"REVIEW OF MY POKER YEAR"

Neteller: Last week $50; Current $250 (-100)
Inter: Last week $60; Current; $125 (+65)
William Hill: Last week $69; Current $69 (-)
Ladbrokes: Last week $95; Current $81 (-14)
Bodog: Last week $53; Current: $53 (-)

Total: Last week $627; Current $578 (-49)

Not a good week or indeed a good month. I'm down $49 on the week which leaves me down $94 on the month. This led me to taking a look at how the year as a whole has gone.

The monthly figures come out as:

January: +$82
Februrary: +56
March: -$17
April: No play
May: +$112
June: -$114
JUly: +$91
August: +$259
September: +$160
October: +210
November: +169
December: -$94

This leaves my total profit for the year as $914.

Looking back, this time last year, I was playing .25/.5 Limit and just thinking about moving to .5/1. I am now regularly two tabling 1/2 limit and have even dabbled in the giddy heights of 2/4. I've also started playing No Limit with some initial success followed by my recently chronicled disasters with high pairs.

I think I am now a competent Limit player and I should find myself able to play 2/4 comfortably in the next few months. My other objective is to improve my No Limit game so that I am profitable at that as well. I have to say that I have enjoyed playing No Limit more than Limit recently and that is where I can see me taking my game. However I will continue to use my Limit game to build up the bankroll using the bonuses at Inter and Hills.

It's a plan. It will be interesting to review things this time next year.

Happy New Year and may all of your "All in's" be successful ones!

"HAMMERED AGAIN"

Neteller: Last week $50; Current $350 (+300)
Inter: Last week $144; Current; $60 (-200)
William Hill: Last week $169; Current $69 (-100)
Ladbrokes: Last week $186; Current $95 (-91)
Bodog: Last week $83; Current: $53 (-30)

Total: Last week $748; Current $627 (-121)

I suppose it had to be coming, but I've had a really unredeemably bad poker week. I wish that I could say that it is all down to a run of poor cards, but really it's been a combination of both that and poor play also.

The downturn seriously set in with a hand where, after plodding along getting nowhere in particular, I found myself with 66. A player in early position raised substantially, I called, and hit the beast - a 6 on the flop. He bet out, I went all in and he called it. He had 2 Queens. He hit a third on the river - a 22/1 shot. That cost me $78.

Poker playing for the week went downhill from there. Basically, on reflection, I have been trying to force things to catch up and have been caught out as a result. Every time (4 times subsequently) I have had big pair, I have allowed myself to be sucked in and hammered by someone who called my big preflop bet and then hit a set (of course I didn't subsequently luck out on the river). It is a bad habit I have hopefully now cured myself from. SIGH.

Meanwhile I still can't make any progress on Bodog. I've reverted to playing Limit there, but a series of bad beats has seen me continue to decline. I think I'm going to have to give up on that site as a notion.

Meanwhile I played a "player points MTT" on Laddies last night and made the last 13, thus winning all of $1.30!! Still it was a good laugh. I finally crashed out when I went all in against a big raiser who turned out to have 2 Jacks. I had 2 Queens. One of his Jacks was a Spade. I didn't have a Spade. We had 3 spades on the flop and another on the river. What can you say?

A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS! - all 3 of you :-)

"BEST WIN"

Neteller: Last week $150; Current $50 (-$100)
Inter: Last week $127; Current; $144 (+17)
William Hill: Last week $129; Current $169 (+40)
Ladbrokes: Last week $151; Current $216 (+65)
Bodog: Last week $83; Current: $83 (-)

Total: Last week $654; Current $5 (+122)

Yesterday saw my best ever session at No Limit, the highlight of which was a hand where I scored my best ever one pot victory: $82.70.

I was two tabling on Laddies, getting nowhere fast on one table but doubled up nicely on the other when I looked down at 89s in the big blind. This is not a hand I would normally get too excited about, but there were four other punters and no raises so I checked it out. The flop came AJ7 rainbow. A player in early, who also had doubled his stack, called "hmfcloyalist", raised for 3xBB and got two limpers. At that price (plus the implied odds) I thought the four outs were worth a punt, so I limped too. The turn produced a 3. The Hearts supporter offered 3xBB again and we all limped after him. The river was a 10! The Hearts man shoves in $6 and I go all in. He bites and his AJ duely gets hammered by my straight.

