"REVENGE OF THE FISH"

Neteller: Current $197
Party: Start $50; Last week;$48 ;Current $56 (+8)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $371; Current; $337 (-$34)
Total: Start $185; Last week $563 ; Current $537 (-$26)

After the glories of last week, when I could do no wrong, I was prepared for a setback. The week began pleasantly enough and I was up about $35, when the fish started biting back. I particularly suffered with AK both suited and unsuited. I lost 6 successive hands with it including one final horrible one where a villain raised late and I reraised a the Big Blind with AK suited. When an Ace appeared on the flop I thought my luck had finally turned, but the villain reraised me. Suspicious after my earlier setbacks, I just called to the river and of course he had hit a 5 as well as the Ace on the flop. So it goes. At least I haven't actually lost much, which is what it is all about when you start getting these runs.

One evening, when Inter was unavailable for some reason, I played a bit of 1/2 on Party. It didn't seem much different from Inter really.

I don't expect to do much in the next week, as I will be away for the main part of it.

"MOVIN' ON UP"

Neteller: Current $197
Party: Start $50; Last week;$48 ;Current $48 (no change)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $150; Current; $371 ($+221)
Total: Start $185; Last week $397 ; Current $563 ($+221)

A record breaking week for my poker playing. Since there was a dearth of $.5/$1 tables available, I decided to take a chance and try a move up to $1/$2. For some reason there always seems to be at least three of these on the go, even when there is nothing available at the $.5/$1 on Inter.

I found them very much to my taste. I played totally "by the book" tight (under 20% flops seen) aggressive (bets and raises easily outscoring calls) poker and it has worked a treat for me. I made $171 at the tables and cleared another $50 in bonus. I like the bonus offers at Inter (I'm in for another $100 one now). Unlike CD, they don't seem to welch on them either. Mind you they are earned, as the rake at Inter is quite high it seems to me.

The one downside about Inter is that Poker Office isn't supported, so I can't keep track of my stats so easily, which is a shame.

I'm under no illusions of course. I know that the dreaded variance monster will catch up with me again at some point, but at least I now have a bankroll on the site capable of withstanding a downturn.

Since I was playing at a higher level it wasn't surprising that I also managed to break my record for an individual hand, with two Queens earning me a $35 payout when they flopped trips in a multiway pot. I got a lot of action, as you would, from an unfortunate opponant who tripped up his pair of 4's on the same flop.

More weeks like this one please!!

"HOLIDAY TIME."

Neteller: Current $197
Party: Start $50; Last week;$48 ;Current $48 (no change)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $127; Current; $150 (+23)
Total: Start $185; Last week $374 ; Current $397 (+23)

I haven't played that much this week as I have been away quite a few days, including an excellent day at the fifth day of the test at Headingley. I like going to the fifth day of test matches. It's cheap, you get a better crowd than the drunken "barmy army" bunch who ruin the thing for anyone anywhere near them and usually you get a result. (I think it was Brendan Behan who said "only the English could invent a game that lasts for five days and usually ends in a draw!"). England's bowling and fielding were really top class. Perhaps they can give the Aussies a fright even without the injured battalions?

My hand of the week came when I had been slowly declining through lack of cards one night. I'm concentrating a lot currently on not throwing money away when I am holding top pair/top kicker and get raised or check/raised on the turn and or river. A raise in this situation usually shows that the villain has two pair or better and unless its a big pot your better off gritting your teeth and getting out. This is a lesson my main opponant in the following hand has yet to learn. Two hands before this one I had hit "UncleHog" with a check/riase on the turn after my pair of 8's made a set on the flop. He duely called and then called my river bet. Then this hand came along two hands later...

