A GREAT POKER YEAR

Ultimate Bet: Last week $453; Current $637 (+184)
Poker Stars: Last month $113; Current $149 (+36)

Total = $786

Profit on the month = +$220

Profit for the year = +$580

B&M money = £2,389 (-9)

Profit for the year = £2,389

It's been a grand final month to finish a great poker year - with $184 profit on the $11 games on Ultimate Bet and $36 on a few games on Stars. The SnGs work out at the totally awesome roi of 74%, which is even better than my previous monthly best - the September figures. According to Sharkscope my roi overall is 23%. Very acceptable.

I'm very comfortable with $11 games, so I'm going to look towards getting the Cereus bankroll up to $800 and then moving up to $22 games. I'm going to take out the Ultimate money and transfer it over to a new account on Absolute, so that I can get rakeback (30% seems to be available from a number of sources). It looks as if I will be playing enough hands at a sufficiently high level to make rakeback worth taking into account in future.

I re-opened the Stars account to play in the Bloggerment with the RaisetheRiver folk (Stars private tournaments 9.00 PM on Sundays - good craic). As hoped, my luck on there has improved (poor old "Weegem" certainly thinks so after last week when my all in with TT against his Aces hit a flop with two tens - sorry mate). I've now come 2nd twice. "Mair" has won for the last two weeks running and seems in fine form.

The hoped for improvement in results at the Cricket Club hasn't emerged yet though - looks like I will have to tough that one out.

All in all I am very pleased with the way my game has developed. I now have a winning game at SnG's which I've managed to successfully transfer to tournament scenarios. There is still plenty to work on, but I'm enjoying playing which is the main thing. It's a hobby not an occupation.

So, time to set out the poker plans for next year.

a) Basic game on-line: $11 then $22 SnG's with a profit on year objective of $1,000.

B) Play some MTT's on Stars when I have the time (good for practicing tourney technique).

b) Play on-line games on Blue Square in the APAT leagues. (I'll put $200 into Blue Square to set that up).

c) Play some more B & M tourneys (especially APAT) when they are available. (I'll set aside £200 to fund that).

A prosperous New Year to all my readers!

BACK TO THE QUIET LIFE

Neteller: Last week $113; Current $113 (-)
Ultimate Bet: Last month $442; Current $453 (+11)

Total = $566

Profit on the month = +$11

B&M money = £2,398 (+£14)

Well, with the very able assistance of my wife and two daughters, I've managed to be a one man antidote to the recession and spend the APAT money. I'm now the proud possessor of a new wide screen plasma telly, nice big monitor for my computer, an iphone for daughter one, a lap top for daughter two, and a fine selection of new clothes for the wife and I. Buy shares in Curry's now.

On the actual poker front it has been a case of up, down and then a minor recovery. On the $11 games I shot up to 537 in 8 games and then went into a tailspin with only one miserable 3rd place in 14 games. Three wins in my last 5 games has pulled me into a position where I have made the grand profit of $11 on the month. Downswings like that are to be expected, but they are still tedious to bare. However I don't take it too seriously. Basically I know I am a winning player at this level and I have the bankroll to see out things like that.

I haven't been able to do much at the Cricket Club lately either. I am regularly in the last 3 or 4 but I haven't won outright for a while. Some new young players have been joining and a couple of them have learned quickly and developed decent games. This means that we have about 5 players with tight/aggressive games and the remainder are very Laggy. Inevitably some of the LAG's get lucky and chip up early and then bully with big stacks. One of them did me the other night - calling my all in on the flop with 44 against my QQ - he hit the 4 on the turn of course. Still it's fun and I'm sure I can start winning again soon.

Meanwhile, since I was in Nottingham for the night, I went down to the "Dusk till Dawn" club - the largest in the country. Very nice set-up. I had hoped to play in a £25 freezeout but got there too late. I played some .5/£1 No Limit Cash and won the princely sum of £16. There were a couple of seriously poor players who donated nicely (what is it about the Chinese that makes them such wild gamblers?) but sadly I never had a hand to go up against them with myself.

