.00, cashed out 30 mins later for $17.50 (down from a peak of 19.70).

The major profit in my ring games seems to come from a few big hands. Is this normal? Should I be winning more hands for less money, or making the majority of my money with a few big wins?

FCP Bankroll: 50.54

Bankroll grows

2006-02-23T23:03:00.000-06:00

The FCP bankroll continued to grow tonight courtesy of the .10 PL HE tables and the players at my table. About half the gain was made on a hand where I made a boat on the river while heads up. I bet 1.00 into a 3 or 4.00 pot. Other player raises to 2.00. I raise back to 4.00. He calls. I have the boat, he folds his cards.

The rest of the pots were 5-7 players calling min bets and raises all the way to showdown with what was apparently less than top pair, since I had top pair and won. One time I had 66 in the pocket, which by the river turned into third pair, and still won the hand. Nice way to build the bankroll, but not so good for sharpening my skills.

FCP Bankroll: 57.13

I wish they were all this easy

2006-02-22T21:38:00.000-06:00

I know that some people think that posting hand histories is about the worst thing you can do in your poker blog. Out of respect for that, I try to keep the hand history posts to a minimum. If you are one of those that doesn't care for hand histories, then please skip this post.

I wish all hands of poker were this easy. Well, maybe not - because more often than not I would probably not be on the good side of it. But never the less, here it is. The names have been changed to protect the innocent and the donkeys. How I trippled up in .10 PL HE at FCP:

Hand 111111111111, Started at 2/22/2006 9:10 PM
Table 'BLAHBLAH': $0.10-$0.10 Pot Limit HE (Real)
Seat 0: BadBluffer ($11.55 in chips)
Seat 1: Folder1($2.70 in chips)
Seat 2: Sooted ($9.70 in chips)
Seat 3: Folder2($22.85 in chips)
Seat 4: Folder3($6.45 in chips)
Seat 5: Playa ($10 in chips)
Seat 6: Folder4($9.60 in chips)
Seat 7: Folder5($9.75 in chips)
Seat 8: Folder6($9.80 in chips) (on the button)
Seat 9: Folder7($13.85 in chips)
*** Blind Bet Round *** :
Dealt to Sooted: Qs
Dealt to Sooted: Kc
Folder7: Post Blind ($0.10)
BadBluffer : Post Blind ($0.10)
Playa : Post Blind ($0.10)
*** Pre-Flop *** :
Folder1: Fold
Sooted : Call ($0.10)
Folder2: Fold
Folder3: Call ($0.10)
Playa : Check
Folder4: Fold
Folder5: Fold
Folder6: Fold
Folder7: Check
BadBluffer : Check
*** Flop *** : 5h Kh 6c
Folder7: Check
BadBluffer : Check
Sooted : Bet ($0.30)
Folder3: Call ($0.30)
Playa : Raise ($0.60)
Folder7: Fold
BadBluffer : Call ($0.60)
Sooted : Call ($0.30)
Folder3: Call ($0.30)
*** Turn *** : [ 5h Kh 6c ] Qc
BadBluffer : Check
Sooted : Bet ($1)
Folder3: Fold
Playa : Call ($1)
BadBluffer : Call ($1)
*** River *** : [ 5h Kh 6c Qc ] Ks
BadBluffer : Check
Sooted : Bet ($3)
Playa : Call ($3)
BadBluffer : Raise ($7)
Sooted : Call ($4)
Playa : Raise ($5.30)
Playa : All In
BadBluffer : Call ($1.30)
Sooted : Call ($1)
Sooted : All In
*** SUMMARY ***
Pot: $30.30 | Rake: $0.20
Board: [ 5h Kh 6c Qc Ks ]
BadBluffer lost $10 Shows [ 4h Ah ] (a pair of Kings.)
Folder1lost $0
Sooted bet $9.70, collected $29.70, net $20 Shows [ Qs Kc ] (a full house, Kings full of Queens.)
Folder2lost $0
Folder3lost $0.70
Playa bet $10, collected $0.60, net -$9.40 Shows [ Kd 7d ] (three Kings.)
Folder4lost $0
Folder5lost $0
Folder6lost $0
Folder7lost $0.10

I couldn't believe what these gugys were betting. It was like they just wanted to GIVE me their money. And it was the third hand of the session. Talk about wanting to hit and run...but I stayed and gave them a chance to get a little of it back. Only a dollar or two.

FCP Bankroll: 42.56

More micro-limit grinding

2006-02-21T22:32:00.000-06:00

Played some .10 PL HE at FCP tonight. I think overall I prefer PokerStars, but I still have bonus money to work off at FCP.

Pretty good evening overall. Not a bunch of profit, but my play was pretty solid. One hand in particular made me happy. I had AA in middle position. It came around to me and I raised .10 to .20. Had 2 callers. Flop comes 937 rainbow. SB checks, BB bets .60, I call, SB calls. Turn is 2s. SB checks, BB bets 2.40 (all-in), I call, SB folds. River is 9c. BB turns over 7s5c, has 2 pair (99,77). I show my AA (AA,99) and take pot of $7, net $3.80. Woot!

Bled most of it back over the next hour, but still had good solid play. Got pushed off of a couple of hands I might have won, but one crazy maniac kept betting big and there were combos that could have beaten me, so I folded. Maniac didn't stay long enough for me to figure out if he was a big bluffer or not. Oh, well.

Overall: good, decent, solid play. A good evening.