Game #2147322843: Hold'em FL ($0.50/$1) - 2006/08/11 - 18:11:29 (ET)
Table "Adhafera" Seat 9 is the button.
Seat 1: silvrbull ($52.65 in chips)
Seat 2: bobnhuey ($46.85 in chips)
Seat 3: culverley ($39.10 in chips)
Seat 4: gambler29 ($40.35 in chips)
Seat 5: kronsdat ($40.54 in chips)
Seat 6: lukkb1 ($36 in chips)
Seat 7: UncleHog ($40.75 in chips)
Seat 8: alpha2100 ($21.65 in chips)
Seat 9: c@intheh@ ($46.40 in chips)
Seat 10: calli ($16.60 in chips)
calli: posts small blind $0.25
silvrbull: posts big blind $0.50
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to kronsdat [Kc Kh]
bobnhuey: folds
culverley: folds
gambler29: folds
kronsdat: raises $1
lukkb1: folds
UncleHog: raises $1.50
alpha2100: folds
c@intheh@: raises $2
calli: calls $1.75
silvrbull: calls $1.50
kronsdat: calls $1
UncleHog: calls $0.50
----- FLOP ----- [6h 5s Ks]
calli: checks
silvrbull: checks
kronsdat: checks
UncleHog: bets $0.50
c@intheh@: calls $0.50
calli: folds
silvrbull: calls $0.50
kronsdat: calls $0.50
----- TURN ----- [6h 5s Ks][7c]
silvrbull: checks
kronsdat: checks
UncleHog: bets $1
c@intheh@: folds
silvrbull: calls $1
kronsdat: raises $2
UncleHog: calls $1
silvrbull: calls $1
----- RIVER ----- [6h 5s Ks 7c][5h]
silvrbull: checks
kronsdat: bets $1
UncleHog: calls $1
silvrbull: folds
----- SHOW DOWN -----
kronsdat: shows [Kc Kh] (A Full House, Kings full of Fives)
UncleHog: mucks hand [Tc Td]
kronsdat collects $19 from Main pot

Blow me but he did the same thing again! Rock on.

"UP AND RUNNING AT INTER"

Neteller: Current $197
Party: Start $50; Last week;$48 ;Current $48 (no change)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $31; Current; $127 (+96)
Total: Start $185; Last week $278 ; Current $374 (+96)

I decided that I would leave Party alone and just concentrate on Inter and it has paid off well for me. I managed to get my game running really nicely and made $46 at the tables in the week. Combined with clearing my $50 bonus this gives me my best ever weekly win of $96. I now have a substantial enough bankroll at the site to be able to take a bad trot, which makes the thing a lot more comfortable. My objective now is to get to $200 on Inter and then I will look at two tabling - ambitious or what!!

I was helped considerably by the advent of some maniacs at the tables. They are great for generating points towards clearing a bonus and when you get the right hand you can really give them a pasting. This turned into a "right hand"...

Game #2105456973: Hold'em FL ($0.50/$1) - 2006/08/02 - 17:46:55 (ET)
Table "Adhafera" Seat 2 is the button.
Seat 1: C0MEDYBOB ($12 in chips)
Seat 2: fastlane ($23.25 in chips)
Seat 3: mastershe ($9.45 in chips)
Seat 4: ANDYG ($13.87 in chips)
Seat 5: kronsdat ($62.76 in chips)
Seat 6: Timockj ($58.76 in chips)
Seat 7: joeandyh ($38.75 in chips)
Seat 8: Tappi ($34.02 in chips)
Seat 9: DAH1001 ($17.25 in chips)
Seat 10: Berkovich ($30.14 in chips)
mastershe: posts small blind $0.25
ANDYG: posts big blind $0.50
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to kronsdat [Kh Kd]
kronsdat: raises $1
Timockj: folds
joeandyh: folds
Tappi: calls $1
DAH1001: folds
Berkovich: calls $1
C0MEDYBOB: folds
fastlane: folds
mastershe: folds
ANDYG: calls $0.50
----- FLOP ----- [Qs Ah 8c]
ANDYG: checks
kronsdat: checks
Tappi: checks
Berkovich: bets $0.50
ANDYG: folds
kronsdat: calls $0.50
Tappi: calls $0.50
----- TURN ----- [Qs Ah 8c][Ks]
kronsdat: checks
Tappi: checks
Berkovich: bets $1
kronsdat: raises $2
Tappi: raises $3
Berkovich: folds
kronsdat: raises $2
Tappi: calls $1
----- RIVER ----- [Qs Ah 8c Ks][Kc]
kronsdat: bets $1
Tappi: raises $2
kronsdat: raises $2
Tappi: calls $1
----- SHOW DOWN -----
kronsdat: shows [Kh Kd] (Four of a kind, Kings, Ace high)
Tappi: mucks hand [9d 8h]
kronsdat collects $19.75 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot $20.75 Main pot $19.75 Rake $1

When the Ace appeared on the flop and being out of position, I was very close to folding to the bet, but the two villains had shown themselves to be very loose aggressive players, so I decided to take the turn card and was very fortunate, with my "two outer", to hit the third King. "Berkovitch" (I presume he had an Ace) takes the hint after my "check/raise", but amazingly "Tappi" (with his 98 off??) keeps betting into me until the bitter end, even though another King has arrived on the river. What did he think I might hold, especially after my preflop raise? I suppose the point is that he didn't think at all.

