It is not supposed this easy, is it?

Earlier this weekend, I decided to build the bankrolls at all four sites that I play to workable levels or a little higher than that. At Party Poker, I wanted to build up to the point where I cashed out profits again (i.e., not just the bonus money). My bankroll this morning was just below $1000 and my long term plan was to cash out $200 if I ever hit $1200.

This afternoon, I logged onto to Party to play a little $2/$4 limit holdem. I caught some incredible cards and I won $72 in just 43 hands. Simply amazing! After that, I simply quit. I figured... why bother? I am now going to work at UB and Poker Stars... and maybe Full Tilt if my connection is good enough. I've made enough at Party Poker for today.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

I woke Sunday morning and I decided to play at UB and at Poker Stars. My stack at UB is very low (~$40) after pissing away half of my already short stack yesterday. I bought into several sit-n-go's, but I didn't have the patience to play well. I busted early in each one by pushing weak hands. I did manage to get my stack up to $250 at Poker Stars yesterday, and I am quite happy with that.

This morning's session has gone well, especially at Poker Stars (I'm about even at UB). I won several nice pots. As of right now (I'm still playing), my stack is an all-time high of $276. I would like to build my stack there to arond $400 so that I can comfortably play $1/$2 as well as some of the higher stakes sit-n-goes ($10 and higher) and maybe even a bigger tourney (multiple table). One thing that I've definitely realized is... if I have the patience, I can dominate the lower stakes sit-n-goes at Poker Stars (and UB for that matter).

Today is going to be spent doing stuff around the house and shopping for baby stuff. That'll be expensive. Kelly wants to go to work for about an hour, and I'll use that time to play some cards. I'll probably play some more tonight, but we'll see. My focus is a little off right now; I've been winning, so I don't have the focus that I would if I had been losing.

By the way, I just finished by Poker Stars session. I won a few more pots, and my stack is now $287. Wow!

War of the Worlds plus a Good Night at Poker Stars

Kelly and I went to see "War of the Worlds" tonight. I really must conclude that I don't like Tom Cruise. I also did not like this movie. I wouldn't even rank it as "rentable" material. I don't regret seeing it, however. I really didn't want to watch any of my other choices.

When we got home, I fired up the laptop and I played at Poker Stars. I have been losing steadily there for the last several days and I have been trying to figure out why. First, I think the skill level at $0.50/$1.00 limit hold'em is pretty good. It's certainly better than anywhere else that I've played. Second, I've just played poorly.

Anyway, I decided to play two tables of $0.50/$1.00 plus a tournament. For whatever reason, the idea of a one-table sit-n-go did not thrill me, so I bought into a 3-table sit-n-go ($5+0.50). In the second orbit, I was dealt AKs and the LAG to my left raised and another guy re-raised all-in... so I folded. One of them had AA, so it was a good fold. The very next hand, I was dealt KK. I made a big re-raise, but the orginal better called with T9s. I pushed all-in with I got a flop of 7 8 J. Oops. So, I placed 27th out of 27.

I immediately bought into a 2-table sit-n-go ($10+1). The people at this table were very grumpy and yelling at each other almost continuously. Anyway, I played very tight for a long time, in part because the guy to my immediate right was VERY aggressive and he was pushing hard with virtually any pocket pair. He was seriously catching cards early and had a HUGE chip lead. My game plan was to patiently wait for good hands until the blinds got big enough to be meaningful. Eventually, the overly-aggressive player to my right busted out fifth when he pushed hard with two consecutive hands and lost. That put me in the money. After that, I picked my spots to steal blinds and pressure the smaller stacks.

When it came down to 3-handed, I had about the same stack as one guy but the leader had 3 times as much as either of us. I eventually got about twice his chip stack when the final hand happened. The small stack pushed all-in from the button. I woke up with two tens in the small blind, so I pushed all-in. The big blind (chip leader) made a big mistake (in my opinion) and called with KQo. The small stack flipped over QT and he was drawing pretty thin. Unfortunately for me, a king spiked on the turn and it was over. I took down second place though, which was good for $54 (minus the $16.50 that I spent in entry fees, this was still a nice win).

While playing these tourneys, I grinded away happily at limit hold em. I played maybe 150 hands and I won $10 or so. Not great, but better than 3 big bets per 100 hands.