FCP BR: 22.95

Played another Sit and Go

2006-02-19T13:22:00.000-06:00

I played in a pretty interesting tournament last night. The Dallas Mavericks partnered with PokerStars to do a special tournament for people in the D/FW area. They had a tournament with a 3.00 entry fee and no rake. The top 10 winners got to pick their prize from a list, starting with first place getting first choice. The prize packages were things like traveling with the Mavericks for a 4 game run, getting a suite at the arena for you and 17 friends catered, playing golf with one of the Mavericks, autographed stuff, etc.

Around 525 players entered. Unfortunately I went out at 435. Pushed all in with a good hand, the best pre-flop, and got sucked out on the river. Oh well - with a field that big I was going to have to take a shot at doubling up at some point, and I feel good about my play.

I also played in another sit and go last night. 5.00+.50, 9 players at PokerStars. I did pretty well, other than going out on the bubble. But for the majority of the time I was in second place. Towards the end, I just couldn't get decent cards and got blinded out finally. I did some bluffing with my bad cards and managed to steal the blinds some (so I'm getting better at that), but it wasn't enough.

I'm going to keep plugging away, though.

I also played a little .05/.10 at FCP to try to eek back up my bankroll. I made a couple bucks before the Mavs tournament at PokerStars started.

PokerStars bankroll: 25.xx
FCP Bankroll: 22.xx

Back at PokerStars

2006-02-18T11:42:00.000-06:00

Last night I ended up at PokerStars. I decided at the last minute to play in the Donkeys Always Draw Invitational II - Heads Up NL HE tournament. Entry fee was 10+1. But wait - I have no bankroll at PokerStars. No problem, since they now pay your fee for you to do an InstaCash withdrawal through Neteller. I was good to go. Transferred in a few bucks and entered the tourney.

I had a fairly good first round, until near the end. I went out in the first round, but I don't think I played poorly. There is only so much you can do with the cards you are dealt.

I continued to railbird the tables of Al Can't Hang, DoubleAs, Wes (a.k.a. boobie lover), and Wil Wheaton through the end of the tourney. Wil made it to the end and chopped the pot with the other winner. There were 62 entries total, and the top 8 places paid.

As I was railbirding, I was playing some .05/.10 NL HE ring game. One particular hand I had T7 and was in the BB, so I got to check and see the flop. Flop was T99. I check (figuring someone else for bigger pocket pairs or suited paint), and as it comes back around to me the person on my right makes a small bet. With 2 pair, I decide to call. Everyone else folds. Turn is no help, he makes another small bet (under .50 because I'd folded for that) and I call. River comes with a Q. This time he bets .50, and I figure he is trying to push me off, so I call. For me, the pot was big enough to justify it. He paid a pair of Q on the river - until then I had him beat. I make a comment of "nh - nice river", just being jovial and just commenting on the way poker seems to work some times. He just totally ripped into me - told me how bad I played, how I should have raised and he would have folded, can't believe I'm commenting, blah blah blah.

I wasn't being rude to him - I was just commenting on the turnabout nature of poker. Why does he have to be like that? It's a freaking .05/.10 table for Pete's sake! That kind of stuff is completely out of line.

Ok, thanks for letting me vent. Time to go get a haircut.

I'm planning a post comparing FCP to Stars now that I've spent considerable time at FCP. Look for it in a few days.

Sit and Go Frustration

2006-02-15T22:17:00.000-06:00

Monday night I played 2 sit and go tournaments on Full Contact Poker. First one I went out in 7th. Couldn't really get decent hands, and when I finally had to make a move I was put out. Second one I did pretty well. Got my money in as the favorite multiple times, and made it into the money, leaving 3rd. So for the evening paid 10.00 + 1.00 and won 10.00. I lost .50 overall, as I earned back .50 in bonus money from the tournies.

Tonight was a repeat of Monday night. First tourney I went out in 7th. Not many decent hands, etc. Second tourney I went out in 3rd when I put my A8 up against A7. He had me covered by about 800 chips, so he'd still been in but most likely not for long. Naturally a 7 hits on the river. Oh well, I guess it's better to break even than lose money on these.

Regardless of my financial performance in these, I've been enjoying the tournaments. I think I'll continue them for a while. FCP also has some 5+.50 20 person SNGs that pay out 4 places. I might give one of those a shot next. Won't be more of a risk, and might mean a bigger payout.

2 SNGs, 2 finishes out of the money

2006-02-10T23:24:00.000-06:00

Played 2 5.00+.50 SNGs at FCP tonight. First one went out in 8/10. Poor cards, poor play.

Second one I bubbled out in 4th. Was in 2nd place, had KK, opponent had Ad6d, with 2 diamonds on the flop. No, he didn't river his flush. He rivered an Ace. Out I go. Not unhappy with my play. Pushed when I should, only played one hand I thought I shouldn't and it worked out OK for me.

FCP is ok, but I think that when I've worked off my bonus I'll return to PokerStars. The players at Stars seem more friendly.

Good new blog

2006-02-10T20:12:00.000-06:00

I found a new blog. Well, new to me anyway. Another guy that is playing the micro-limit tables and building a bankroll. Check out the Poker Cheapskate. You might like it. I do - I've subscribed.

Updates

2006-02-10T20:03:00.000-06:00

It's been a tough week and a half at the poker tables. It started two weeks ago tonight. I got home from dinner with some friends after work and decided to play some poker. Mistake #1.

I logged into FCP where I had a fairly healthy bankroll (for me anyway) of 80.00+. I decided to take a shot at the next higher level tables: .25/.50 NL HE. Bought in for 50.00. First hand popped up to 52.xx. Second hand, busted. I had pocket KK, raggedy board. Bet kinda big, got raised all-in. Thought long and hard- figured that player for trying to push me off the pot as he hadn't bet much until the river. I called - put me all in. He had poket 7s with a 7 on the flop. My KK cracked by 777. Oh, well.