I don't really understand why anyone would call an all in bet with less than trips, but I'm glad they do!

Meanwhile I continue to have trouble with two kings as a starting hand in No Limit and I note that I am not alone. "Juice" recently posted concerning his travails with the same holding. This time I got them in the big blind, which is in some ways an ideal position. An early position player raised 5xBB and got two callers before it came round to me. I took the logical position and raised all in and one player called. He had A 10 clubs and duely hit 2 clubs with the third one on the river. I know I am favourite pre flop here but I do seem to have lost a disproportionate amount of times racing with KK recently. I'm due a good run with them I know that much.

Anyway - I got my money back more or less right away at the other table I was playing, when I hit a set and managed to get someone all in on the flop.

I'm currently alternating between clearing bonuses at Limit and playing No Limit. In terms of enjoying the game the No Limit has to be the clear winner at the moment. I would never have guessed I would be saying that a year ago.

"NO LIMIT STRATEGY"

Neteller: Last week $150; Current $150 (-)
Inter: Last week $27; Current; $27 (-)
William Hill: Last week $119; Current $129 (+10)
Ladbrokes: Last week $104; Current $151 (+47)
Bodog: Last week $103; Current: $83 (-20)

Total: Last week $495; Current $532 (+37)

Winnings for the month come in at $225, which is a little bit more than last month.

Regular readers may possibly be wondering how someone with a total inability to make a go of No Limit Holdem up until recently, has suddenly developed a winning game, all be it at a very modest level. A great deal of the credit should go to a site I discovered when I was researching how to play No Limit, called "freeholdemstrategy.com".

On this site they advocate a "tight/passive" strategy for No Limit holdem games with a buy in of below $200. Basically, because of the high number of poor players who see too many flops at this level, you can afford to play a very conservative game, seeing about 20% of flops and waiting for a really big hand on the flop that will give you a chance to double up by getting someone all in. It is certainly a very easy strategy to learn and it has been working for me effectively enough.

In fact it has been so effective that I have begun to tweak it a little bit, by trying some limping with AK in early position and other slightly non-standard moves. I've been doing this from time to time to "mix up my game" and not become too predicatable. So long as I bear in mind (as I have been doing) the fundamental principle that if I've anything less than a set after the flop I'm very vulnerable, I shouldn't come to too much harm. I've also tended to be fairly aggressive with top pair/top kicker if I hit it - though still folding if I meet resistance as advised.

The positive thing about this strategy is that it contradicts a lot of the "conventional wisdom" about playing No Limit that you read about in books - i.e. the "tight/aggressive" approach. I think it is often very useful to apply a "contrary" approach to that generally seen; in the same way that it is best to play a rather looser game at a tight table and a tight game at a loose table.

It's working for me anyway.

"SLOW PROGRESS."

Neteller: Last week $624; Current $150 (-$474)
Inter: Last week $228; Current; $27 (-)
William Hill: Last week $119; Current $119 (-)
Ladbrokes: Last week $84; Current $106 (+22)
Bodog: Last week $100; Current: $103 (+3)

Total: Last week $954; Current $495 (+25 on last week's position)

I've taken $474 out of my Neteller account to pay for a night away with a good meal for my wife and I over the Christmas holiday period.

Meanwhile the poker has been pretty nondescript this week. Another couple of hammerings with KK getting sucked out on, saw me drop on Laddies, but I recovered later in the week, with a good Satruday night two table session putting me over $100.

My best hand was A8 hearts, which hit three more hearts on the flop. I slow played it from the Big Blind and found a punter who also had the flush and managed to get him all in. Good fun.

Meanwhile I can't seem to get anywhere much on Bodog, but I suppose I should persist and see if I can make a go of it. The games don't seem particularly tough, but I haven't been able to make much progress so far.

"FIRST $50+ WIN AND FIRST $70 LOSS - SIGH."