"QUIET TIMES"

Neteller: Current $197
Party: Start $50; Last week;$0 ;Current $48 (-2)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $32; Current; $31 (-1)
Total: Start $185; Last week $281 ; Current $278 (-3)


I have closed my CD account and put the proceeds into my Neteller account for the time being. Needless to say I couldn't get any sort of a coherent account out of CD about the gratuitous change of rules regarding clearing the bonus. That being the case, the only response was to bid them a cheery goodbye.

I've reopened my Party account, so that I can get a game when there are no suitable tables available on Inter. Not that I had the problem much, as I have only just survived there. I was down to my last 5 dollars before managing to claw my way back up again with some reasonable play. Because I have so limited a bankroll there (I'm taking part in "J" and the gang's "Inter challenge" to start with $50 on the site and work the way up to $1000 - it seems pretty distant at the moment) it is difficult to progress as I can't risk playing on the higher level tables. Once I clear the $50 bonus it will give me more options. I'm half way there at the moment.

Meanwhile a study of my stats from Poker Office has revealed a leak in the blinds. I am getting the most hammer from the small blind position - it should be from the big blind. I have been playing too many hands and will drastically curtail the number I opt to play. It will be interesting to check out the stats again in a couple of months or so.

"FALLING OUT OF LOVE WITH CD POKER"

Neteller: Current $73
CD: Start $94; Last week;$122 ;Current $174 (+52)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $37; Current; $32 (-5)
Total Start $185; Last week $234 ; Current $281 (+47)


I was just casually checking on progress towards my $80 bonus on CD Poker last night, when I was surprised by the totally unannounced news that the points requirement to make the bonus had changed from 4800 points to 8000. This pissed me off mightily as you might imagine, so I emailed customer support asking what was going on.

Here is the reply...

"Thank you for contacting CDPoker.

Hi this is Jojo of CD Poker Support!

Brian, we have received your email and we understand how you feel. We always strive to provide excellent experience to all our valued players. Our poker room management has decided that due to current trend in the online gaming industry, this change will serve the purpose of our poker room to be at par with competitors. Rest assured that this modification will benefit all our players eventually.

We are confident that this will not, in one way or another, affect our existing relationship. We aim to offer a high level of customer support to each and every player at CD Poker."

Well that is all very fine and dandy but doesn't even attempt to answer my question as to why the goalposts moved. Jojo should be Home Secretary with that range of evasiveness. I don't have good feelings about this one.

Meanwhile the actual poker went fine and would have been even better if it hadn't been for a couple of ridiculous "bad beats" which cost me about $40. The worst was two queens which hit a third on the flop. Capped betting before and after the flop. Guy hits a runner, runner inside straight on the river to beat me. He even apologised!!

"NOT MUCH HAPPENS, AS HAPPENS SOMETIMES."

Neteller: Current $73
CD: Start $94; Last week;$137 ;Current $128 (-9)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $32; Current; $37 (+5)
Total Start $185; Last week $244 ; Current $240 (-4)

It's been one of those up a little bit, down a little bit but no great excitement sort of weeks. It might have been better had one of the large multiway pots I was involved in turned up trumps but it wasn't to be. One of them was particularly sad. The world and his dog opted into a hand with me limping in also with QJ off. I hit a Q for top pair on the turn and it held up on the river, with lots of folk calling down because of the size of the pot, but sadly I lost to KQ off. So it goes.

Still I'm more than three quarters of the way to the bonus now, which is a very decent $80.

I'm still opening a second table on Inter from time to time, but not making a lot of progress so far. I'm having to play .25/.5 because of my very low bank roll. I really could do with clearing the $50 bonus there so that I can reasonably take a chance on moving up a level.

