Sunday, September 27, 2009

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.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

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.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

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!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

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.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

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.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

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.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

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!

Sunday, March 01, 2009

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.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

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.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

...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.

Friday, January 16, 2009

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!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

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.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

REVIEW OF THE POKER YEAR

Neteller: Last week $6; Current $6
PokerStars: Last week $82; Current $82 (-)
Full Tilt: Last week $75; Current $60 (-15)
LuckyAce: Last week; $140; Current $140 (-)
Ladbrokes: Last week; $22; Current $20 (-2)

Total = $288 (-17)

Profit on the year: $358

Still not playing much. I lost a little bit at Limit with a bad run, some of which I've won back playing $5 SnG's. However, compared to what I used to play, I'm not doing much - maybe 3/4 hours per week.

It is instructive to look back at the previous year end review. At that time, I had just moved from 1/2 Limit to SnG's and was looking to see if I could move up the ladder. I've subsequently had a feel around at a few things including tournaments, but in the end I think I like the SnG format best at the moment.

Highlights of the year were running the dreaded "Kenn" damned close in the Raise the River league series and winning the first of the face-to-face league finals at the local Cricket Club.

The latter continue to be good fun. I'm currently running 2nd after 6 of the 10 league games. I'm going to have to develop a strategy to counter the current leader though - he's running ahead of me using a loose aggressive approach with a good appreciation of the styles of the players he is up against. Still, having a very tight image (as I do) has its advantages.

Early in the latest game, I was heavily committed with a set on the flop when another player hit a low flush on the turn. My subsequent big bet convinced this normally congenital caller to fold, convinced I had the flush too with an Ace. I didn't disabuse him :-)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

VICTORY! :-)

Neteller: Last week $6; Current $6
PokerStars: Last week $94; Current $82 (-)
Full Tilt: Last week $112; Current $75 (-37)
LuckyAce: Last week; $140; Current $140 (-)
Ladbrokes: Last week; $0; Current $22 (-)

Total = $312 (-37)

I have continued to only play spasmodically - donking off some money on S&G's on FT. Not on my "A game" there I'm afraid, but I made some of it back playing some Limit.

The victory came in the League Final of the game at the local Cricket Club. We played for 5 hours last Sunday and I eventually took it down. It was a bit hairy around the bubble, but my greater experience at Head's Up play made all the difference in the end. Good fun too and we are going to have another one finishing during the Christmas holidays.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

IT'S ALL GONE QUIET OVER HERE.

Neteller: Last week $6; Current $6
PokerStars: Last week $94; Current $82 (-12)
Full Tilt: Last week $93; Current $112 (+9)
LuckyAce: Last week; $140; Current $140 (-)
Ladbrokes: Last week; $0; Current $22 (+22)

Total = $352 (+19)

Profit on month: $19

Profit on year: $375

I haven't posted on the blog for a few weeks because there has been very little to report. Because of various changes in circumstances (playing more with my folk group being one of them) I haven't played much poker this month. What little I have played hasn't actually been bad.

I won the "Blogger" tournament on Sunday for the first time in ages. It was made more interesting by the presence of a couple of players we didn't know. They turned out to be very loose ... but lucky. I made it to the Head's Up stage against one of them with about twice his stack. Given his penchant for going large with any Ace (he got away with this on a couple

of occasions) I just waited for him and he duely obliged by going all in with Ax when I had AKs. X didn't hit the spot thank the poker Ghods! This was a welcome little boost to the Stars wedge which had been slowly declining.

Ladbrokes has reappeared because I had $2 left there. I played a $2 sng and won it and then a $5 sng and won that too so I can now afford a few of the $4 tourneys again when (if) I ever have the time. Interestingly I had an email from Laddies today saying they were lowering their rake to 5%. I wonder if this will generate them any more action. It is certainly very slow on there at them moment.

The face to face league games at the local cricket club have become quite entertaining. There are three of us who play "properly" (I'm currently running a close 3rd of them at the top of the table). A couple more guys are too loose, particularly early on but give some thought to what they are doing. One friend of mine is too weak/tight and always "waiting for cards". Nothing I say can persuade him of the error of his ways. He is unlikely to change soon since last week he finally got a huge run of cards and won! Some of the others are now beginning to see the importance of preserving chips to reach the later stages and acting on it. The "League Final", where we start with 5000 chips and 100 for each place in the final league table, should be interesting.

I'm off on holiday next week, so that's it for October!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

PATIENCE

Neteller: Last week $6; Current $6
PokerStars: Last week $115; Current $94 (-21)
Full Tilt: Last week $93; Current $93
LuckyAce: Last week; $102; Current $140 (+38)

Total = $333 (+17)

Profit on month: $89

Profit on year: $356

A minor Limit downturn, losing the blogger and bunging the $5 for the entertaining looking RaisetheRiver tournament saw me take a little drop on Stars. This was more than offset by some winning Limit on LuckyAce. In preparation for the RtR tourney I played a 6 man SnG and won it, so I'm fired up and raring to go :-) "Team Sensible" all the way!