It's good to see the Bloggerment tournament on PokerStars back again too. (9.00 on Stars "private tournaments" - password "donkament"). That is basically where I learned how to play tournaments. No luck so far though. I've had folk sucking out against me with flush draws I hadn't given them the odds to call for the last two weeks - again, my turn will come :-)

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Neteller: Last week $113; Current $113 (-)
Ultimate Bet: Last month $517; Current $442 (-65)

Total = $555

Profit on the month = -$65
B&M money = £2,386 (+£2,334)

The APAT English Amateur Championship tournament in Bolton turned out to be totally awesome, with me finishing in 2nd place for a prize of £2225!

Day 1.

I met up with two of the Raise the River guys, at the Odessa Cafe in the centre of Bolton, "Snakeyes" and "NoCash". "BurnleyMik" turned up later at the casino. Before the tournament started, we set up a £10 a head "who goes deepest" prizefund of £100 for 10 of us, held by Kevin from Blackburn. Then we were off.

I was on a table in the corner, which turned out to be a thoroughly good thing. With over 220 folk all crammed into quite a confined space the heat in the centre of the room was mega, so it was useful to be near an exit.

We quickly found a "table captain" in a guy from Halifax. He bullied the table something rotten and over the first couple of hours took out several players. Certainly there seemed to be more cries of "Man down" from our table than anywhere else. He had position on me which made things difficult. Basically I took down a couple of blind steals and that was it. Mainly I was trying to come to terms with casino rules such as keeping your cards on the table and avoiding "string bets". All new stuff to me. I was totally card dead, so my 10,000 starting stack was slowly depleting as time went on, but I hadn't reached a 10xBB situation which would make an quick all in necessary.

The table broke up and I ended up in the centre of the room. This was bad news as the heat was dreadful there and I was downing water like a fish! However, my luck changed with regard to cards. I had AA twice and the first time I just took down the blinds and an original raiser who folded to my all in. On the second occasion however I opened with a 3xBB bet and was followed by an all in from one of the few female players. Naturally I called. She had KK. Nothing untoward happened and I'd doubled up nicely. BurnleyMik told me afterwards that she had crippled him earlier with 99 hitting trips against his 1010. A tough break for the lass, but I needed it.

I went card dead again for the next couple of hours, just making the odd blind steal, against players I thought wouldn't shove back at me (reads were good).

At the very end of the day (about 1.30 in the morning) I was moved to a new table. A couple of hands are played with no action and I look down at AQ of Spades. We are nearly at the end of the level and everyone left will go through to the next day. I put in a 10,000 bet (a quarter of my stack). A Welsh guy, Gary Phillips, goes all in with a stack similar to my own. A big stack thinks long and hard and folds. I go into a trance and eventually decide he has to have a big pair to make that move at this stage of the day, so I fold. Gary, very decently, shows his KK to confirm my read.

Day 2.

I'm still in, but in 26th place of the 30 left. I've worked out what I'm going to do before I even get to the casino. The new blind levels and antes are going to slaughter me so I'm going to make a move on the first two laps with the first reasonable hand I get and with air if it's getting close to the second set of blinds. First lap I shove with A9o and collect the blinds. That gives me another couple of laps. Then I get AA and shove - no callers. Collect the blinds again. My stack is dwindling as the level is coming to a close - I have to make a move and shove on the blinds with A5. Call from the Ian Burnett in the big blind with A10s. I'm on my feet ready to shake hands and leave. A 5 hits on the river!! Ok - we still have a game folks.

Then comes what will be the main hand of the tournament for me. I look down at QQ. A guy in early position with a stack smaller than mine makes a 4xBB move. I go all in over the top. The guy after me (who has shown every sign of being a good player) goes all in over me with a bigger stack. The original raiser calls. The guy to my left has AA (damn). The original raiser has AhJc (why was he still in the hand?). The flop comes Q93 all hearts. Yippee - I've lucked out trips. (Damn - there's a flush draw). Two blanks and I've trebled up!! I felt sorry for the AA guy, who had only done what anyone would and he exited shortly afterwards.