Neteller: Current $624
Inter: Last week $228; Current; $27 (-)
William Hill: Last week $119; Current $119 (-)
Ladbrokes: Last week $64; Current $84 (+20)
(Sun: +9)
Bodog: Current: $100 (-)

Total: Last week $925; Current $954 (+29)

I've done a bit of shunting money around, which leaves me with most of my bankroll in Neteller, a closed Sun account (the bonus was too difficult to clear, especially at No Limit) and a new account on Bodog. Meanwhile, before I closed the Sun account, I had my biggest ever win on one hand there - $57.60. It went down as follows...

Game #3968806224: Hold'em NL ($0.15/$0.25) - 2006/11/13 - 17:41:38 (ET)
Table "Selective" Seat 10 is the button.
Seat 1: Kronsdat ($26.30 in chips)
Seat 2: Dave025 ($15.35 in chips)
Seat 3: ellak ($56.60 in chips)
Seat 4: lindy61 ($24.85 in chips)
Seat 5: edske13 ($24.60 in chips)
Seat 6: Acephil ($48.99 in chips)
Seat 7: soden ($5.25 in chips)
Seat 8: Pokerbint ($6.75 in chips)
Seat 9: Redfox82 ($6.10 in chips)
Seat 10: alphaa7 ($22.85 in chips)
Kronsdat: posts small blind $0.15
Dave025: posts big blind $0.25
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Kronsdat [As 9s]
ellak: folds
lindy61: folds
edske13: calls $0.25
Acephil: calls $0.25
soden: folds
Pokerbint: folds
Redfox82: calls $0.25
alphaa7: raises to $0.75
Kronsdat: calls $0.60
Dave025: folds
edske13: folds
Acephil: calls $0.50
Redfox82: calls $0.50
----- FLOP ----- [9h 4c 9d]
Kronsdat: checks
Acephil: checks
Redfox82: checks
alphaa7: bets $2
Kronsdat: calls $2
Acephil: raises to $6
Redfox82: folds
alphaa7: calls $4
Kronsdat: calls $4
----- TURN ----- [9h 4c 9d][Ah]
Kronsdat: checks
Acephil: bets $4.25
alphaa7: folds
Kronsdat: raises to $8.50
Acephil: calls $4.25
----- RIVER ----- [9h 4c 9d Ah][2s]
Kronsdat: bets $11.05 and is all-in
Acephil: calls $11.05
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Kronsdat: shows [As 9s] (A Full House, Nines full of Aces)
Acephil: shows [9c 2c] (A Full House, Nines full of Twos)
Kronsdat collects $57.60 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot $60.60 Main pot $57.60 Rake $3
Board [9h 4c 9d Ah 2s]
Seat 1: Kronsdat (small blind) showed [As 9s] and won ($57.60) with A Full House, Nines full of Aces

Which was fine obviously, but I did take a tonking on Laddies when I ended up all in with two Kings against two Aces. It was a real shame as I was up $18 at the time and my Laddies account was running at $110. SIGH. Still, you have to accept these fluctuations at No Limit and I did take down a couple of decent pots with Aces myself during the week.

At the moment my thinking is that I will play Limit on Hills and Inter at the start of each month to clear their soft bonuses and then concentrate on developing my No Limit game on Laddies and Bodog.

I will also be having a look at developing a strategy for "Sit and Goes", as the player points at Laddies give you free entry to these. However apart from playing a couple of freerolls at Laddies 9 months ago, I have no experience at all of this type of play.

"MORE FUN AT NO LIMIT"

Neteller: Current $400
Inter: Last week $172; Current; $228 (+46)
William Hill: Last week $119; Current $119 (-)
Ladbrokes: Last week $25; Current $64 (+39)
Sun: Last week $75; Current $114 (+39)

Total: Last week $791; Current $925 (+$134)

My good fortune at No Limit continues. I played twice during the week, both times with Juice. Nothing much was happening in the first session, when I got a pair of 9's and raised it only to be reraised. I called it and had the great good fortune to get the wonderful flop of 933! The guy had a pair of Aces and went all in only to get hammered by my made hand. Nice. I could get to like No Limit :-)

I'm still under no illusions however. I know that my skills at this are very limited (no pun intended) indeed and I'm proceeding very cautiously. Come to think of it, that's probably why I'm surviving.