The good Limit session on LuckyAce exemplified that most important of poker virtues, patience. I played 83 hands before I did anything more than see the odd flop from the Big Blind and fold. Then I hit a few hands, made some money with them and left.

I played a couple of small tournaments but went out in both to my current bete noire, QQ being called by Ax and hitting. My day will come.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

A NEW SKIN

Neteller: Last week $104; Current $6
PokerStars: Last week $106; Current $115
Full Tilt: Last week $93; Current $93
LuckyAce: Last week; $90; Current $102

Total = $316 (+11)

I bunged the $90 from Neteller into LuckyAce, a Pacific skin. I haven't had the time to play much there much, but at least when I do I'll be getting some bonus eventually. There isn't a lot of activity, certainly compared to FT or Stars.

A lot of the Raise the River folk complain about Stars, but I seem to run ok there. A few of us got together on Friday night to play an $8.80 tournament and see who could get the deepest. We all struggled but I managed to come through. At around the first break I had about 7xBB and went all in three hands running with 44, AQs and KK. Nobody called me, SIGH. Then finally I did get called with KK, tripled up and I was away and running. I was "in the money" when I went out 89th (of over 1,100). Some guy bet 3xBB, I went all in with my KK and got 3 (count them the beggars) callers. AK, JJ and rubbish. An Ace came on the flop and my tourney was over. Sad, as if I'd held on that one I'd have had a good chance of the final table and some decent money. So it goes.

Meanwhile I'm still running 2nd in the Thursday night face to face game. The hand that killed me was irritating. I was dealer, raised with KJ and got 1 caller. The flop was J 6 3 rainbow so I went all in. Called by KQ. Predictably, he hit a queen on the river. I still had a few hundred chips so I went all in without looking on the next hand...checked it out... AA! Same guy who rivered me hit a straight. I love the game really. :-(

Saturday, September 13, 2008

A NICE LITTLE EARNER

Neteller: Last week $8; Current $104
PokerStars: Last week $103; Current $106
Full Tilt: Last week $93; Current $93
Ladbrokes: Last week; $17; Current $2

Total = $305 (+53)

I had a really nice little session at .5/1 Limit on Stars this week which saw me win $66 like shelling peas. Lovely it was. 35% seeing the flops, callings stations to a man and I hit enough hands to make it pay. Just to highlight the difference, everything else I played this week was break even, usually for lack of hands to play with.

I also had a few punts on tourneys on Laddies, but no joy. There is little action there for anything other than the tourneys, so I'm off. I've closed the Inter account as well, so that, with $60 from Stars, I can build up a little roll to open an account on another site.

Since I'm playing Limit a fair bit, I may as well be clocking up some bonus money as well. I'm sizing up "LuckyAce" which is a Pacific skin (I've already had a Pacific account). This will also allow me to get the "poker indicator" software that is the equivalent of "tournament indicator" which I use for sit-and-goes. It seems to have everything I want in terms of real time info on opponents. I'm not bothered about getting something like Poker Tracker or Poker Office (which I used to use) as I couldn't be bothered doing the analysis that gets the best out of the software. I'm a recreational player.

Meanwhile the second week of the face-to-face league games produced exactly the same 1,2,3,4 as previous week. The chap who has finished ahead of me for both weeks has been milking the weakest player very effectively - I'm going to have to work on that :-)

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Not a lot of change.

Neteller: Last week $8; Current $8
PokerStars: Last week $102; Current $103
Full Tilt: Last week $82; Current $93
Inter: Last week $31; Current $31
Ladbrokes: Last week; $21; Current $17

Total = $252 (+8)

Back at work with a vengeance now and predictably less time for poker as a result. I played a bit of limit, but had a downswing after being up about $40 or so. The usual variance thing, where everyone started sucking out on me. AK v A7, he hits the 7, that sort of thing. So it goes.

Only one tournament, my by now regular $4.40 on Laddies which I lost when my 99 was called by A10 and he hit everything ending up with a full house. I think I really need to find another couple of 200 or so player tournaments that I can play at the same time. Failing that perhaps a 180 man sng donk on FT? Funny enough I had a similar exit in the blogger on FT last weekend when Zagga called my 6's with A10 and hit a full house.

The face to face game on a Thursday night has now gone into a league format with a final on a Sunday in 10 week's time, which should be fun. I came 2nd in the first one, so not a bad start.

I got off to a good start (unusual for me, I normally barely play a hand in the first hour) when my 88 hit a 10 10 8 flop. Two punters had 10's and fortunately the board didn't pair, which was the thing that worried me.

I got slammed later though when my two K's were called by two players (despite a 6x BB raise) and Aces appeared on the flop. Predictably both callers had Ax. However, I know that's how this game goes.