"BOUNCING BACK"

Neteller: Current $73
CD: Start $94; Last week;$62 ;Current $137 (+75)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $25; Current; 32 (+7)
Total Start $185; Last week $160 ; Current $242 (+82)


A great week, which has done a lot to restore confidence in my play after the wearisome few weeks that have preceeded it. Everything just seemed to flow nicely right from the start. My blind steals succeeded and my premium hands held up when I needed them to. I hit some nice flops too, none better than when JK of diamonds in the small blind hit 10Q diamonds on the flop and then the 9 diamonds on the turn. My first ever straight flush in just over a year of playing. I only made about $9 with it, but it was nice to see.

I was pleased with the way I managed a maniac on one occasion too. He was the full monty: raising 80% pre flop and raising and re-raising post flop. He was creating big pots every time, with two or three players at the table always ready to take him on. (This was nice for getting points towards my bonus too). I bided my time until I had the right hands, taking him down on three occasions for about $25 in total. His bankroll fluctuated wildly throughout his time with us and he eventually left about $20 down.

Just to bring me back to reality, my session on Saturday saw me play for an hour and ten minutes, seeing 13% of flops and losing $19, without winning one hand. The main loser was a flopped straight which was beaten by a full house on the river - he had Q7 off - there's no justice, but we knew that didn't we folks.

I've also been doing some two tabling on Inter but there hasn't been much movement. It's tricky because my bankroll there is so low, I can't afford to take any chances - we live in hope!

"Slump continues"

Neteller: Current $73
CD: Start $94; Last week;$69 ;Current $62 (-7)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $45; Current; 25 (-20)
Total Start $185; Last week $187 ; $160 (-27)

My dispiriting slump continues. That these kind of prolonged downturns can happen is underlined by Pete Birk's blog where he too reports a heavy loss on the month, even at sites and levels he normally cleans up on.

I had a foray into the world of "No Limit" on CD, but the whole of my losses there can be traced to one hand where my pair of kings were bashed on the head by a pair of Aces. He even hit on the river, though of course he didn't need to. My skill level at No Limit is too low to work with such a limited bankroll, so I'm trying to retrieve the thing with Limit games.

On CD I had myself right up over $100 by the middle of the week but a severe downturn in fortunes dropped me straigh back down again. I hope I see the end to this wearing run soon.

"SERBIANS OBLIGE; I'M GLAD SOMEBODY HAS"

Neteller: Current $73
CD: Start $94; Last week;$90 Current $69 (-21)
Inter: Start $50; $45(-5)
Total Start $185; Last week $213; Current; $187 (-26)

My slump in fortunes continues. I just can't seem to do anything right at the moment. I hope it turns round soon, as it's a bit dispiriting.

I've decided to join in the competition with "J" and his friends to put $50 into Interpoker and see who is the first to $1000. This may seem a tad optimistic on my part, given current form, but I thought it might perk up my interest a bit. If I'm to be competitive I may have to develop a "no limit" game. That would certainly be interesting. Any thoughts on basic no limit strategy would be of interest.

Meanwhile the Serbs duely obliged with the worst goals against record of the first round. They had me worried when they went two up but duely collapsed and lost 3 - 2. Well done those men.

"COME ON YOU SERBIAN GOALKEEPERS!"

Neteller: Current $123
CD: Start $94; Last week;$99 Current $90 (-9)

Total Start $185; Last week $297; Current; 213 (-9)

I haven't played much this week (I keep finding myself watching this ball kicking contest that seems to be suddenly popular). What I have played has had a minor negative outcome to the extent that I now find myself back where I started on CD. This is disappointing to put it mildly. If things don't improve in the next few weeks, I may take myself off somewhere else, where there are more games to choose from. Some of the games (though certainly not all) on CD can be very tight, which makes it hard to win much.

I'm enjoying the World Cup - there have been a large number of entertaining games - you can't ask for better than that. It was disappointing to see the Czech's stumble after their excellent start - Ghana did play very well though and thoroughly deserved their win. I think their prospective game with Brazil in the last 16 could be a cracker. Result of the week for me was Argentina's 6-0 win over Serbia which puts me in pole position to win the booby prize in the sweep at work for the team that conceeds the most goals in the first round!

"STILL WAITING FOR THE RECOVERY"

Neteller: Current $123
CD: Start $94; Last week;$120 Current $99 (-21)

Total Start $185; Last week $297; Current; 222 (-21)

I had thought I was turning things round this week when I went up 25 or so in couple of sessions at the start of the week but it wasn't to be. Another series of relentlessly poor sessions saw me lose the gains and then some more.