So after all of that, I decided to play a 4-way heads up tournament. That was a big mistake. I think that I am a good heads up player, but the structure was way too slow for what little patience I had left. I essentially donated my entry fee.

Perhaps because I was brain dead, or simply I was feeling confident about my game, I then decided to buy into a 6-max $1/$2 limit hold em game. I won a nice pot in my hand when I flopped top pair and I got called to the river by ace high. It was a great table that had four very weak players at it. I also caught some cards and eventually won $25 or so. For the night, I won $70 or so, which is fantastic considering the stakes that I was playing and the $5.25 donation that I made to that heads up tournament. My Poker Stars bankroll is now just above $215 and I am about half-way to my $120 bonus.

I'm profitable at Full Tilt (for now)

I had another good session at Full Tilt just now and my stack there is $309.50. Considering that I bought in for $260, I am now profitable. Of course, I have raked in $60 worth of bonus, so I am technically down $10.50, but it's close enough for giggles. I can't believe my stack was less than $90 at one point. I need to keep grinding at the low limit tables for awhile, build my stack some more, and then cash out my original $260. Hopefully, I can get ahead of the bonus and cash that out eventually too.

Am I crazy to want to be profitable at every site that I play (excluding bonuses)? Why do I have four bankrolls instead of one? Oh well.

My short term goal is to build my stack to a reasonable amount at all four sites. I need to keep working at Full Tilt (net: ~$50), UB (~$70), and Stars (~$150).

We'll see how it goes. I am going to play some at Stars now, try to build some capital and collect some FPPs.

Well, two out of three isn't bad

I'll start with the bad news first. I had a bad day at Poker Stars. My stack is now $158, which is down from the recent max of $215. I had alot of bad luck playing 7stud and some even worse luck playing hold em. I did collect a bunch of FPPs in the process. I played two $5 sit-n-go's; I won the first and bubbled the second. In the second one, I never caught any cards and grinded my way to fourth place. I made a bad call against the other short stack. The hand that knocked me out involved another bad call. I called with middle pair against top pair. Even worse, our kickers were the same, so I was almost drawing dead.

Now, the good news. I had another fantastic day at Full Tilt Poker. I was 3-tabling limit hold em and I did really really well. I even cleared another $20 of bonus there. My stack is now $244.50, so I am almost back to even (if you don't count the $60 of bonus money, that is). Hopefully, I'll continue to build my stack and even show a profit there.

I did not play alot at Party Poker during the day, but I decided to play some $3/$6 6-max limit hold em. I played maybe 3 orbits and I won $45 (or so). I had some good hands and bet them heavily against some call stations.

Mixed results

I did not do well yesterday at Party Poker, although I recovered a bit last night when I went all-in and won a big pot. I had KK in the SB. Everyone folded to the button, who raised 4X; I then re-raised, and then the BB re-re-raised. The button called and I pushed all-in. The BB called and flipped over A8o.

I got absolutely killed last night playing 7stud at Poker Stars. I actually had my stack all of the way up to $215 at one point. But, last night, every draw hit for my opponents and none of my draws hit. Every time I'd catch a big hand, I'd win a small pot. It was awful.

The good news is that I went on a major rush yesterday afternoon at Full Tilt and won about $80. My stack was down to about $80 and I just started catching cards. I also noticed that several of my opponents were just awful. My plan is to keep playing $0.50/$1.00 limit hold'em until I get back to even on the site.

Wedding Crashers

Kelly and I went to see the Wedding Crashers last night. It was quite good. It was lude and funny and well-written. I highly recommend it to anyone who is not easily offended.

My poker game is in sad sad shape. I lost $40 yesterday at Party Poker, mostly playing $50 NL. I am thinking about playing 6-max $1/$2 limit again... my limit game seems to be in good shape. I played a little today (after going all-in and losing... again) and I won $20 in a few orbits. I had one "classic" Party Poker hand where I raised from UTG+1 with KK and I got four callers. The flop came down K 7 5 with two hearts. Because virtually everyone at Party plays any two sooted cards, I figured that I was against at least one flush draw so I played it aggressively, getting only one caller. The turn was another 5, filling me up. Curiously, I got check-raised here. I took my time and eventually called. I figured that a re-raise here might cost me a bet on the river. The river was a perfect three. Why did I say "perfect"? Because the donkey in the hand 4-bet the river and then proudly turned over 35o. Yep, he called a raise preflop with 35o. Then, he called a bet on the flop with bottom pair. He then caught runner runner still got beat. Gotta love Party Poker!