The following days were very frustrating - lots of play, lots of bad cards. Even played a heads-up tourney (5.00 + 0.50) and almost folded my way out of it. Such Bad Cards!

The last half of this week things have started turning around. I won a 10 person SNG at FCP on Wed night (haven't played many of those - this is maybe my third or fourth -ever), and won a 5.00 + 0.50 heads-up tourney last night, including a comeback from being way down.

Anyway, back to the tables tonight. Hopefully things will keep looking up.

FCP bankroll: 33.97.

Definition of scared money

2006-01-30T20:14:00.000-06:00

I had a bit of a bad run this last weekend. Variance bit be in the behind. Friday night, playing at the .25/.50 NLHE table, I lost 52.xx on one hand alone. I thought my pocket KK overpair had the other guy beat. He had pocket 77 with a 7 on the board. Oh well. Saturday was a little more of the same, but at lower limit tables so it was less painful.

So tonight I get back on the horse with some .15/.25 NLHE. First hand at the table I get JJ in MP. Guy just before me raises it to 2.00. After thinking a bit, I called. One other player called. Flop comes 2s Jd 7s. Player before me bets 2.00. I call, third guy folds. Turn comes Qs. He checks. I bet 3.00 into him. He folds. I rake pot of 12.65, net $5.65.

At this point I actually think about quitting for the evening before I lose my profits. Geez.

Later, I get Kx. Flop comes AKx. Player before me bets 1.00. I fold. GEEZ!

Still in for now...we'll see how it goes.

Ever feel guilty about winning a pot?

2006-01-26T07:58:00.000-06:00

Last night, playing .10/.25 NLHE at Full Contact Poker, I won a $17.80 pot. Woo-hoo! right? Yes, normally that would be correct. But on this one, I actually feel guilty.

I was the BB. Cards come out, I have T2o. Fine, I'm gonna fold. I am reading the chat in the main window - Daniel N. had just logged in to chat a minute - and the action comes around to me. Someone around the table had raised it 1.00 to 1.25. I was moving the pointer over to the Fold button, and clicked just a hair too soon, clicking on the Call button. OH CRAP! I just called a pot sized bet with T2o. Oh well, it's just a dollar. No big deal.

Flop comes KTT. Well, now I have a set of 10s. I check. Next guy bets 4.00 (all in). Based on my play with him at the table so far, I figured him for Kx, making a pair on the flop. He had been betting big on the flop with a high pair, trying to push people out. Next person raises it to 5.25 (also all-in). With the pot that size, I went ahead and called 5.25 with my set of 10s.

Turn is a rag, no help.

River is a 2.

Since there was no more betting (everyone else was all-in), the last 2 cards came fast. Cards get turned over. 4.00 guy had Kx. Just like I thought. 5.25 guy had ATo - set of T, A high. I turn over T2o. Full house, T full of 2. Rake in the pot of 17.80. Profit of 11.35.

ATo guy was pissed. Types in chat "Where did you learn to play poker?" and leaves the table. I reply with "I meant to fold, and clicked call by mistake on my way to the button. " Kx guy was ok with it - "Worked out well for you."

That is a hand I don't think I'd ever play. Played it by accident and it worked out well for me. And looking back over the hand history, I shouldn't have called the $5.25 bet. I think I was just so light headed from getting the set after accidentally staying in, I had set my mind to ride it out. If not for that 2 on the river, I'd lost that hand to the ATo guy and would have been feeling even worse about riding out the hand I got into accidentally. I liked the instant bump to the bankroll, but still didn't feel good about the hand. I shouldn't even have been in that hand.

Am I making too much of this?

Review of Full Contact Poker

2006-01-22T15:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday at PokerStars, sitting to the right of a pre-flop super-raiser, I was going through some old email in my online email account. I found an email from Full Contact Poker about their new online poker room being ready, etc. I decided to give them a try.

At FCP, I am a "Charter Member". A while back I was reading Daniel Negreanu's blog. He was talking about the all-new FCP, and how if you signed up now (no cost), then you'd get bonus stuff later. Well, ok, just an email addres - not much risk.

Well, when the poker room stuff launched, I got an email telling about it and some of my FCP Charter Member benefits. One was the initial deposit bonus - 100% up to $200.00. Regular members were just getting 50%. Plus a 10% bonus for everyone, everytime, if depositing via Neteller.

All of this decided to give FCP a try this weekend. I transferred my remaining funds out of Stars to Neteller, and then transferred it plus the $50.00 I had in Neteller in to FCP. My bonus I am clearing is now higher than my initial deposit (110%).

FCP Pros:
1) Every 24 hours, they move bonus money to your regular money account - the piece of the bonus cleared. They don't wait until you've cleared your entire bonus to transfer bonus money. They transfer it as you earn it, daily. I like this.

2) They have $5.00 + .50 heads-up SNG tourneys. These are a lot of fun. I played 4 of them yesterday. Won 2, lost 2. I should have won a third, but was distracted by some other things I was doing around here and lost it. Just more evidence to prove that I need to focus on poker when I'm playing poker.

3) The stats on FCP are much more thorough. I've only looked at stats on Stars, not Party, so this may be how they are on other sites, but I like the amount of detail they are tracking at FCP. This is my stats window from the .05/.10 NL I was playing this afternoon: [This spot should be an image of the stats window. I am having some sort of error uploading and will try again later.]

4) The interface is nice. I've only played Stars, Party, and FCP, but so far I like FCP the best.

5) It has a fullscreen mode. Your table window goes full screen, and tabs are added along the bottom for the other windows you had up - one for lobby, one each for any other table you might be playing, etc.

