Ouch

I have been running good lately, which usually means that bad news is just around the corner. I knew that my focus was waning, particularly for no limit. So... anyway, here's what happened. I signed-up for an extra double secret bonus at Party Poker (well, you can find it bonus whores). I have a month to clear it, so I was mostly just playing my normal game. I had won a few bucks here and there, and in the process I learned that more than 90% of the hands are raked at the 50 NL tables. And then this happened:

I opened up two tables and I bought in for $25. During the first ring, I get dealt QQ on the button and I make a 6X raise and I get called in one spot. I get check-raised on the flop (A 4 X) and I stupidly push all-in. My opponent flopped a small set (44) and I am -$25. A few hands later at a different table, I get dealt KK on the big blind. There are several limpers, so I again make a overly big raise (6X probably, I don't remember) and one of the limpers pushes all-in. Because he was not the first limper, I figured that he didn't have AA. The flop came K X X and I thought that I was good for sure. But, the river was an ace, and my opponent flipped over AA. Crap! -$50. I am now on tilt. A few hands after that, it is folded to me on the button and I make a normal-sized raise with QTs and the big blind calls me. The flop was J 9 X and I bet it aggressively three times, each time getting called, and each time missing my draw. He flips over 88 and wins. -$63. The next hand I raise from the cutoff with KJs and the same guy re-raises me. I call. The flop is J T X and I push all-in. He calls. The river is a Q and he flips over AKo. Crap! -$75. I play out the rest of the orbits, folding everything merely to clear a few more raked hands. My plan is to stick to limit or to play $25 NL for awhile.

This was a good weekend for bonus whoring; I qualified for bonii at virtually every site that I play, many of which have no expiration date. [Bill Murray from Caddshack voice] So, I got that going for me.