The sad sad news from yesterday is that I got absolutely killed at Full Tilt Poker. My stack there is now around $90. That pretty means that I'm playing $0.5/1.00 limit, either hold'em or 7stud. It's time to grind, for sure.

The good news is that I played really well yesterday at Poker Stars, playing $1/$2 7Stud. I was playing the game mostly to pick up some FPP's (hoping to clear the bonus), but I played really well and won a pick pot when I caught trip 7's. My stack there is now $215, which is the highest its been in a long time. I think I'll keep playing 7stud. My game is good and about 25% of the hands qualify for an FPP.

Happy Anniversary!

I married Kelly two years ago today! I tell alot of people that marriage can be very difficult, simply because two people have to find a way to fit their lives together. Inevitably, an issue will arise where one person wants the opposite of the other and it is really important to both them to get their way. This is marriage... trying to figure out how to solve these problems. Kelly and I have had our disagreements (and some of the kind described above), but I am still amazed at how EASY the last two years have been. I am sure that the next 20 years will be more difficult, now that we're procreating, but I am confident that we'll get through it together. She's simply amazing and I am so lucky to have found her.

Ok, enough sappy sappy!

My poker game is just awful! I'm getting killed at Full Tilt Poker! My stack was less than $115 at one point today, although I have increased that stack since then. The secret, I believe, is that I need to stick to limit poker there. For whatever reason, I cannot navigate their no limit tables. I think part of my problem is that the play there is very uneven. This means that I need to pay attention and figure out who is skilled and who is a donkey. I definitely think that the tables are beatable, but I need to focus and get reads on everyone to that. And I don't have that level of concentration right now. The play at the limit tables, in contrast, is poor and I think that I can grind my way back to profitability as long as I stay focused and don't go on tilt.

My play yesterday at Party Poker was crazy. I was bouncing up-and-down all day, although I finished with a net profit of $40. This, unfortunately, came after losing $100 on Sunday. I need to calm myself down, be patient, and pick my spots better. I need to stop calling raises with drawing hands. I've also been a bit unlucky... for example, I called a raise with AJs (dumb, I know) and the flop came down A Q J. Now, perhaps I should be able to get away from this hand, but I could not. Ergo, I dumped an entire buy-in to my opponent who held QQ. What's a boy to do? (I know... I know... I should fold AJs preflop!)

Where did my talent go?

Apparently, the good run that I have been enjoying playing is over. I lost $100 yesterday at Party Poker and I have been doing just as bad today at Full Tilt Poker.

I think my biggest problem has been my lack of patience. Because of that, I hope that I can quickly regain my patience!

I'll write more later.

Why did I join FTP?

I basically got killed yesterday at Full Tilt Poker. Part of it was bad play and part of it was the fact that the no limit players are pretty good there. I have noticed a big problem is that the game plays slower at FTP than at Party. This affects my patience, so I start pushing with mediocre hands and it gets me KILLED. I am playing better this morning and I've won $30 playing no limit. Unfortunately, I lost $50 playing $1/$2 limit too. I literally had three hands of set-over-set this morning and lost all three. Poker is being cruel to me this morning.

My hope is that I can claw my way back to even at FTP and cash out. It's actually a nice site but I prefer the fish at Party Poker.

I'm going camping with the in-laws this weekend. Hopefully, I catch some fish, but I'm camped out, fished out, and traveled out. I honestly just want to sleep in and play cards all weekend.

Full Tilt, UltimateBet, and Harry Potter

I played very little Party Poker yesterday, perhaps winning $3-4 . For some silly reason, I decided to deposit $260 into Full Tilt Poker to take advantages of their 100% sign-up bonus. I am not sure if that was a very good idea. The bonus clears very slowly... so I am in wait-and-see mode here. I played quite at bit at FTP... I initially was up $20 but then I played a bad hand and lost most of it. Next, I suffered a bunch of suck-outs that had me down $20. In the end, I grinded my way back to about even.

