Too busy with life to blog

I have not written a poker blog in a long time. I have had very little to report -- mostly I have been bouncing up and down at Party Poker. Winning a little, losing a little. Not really making much progress.

The real reason for my hiatus is Christmas. The family travelled to Indiana and Wisconsin for the holiday, leaving me with very poor internet access (i.e., dialup). I played a little almost everyday, primarily to clear the Party Poker point bonuses. I did really well at first, winning about $25 in the days immediately before Christmas. Then, on Christmas night, I lost $50 playing no limit when I got AA cracked by a donkey (-$25) and then tilted off another $25 after that. I played reasonably well after that, but I kept playing (and losing) $10 SNGs at Party to prevent any profits from accumulating. My last session, however, went really well and I won about $35 playing $1/$2 limit (6-max). In the end, my Party Poker stack increased by about $10 for the entire trip.

Upong returning home, I started another PSO promotion -- this time at PokerRewards. All of these sites are starting to run together; I don't really like the site, but it is not so bad that I don't want to complete the promotion (750 raked hands at $0.50/$1.00 blinds or higher). In fact, my plan is to clear the 2000 raked hands to clear the $200 sign-up bonus. So far, I am up about $100 playing $1/$2 limit hold'em. This is nothing to get excited about, except that I am finally playing solid poker again. I am so excited about this, in fact, that I plan on reloading at the Pokerroom to clear the $200 bonus that I have waiting there (about 1/3 of it has been cleared already).

Yet another change in plans

A few days ago I posed about my new plan for building my bankroll. I have somewhat abandoned that plan already. My rationale is that it involves playing too many different games, but I think I need to focus in on a single game and play it well. Very well.

I have decided to make that game $1/$2 limit (6-max). This game will totally test my patience and tilt control, but I think that it is very beatable. So far, I have won about 3 big bets per 100 hands, making tons of mistakes. I am trying to limit the number of tables I play (one or two) and I am focusing on post-flop play.

The swings have been amazing. For example, I made a few bad plays at the start of one session. My bankroll dropped from $50 to $30. Then I made a bad read, and it dropped some more. I then grinded for about 50 hands, losing down to $10. At this point, I reloaded another $50 so that I would not go bust (the table was weak, despite my losing). I then caught some cards and had my stack up to $87 in less than five hands. I quit the session after that (I was two-tabling), winning about $7 after being stuck more than $50 for most of the session.

An update on my game

My poker had been bad lately. I had two interesting sessions last weekend that really helped me identify my major leak right now: TILT!!!

I was playing $0.50/$1.00 limit at UltimateBet and grinding my way up. I had won $10 in about 70 hands. I got dealt 99 in the small blind and limped in along with 4 other people. The flop was A J 9 (rainbow). I checked and it got bet, raised, and then I three-bet it, getting me heads up with the original raiser. The turn was an ace. I bet and got raised and I 3bet it and he capped. I check-called the river and he flipped over A9 for a better full house. I played the hand perfectly, but for some reason this put me on tilt. I then proceeded to dump $20 over the next 30 hands or so. I had a similar session like this at a 6-max $1/$2 table at Party (I'll leave out the details).

The sad thing about all of this is that I used to have excellent tilt control. So, this is my new goal: control my TILT button.

I actually did a good job of this earlier today. I played a $1/$2 6-max table and I was playing well. My goal for the session (more later) was to win $10. I limped from UTG with 22, got raised and called. The flopped was J 3 2 (two hearts), so I check-raised. The turn was 4c. I bet; he called. The river was 5d and I check-called. My opponent flipped over Ac 9d. I then had a similar hand against an aggressive opponent who flopped middle pair and then caught trips on the turn. Crap! But, I maintained my cool and built my way back to a $4 win for the session.

In addition to Tilt control, I have also decided that I am not focused enough at the table. To help with this, I have a new plan of attack. First, I will play at Party ($25 NL, $50 NL, or $1/$2 limit) until I win $10 or lose $20. Next, I will play at Poker Stars ($0.05/$0.10 NL) until I win $5 or lose $5 (I need to build my bankroll here). I will then play at either UltimateBet ($0.50/$1.00 limit) or Full Tilt (whatever game I feel like for now) until I get sick of playing. I think this will help me regain my focus and rebuild some of my dwindling bankrolls.

An interesting hand

I had an interesting hand today that I think is worth describing. The table was bad; I knew that. I had lost about $40 to this point, primarily because I wasn't really paying attention. This hand got me unstuck in a big big way.