Later in the week I had another session where I just chugged along doing nothing much till I had A10 diamonds which hit KQx diamonds on the flop. (Not bad - the nut flush and the remote chance of a Royal!). I checked it and was paid of handsomely by the biggest stack at the table who raised and then saw me all in.

Meanwhile I'm not doing particularly thrillingly at the game I'm supposed to be able to play. At limit, I've again made a profit on Inter, but only because of the bonus. A vile last session where I dropped nearly $60 was the main cause of the problem. I don't think I was doing anything particularly wrong. It was just one of those sessions where nobody ever called my bets with strong hands and my plays with continuation bets using position just seemed to find guys who had hit and then check raised me. SIGH. Ah well - no long term damage done. Next up the Sun bonus, which will probably take a couple of weeks, as it's a bit harder to clear.

"DOUBLING UP AT NO LIMIT!"

Neteller: Current $400
Inter: Last week $199; Current; $172 (-17)
William Hill: Last week $96; Current $119 (+23)
Ladbrokes: Last week $11; Current $25 (+14)
Sun: Last week $75; Current $75 (-)

Total: Last week $785; Current $805 (+$20)

Hightlight of the week has to be doubling my money at No Limit. My skills at this game are very embryonic but I'm still better than some of the guys on the beginners tables at Laddies - they just play too many hands giving me the odds to play suited connectors and the like. I'll keep visiting it from time to time and see if I can develop a workable game.

Meanwhile the start of a new month means I can tackle the bonuses on the crypto sites again. Sadly I dropped $22 on Hills but the soft $45 bonus for playing 5 hours still left me up on the deal. I've taken another $100 out of Inter and now I'm working off their $100 bonus. My target is to have enough money by Christmas to take my wife and I out for a night away and a good meal over Christmas and still have a reasonable bankroll to carry forward into the New Year.

Now that I seem to be coming to terms with two tabling at 1/2 I suppose the next step, some time in the new year, will be to move up to 2/4. Ambition indeed :-)

Saddest hand of the week has to be the following...

HAND 5------
Game #3871079314: Hold'em FL ($1/$2) - 2006/11/04 - 09:42:34 (ET)
Table "Metz" Seat 5 is the button.
Seat 1: Krassotti ($67.25 in chips)
Seat 2: Shenghui ($32.25 in chips)
Seat 3: noniis ($56.25 in chips)
Seat 4: SLAYER96 ($28.50 in chips)
Seat 5: Eta0106 ($36.90 in chips)
Seat 6: jerry84 ($37.50 in chips)
Seat 7: kingpack ($44 in chips)
Seat 8: kronsdat ($85.75 in chips)
Seat 9: anmaan ($70.50 in chips)
Seat 10: potlimit9 ($17.37 in chips)
jerry84: posts small blind $0.50
kingpack: posts big blind $1
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to kronsdat [Ad Kh]
kronsdat: raises $2
anmaan: folds
potlimit9: folds
Krassotti: folds
Shenghui: folds
noniis: folds
SLAYER96: folds
Eta0106: calls $2
jerry84: folds
kingpack: raises $2
kronsdat: calls $1
Eta0106: calls $1
----- FLOP ----- [4c Kc As]
kingpack: bets $1
kronsdat: calls $1
Eta0106: calls $1
----- TURN ----- [4c Kc As][Ah]
kingpack: bets $2
kronsdat: calls $2
Eta0106: calls $2
----- RIVER ----- [4c Kc As Ah][Kd]
kingpack: bets $2
kronsdat: raises $4
Eta0106: folds
kingpack: raises $4
kronsdat: raises $4
kingpack: calls $2
----- SHOW DOWN -----
kronsdat: shows [Ad Kh] (A Full House, Aces full of Kings)
kingpack: shows [Ac Jc] (A Full House, Aces full of Kings)
kingpack collects $16.50 from Main pot
kronsdat collects $16.50 from Main pot

That damned King on the river meant he equalled my full house. I can't remember having two sets of trips before and certainly not Aces and Kings!