When I got home, I started playing at Poker Stars. This was a rather uninteresting night where I finished about even. I also decided to play at UltimateBet where I played a low stakes no limit room and a $5+0.50 sit-and-go. I won about $7 at the no limit table and then I won the sit-and-go. I don't know for sure, but I think I've won 4 out of the last 5 sit-and-go's that I've played. The structure at UB is pretty good, so I think that I'll try and play more of them.

Finally, I finished the sixth Harry Potter book last night. I was very very impressed. The ending kind of reminds me of a comment by George Lucas regarding "The Empire Strikes Back" where he mentions that he put his characters in the worst possible situation at the end. This sets up the last installment in the series, where the characters have to solve all of these problems.

A good night of no limit

I had a bunch of yard work to do last night, but I finished it all by 8pm so I had a couple of hours to play cards. I started the night with $975 in my Party Poker account, and I set my usually goal of winning $25. Obviously, this would push my account to $1000 for the first time in a long long time. I am quite excited about this... primarily because I can go back to my old system of winning $200 and cashing that out (i.e., back to $1000) and then starting over again. I have not cashed out any winnings (just bonuses) in a long long time either.

It took me all of three hands to win my $25. I folded my first two hands and then I was dealt AA on the button. Not bad, premium hand and position. The guy UTG made a mini-raise (to $1), UTG+1 called, and the next guy folded. So, I was looking at a multi-way hand here, including a raise. My new policy is to push hard with AA and KK, and this seemed like a perfect spot. So, I raised to $5, the small blind called, the big blind folded, UTG pushed all in, and UTG+1 folded. Wow. This is fantastic. I have at worst a 3-way pot with AA. I called and the small blind folded. I took down the pot when UTG showed KK. That was a tought spot for him, but oh well.

After that, I left Party Poker and spent the rest of the night playing 6-max $0.10/$0.25 no limit at Poker Stars. I played poorly at first. I think I was getting impatient, caused by the fact that Poker Stars plays a little bit slower than Party Poker. After I realized that, I played much much better and I was slowly grinding my way up. I won a big hand late in the night when I pushed all in preflop with QQ against two people (ATs and 99) and won. I played the hand poorly but won, so I am not going to complain too much.

Overall, it was a great night. My Party Poker bankroll is over $1000 and my Poker Stars is pushing $170.

Harry Potter

I played very very little last night; instead, I read the new Harry Potter book. I had actually planned on playing at 9pm, but Kelly usurped the computer and then the phone... so I didn't start playing until after 10pm. By then, I was tired but I played anyway. I managed to lose $20 of my ever-dwindling Poker Stars bankroll. I was simply awful. My last hand I called an all-in with a pair of aces (jack kicker).... stupid stupid stupid (he flopped a set).

So far today, I have played a little during my lunch break and I've won maybe $5 (Party).

Report from Canada

I left Wednesday night for Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario. We entered the park on Thursday morning and left Wednesday around noon. We had a great time and I caught the largest fish of my life -- a northern pike that measured 42-43 inches long. I didn't get a really good measurement on her because I didn't want to take her out of the water. I'll try and post her picture once I bring my digital camera to work.

Since I was nowhere near an outlet, I obviously did not play any poker. I have played a little today, with amazing success at Party Poker but with very little at Poker Stars. I'll write more when I have something more interesting to write about. Ciao.

This just in...

I arrived at work not ready to work. So, I thought I'd play a little $100 NL (buying in for $50). My first hand, I am dealt KK in the big blind. One person limps until the button, who raises to 5x the big blind. I raise him 4x his raise ($20) and he calls. The flop comes down Q-high and I go all-in (my stack is less than the size of the pot); he calls. He flips over AQo. The turn and river bring him no help and I double up in the first hand. After another 10 hands or so, I am dealt KK again under-the-gun. I raise it to 4x the big blind and I get two callers. The flop is a scary one J 9 8 (rainbow), so I overbet the pot. I get one caller. The turn is a 2. I figure that I have the best hand here. I can't believe someone would call a raise with QT here (I was wrong, obviously). He says something like "Oh well, I have alot of outs" and he calls. The river is another 2; he flips over JTo. So, I had a quick session of 17 hands in which I won almost $150. Simply amazing! My stack at Party Poker is more than $900. I just hope I don't piss it away. Needless to say, I am no longer in the mood to play poker... so I guess I'll get back to work.