FCP Cons:
1) They don't *clearly* state anywhere what the exact formula is for clearing bonuses. Yesterday I played .10/.25 NL, some .15/.30 Limit, and several heads-up $5.00 + .50 tourneys. I cleared 2.60 or so. Not sure how I did that, or which type of play was better for me.

2) It's like Party with the avatars. I have played so much at Stars that I am just used to the image on the screen representing the player and not just a generic avatar for that slot at the table. So, this makes me forget when the fish in chair 3 has left, and the tight aggressive player has taken his place.

3) There is some verbage about not transferring out more than $200.00 without validating your ID, but I'm unclear on the details. That definitely sucks, though.

4) You can't choose to show cards at the end of a hand. If you lost, and don't have to show, you fold. Automatically. And, folded hands (even at showdown) don't show in the hand history.

So far, I'm sorta break-even at FCP, but having fun playing there. I'll at least work off my bonus, then evaluate it again and see if I will stay there or return to Stars.

The Song Remains The Same

2006-01-21T11:49:00.000-06:00

Last night started off good, finished bad.

Did my usual ring game buy-in of $10.00. About 1/2 hour in, after winning a couple of big pots, I was at 23.00. Did I stop? Nope. Should I have? Yes. But it was WAY too early.

I made the mistake of continuing the ring game and starting a MTT. I shouldn't do both of those at the same time. Too much of my game is based on reads and "feels" I get on how the other players at the table play, and when my attention is divided, I can't do that. I did make it fairly deep into the tourney (at least for me), but not into the money.

I entered a .10 turbo later on that evening, and finished in the mid 200's out of 2100+. Cashed out for 0.24. W00T! :) Also got my first TLB points ever! All the tourneys I had been playing didn't qualify for TLB points.

I ended up dropping all my winnings AND my $10.00 buy-in, but it was due to a 3-outer suckout on the river. Had the guy beat all the way down. He tried to push me off by putting me all-in before the river. I called. That's when he caught his A to beat me with 2 pairs [AA 33] vs. my 2 pair [KK 33] that I made on the flop. Oh well, that's poker.

Heading back in to try to get it back. Bankroll down to 27.00 at Stars and 50.00 in my Neteller account.

I am having to fight off the temptation to transfer more of my own money in and go up a level. But I really want to move forward with OPM (Other People's Money). If I keep playing with OPM, the lovely and patient wife is much more "understanding" of my play.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Tweaking bankroll management, day 1

2006-01-19T22:10:00.000-06:00

So I decided implement my plan, with a slight modification from another commenter over at Pokerati. He suggested after reaching my goal (in this case doubling up), to not only cash out of the table, but to quit playing for the evening, or at least for a couple of hours. Still want to have fun? Do something else you enjoy.

Tonight I bought in for $10.00. Got below $5.00 a couple of times, but managed to break through the double-up to $21.75. I was the BB when it happened, so I finished the orbit to get all my "free" hands, and managed to only give back 2 more big bets (.25 each). So I left with $21.25.

My PokerStars bankroll now stands at 43.00. The $50.00 I transferred out to NetTeller last week is still there, so that makes my total poker bankroll $93.00. I'm gradually building it back up.

Now, off to (*gasp*) read a book.

Tweaking my bankroll management strategy

2006-01-18T13:40:00.000-06:00

I've been playing .10/.25 NLHE on PokerStars lately. Doing ok - buying in at the "recommended amount" (amount pre-filled in the dialog box) of $10.00. If I play between 1 and 2 hrs, I usually double up, or get a little bit more. The problem is, I'm having fun and have no reason to leave the table, so I keep playing. Now, since I'm playing with "found" money, I unintentionally loosen up my game. I see the flop on hands I should fold. Not to actual raises, typically, but I limp in on hands I would fold when I first sat at the table. I then tend to leak back 25%-50% of my winnings before quitting. Not good to build the bankroll and move up in limits.

I thought of a new strategy on the way to work this morning: I buy in. If I loose my buy-in, I quit - don't reload. If I double up, then I leave the table and cash out. If I still feel like playing, I go to a different table and start over with the same buy-in as before. That way it doesn't seem so much like "found money" and I'll keep my tight game.

That sounded good to me.

Then I read this post at Pokerati and now I'm not so sure. Maybe I won't actually treat it as "my" money but will continue to treat it as "found" money.

What do you think?

Good reads around the interwebs

2006-01-14T11:43:00.000-06:00

Iggy over at Guinness and Poker has another outstanding uberpost. All of it is worth reading, but definitely scroll down to the two-part piece by Ed Hill on being a professional gambler. Great read.

Over on Tao of Poker, Dr. Pauly has some guest writers filling in for him while he works on a poker book. There is a great post by Joe Speaker on MTT play. If you play MTT's at all, GO READ THIS NOW.

That is all.

My progress

2006-01-14T10:51:00.000-06:00

I have decided to stop posting beginning bankroll, buy-in, ending bankroll stuff. Not because I care about keeping it private, but because it's a lot of work to do it all - log in here before playing, update here when changing tables, etc. and update here when done. When I have time to play, I'd rather just play than be distracted by updating here.

A general update since my last post - I pretty much busted out what I had left after my withdrawal. I think I developed the attitude that if I sat at the table I owned the table, and I found out rather brutally that wasn't the case. Since then I redeposited what I transferred out, and managed to build that back up to over $100.00, and transferred out $50.00 again.

After restarting my bankroll with that $50.00 I transferred out, I played some limit for awhile. I tightened up my game a little, learned to fold marginal hands instead of trying to make a hand out of them, and overall improved things. I then went back to .10/.25 no limit, and made a nice profit. After transferring out the $50.00, I still had (yes, past tense) around $75.00 in my account. This is all in the past 7 days or so.