The trouble with the very tight way I am playing now (sub 20% of flops seen) is that you can be ground down by the blinds and a series of good hands getting blown out. I've had AA, KK and QQ all cracked this week. One problem I have identified is not getting out of hands quick enough when I should know I am beaten. A good example of this came when I had raised with AK suited and got 3 callers including the big blind. On a flop of A93 rainbow the Big blind raised and I reraised him with one other guy limping along. It went that way to the end with the board not improving. I was beaten by two pair 9's and 3's. Tough, but I should have realised the big blind wouldn't bet out and persist thereafter unless he had better than top pair. So it goes. That said you need to avoid playing too fearfully as that can prove costly too. Balance is everything.

I am looking forward to seeing how my long term punt for the World Cup, The Czech Republic at 40/1, progress. I backed them before they won their play off qualifier. They are the second rated team in the world and have good players and a good record in tournaments.

"AN UNSTEADY WEEK"

Neteller: Current $123
CD: Start $94; Last week;$174 Current $120 (-54)

Total Start $185; Last week $297; Current; 243 (-54)

It was just as well that I was sceptical about whether I could keep up the level of performance of my first two weeks on CD, as the variance factor hit me with a vengance this week. I could do no right no matter what. One dreary session followed another where I saw few cards worth having and got slaughtered with those I did get. It was neatly summed up by one hand where I caught QQ in the big blind and was called down to the river by one guy with K3 off - naturally he hit a King on the river. You just have to ride with this sort of thing and wait it out. Fortunately, having been here before, I didn't go on tilt, but it hasn't been much fun. Bankroll wise it has been worse than it looks as I was $25 up on last week's total before the bad trot hit.

Meanwhile I have shifted my money out of Party and put it in my new Neteller account, ready to open and account on Royal Vegas once I have cleared my bonus on CD (which should take about 9 weeks at the current rate of going).

"ANOTHER STEADY WEEK"

Party: Start $91; Current $123
CD: Start $94; Last week; $116; Current $174 (+58)

Total Start $185; Last week $239; Current $297 (+58)

Another very tidy week on CD. What pleased me was that I haven't actually had a lot of high cards. The high profit hands have indeed been from those few I've had (KK has been a good payer this week - 5 times for $20+) but I've been keeping on an even keel while waiting for those hands with good aggressive blind steals in late position. I feel really comfortable at .5/1 on this site. I should start clearing some of the bonus soon too.

To move that job along a bit quicker, I think I might start 2 tabling, which would be more interesting too.

Poker Office has been very useful in helping me understand what has been happening with my play. For the week, I have made a profit of 4.4 Big Blinds per 100 hands (which is above normal expectation for good play - around 3) so I shouldn't expect to be able to keep that up given the variance you can expect. I have a "seen flop" stat of 19% and it would have been lower than that if I hadn't played a bit of "head's up" getting a table started one evening. Office rates me "tight passive" before the flop and "aggressive" after it currently.

The fact that I have been able to significantly improve my game through playing much tighter (I couldn't have survived on Party without doing so) got me wondering about how I managed to be reasonably successful previously, when my hand selection was much more loose. I think that this must have been due to my post flop game, where I get out if I haven't hit the flop.

Even if I have two overcards, potentially giving me 6 outs, I don't hang about after a bet, unless I sense serious weakness or have position on everyone. This seems to be serving me well.

Be lucky.

"VARYING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION"

Party: Start $91; Current $123; + 32
CD: Start $94; Current $116; + 22

Total Start $185; Current $239; +54

A good week for my poker. I started with several good sessions on Party, which bumped me up nicely. I finally managed to find some looser tables (around 30% seeing the flop) and was able to pick them off effectively. I'm having a particularly good run with AA on Party. I've now had the rockets 8 times and won with them every time with an average of around $6 a pop - long may this continue.