A night of "blah"

I started the night playing $0.50/$1.00 7stud at Stars while playing a short-handed limit HE game at UltimateBet. I managed to lose almost my entire buy-in at UltimateBet, which is not good. That stack is somewhere around $30 and if I am not careful, I will bust out there. That's not all that big of a deal, but I'd still like to keep an active account there -- I like the site. Perhaps I should play better there, huh?

I played some pretty good 7stud, with the exception of a few bad hands, and I won $20 or so. My stack at Stars is now pushing $175. If I continue this, then I'll soon have enough bankroll to play $1/$2 stakes, and then the FPP's will just come rolling in.

After that, I played some NLHE at Party Poker. I played reasonably well and had pushed my stack close to $800, but then I caught a bad beat here, made a bad bluff there, and lost a buy-in. I finished the night around $760. Blah.

The exciting news is that I am heading to Quetico again on Wednesday afternoon. It comes at a bad time for poker, because I am on a roll right now. Even so, good poker can't beat Quetico and I am excited to go. Right now, the weather looks good for the weekend, so that'll be a double bonus.

An experiment at $100 NL

After having a really good night last night, I quickly pissed away most of my earnings at lunch today. I made a stupid bluff and a bad call and I lost two buy-ins.

Curiously, I decided that playing for higher stakes would be a better idea than simply going back to grinding. So, I bought in for $50 into a $100 NL room. I immediately noticed a huge difference in the overall aggressiveness of the game. I really didn't mind this, much, since my game plan was to pick my spots and take advantage of the other players' mistakes.

I wanted to play very cautious to figure out who I could take advantage of. In my third hand, I was dealt 66 but folded to a preflop raise. Sadly the flop came down 6 6 X. Even worse, the other two players started betting like crazy. I would have at least doubled up on that hand. After that, I quickly identified one poor player at the table.

I eventually doubled up with a weakish hand against the fish. I quickly left the table, having recovered by losses for the day.

I then bought into a $50 NL room, where I quickly doubled up when I flopped the nut-flush draw against a guy with a lesser flush draw. I caught a pair of aces on the turn and then called when he went all-in on the river after I checked it to him. It just felt like a bluff based on the way he played the hand.

Sadly, I have just lost $20 at UltimateBet. Every bluff I make gets called and every good hand I have gets cracked. For example, QQ vs. J5 and the flop comes J 5 5. Crap!

I was just trying to win $7

One trick that I like to use when playing poker is to set short term goals. The goal usually depends on the game that I am playing. If I am playing limit, for example, then I'll usually set a goal to play 200 hands or something like that. If I am playing no limit, then I'll set a goal to earn an amount of money equal to my buy-in. Lately I have been buying in to $50 NL rooms with $25. So, my interim goal is to win another $25. Make sense? If not, just keep reading...

I had been playing no limit for awhile and I had my stack up to $693, only $7 from my goal of reaching $700. I was on the big blind (why do so many of my big hands involve me being in the big blind?) and I was dealt KK. There were two limpers plus the small blind in the hand, so I decided to overbet the pot by raising it to $4. This is a move that I've been using lately -- that is, overbetting my really strong hands... it looks like a steal and I usually get some action. I got one caller. The flop was K64 (two spades). Keeping with my theme of appearing to be "stealing", I pushed all-in. I flopped the nuts, but I was vulnerable to straights and flushes. Somewhat surprisingly, my opponent called. I filled up on the river, so I had no worries... but it turned out that my opponent had 66. I was quite excited... this hand put me well over $700.

I kept playing, however. I don't like to leave immediately after busting a guy. It's just bad manners. About two orbits later, I get dealt KK under-the-gun. I had decided prior to this hand that I wanted to quit. I was hoping to avoid a showdown so that I could quit. So, again, I overbet the pot and raised it to $4. The same guy that I busted before was the only caller. The flop was a Q 7 2 (rainbow), so I made a pot-sized bet, which he called. Hmmm. At this point, I figure that I might be beat, so I was thinking that I should try to just get out of this hand with more than $700 (remember, I was just trying to win $7). The turn was a beautiful king. So, I pushed all-in and my opponent flipped over 22. That's right, I caught set over set twice against the same person in 15 hands!