I now had a stack of something like 240K. Folk were exiting steadily and I was "in the money". I now went totally card dead again. For something like two levels I only made the very odd blind steal and watched the others at the table. A young chap called Andrew McCloud made a very strong impression as did Ian Burnett, who was a couple of seats behind me. It turned out that he knew "Mair", who my wife told me was giving me a lot of support on the APAT website along with some of the other RtR folk.

I decide not to make any more blind steal moves as there are so many guys ready to go over the top and put you to the question. Besides, I didn't have too, since I was comfortably more than 10xBB and antes. Gradually players were eliminated and we were down to the final table.

The last 9 players were all treated to a very pleasant meal. They all seemed a really decent bunch of folk (and no sign of the autistic types I remember from my Chess Congress days!).

I went into the final table with the second smallest stack, so I knew I would be making a move fairly early on and it would have to hold. Early doors, Tony Trippier (who was chip leader at the end of day 1) puts in a big bet ahead of me. I go all in with QQ and he shows AJ. The Queens hold (I'm really beginning to like Queens). Things are now really aggressive all round and I'm only really looking for all in moves. I end up all in with Andrew McCloud with QQ (again) against 1010. He hits a 10 (damn) but I river a straight!

Then one of the key hands of the tournament and I'm not in it. Andrew makes a big bet and John Kay goes all in over him. Andrew has a long think and makes a great call when he finds his AJ up against A7. However a 7 comes and no jack so Andrew is out in 4th. (Tough that).

Ian Burnett finishes 3rd when his A4 is beaten by John Kay's K10. I'm second - hooray! Now for a shot at the title. I'm .5M chips v 1.5M chips. First hand I get A4 and put in a big bet. John goes all in. Odds must be my A is ahead and I'm level on chips if I win. I call. John shows 109 hearts. Four blanks ... and a 9 on the river.

John rode his luck, but then so did I, so I can't complain. I was saved on the river 3 times in the course of the day.

A great exciting day and very well run by the APAT folks. Many thanks to Steve at the casino and the RtR folk for their support (my wife was amazed at the positive vibes I was getting). I will return, but I doubt if I can ever run as well as that again. As Pete Birks put it to me, the best poker advice I can give is "run good". Amen to that.

Oh, I've had a crap month at the $11 SnGs. Now ask me if I care!!!

FUN AND GAMES

Neteller: Last week $68; Current $113 (+45)
Ultimate Bet: Last month $317; Current $517 (+200)

Total = $630

Profit on the month = +$200
B&M money = £52

Hilarious times at the Cricket Club face-to-face game recently. One of the regulars at the bar decided to join in for a game - having watched proceedings for the last few months. Result - carnage. The man could do no wrong - although he was committing just about every "wrong" in the poker bible.

He was in just about every hand (he won the first five of the night) and totally dominating my table. I was quietly observing and doing damn all as usual at this stage, when I looked down at KK. He called as per normal and I put in a 4xBB bet. He called. Nothing flop. I bet the pot. He called. Nothing Turn. I go all in. He called...and he then showed AA!

The first "proper" hand he had had. SIGH. I got lots of jeers and catcalls, since it is a rare event indeed for me to play a hand in the first hour, never mind go out with it!

Well - this carried on for the rest of the evening. Whatever he went with, hit, and he won the evening in record time. It was amazing (if a tad depressing) to watch. Needless to say, he was first out the following week.

I've closed down the Stars account, as I hadn't used it for months.

Meanwhile the on-line poker has been a roaring success. I've had a really nice winning run at the $11 games and pushed the roll over the $500 mark much quicker than I'd expected. Sharkscope puts me on an roi of 31% (though they haven't got all my 5.5 games by any means). However my roi for the 30 games I've played this month is an awesome 54%! I've cashed in 19/30. I even played a $22 game, following a win in a $11 game and came 2nd in that. The standard was just as bad.