"TWO TABLING."

Neteller: Current $300
Inter: Last week $299; Current; $299 (-)
William Hill: Last week $96; Current $96 (-)
Ladbrokes: Last week $6; Current $11 (+5)
Sun: Last week $23; Current $75 (+52)

Total: Last week $728; Current $785 (+$57)

I have played the week on Sun, two tabling and was making nice progress until the very last session. It turned into one of those total horror shows where everything goes wrong again and again. My blind steals and blind defences were getting challenged and beaten and my good hands were getting sucked out on - the lowlight being AA in the small blind which was raised and I then threebet. The flop came Qs 7h 2d. Bet; call. Turn is 4s. Bet; call. River is 10s. I check; bet; call and he has 8s9s. I couldn't resist checking the odds on that one - they are 77% v 23% in favour of the Aces. When you are running bad, that's what happens.

I ended up down $74 or 37 big bets on the session. I cleared my bonus, which relieved some of the damage, but it wasn't a lot of fun.

Still, Pete Birks ("Everything has a limit" blog) has been going through the same sort of thing day after day for over a week now, and he's been hit by a bus and is getting flu! So, I guess I shouldn't complain when I've actually turned a profit on the week!

However the downturn at the end has meant that I have failed to beat my $287 target for the month - actual winnings this month being $210. So it goes.

After taking the hammering on Sun I played a bit of No Limit on Laddies with "miasdad", one of Juice's mates. I finished up $5, so I'm somehow still alive there. Mind you it was mainly thanks to my AJ diamonds hitting 3 diamonds on the flop. Even someone with my No Limit skills couldn't mess up that one! :-) I do know enough to know that I still don't really know what I'm doing at No Limit though.

"A QUIET WEEK"

Neteller: Current $300
Inter: Last week $499; Current; $299 (-)
William Hill: Last week $196; Current $96 (-)
Ladbrokes: Last week $10; Current $6 (-4)
Sun: Last week $23; Current $32 (+9)

Total: Last week $728; Current $728 (+$5)

Having cleared my bonuses at Hills and Inter I've been playing on Sun this week towards the bonus there. Pressure of work and other real life interference has meant that I haven't actually played much, so the lack of progress was to be expected.

Still I haven't much to go on losing the Laddies $10 at No Limit :-)

In the meantime I've moved some money into Neteller ready for the November bonuses. In November I think I am going to play less frequently but concentrate on two tabling when I do. That should be an interesting experiment. I have already experimented a bit at two tabling, using the Laddies account, and I think I can manage it.

"A VERY GOOD WEEK"

Neteller: Current $0
Inter: Last week $429; Current; $499 (+$70)
William Hill: Last week $98; Current $196 (+98)
Ladbrokes: Last week $10; Current $10
Sun: Current $23 (+23)

Total: Last week $537; Current $728 (+$191)

A complete turnaround in fortunes this week. Everything has been proceeding very calmly and pleasantly and I've ticked along on all fronts all week. I haven't had any particularly wonderful hands (I can't remember winning a pot of over $20) but I've been winning steadily every session. I've cleared my bonuses on Inter and William Hill so I've opened an account at another "cryptologic" site, Sun Poker and started to work on their bonuses.

I had a little bit of a retrospective and found that, since I started playing on the Cryptologic sites I've won $287 in August and (amazingly enough) $287 in September! Unless I meet with a stunning reversal of fortunes I should be able to top that this month.

I should be able to lose the random $10 given to me by Laddies - I've been playing No Limit with it and I've seen no evidence that my ability at that game has improved.

It is also interesting to look back at my entries in the blog nearly a year ago. Then, I was bemoaning the fact that I was having a hard time on Laddies and putting it down to playing "too tight" for the game. I broadened the range of hands I would have a punt with up to nearly 40% and saw my ability to win improve. It just shows how much you have to vary your style according to the tightness of the tables you are playing. If I played 40% of flops at $1/$2 on Crypto sites I would get slaughtered. My current game is very much about waiting for good hands and selective blind steals. I've been making a lot more use of "table image" too. If you have taken down some pots with good hands it makes blind stealing so much easier.