I played two or three more orbits after that, mostly trying not to lose. I won a decent sized pot with AK when I caught a King on the turn. After trying to win $7 to reach $700, I finished the session with a stack at $748. Wow!

A day where nothing went wrong

You ever have one of those days in poker where nothing goes wrong? Sure, they're outnumbered at least ten to one by those days where nothing ever goes right, but they do happen. Yesterday was one of those days for me.

I played a little NLHE at Party Poker and I built my stack to ~$650. I think I described this already, so I won't bother.

I spent the rest of the day playing at Poker Stars with just a little UltimateBet thrown in for fun. I played either $0.05/$0.10 NLHE at Stars or $0.50/$1.00 7stud. I played my usual NLHE game and I am sure that the day was profitable there. I did lose a buy-in late last night when I was tired and not in the mood to be bluffed. I made tremendous progress playing 7stud... it was amazing. I was winning most of my pots and I had built my stack at Stars to about $130 by dinner time. After watching a movie (Hitch... it's funny in a one-liner kind of way) and played some more. I was grinding again (and tired... I did alot of yard work yesterday in the heat... yes, it actually gets hot in Minnesota... humid and mid-90's for temps). I was then dealt (AA) A! Most interestingly, the bring-in was to my left so I acted last, and 6 people limped in before it came to me. I raised and 5 people called. Someone paired their door card (actually giving him trip 8's), and I raised the max and 3 people called. This was building to be a huge pot. On 5th street, I bet out again and got raised by the other guy, who was re-raised by the trip 8's guy, and I capped it. On 6th street, Trip 8's bet, I called, the other donkey raised and we all called. On seventh street, it was checked to the donkey and we both called. I took down a 29 BB pot with my trip aces. I am glad that trip 8's didn't improve. The donkey in the hand was way way way overbetting two pair (jacks up! WTF?). How do you bet two pair against a guy representing an ace (I should have at least two pair, right?) and a guy who has paired his door card (representing trip 8's? They invented the word "donkey" with this guy in mind.

The other interesting story... was at UltimateBet. For some reason, I wanted to play short-handed limit HE yesterday and I did want to play at Party (my primary site) because I didn't want to muck up my winning streak there. I also didn't want to play at Stars, because I have a history of getting killed there at 6-max limit HE. So, I played at UltimateBet where my bankroll was short for $0.50/$1.00 limit, but what the hell, right? My table was FULL of donkeys and I was able to win $23 in less than 15 hands! I can vaguely remember three hands. One I was dealt KK and an ace never came and I had three callers to the river (big pot). I won a smallish pot with JJ when aces came on the flop and river, but no one had an ace. I won a big pot with AQ against two donkeys who called to the river with A (weaker kicker). That was it. I played for 5 minutes and doubled my buy-in. Amazing!

A "live" game

Kelly and I looked at a day care yesterday, then I played some at Party Poker until it was time to go home. I lost $50 doing stupid things but then won it all back when I tripled up in a hand where I had KK vs. top pair vs. a flush draw.

The big deal yesterday, however, was the poker game over at my department head's house. Walking into this room is kind of like Mike walking into the judge's game in Rounders, although I am apparently not that good of a player because I managed to lose. The play in this game is just awful, and the worst part is that I played at their level for a good part of the night (hence, I lost $13). Part of the problem is that I was cold-decked for the first hour or two. I had one decent hand that I failed to bet because I was pissed off and I wanted to check-raise. Sadly, no one bet and I took down a small pot.

After that, I got really really pissed off and I started doing wacky shit like playing hands blind and raising regardless of what I had. Needless to say, it didn't work. At one point we took a break, which helped me because I took the opportunity to rededicate myself to playing well. I was stuck $26 at this point, which is not much but I had only brought $35. So, I tightened up considerably and I waited until I had strong hands, which I bet VERY aggressively. As a result, I grinded my way back to even, but I didn't win another hand after that. It was about 20% antes and then a hand where my set of 2's were beat by a set of 4's.