There are one or two decent players that I've clocked and I've got "notes to avoid" on them - no need to make things more difficult than they need to be. One of them looked so useful with his big stack "bullying on the bubble" tactics that I googled him and found that he had an roi the same as mine but for 10 times as many games! A real shark and now a marked man as far as I am concerned. Funny enough in the next game I played there was another player trying the big stack bully on the bubble stuff. He was nowhere near as good at it though and eventually he was the one who bubbled out.

Meanwhile next month sees the the APAT English championship in Bolton, which I've managed to get an entry to, using £75 from the money I've won at the Cricket Club. I've never played a face-to-face tournament in a casino, so it should be an interesting experience, especially since BurnleyMik and another couple of the RaisetheRiver guys will be there too. I thought I may as well record the money position in b&m games - I've £52 left after paying the entry for the APAT thing.

FUN AND GAMES

Neteller: Last week $68; Current $113 (+45)
Ultimate Bet: Last month $317; Current $517 (+200)

Total = $630

Profit on the month = +$200
B&M money = £52

Hilarious times at the Cricket Club face-to-face game recently. One of the regulars at the bar decided to join in for a game - having watched proceedings for the last few months. Result - carnage. The man could do no wrong - although he was committing just about every "wrong" in the poker bible.

He was in just about every hand (he won the first five of the night) and totally dominating my table. I was quietly observing and doing damn all as usual at this stage, when I looked down at KK. He called as per normal and I put in a 4xBB bet. He called. Nothing flop. I bet the pot. He called. Nothing Turn. I go all in. He called...and he then showed AA!

The first "proper" hand he had had. SIGH. I got lots of jeers and catcalls, since it is a rare event indeed for me to play a hand in the first hour, never mind go out with it!

Well - this carried on for the rest of the evening. Whatever he went with, hit, and he won the evening in record time. It was amazing (if a tad depressing) to watch.

Needless to say, he was first out the following week.

I've closed down the Stars account, as I hadn't used it for months.

Meanwhile the on-line poker has been a roaring success. I've had a really nice winning run at the $11 games and pushed the roll over the $500 mark much quicker than I'd expected. Sharkscope puts me on an roi of 31% (though they haven't got all my 5.5 games by any means). However my roi for the 30 games I've played this month is an awesome 54%! I've cashed in 19/30. I even played a $22 game, following a win in a $11 game and came 2nd in that. The standard was just as bad.

There are one or two decent players that I've clocked and I've got "notes to avoid" on them - no need to make things more difficult than they need to be. One of them looked so useful with his big stack "bullying on the bubble" tactics that I googled him and found that he had an roi the same as mine but for 10 times as many games! A real shark and now a marked man as far as I am concerned. Funny enough in the next game I played there was another player trying the big stack bully on the bubble stuff. He was nowhere near as good at it though and eventually he was the one who bubbled out.

Meanwhile next month sees the the APAT English championship in Bolton, which I've managed to get an entry to, using £75 from the money I've won at the Cricket Club. I've never played a face-to-face tournament in a casino, so it should be an interesting experience, especially since BurnleyMik and another couple of the RaisetheRiver guys will be there too. I thought I may as well record the money position in b&m games - I've £52 left after paying the entry for the APAT thing.

MOVING ON UP

Neteller: Last week $108; Current $68 (-40)
Full Tilt: Last week $45; Current $45 (-)
Ultimate Bet: Last month $198; Current $317 (+119)

Total = $430

Profit on the month = +$79

I started the month with a couple of wins at $5.5 which put me over $200. Since then I've only played $11 games and I've found them very much to my liking. I've played 22 for a profit of $67, which is a "roi" of 27%. Very tidy I reckon.

The standard is not noticably better than in the $5.5 games, which surprised me a little bit. It is a rare game that isn't down to the last 4/5 players by the time we reach the 50/100 level, which is where the serious blind stealing has to start.