I then opened a Neteller account and used it to open an account with CD Poker. Incidentally I opened both accounts with 50 quid, but the depreciation of the dollar meant that I got 94 for the CD account as opposed to 91 for the Party one. So far CD seems to be my sort of spot. It reminds me a lot of Ladbrokes when I was playing there. Not a lot of traffic (two or three ring games at .5/1 in the evening) but up to 40% seeing the flop, so plenty of action when you get a decent hand. I had a particularly good night on Friday when I could do no wrong - this happens occasionally :-) If I tried a blind steal, they called and then folded to my raise on the flop. If I got a high pair, I got takers and they held up - the whole bit.

That was great, but I knew it couldn't last and it didn't. Yesterday I had grim cards throughout the 2½ hours I played (saw flop 11% tells it's own story) and couldn't hit a flop with a big stick. Bad beat story warning. I had identified one particularly loose player called "99outs" when I finally got a hand - AA. I raise and get 3 callers including 99outs in the big blind. The flop comes 22K. Not bad. The two deuces are a minor worry but if someone has one, good luck to them. 99outs bets and I raise him (taking him for a King) and the other two drop out. The turn produces a 3. 99outs bets and I raise him. The turn comes as a K. Damn. He only has 2 outs and one of them turns up! I make the "crying call" and so it proves - he had K7 off. It was that sort of session.

Still overall, I am certainly not complaining. If I could keep up a win rate of $54 per week I'd be a very happy poker player.

"FINDING THE RIGHT GAME."

Party: $94 (-$7)
Bank: $200
Total $294

Well, I've had an interesting week's poker. I've played just over 800 hands on Party and, as you can see from the stats, got precisely nowhere. The reason is easy to find as I now have the stats from Poker Office to check things out. Party, even at .50/1.00, is as tight as a drum. Most of the tables I played had "flops seen" percentages of below 30%. My own percentage was 22.42, so I wasn't exactly Mr Free and Easy. It is actually quite hard to find loose tables on Party as they don't tell you the saw flop percentage in the lobby.

Now I managed to hold my own in these games, but there were just too many players playing the same sort of game as me. To make any money (and beat the rake) I need to play against a significant number of folk who are worse than me. (I did find one really worthy character called "gr8peace5111". He managed to lose $58 in an hour, which takes some doing at this level!).

So I am going to venture off to pastures new in seach of some fish and the bonuses associated with signing up at a new site. Favourite looks to be Royal Vegas as they have a good bonus offer via PokerListings.com and I can use Office on the site.

The stats on my play were quite revealing too. I made the expected profit on the premium hands ($25.74 on 5 hands with AA for example) except with AK off where I was -1.25 from the 9 occurances of this hand. I have been playing this too aggressively and getting chopped off by folk with small pairs when it doesn't hit. One to correct there.

Office rates me as "tight aggressive" pre flop and passive post flop. I'll be working on that too.

"...ON THE ROAD AGAIN"

Party: 101 dollars (+11)
Bank: 200 dollars
Total 301 dollars

I've started playing again after my month's break. To avoid the problems that set in previously I have set myself some parameters. I am only going to play for a maximum of two hours at a time each day and twelve hours per week.

I've also had a bit of a review of my game and actually purchased "Poker Office" to help me keep a close eye on what I am doing. I have decided that I wasn't being aggressive enough in trying to steal the blinds in late position in particular and I'm going to work on that aspect of my game. I like the "tracker" bit of the program too, as it gives me the pot odds and tells me the stats, particularly number of flops seen for each player. This is very useful particularly early in a session when you don't have a lot of information on the opposition.

So far I played 80 hands on Party yesterday and made a profit of 10 dollars. I managed a couple of successful blind steals which pleased me. I'm relaunching on Party because they offered me a 20 dollar reload bonus. I never did particularly well there previously so it will be interesting to see how I get on.

The other 200 dollars in my starting bank I am going to invest in a new site with a decent, achievable bonus offer.

Some objectives: An "aim to win" of 25 dollars per week (2bb per hour). A total of 600 dollars, which will give me the bank roll to look at playing at the 1/2 dollar level.

"...REACHING FOR THE SKY, JUST TO SURRENDER"

I've decided that I am going to give the poker a rest for a while.

There are several reasons for this decision, but the main one is that I just haven't been enjoying playing recently. Since I play games for enjoyment, that is a serious problem. I have found that my poker playing has been making me irritable, particularly, naturally enough, if I haven't been winning or playing well. Interestingly enough, Pete Birks had an article in his blog recently about similar issues, particularly related to playing higher than where someone felt comfortable. In my case it isn't the level, it's just my recent reactions to playing generally.