One hand I was happy to observe but not be playing in occurred yesterday. Four players saw a raised flop of A84 rainbow. The betting capped out leaving two players. Same on the turn which was a 7. The river is a second 7 and the betting reaches $14 each before one player calls ($54 in the pot). One player had AA and the other unfortunate had 88! On Crypto you seem to be able to bet on as much as you like after the river - I haven't seen that on any other site.

Good luck.

"DOWNTURN TIME"

Neteller: Current $0
Inter: Last week $485; Current; $429 (-$56)
William Hill: Last week $89; Current $98 (+$9)
Ladbrokes: Last week $10; Current $10
Total: Last week $575; Current $537 (-$37)

It's not been a great couple of weeks for my poker. I haven't actually played that much and what I have played hasn't gone well. It's the usual story of a downswing - a combination of bad beats (my "favourite" was AA beaten by Q4s which hit two 4's on the flop) and poor play due to the resulting irritation. I have caught myself on, going "tilty" on a couple of occasions. In my case I start playing hands I know I shouldn't (and of course the reason for not playing them duely transpires) and/or being ultra aggressive with hands like AK off even after they don't hit the flop. Having found myself doing this I have been very careful to play short sessions subsequently unless things are going well (which they havent' been!). I will just have to see it out.

In the meantime I have been subbed $10 to play on Laddies again. The only problem is that there aren't any games there that I want to play. J has suggested I seek him out and have a no limit sit and go game with him, which seems the best way of using the freebie. Nothing lost that's for sure.

It will be very interesting to see the effects of the new American anti-internet gaming legislation on the Poker world. Party and Pacific seem to be the most vulnerable companies with their large US client base. There has been no particularly noticable effect so far on the sites I'm currently playing on but that could certainly change.

"BANKROLL MANAGMENT"

Neteller: Current $0
Inter: Last week $414; Current; $485 (+$71)
William Hill: Last week $0; Current $89 (+$89)
Total: Last week $405 (-$185 of my original stake); Current $575 (+$160)

I decided to indulge in a bit of bankroll management.

The bonus on the Inter account has been cleared for the month, leaving me at a very nice $485. At this rate I should make the $1000 target by Christmas I would have thought - barring a terrible attack of the dreaded variance. That is certainly my current target.

Since William Hill have an attractive $70 bonus for playing five hours there in September, I decided to tackle that for the rest of the month, using some money from Inter. I have now put this back into Neteller ready to attack the October bonus on Inter. All did not go smoothly however and I had a bit of bother getting the William Hill account running. This is the first time I've ever had that - normally Poker sites are very good at taking money off you (if nothing else).

I've also taken my "start up" money out, so I am now playing almost completely with money I have won since I started playing again - a nice feeling.

Things have gone quite well on William Hill. Since it is in the same network as Inter, I am essentially playing the same people.

I did have some trouble from a maniac one evening. He wasn't hard to spot - the usual form - raising every other pair of cards and continuation bets thereafter. I took the normal approach of waiting for the right hand and thought I had it when I called his raise from the big blind with a pair of eights to go heads up with him. The flop came 2 8 10 and I thought "gotcha". I duely check raised him on the turn, which was a nothing card. On the river, which was a Q, I did it again only to be "threebet". I saw it and he had J9 off for a straight. SIGH. He wasn't just doing this to me however, he was hitting all sorts of unlikely things against everyone else too and the table was distinctly going on tilt. At least I didn't lose anything else to him. Sometimes folk just get lucky.

"QUIET TIMES AGAIN"

Neteller: Current $144
Party: Start $50; Last week;$38 ;Current $32 (-6)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $386; Current; $414 (+$28)
Total: Start $185; Last week $568 ; Current $590 (+$22)

I didn't play a lot in the last week and what I did play was fairly uneventful.

The exception was going into a game with two queens and flopping two more!! Of course I had to slow play it, as I couldn't expect a lot of action. Fortunately someone had paired the other card on the flop, which at least gave me a bit of action which I was able to nurse along until check raising on the river. I've had quads (including A's) at least 5 times since I started playing about 18 months ago, but I've never had a straight flush. I've been close (4 cards and one to come) on a couple of occasions but never been there. Thinking about it, I reckon I have seen other players hit one on probably about three occasions.