Perhaps the most interesting thing of the night is that I introduced the gang to Omaha, which they learned really quickly and liked alot. Most of them like the idea of getting "good cards" so Omaha is a great game for that since virtually every hand is a flush, straight, etc. I originally picked the game because I thought I'd have the biggest advantage, but one guy raised every pot preflop (blind) and it cut back my advantage. I probably should have played hold 'em where a tight-aggressive style is better (I think, in Omaha, that a loose-passive preflop style is a good idea).

I am currently finishing up a quick session at Party and Stars. I won like $5 at Party after being down $10-15 for a long time. I was dealt AA and flopped a set... and a donkey called my smallish bets with middle pair... until I went all-in. My stack at Party is at a recent high -- just under $650. I played some NLHE and 7stud at Stars too... and won $17! Shit, I didn't realize it was that high. I guess I won ~$6 playing NLHE and ~$11 at 7stud. I played the stud great, waiting until I had a good hand in good position before I attacked. I have not been playing great 7stud lately, I'd like to improve that. My stack at Stars is now $117! Awesome!

Some random thoughts

I am starting to come to the realization that alot of online players are really really bad -- especially at no limit. Well, duh.

Most online players (and real life players too) have an incredible tell... if you act strong, you're weak... and if you act weak, then you are strong.

It can be extremely profitable to do the opposite. For example, I just tripled up with KK. I was UTG+1 and the UTG limped. I raised to 6x the big blind (overbetting... showing "weakness") and I got THREE callers (yep, count 'em... 3!). The flop came down Jh Th 6c. The SB bet out $5, UTG called, and I pushed all-in. Both the SB and UTG called. WTF? The SB had top pair and UTG had the nut flush draw. Neither improved and I took it down.

Another example was this morning. I was dealt KK in the small blind. Everyone folded it to me and I raised it to 4x the big blind. Again, this seems strong so he read me for "weak". The flop came ace-high, so I made a pot-sized bet and I got called. I figured that I was beat here, so I checked. The BB also checked. The river was a blank, and I checked. The BB then made a bet that was twice the size of the pot. Again, he's claiming to be STRONG, so he must be weak, right? So, I called. He had an unimproved 86o. WTF? What is he doing calling any of my bets. The ironic thing is that he should have just folded the BB to me and have been done with it. Even if I am stealing, that is not a hand to defend with. But I digress... why did I call his big bet on the river? Because if he had an actual hand, he would have made a reasonable bet... and I probably would have folded.

An all-time suck out

After a good day on Wednesday, I wanted to continue building my bankroll on Thursday. I did really well on Wednesday playing 7stud at Stars, so I first gave that a try. Big mistake. I had a series of hands that were incredibly frustrating. I would start with a pair of aces and not improve and lose to a weak two pair. I would be dealt (44)A and bet everyone out except one donkey, who picked up a pair of fives on his seventh card to beat me (wtf?). Anyway, I lost a bunch doing that. I then played some limit hold 'em ($0.50/$1.00) and lost some more. Basically, I lost $20 and my stack was back down to $80 by the evening.

I started the night's session by two-tabling a $5+$0.50 NLHE sit-n-go and a $0.10/$0.25 (blinds) NLHE 6-max table. For whatever reason, I felt really patient in the tourney, but really anxious with the open table. Eventually I calmed down and grinded out a $2 win at the open table.

The Sit-n-Go was a bunch of fun. There were a couple of donkeys that busted out in the first orbit. I played great, grinding away and slowly built my stack. I easily made the final four, without any difficulty at all. At this point in the tourney, my opponents became really conservative and made it very difficult to make any progress. The donkey to my left kept pushing all in with weak hands, but sucked out on me twice (A7 vs AT and AJ vs KT). I am not sure whether I was impatient or what, but a little later I pushed a hand and got lucky. I raised from the button with 3c3s and the BB called. The flop came ten-high (two clubs) and I pushed all-in when the BB checked it to me. He flipped over TT. The turn and river were both clubs, though, and I took down a pot that I did not deserve. After that, I cruised to the final two (about even in chips). I completely dominated my opponent, to the point where he even admitted that I was going to win -- this was after he sucked out on me (AJ vs. A7, all-in preflop) to take a 4:1 chip lead. Well, needless to say... he was right. I totally dominated this guy.