Then last night I drained my bankroll a bit. I have found another hole in my game - a way I go on a little bit of a tilt, and it hit me for over $20.00 last night. I was playing .10/.25 no limit, and there was a player at my table that raised to $1.00 pre-flop on almost every hand. It was very frustrating. I'd have things like KQ , KJ, QJ, etc. and limp in trying to see the flop. This player would raise to $1.00. I'd fold (as would the rest of the table). I guess he was just enjoying collecting blinds. Once in a while someone would call, so he'd raise to 1.25 or 1.50 on the flop, and people would fold. Occassionally he'd lose a pot, but otherwise he was making a nice profit playing this way. I finally got fed up with it. I called down with AQ suited. The board had paired jacks and paired kings. I read him as trying to push out the others and take the pot - so after the river I went all-in for 19.xx. Well, no need to say, this was the wrong hand to fight him on. He insta-called and had a pocket king. So much for me. I left the table, went off to another, and tried to make a little bit back. Unfortunately I managed to give up about another 10.00. Not a good night. At least this time not only have I found a hole in my game, but I found it before my bankroll was in the basement. I might be able to recover from this without putting back in the 50.00 I transferred out. I'm really hoping to use that $50.00 to take my wife to dinner or something as a repayment for tolerating my poker playing. If she sees a little payback from it, then she'll be more comfortable with it.

I still haven't played live since my last report. I really need to get back there and play live again. That was a great day.

Well, back to PokerStars to try and get some of my bankroll back. I'll let you know how it goes.

Rocking at Poker Stars

2005-12-05T21:18:00.000-06:00

I've had several sessions since last I posted. Played Thurs (12/1) night, Sat. afternoon (12/3), Sunday evening (12/4) and tonight. Still playing right now. I've had some lucky hands, but overall I think I've been satisfied with my play. Made the right decisions, even when I didn't win the hand.

Since I last posted:
Starting Bankroll: 63.39 (12/1)
Ending Bankroll: $156.79
Transfer out: $50.00
New Balance: 106.79
Played: .10/.25 NLHE

Played various ring games. I have definitely gotten in a groove. Very nice hand tonight. Heads up against someone that hadn't been playing all that well - overbetting, trying to push people out of the pot with chips, etc. Nice profit for me. I wish I had gotten the screenshot, but I completely forgot until it was too late. The hand history will have to do. I know these are boring, and I promise to keep them few and far between.

PokerStars Game #XXXXXXXX: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2005/12/05 - 21:47:51 (ET)
Table 'AAAAAAA' Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Folder1 ($8.45 in chips)
Seat 2: Folder2 ($13.70 in chips)
Seat 3: TiltBoy ($24.35 in chips)
Seat 4: Folder3 ($17.05 in chips)
Seat 5: Folder4 ($11.60 in chips)
Seat 6: OurHero (me) ($37.80 in chips)
Folder1: posts small blind $0.10
Folder2: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to OurHero (me) [8s 8h]
TiltBoy: raises $0.25 to $0.50
Folder3: calls $0.50
Folder4: folds
OurHero (me): calls $0.50
Folder1: folds
Folder2: folds
*** FLOP *** [8d Ks Ts]
TiltBoy: bets $1
Folder3: folds
OurHero (me): raises $2 to $3
TiltBoy: raises $2 to $5
OurHero (me): calls $2
*** TURN *** [8d Ks Ts] [Qh]
TiltBoy: bets $18.85 and is all-in
OurHero (me): calls $18.85
*** RIVER *** [8d Ks Ts Qh] [8c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TiltBoy: shows [Ah Ad] (two pair, Aces and Eights)
OurHero (me): shows [8s 8h] (four of a kind, Eights)
OurHero (me) collected $47.10 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $49.55 | Rake $2.45
Board [8d Ks Ts Qh 8c]
Seat 1: Folder1 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Folder2 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: TiltBoyshowed [Ah Ad] and lost with two pair, Aces and Eights
Seat 4: Folder3 folded on the Flop
Seat 5: Folder4 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: OurHero (me) (button) showed [8s 8h] and won ($47.10) with four of a kind, Eights

Now, typically I wouldn't have bet so strong on a set with overcards on the board. But like the old saying about poker being about the people, I knew the player I was going up against was probably bluffing, or overbetting his hand. He had quite a history of doing that. Fortunately, things worked out well.

My days at Party Poker are over

2005-11-30T20:57:00.000-06:00

The title says it all.

Starting Bankroll: 22.79
Ending Bankroll: 0.00
Played: .10/.25 NLHE. Bought in for full bankroll. :-)

Played a few hands ok. Lost about $8.00 on a bad read. Lost the rest on a hand where I just knew the guy was bluffing me. He just squeaked it out. So, I am done with Party Poker.

I prefer the Poker Stars UI and overall gameplay. And the fact they don't report my mucked showdown hands. So anyway, it was fun while it lasted Party Poker. Live Long and Prosper.

Who knows - I may be back one day.

Update: Ok, so I figured out that PokerStars shows the hand in the muck if you go to showdown as well. So I can eliminate that from my cons list for Party Poker. But, I still didn't like the interface as much. I think I will try it again, though, after building up a bankroll on PokerStars.

---

Now off to Poker Stars.

Starting Bankroll: 25.00
Ending Bankroll: 23.24
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 45 person SNG.
Played (while waiting): .05/.10 NLHE

I need 7 more FPP to clear a bonus from my last deposit. Let's see if I can get it before I lose all this money.

I only got to play a couple of hands at the NLHE before the tourney started. Not too much damage.