$1/$2 Texas Hold'em - Thursday, December 15, 14:48:52 EDT 2005
Table Table 64864 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: stelios9 ( $67.39 )
Seat 2: bigman210 ( $132.12 )
Seat 6: seedload ( $61.02 )
Seat 5: frazwood ( $61.24 )
Seat 3: jstlrnen ( $16 )
Seat 4: big_otis ( $53.50 )
jstlrnen posts small blind [$0.50].
big_otis posts big blind [$1].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ 7s 7c ]
frazwood raises [$2].
seedload raises [$3].
stelios9 folds.
bigman210 calls [$3].
jstlrnen calls [$2.50].
big_otis folds.
frazwood calls [$1].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7h, 4h, 7d ]
jstlrnen checks.
frazwood checks.
seedload bets [$1].
bigman210 raises [$2].
jstlrnen calls [$2].
frazwood calls [$2].
seedload folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8s ]
jstlrnen checks.
frazwood checks.
bigman210 bets [$2].
jstlrnen calls [$2].
frazwood raises [$4].
bigman210 calls [$2].
jstlrnen calls [$2].
** Dealing River ** [ 6h ]
jstlrnen checks.
frazwood bets [$2].
bigman210 raises [$4].
jstlrnen calls [$4].
frazwood raises [$4].
bigman210 calls [$2].
jstlrnen calls [$2].
frazwood shows [ 7s, 7c ] four of a kind, sevens.
bigman210 doesn't show [ 5c, 4s ] a straight, four to eight.
jstlrnen doesn't show [ 2h, 3h ] a flush, seven high.
frazwood wins $49 from the main pot with four of a kind, sevens.
Game #3205616864 starts.

Flush draws, inside straight draws, and donks... Oh my!

Party offered me a reload bonus where I could get $100 cleared at 10X raked hands. Fair enough. I played a bunch of $0.50/$1.00 limit hold'em and I managed to donk off a little bit of money. Next, I played some no limit and kind of worked my way back to even. Yesterday morning, I two-tabled $2/$4 hold'em and I lost about $40. This is all really bad considering my short bankroll at the moment. The limit session was terrible; I'd have a guy dominated while he was chasing an inside straight draw... but catch runner-runner to beat me with a flush. I was very frustrated to say the least.

Last night, however, I had a bit of a discovery. I first donked off $12.50 at $25 NL by being stupid. Then, I got smart and opened a single table of $50 NL and I won $10 pretty quick. After some household chores, I did the same thing. It is amazing how much better I play if I slow down and think each hand through. It also helps to observe how other people are playing. This is all obvious stuff, but sometimes I get too caught up in playing 4-6 tables that I forget all of this stuff.

Today, I have been playing a single table of $0.50/$1.00 limit simply to clear raked hands while I work. I have done well so far, winning about $20 in 200 hands. Here again, thinking the hands through seems to be working well. I've made some nice bluffs and some nice folds. The "big hand" so far was KQo. There was a loose-limper ahead of me, so I raised and got two cold callers plus the original limper. The flop was Q 9 7. The limper bet; I re-raised; he 3bet; and I called (one other caller). The turn was another Q. The limper bet; I raised; he 3bet; and I called. The river was a 7. He bet; I raised; he re-raised; and I called. I was genuinely worried that he had Q9. Luckily, though, he had 9 7 and he had played the turn horribly.

Not too much to say

I've been playing quite a bit but not making any progress either up or down. Party Poker gave me a reload bonus today, which is $100 that requires 1000 raked hands.

I spent my entire lunch hour, therefore, 8-tabling $0.50/$1.00 limit. This equated to about 500 hands, about 60% of which were raked. I lost more than $25 in the process, which was a total bummer. I played pretty tight and pretty aggressive, but I caught suck-out after suck-out after suck-out. For example, I'd raise with AK and get two callers. The flop would be A 3 4; I'd bet and get one caller. The turn was a two. Check; bet; call. The river is another 2. Check; bet; raise; and I make a crying call. The donk flips over K2!

I did not tilt once, which I am proud of considering that has been a problem lately.

After that, I played a full ring $50 NL table. I have played very well, except for one hand that cost me a buy-in. There was one limper from middle position and the small blind limped also. I raised from the big blind with QQ and the limper folded. The small blind, however, raised and I pushed all-in. He flipped over AA. Doh! I've grinded my way back towards even (stuck maybe $7). Overall, I am about half-way to clearing the bonus.

In other poker news, I had a really excellent day playing $1/$2 limit at Full Tilt. I won like $42, which pushed my stack there above $200 for the first time in a lllllloooooonnnnnggggg time. Given my problems at Party Poker, which has always been my "big stack" site, I find it interesting how my bankroll is now about distributed between UltimateBet (25%), Full Tilt (25%) and Party (50%).

One final thought -- I started playing a little at Poker Stars again. I bubbled in a 7stud SNG and I took third in a NLHE SNG. I also busted 7th in a NLHE SNG when I pushed with JJ against a board with 3 hearts. Doh! Anyway, I recovered some of that playing $0.05/$0.10 NLHE 6-max tables.

Crazy!

Today was a crazy day of poker to say the least! My bankroll at Party was dipping towards $400, primarily because I had lost all patience and I was pushing crap hands against call stations with crap (but slightly better) hands. For whatever reason, I continued to play $50 NL, which worked OK for awhile, but then I dumped $50 to a complete donkey (who clearly recognized me for an even bigger donkey!).