Meanwhile I have just about cleared my September bonus on Inter.

Once I have achieved that, I will find another site to work off a bonus on (probably Royal Vegas where I have an account that I have never actually activated). Then I will return to Inter in October for the next month's bonus.

The bonus offer is certainly working for Inter in terms of attracting action on the tables. As I write this there are 10 full ring game tables going at 1/2 - about 150% more than you would have seen before the new offer.

One thing I have been experimenting with is changing my play from raising and reraising on "autopilot" when I have AA or AKs. On tight tables I have been limping with them, particularly in late position to try to improve my earnings. It seems to be working ok, but sadly I don't have the actual stats as "office" isn't supported on Inter. I'll try to note what happens over the coming weeks and see if there are any conclusions I can draw.

"CHANGED TIMES AT INTER"

Neteller: Current $197
Party: Start $50; Last week;$56 ;Current $38 (-18)
Inter: Start $50; Last week $337; Current; $386 (+$49)
Total: Start $185; Last week $537 ; Current $568 (+$31)

The new bonus system on Inter has certainly had a magical effect on the number of $1/$2 full ring game tables available. You can only now earn a bonus on $1/$2 tables and above, though at up to $100 per month for 500 raked hands played it is certainly generous and achievable. Where previosly you were sometimes lucky to find a full ring game table you can now find at least 5 at any given time. Most games are pretty weak/tight since there are obviously lots of folk trying to work off their bonus now.

I haven't actually played that much since I have been away on holiday, back at work or engaged in such manly activities as taking down trees and turning them into logs and wood chippings. Still it will be autumn soon and an end to such things.

Here is my best hand from what I have played.

To my mind there is nothing better, if you are going to get AA, than getting them in the big blind. There is every chance that some will raise you on a blind steal, if nothing else, which at least gives you something to work with. It is disappointing to get them late, raise and then have everyone fold. In this hand I was a bit worried about trips when JV86 kept raising me, but it transpired he merely had top pair, good kicker.

Game #3339516754: Hold'em FL ($1/$2) - 2006/09/04 - 13:57:52 (ET)
Table "NiceFrance" Seat 8 is the button.
Seat 1: kronsdat ($100.15 in chips)
Seat 2: julepikk ($62.50 in chips)
Seat 3: Inv19 ($59.88 in chips)
Seat 4: Thor_kgb ($97.75 in chips)
Seat 5: MickH1 ($109.87 in chips)
Seat 6: rawallace ($32 in chips)
Seat 7: JV86 ($31.25 in chips)
Seat 8: stillslim ($19.25 in chips)
Seat 9: Real_fab sits out
Seat 10: bundys ($100 in chips)
bundys: posts small blind $0.50
kronsdat: posts big blind $1
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to kronsdat [Ah As]
julepikk: folds
Inv19: folds
Thor_kgb: folds
MickH1: raises $2
rawallace: folds
JV86: raises $3
stillslim: folds
bundys: folds
kronsdat: raises $3
MickH1: calls $2
JV86: calls $1
----- FLOP ----- [7d 6c Js]
kronsdat: bets $1
MickH1: calls $1
JV86: raises $2
kronsdat: calls $1
MickH1: calls $1
----- TURN ----- [7d 6c Js][9d]
kronsdat: bets $2
MickH1: calls $2
JV86: raises $4
kronsdat: calls $2
MickH1: calls $2
----- RIVER ----- [7d 6c Js 9d][7c]
kronsdat: checks
MickH1: checks
JV86: bets $2
kronsdat: calls $2
MickH1: calls $2
----- SHOW DOWN -----
JV86: shows [Jc Kh] (Two Pairs, Jacks and Sevens, King high)
kronsdat: shows [Ah As] (Two Pairs, Aces and Sevens, Jack high)
MickH1: mucks hand [Ks Ad]
kronsdat collects $34.75 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot $36.50 Main pot $34.75 Rake $1.75

"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.