I've cashed in 10 of the games, so I still seem to be running close to cashing 50% of the time as I was consistently at $5.5. My heads up game seems to be running ok too, as I've won 4 with 2 seconds.

I bunged in another $40 from Neteller to get some bonus going. It's not a lot but I may as well have it.

I'm only playing one game at a time at the moment. I'm going to have to have a look at multi-tabling. I'll make multi-tabling the target once I have over $400 I think.

UPS AND DOWNS

Neteller: Last month $108; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last month $45; Current $45 (-)
Ultimate Bet: Last month $188; Current $198 (+10)

Total = $341

Profit on the month = +$10

A weird month for poker, this one.

It started really well. A series of decent cashes saw me over $200 so I had a punt at an $11 game and duly won that. Get in. Up to 258 now. Some more cashes (1st in a 6.6 and 3rd in another 11) get me up to 274.

Then … nothing! I couldn’t win a game for love nor money and lost 13 on the spin – 1 ahead of my worst ever losing sequence. Nothing would go right for me. You name it, I’ve had it. AJ v A7 on the bubble – he rivers me with a straight. AA v JJ on the bubble – he rivers me with a J. KQs v J8 – rivers a straight.

But my absolute “all time favourite” came a few nights ago. QQ on the bubble – I raise 3x and get called one guy. The flop comes 733 rainbow. I bet the pot and he went all in and obviously I call and lose. He shows 34 off. He said in the chat that the call of my initial bet was a mis-click. When you’re running bad, you’re running bad I guess.

I’ve subsequently had a win and a 3rd to break the sequence but it was no fun while it lasted.

I’ve notice that the APAT English Championship tournament is at the Grosvenor Casino on Bolton in October. I think I might have a go at that – using the money I’ve won at the Cricket Club for the entry fee - £75. I’ll need to run a bit better than I am on line though!

ANOTHER STEADY MONTH

Neteller: Last week $108; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last week $45; Current $45 (-)
Ultimate Bet: Last month $140; Current $188 (+48)

Total = $341

Profit on the month = +$48

I've played 30 games this month for a profit of $48, which gives me a "Return on Investment" (roi) of 29%. Not as good as the 50% last month, but that was hardly something I was likely to be able to keep up. I cashed in 16 of the 30 games I played which seems to be my consistent figure and one I am happy with.

I had several $6.60 games, which are certainly no harder than my normal $5.5 ones, but you don't get a field for them so often - more's the pity.

When I get over $200, which looks to be coming up next month, then I'll have a dabble at the $10 +1 games.

The game at the Cricket Club is getting a bit embarrasing. I've finished 1st in 3 of the previous 5 and second in the one this week (and should have won that too in all honesty). One of the regulars, a long time friend, is still utterly convinced that there is no skill in poker, saying "it's all down to luck". When I point out to him that I am winning an awful lot more than the 1/12th of the time that pure luck would indicate he just claims it's because I get good cards near the end of the game. He just can't recognise why I am always at the end of the game or see that the way I play then is totally different to the way I play at the beginning. Oh well, it's not my problem and I did manage to explain pot odds to him.

STEADY PROGRESS

Neteller: Last week $108; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last week $45; Current $45 (-)
Ultimate Bet: Last month $100; Current $140 (+40)

Total = $293

Profit on the month = +$40

I've played 13 $5.5 "sit and goes" this month for a profit of $40, which is of course very encouraging. That makes a "roi" (return on investment) of 56%, which would be pretty awesome if I could keep it up (which I doubt if I could). Anyway it does encourage me to have a go at some $6.6 games which are also available on Ultimate. I'll look at $10 + 1 when I get to $200.

I like the slow build up of the games on UB as it suits my style very well. There are 4 low blind levels, so you have played 40 minutes before you get to the 50/100 mid blind level. This gives the non-thinking players lots of scope for getting all in and therefore out of the game. There is also a fair chance of being able to limp in with low pairs or suited connectors and double up if you hit.

Playing only when it suits me - rather than trying to chase bonuses, "points" and the like - is also a plus I think. My wife certainly appreciates it.