On the plus side, I have made the best part of 300 pounds which has proved to be just right for getting my wife the canteen of cutlery she was after!

It has been fun chatting to "Jeins", "the edge" and company. I'll keep checking your blogs to make sure your all progressing well.

The headline? It's from Leonard Cohen's first LP and the line goes; "I hate to see another tired man lay down his hand, like he was giving up the holy game of poker; I know that kind of man, it's hard to hold the hand of someone, who is reaching for the sky just to surrender". Seemed apposite somehow!

"BACK ON AN EVEN KEEL"

Ladbrokes: 55 dollars
Pacific: 392 dollars
Party: 87 dollars

Total: 534 dollars

I've had a much happier time of it since the decisions made last week. I may not have made a lot, but at least it is positive rather than negative and I've certainly hit +2BB per hour which is reckoned to be a reasonable expectation.

I made 22 dollars (a lot for .25/.5 limit) on the following hand where I was on the button with K7h. Flop came 9h Kc 6h. Lovely. It was passed round to me and I bet with three limpers. Turn comes 4d. All of a sudden folk are interested and the betting caps out! The river produces the 5h and the betting caps out again and I win the pot. They had two sets and a lower flush. I have been routinely folding Kx suited in any position until this week. I definitely think you can get away with playing it late at these levels, where there is little pre flop raising.

Another example was A9 off in late position which again I would probably have folded previously. The flop came 9 2 Q rainbow. No bets. The turn produced another 9, which I bet with 4 limpers. The river was a 2 and I took down the pot for 7.50.

Lowlight of the week was 10 10 in middle position. The flop came A 10 2 rainbow, which naturally I bet. It caps out, which sets me thinking - no preflop raises so probably no set of A's. Carry on firing. Turn comes as a 5. The betting caps out again, but I can't see it helped anyone. The river card is a 2. Now, that I don't like, so I just call. Sure enough he has 4 2's to beat my 10's over 2's. So it goes.

I was reading somewhere that it is a better idea to look at fluctuations in bankroll on a monthly basis rather than weekly, so I thought I would have a look at things from that perspective:

November: 278 dollars.
December: 397 dollars. (+119)
January: 479 dollars. (+82)
February: 535 dollars. (+56)
March: 534 dollars. (-1)

The positive thing about looking at it from this perspective is that, hey, for all my whinging I haven't actually lost much this month - it's just felt like it! On the negative side, my win rate has steadily declined. However this is way too small a sample to start drawing any sort of serious conclusions from and there are some bonuses in those early figures.

I've been looking into getting some poker software. From the trials I've had, Poker Office and Poker Tracker both seem equally good. However it seems to require a bit of additional messing around to get Tracker to work on Pacific and Party, so Office is favourite. You can get Office for free (plus bonuses) if you sign up for Party or Noble Poker. I already have a Party account so that makes opening an account at Noble seem the most logical approach. They also have very good bonuses, I must say, though how much traffic there is open to question. I'll look into it over the holidays. Anyone out there got any experience of Noble?

"I'VE BEEN DOWN SO GODDAMN LONG, THAT IT LOOKS LIKE UP TO ME!"

Ladbrokes: 55 dollars
Pacific: 376 dollars
Party: 87 dollars

Total: 518 dollars

This week I concentrated on playing at Party, got hammered and went to try my luck on Laddies, not much better. Sigh.

Given that I haven't had anything like a decent winning week for a month now, I've come to the conclusion that I need to reappraise my game.

I'm going to drop down to playing .25/.5 on Pacific and see if I can turn things around. I am also going to loosen up on my preflop calling in late position. Looking back I recall that when I last had a bad trot like this one of the issues I identified was that I was playing way too tight for the general standard of the opposition. The problem with playing too tight in microlimit games is that when you get a run of high pairs being busted by too many callers following you down to the river etc, as I have been doing, you are not getting many chances to repair the situation. This worked for me in the past so it has to be worth a try.

The other thing I need to do is get a full version of "PokerTracker" so that I can keep a close watch on what I am doing. I've had a go with the free version and it is certainly very useful.

So, the target is to get to 600 dollars before I move back to .5/1 again, which means Party is out for the time being.

Kudos to the first person to identify the song the headline came from!