DANG! I need to improve my game without it costing me so much. But I can't seem to take the play money games seriously. What can I do?

Ok, that tourney was over. Couldn't get decent cards, tried to make a move, and got burned. But 1 FPP closer to my bonus! Now for a little .10/.25 NLHE action to make back my tourney entry fees.

Starting Bankroll: 23.24
Ending Bankroll: 63.39
Played: .10/.25 NLHE

Several decent hands, a couple of all-ins that got me a profit in the range of 15.00 or so each time. Made enough FPP to free my bonus, too - so that number includes a 5.00 bonus. Take 5.00 off and that makes it 58.39 for a profit of 40.15.

Not too bad of an evening.

A bad couple of sessions

2005-11-30T07:43:00.000-06:00

I had a bad couple of sessions since my last update. The details would just make you laugh at my poor play. My $66.00 bankroll dropped to a low point of $13.50ish.

I decided to play a bit this morning - either improve some, or finish off my Party Poker bankroll and move on to PokerStars.

Starting Bankroll: $13.50
Ending Bankroll: $22.79
Played: .10/.25 NLHE. Bought in for full bankroll. :-)

Had a bit of a slow start. I think that my bad run had me a little spooked, and almost any type of wager would scare me off everything but the biggest hands. Once I got over that, I won a few decent pots (based on my bankroll and the table wagering level), and managed to edge it up almost $10.00. Good for about 30 mins at the table.

So far, there are 2 main gripes I have about Party Poker vs. Poker Stars. First, no checkbox for Call or Call Any when a bet is made by someone else (Poker Stars has this). I really miss this. Having to wait until my turn to complete the small blind just bugs me. Second, apparently if I muck a losing hand at showdown, my cards show in the hand history anyway. I think that right there will make me leave Party Poker soon. I may try to build up my bankroll a bit first, but I don't think I'll be playing there for much longer.

Party Poker, episode 2

2005-11-28T19:27:00.000-06:00

I had a chance to play again on Thanksgiving day, late in the evening after everyone left. I had several good hands, and had the chance to make back most of my losses. Unfortunately, my total bankroll stayed at 51.00. Why you ask? I was an extremely stupid move on my part that involved that little Blackjack button on the right of the table screen. STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID! That will NOT be happening again.

Anyway, on to tonight...
Starting Bankroll: 50.75
Ending Bankroll: 66.91
Played: $25.00 NLHE

Best hand so far: I had AJo. I think I may have raised to 0.50 pre-flop. I had a couple of callers. Flop came AAJ. I bet out 2.00. Had one caller - a guy I had played a couple of hands poorly against earlier. I wish I could say it was on purpose, to set a trap when I got a great hand like this, but it wasn't. The early bad hands were just pure stupid play on my part. Turn - a rag. Bet out 4.00 and called. River - another rag. I go all-in for 22.xx. After using all his clock, he calls for about 14.00. When I showed down my boat, he mucked and left the table.

No other major hands played. A few good pots, a few bad plays by me. My high point for my total bankroll was $80.00. I left with it at 66.91 (as reported above) when friend called to try to play an online game. We are trying to connect now, but it doesn't look good, so I may be playing poker again in a bit.

First time on Party Poker

2005-11-24T10:40:00.000-06:00

The Neteller deposit finally cleared. I have some down time this morning waiting on our guests to arrive for Thanksgiving day, so I thought I'd play a little poker.

I've played on Party Poker on the play money tables. I don't like the interface as much as Poker Stars, but everyone says the fish are biting there, so I decided to try it out.

Oh Iggy, just in case you read this, I put in Bonus Code IGGY (except I put in iggy), and I don't see anything listed in my account on the bonuses page. I guess I screwed up by using iggy instead of IGGY. Darn!

So, here we go:
Starting Bankroll: 75.00
Ending Bankroll: 50.00
Played: $25.00 NLHE

So far, not doing real good. Buy-in is down to around 12.00, which is up from a low of 8.00. My highest point so far has been just under 26.00. I think I'm playing a little too loose since I've heard so many tales of fishes here. Time to tighten up a bit.

Update: I am now a miserable failure at Party Poker No Limit. Managed to go out.

Moving on to Limit to try a bit.
Starting Bankroll: 50.00
Ending Bankroll: 51.00
Played: .50/1.00 Limit HE
Buy-in: 25.00

So my first day of poker on Party Poker is over. Time to go do a couple of last minute things and get ready for the guests and football.

So far, I'm not real happy with Party Poker. And not because I played poorly, or lost money, but because I just don't like the interface much. If my bonus stuff never shows up, I may move my money to Poker Stars.

Any reason I should stay on Party? Let me know in the comments.

QUADS!

2005-11-20T19:15:00.000-06:00

I played in a play money tournament tonight on Poker Stars. My deposit at Neteller is still "pending" (read as "we want some more interest off the float"), so I couldn't play at the real money tables.

I played in a 27 person sit-n-go. Finished third, for about 1300+ play money $$. Didn't do too bad.

Best hand: pocket 7's, then the flop brought up 2 more 7's. Even better - another player had a full boat and called me when I went all-in post flop. Unfortunately, I failed to get a screenshot - didn't even think about it until several hands later. But I did do the obligatory "DEEMS QUADS BEEETCHES!" line!

I'm looking forward to my real money hitting my account. Hopefully it will clear Monday and I'll be playing Monday night.

Until then.....DEMS QUADS BEETCHES!

Returning to the tables with a vengance!

2005-11-16T21:26:00.000-06:00

It's been a long break from poker. I played occasionally at PokerStars at the play money tables, but didn't play for real money again until Oct. 29th, which was also my first live casino game.