BurnleyMik was asking about the game at the local Cricket Club. That's going very nicely. Because I tend to do so little early on, I am given a lot of respect for my raises later in the game, which is very useful when you have air but need to make a move! We regularly start with 2 tables now and I can see us having 16 plus players in the Autumn when we will go back to a league format again.

A BIT OF A RECOVERY

Neteller: Last week $108; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last week $45; Current $45 (-)
Ultimate Bet: Last week $119; Current $100 (-19)

Total = $253

Profit on the month = -$19

A nineteen dollar loss on the month might look less than thrilling but it actually represents a significant recovery. I played some more .5/1 Limit and had a dismal run which saw me down to $47 left on the site at the worst point. I decided,
since I was no longer rolled for the Limit anyway to change back to $5.5 SnG's and see what that brought me. On reflection I shouldn't really have been playing Limit, since I am not putting in the hours needed to overcome the variance. Seduced by a desire to work off the bonus I'm afraid.

Anyway my SnG game seems to have returned and in the 25 games I've played this month I've made a profit of $53. Not overly exciting in itself, but a significantly good roi which has cheered me up a bit.

The face-to-face game at the local Cricket Club continues to go nicely with 14 players quite often now. I'm running a very steady profit here, helped by the fact that one of my main competitors turns up less frequently since he's become romantically involved - ah the follies of youth!

The best poker news this month was nothing to do with me. Old "Diplomacy" (the board wargame) mate and long time Poker player (he's mentioned in Tony Holden's first book) Pete Birks won $1,000 and an all expenses paid entry to a big tournament in Monte Carlo from Full Tilt. Pete's regular game is $200 No Limit at which he is very successful. It will be interesting to follow his progress. There is a link to Pete's blog on the sidebar.

AN INDIFFERENT MONTH

Neteller: Last week $108; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last week $45; Current $45 (-)
Ultimate Bet: Last week $169; Current $119 (-50)

Total = $272

Profit on the month = -$50

Not much joy online this month. I had a miserable run on the 9 man $5.5 SnG's with a sequence of 12 games without cashing, 6 of them 4th places...SIGH. I couldn't even find anything that I was doing that was particularly poor - I just kept getting caught in key bubble all in situations with someone having a big hand they could call me with and then not getting lucky. I also suffered from the reverse syndrome of having good hands called by big stacks and them getting lucky (my unfavourite being AA called by QJ off which hit a straight on the river). Having had a run of 8 games where I cashed every time previous to this dismal experience at least helped offset it a bit. Not fun though.

Meanwhile the Thursday night game at my local cricket club is going from strength to strenght. We have 10+ regularly now which is great. Talking of statistical anomolies, we had an amazing night last Thursday - quads 4 times in the evening. We had Aces, Kings and 8's twice. What's more I had the Kings and one of the 8's! The odds on that in one night must be incredible. I still only finished 2nd though as one player chipped up hugely near the end when (and I kid you not) 24 suited was called by J9 off. For the record the J9 off, held!

A bit of a rethink.

Neteller: Last week $108; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last week $85; Current $45 (-40)
Ultimate Bet: Last week $150; Current $169 (+19)

Total = $318

Profit on the month = -$15

I continued my losing run at Limit on LuckyAce so I packed the site in (since there was no bonus or rakeback). I signed up at UltimateBet and didn't have much success at Limit there either. I had to come to the obvious conclusion, which was that I wasn't remotely bankrolled for the level I was trying to play at (2/4) so the variance was killing me. It's a shame, as the standard was very weak (40%+ seeing the flop sometimes and always 30+ tells you that) but a couple of bad beats could be totally killing.

That being the case I thought that I might as well go back to playing SnG's. I didn't really want to get back into Limit grinding for bonus money anyway. It worked out pretty well. I played 6 games this week, cashing in 5 of them, to put me into profit on the site.