After winning my third sit-n-go in four tries, I played a little more no limit at the open tables. I quickly won $10 or so, and my stack ended the night at $100 (or so).

I played a little at Party Poker yesterday also. In my third orbit, I made a big preflop raised from the BB with QQ and got one caller. The flop was T94 and I pushed all-in. My opponent turned over 99 and I lost my buy-in. After that, I grinded my way back to about even.... eventually bringing my stack there to about $600.

So, my goal for yesterday was not to regress. It took alot of work, but I eventually broke even at Poker Stars and I won about $15 at Party. Not a great day, but I didn't go backwards so I am happy. Right now, I think my NL game is in peak condition and I am playing the Stars sit-n-goes fantastically. Tonight, I play in a live game with the professors. The last two times, I was the big big winner for the night. Very few of these guys know how to play and it's pretty easy pickens. Considering that I need to work with these people, I sometimes go easy on them (I never check-raise or anything like that).

A good day

After wondering whether I'd ever win again, I actually had a really good poker day today. I won about $30 at Party Poker playing no limit. I won most of that in a single hand where I had AK and a king flopped. My opponent check-raised me with K2 and then called me when I pushed all-in. Weird. Anyway, I'll take the cash, so I am not complaining.

I played a bunch of 7stud at Poker Stars today and I won about $20. I then lost about $15 of that playing no limit hold'em. Oops. It's crap like that... that makes me think that I'll never win again. I just can't seem to string several good sessions together. Anyway, I played a $10 sit-n-go tonight and I won it. When it got down to heads up, it was about even. I quickly got a 10:1 chip lead when I flopped top pair and my opponent called an all-in with 8 high (wtf?). He then won three consecutive all-ins by catching a card on the river. Eventually, he had a 10:1 lead, but then I clawed back to just about even with a slight chip lead. I went all-in with A7o and he called with K2. Neither of us improved, and so I took it down. My stack at Poker Stars is now over $100. Hopefully, I can sustain it and not piss it away.

Will I ever win again?

I have been treading water for months (since mid-March). I have not been winning or losing for a long long time. It's getting frustrating. Whenever I grind my way up, I start playing like a donkey and I lose it all. Last night, I won a $5+0.50 sit-n-go at Poker Stars, but then lost it all back at the open tables. I essentially did the same thing at UltimateBet. I am very frustrated right now.

Three Bad NL Hands

Since Friday, I have travelled to Indiana and back. In the meantime, I've played a little poker with surprisingly bad consequences. Although I've played well, there were three NL hands that were very costly. All of these hands were in the $50 NL at Party Poker, although I had bought in for just $25. In each hand, I had about $25 in my stack.

Hand#1: I am dealt QQ in the big blind. Four people limp, and I raise it to $4 (8x the blind). I am hoping to steal the change, really, but at worst I wanted to narrow the field to heads up. Unfortuanately, three of the limpers called ($16 pot) and saw the flop. The flop with 9 9 5, so I pushed all-in, hoping no one had a nine. Unfortunately, the donkey UTG called my raise with J9s, and I lost my stack.

Hand#2: This was about two orbits after Hand#1. I was still steaming, to be honest. I was dealt A3s in the big blind. The button made a minimum raise and the small blind and I called. I normally would have folded here, but I was steaming. It really wasn't all that bad of a call, just not one I normally make. Anyway, the flop with A 9 3. The SB checked, I checked, and the button bet $5. This overbet of the pot screamed weakness. The SB, I presumed, picked up on this too and called, so I pushed all-in. The button folded, but the SB called, and turned over A9. Oops, right move, wrong time.

Hand#3: I was dealt AKs in mid-position. I raised 4x the big blind, and the button re-raised me to 10x the big blind. I called. The flop was A K X. I made a pot sized bet on the flop, which was called. I pushed all-in and I was insta-called. He turned over AA. Oops. This was perhaps my worst hand of the three. What else would he have had? At worst, KK. Duh!

Anyway, I plan on playing $0.50/$1.00 limit for awhile to re-build my stack. I feel like my game is spot-on and I should be rebuilding right now.