A friend's birthday had occured the week before, and I took a day off from work to hang out with him for his birthday. We were trying to think of something fun to do, and we decided to go to the Winstar Casinos just across the border in Oklahoma. He had played Texas Hold'em online with play money, and wanted to try his luck at the real thing.

I scanned their website ahead of time and noticed that the lowest no limit game they listed was 2/5 with a $300 minimum buy-in. That was more than I was willing to risk for my first live outing, so I had decided to play the 4/8 limit table which had a $40 minimum buy-in. I took $100 for gambling, planning to buy-in at that level. My friend took $300 because he wanted to play no limit regardless of the buy-in.

We arrived around 12:30 PM (noon:30) and proceeded to the poker room. When we arrived, every table had a waiting list, so I immediately got my name on the 4/8 limit list. As I was looking over the waiting list board, I noticed a $1/$2 no limit table with a $100 buy-in. WOO-HOO! I immediately switched to that list, my friend added himself to that list, and we went off to have some lunch while we waited.

We returned to the poker room about 1:45 and had to wait about 15 mins. for our seats. I was seated first, and my friend got seated about 10 mins later at the other 1/2 table. I was hoping he'd get a seat at my table so I could go up against him at some point, but it wasn't meant to be that day.

I proceeded to buy in for $100. I got 2 stacks of $5.00 chips, and a seat to the immediate right of the dealer. Away we go...

First few hands my stack dwindled to around $75.00. I was playing a little, posting some blinds, etc. but mostly trying to get my reads on the other players at the table. After about 20-30 mins of this, I started feeling comfortable and really started playing. Things immediately turned around. I quickly got back to even money, and never looked back. All-in-all, when I cashed out 2 hrs. later, I was up by $380.00 excluding some generous tips to a couple of dealers when I won some big pots. I bought in for $100 at 2:00 pm, and cashed out for $480 at 4:00 pm. A good day overall.

There were several really good, fun hands, but best I can remember I only rivered a suckout on someone once. Nearing the end of my time at the table one player was down to his last $6.00. He went all-in preflop in middle position, saying something like "might as well". I was dealt 2-2 (suits are gone from memory). At this point I was up pretty good, so I decided to just roll with it and see what happened. 2 others must have felt the same way, and 4 of us saw the flop. Flop was no help for me. The 3 of us left that could bet just checked it around. Turn was no help. Same thing - checked around. River came with a 2. Ok, so I bet out $10.00. Other two folded, and it went heads up. He had QQ. I rivered the set of 2's on him, and took his last $6.00. I felt bad about it, as I probably shouldn't have played that hand. What would you have done there? Feel free to comment and let me know.

Mainly for the first 45 minutes to an hour I played very tight, only showing hands I had to (being the bettor not the caller), and only taking strong hands to the showdown. In the second hour I loosened up a bit, but didn't bet big until the turn or the river, at which point many of the players that limped in and min-raised on the flop would fold. I took several hands for $30-$50 without even a showdown.

It was a great trip and I can't wait to do it again.

I am now taking $100 of my winnings and making a new bankroll for online play. I sent the money to netteller yesterday, and hopefully it will show up by this weekend and I can get back in the swing of things. I will definitely be tracking my play here, so check back in.

Oh, and my friend? He burned through $300.00 in 2 hrs. I guess he's learned that real money plays differently than play money.

Time for a small break

2005-09-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

So I managed to go on a mini-tilt the other night and run down the rest of my 4.15 bankroll to 0.00. Time for a week or so off. It takes 4 days for more money to get in my account anyway, and on top of that I have to wait until I get paid from my side job (website project) to fund my poker. That is my current agreement with my wife - not to use our "real" money, but to use the money from my side job to fund my poker habit.

This should give me time to catch up on my poker blog reading, work on my blogroll here, and link back to some good posts around the interwebs.

Saturday, Sept. 17

2005-09-17T12:22:00.000-05:00

Session 1:
Starting bankroll: 13.65
Ending bankroll: 12.45
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go

First let me explain the discrepancy between the starting bankroll today and the ending bankroll from the last post. I played a few times this last week that I shouldn't have. I played when I only had 30 mins or so at a time to sit at the table. Not enough time for me to keep me calm and make me ride out variance. Lesson learned here is don't sit down if you can't stay awhile.

I jumped in a tournament game this morning. First hand, sitting at small blind, I got a pair of 7's. Decent flop (don't recall it) and I start betting. Just barely beat by another player, lost almost 500. After that, all downhill. Went all-in on a boat 5's full of 9's, but the opponent had 9's full of 5's. So much for that tourney. I'm happy with my play, so not too disappointed.

Time to play a ring game and get my tourney buy-in back, plus a couple more tourney buy-ins.

Starting bankroll: 12.45
Ending bankroll:
Played: 0.05/0.10 ring game
Game Buy-in: 10.00
Left game with:

I'm trying not to make this a hand history blog. And when I do put one in, I try to make it short and sweet with a more narrative style. Am I successful?

About 2 months ago I checked out Harrington on Hold'em from the local library. I got about halfway through it before it's due date came and I had to leave town for a week. I learned quite a bit, and my game improved. Then I took a bit of a break from poker. After getting back in, I seem to have forgotten much of what I learned, especially about good starting hands relative to position. I need to get that book again.

So I just played a hand - don't even recall what I had, something marginal. A couple rounds of betting, leading player betting .50 and a couple of us calling. After the river, he bets 2.30 (all-in). We both fold. He no-shows. Then has the gall to ask us why we didn't keep betting. "Y'all were betting big, why not stay in?". My response was that .50 was not big relative to 2.30, and if you had the nuts, why not show? Why does he want to know why we didn't stay in? Maybe I wanted to give some money away. Not like he's been playing stellar today. I took money from him several times at showdown when he should have folded (based on my betting) long before that.