The $5.50 SnG players are distinctly weaker than those at the same level on Full Tilt (who aren't that great), so it looks like I've found something I can start winning regularly at again.

Meanwhile Laddies bunged me a tenner to go and play there again. Sadly it's totally hopeless. Every game I tried to play the software kept crashing, even after I followed the instructions from the support staff. Still very little traffic too. Laddies looks dead in the water to me.

The variance monster takes another big bite.

Neteller: Last week $108; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last week $109; Current $85 (-34)
LuckyAce: Last week; $299; Current $201 (-98)

Total = $333 (-132)

Profit on the month = +$45

What a shame that a month that started so well should take a major nose dive at the end. I had the FT wedge up to 330, but then hit a major run of "second best handitis" which cost me dearly. I was only seeing 14% of flops against a table average

of 35%+ but when I did hit a hand someone else always seemed to either have or hit something better. I had Kings v Aces, Jacks v Queens, a flopped flush beaten by a full house on the river - the whole nine yards. I've got to expect such a hammering to come along at 2/4 and I managed to take it without going completely on tilt. I should have got away from the Jacks v Queens hand though since I knew the player I was up against was decent and had to credit him with something good.

So it goes.

No luck on FT either. The games there were a bit nitty and I found myself breaking my "no playing sub 30% seeing flops" rule. I won't do that again.

We battle on.

...followed by the predicted variance monster...SIGH

Neteller: Last week $108; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last week $111; Current $109 (-2)
LuckyAce: Last week; $299; Current $248 (+51)

Total = $465 (-53)

So, right on cue it happened. The usual story, sad to say. I was sucked out on right left and centre. On the 2/4 game on Lucky Ace I couldn't hit a hand to save my life and on the few occasions when I did I was collared on the river by flush chasers and paired middle card chasers. Still, I stuck to my guns and managed to battle back up from being -100 at one point. I have the experience behind me to know that really I want to be playing with these people - I shall return.

Nothing doing on Full Tilt either, when I couldn't get a decent game on LA. Similar problems, though I played very cautiously and managed to break even.

A NICE STEADY WEEK

Neteller: Last week $108; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last week $111; Current $111 (-)
LuckyAce: Last week; $195; Current $299 (+104)

Total = $518 (+104)

A very pleasant week's poker. I played about 8 hours of either 1/2 or 2/4 Limit on LuckyAce. These games are very loose so

the standard strategy of playing very tight but very aggressively when given a good hand in position works nicely. I've also been taking the occasional punt on low pairs and suited connectors when the table conditions are right (i.e. lots of calling but little raising pre-flop). This helps project an image looser than I really am as well of course.

Another contributory factor in recent Limit success is being very ruthless about table selection. I will only play on tables with 30%+ seeing the flop and I leave if the table tightens up or numbers decline. Simple basic discipline really.

LuckyAce has some very loose players. Some of them have lost $100+ in a session. Sadly there aren't a lot of them though and I can't always find a game that fulfills all my criteria.

Of course, I'm under no illusion. The variance monster will hit me with a thump any day soon!

A BIT OF CONSOLIDATION

Neteller: Last week $6; Current $108
Full Tilt: Last week $60; Current $111 (+51)
LuckyAce: Last week; $140; Current $195 (+55)

Total = $414 (+106)

I have wiped out the Stars and Laddies accounts because I wasn't playing there. LuckyAce has been running nicely when I can find the right game. Almost all of the profit was made on one two hour session of 1/2 Limit. Over 40% flops seen - several of these guys were seriously awful and one lost over $100 in an hour. All I had to do was sit there an wait to be paid off. Sadly these games are few and far between on the site though, so I'm going to ship out when I've worked off the bonus.

Meanwhile I played an evening of 1/2 Limit on FT and ran up a nice profit there too. I don't have any bonus/rakeback there though.

I might take a look at Cardoza where Raise the River have some sort of deal.

I've kept on Full Tilt for the occasional SnG as much as anything. I like SnG's, but to make any real money at them you need to be multi-tabling and I just can't be bothered with that any more.