One thing I do remember from the Harrington book is that not betting/raising will keep too many players in. This is definitely playing itself out in this ring game today.

Hole in my game: I have learned to manage my tilt for the most part, but it still peeks out once in a while. I need to learn to control it even more.

Mid afternoon update: This has been a bad overall day. Played two more tournaments, lost them both. Made a couple of stupid moves in a ring game, and had one bad beat. Bankroll (yes, total bankroll) now down to 2.10. Clearly I need more practice. Time for another deposit.

Maybe this time I'll try party poker. I've heard about it, but never tried it.

Update: Bankroll back up to 4.15. That's enough for now. The Notre Dame game is getting good, and I'm tired of staring at this screen.

Sunday, Sept. 11, 2005

2005-09-11T13:21:00.000-05:00

Starting bankroll: 25.80
Ending bankroll: 24.60
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go

Watching some NFL football and decided to play a 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go at Pokerstars. I typically finish in the money in these Sit and Go tourneys if I can keep my tight game going until down to the final table. Just outlast people.

Well, that was short. Almost out at 6 minutes, when I called an all-in after misreading my heads-up opponent. Thought he was trying to bluff me out of a pot that should be mine. Down to 40.00. Gradually crawled back up to 540 by going all in on a couple of moderate hands and scaring everyone out. Last all in move would have gotten me over 1000 if it had gone my way. Had A2o. Flop was 88x. Went all in. After much pondering, one opponent called with Qx. Turn was a Q. River x. Made it 15 minutes.

Let's try another tourney.
Session 2:
Starting bankroll: 24.60
Ending bankroll: 23.40
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go

I'll try to blog big stuff as I go along, but between football and the poker table there might not be much updated.

6 mins in. Down to 950 or so. Got scared out of a decent sized pot because of my last game. Next hand had KJo. Limped in. Someone else raised 100. Ok, still in - 3 in total. Flop shows J5K. Great - two pair. Raiser folds. Third player bets (forgot how much). I go all-in. He calls. Cards turn over - he has K9o. Ok..whatever...calling an all-in with top pair. Great. I win it, go to 2050.

Well, that didn't last too long. Longer than last time, but not long enough. Finished in 31st place. A few good pots there. Should have almost doubled at the end, but the opponent rivered his flush. I had JJ. Flop was KKx. Went all in. Was called. Caller had 2 hearts. There were 2 hearts on the flop. River was a heart. Oh well, I felt like that was a good wager. I'm happy with my play - maybe that's why I'm not angry I'm out now.

Enough for today. Not enough time to finish another if I should make it to the end. At least today wasn't too expensive.

Saturday, Sept. 10

2005-09-10T10:28:00.000-05:00

Session 1:
Starting bankroll: 22.70
Ending bankroll: 25.80
Played: 0.05/0.10 ring game
Game Buy-in: 10.00
Left game with: 13.10

Session History:
Had some time to kill waiting on my wife to finish getting ready for work, so I decided to play a little poker. It started off with most hands as a limp-in check-fest. Meaning 4 out of 6 would limp in pre-flop, and the check around through the river. So, I started betting on the flop or the turn. Small bets, like 0.20 or 0.30. Just stealing blinds, watching my total climb. Occasionally there'd be a hand when I got challenged, and since I would only stay in for the flop with moderate to good hands (other than small blind or big blind), I would usually win those pots too. It was getting kinda boring, but the bankroll was growing.

After about 30 mins. of that a couple of players left and a couple more showed up. The new players were all about betting, and not always with very good hands. After folding a couple of decent hands, since I was up a little I decided to invest a small amount to get some reads on these guys. I'm glad I did. That is how I found out they were betting some marginal hands like pocket rockets. Made a little off of them, too. After about 40 mins. they decided they'd had enough of that and moved on. I played a few more hands, played a little loose and gave back some money (which was fine with me), and left for the day up. Good way to balance out last Thursday night, BB. (Before Blog).

Things to correct: Quitting while ahead. At one point in this session I was at 16.00. That is a 60% return on my buy-in. I should have left the table then. Instead, I figured I'd play a bit more since I was doing well. More aggressive players showed up when the ATMs left, and I ended up dropping to 13.10 before I left.

Welcome!

2005-09-10T10:19:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my Poker Blog. Today I officially join the swelling ranks of the poker players that blog. I've been reading the poker blogs for quite some time and enjoying them very much. Then the other day I decided I should start tracking my bankroll and interesting hands. I started working on a spreadsheet, but then it hit me - start YAPB (Yet Another Poker Blog). So here it is.

My goal is to at least blog starting/ending bankroll for each session and any interesting plays or observations. I'll keep the hand histories to a minimum since those don't seem to be very popular out there. But there will be some. If you don't care for hand histories, skip over them when they occur.

My history: I am not a rookie to Texas Hold'em, but I'm no great player. I started at Poker Stars quite a while back at the 0.01/0.02 tables playing ring games and the occasional tournament. I made my minimum deposit which was $50.00 at the time. Played quite a bit and was up near $100.00. Then I had a few bad sessions, learned what TILT was, and lost it all. I took quite a bit of time off. I watched lots of Hold'Em on TV, read a lot online and a couple of books, and now I'm back. I played the 0.01/0.02 tables for quite a while, occasionally trying the 0.05/0.10 tables until I was comfortable playing there. Now I play regularly at the 0.05/0.10 tables, with the occasional attempt at the 0.10/0.25 tables. I'm still not completely comfortable there, but it is feeling better every time.

Anyway, welcome, and please come back.