I also played horribly at the PokerRoom. My stack there was down to about $20 when I bought into a no limit room with my entire stack. I stupidly pushed all-in with middle pair, got called by top pair, and sucked out on the river. I then won another hand with AA, and suddenly I had more than $60 in my stack there. Amazing!

Tonight's poker session was even crazier, at least at Party. I intelligently dropped down to $25 NL. I grinded my way from a buy-in of $12.50 up to about $35 when my table went nuts! There were two guys who had pre-flop raise percentages over 40%! I tripled my stack when we went all-in preflop with AK (me), JJ (donkey#1), and A4 (donkey#2). I won the hand when a king came on the river. I was honestly surprised that donkey#1 had such a good hand. A few hands later, I limped from UTG with AK. The flop was K J 4 (rainbow) and I checked it to donkey#1 who bet $15 into a $1 pot (not joking); I re-raised all-in and he called with J7. Unfortunately, he caught a jack on the river and I lost a $50 pot. If not for that jack, then I would have won almost $100 playing $25 NL in less than 75 hands. As it was, I had a great session, winning more than $40.

While all of this going on at Party, I was playing $1/$2 limit at both Full Tilt and the PokerRoom. I won $9 or so at the PokerRoom; I am primarily chasing a $200 bonus there. With my semi-new bankroll, I hope that I can clear it reasonably soon. I had a great session at Full Tilt, winning more than $30. My stack there is now almost $180, easily the biggest since I cashed out a huge chunk early on there.

It is strange, but I really feel like I can beat the $1/$2 tables easier at Full Tilt and the PokerRoom than the $0.50/$1.00 tables. The play is fishy, but not so fishy that I have to fight going on tilt all of the time.

5 Card Draw and Other Laments

After yesterday's optimistic post regarding 5 Card Draw, I promptly went out and almost went bust at the Pokerroom. How close to almost bust? I was all-in and sucked out to win the hand. I then proceeded to grind my way back up to about $28. The money, luckily, is inconsequential, because it is essentially leftover "winnings" from my PSO promotion. The real problem, however, is that I have no plans to reload at the Pokerroom, so if I go bust... that will be the end of my 5 Card Draw days.

In other news, I had a really interesting session on Saturday that is worth writing about (I guess). I was playing $1/$2 limit at UltimateBet and $0.50/$1.00 at Full Tilt. I had some trouble using Pokertracker, which distracted me. As a result, I dumped about $20 at UltimateBet.

The good news is that I have accumulated about $1000 to cash out to real money... perfect timing for the holidays!

Party Poker Bonus and 5 Card Draw

I finished off the Party Poker bonus today, clearing about 400 hands of $1/$2 limit hold'em. Man, play here was very wonky. I ended up winning about $20, but it could have been much better. There were a couple of weird suck-outs and a few missed draws.

The highlight of the weekend is that I discovered that I can play 5 card draw at the Pokerroom. I don't know why, but I really dig this game. So far, I've won $20. This doesn't sound like much, but my Pokerroom bankroll started at $28, so it is a very nice win.

Finishing Off the Pokerroom PSO promotion

I started off yesterday at the Pokerroom quickly winning $50, most of which was when I flopped four 7's when my opponent flopped a full house (sixes full of sevens). After that, though, I slowly leaked most of it away until I had to quit to do some work. I then lost the rest of it in a short 7stud session in which I would start with a premium hand (say concealed kings) but not improve and lose to a donkey call station who caught a six on the river for two pair (sixes and twos). That's 7stud, though.

My last session of the day, however, was a very good one. I was slowly grinding my way backs towards even for the site. Then, in a 2 minute period, I was dealt QQ twice and AA once and I won all three hands. The first QQ hand was a big pot because the board was 9-high and my opponent held TT. The second QQ hand was a smallish pot; I probably shouldn't have played it so aggressively (I flopped a set), but I feel like I should almost always bet the flop when I raised before the flop (especially when it is check to me on the button). I have almost no recollection of the AA hand except that I won. In short, I went from almost back to even at the Pokerroom to $30 or so ahead.

After that, I continued to play very tight. I even won a few more pots. I finished the session with 403 points (I needed 400 to clear the PSO promotion) and a bankroll of $546. I cashed out $500 of this right away. I have to clear another 1600 points to get a $200 bonus; I have decided yet whether or not I will try for this. I probably will. I totally regret my initial $500 deposit; I should have deposited $100 initially to get a $40 bonus that I would have cleared at 400 points. Instead, I have no bonus unless I clear another 1600 points.

In other news, I won $5 yesterday at Party Poker playing $0.50/$1.00 limit. I think that my limit game is back to being in fine shape, so I hope that I can start grinding again at Party. I also received my Nevada Jacks poker chips yesterday. They are very nice although there are only 300 of them. I plan to accumulate a bunch of PSO points (I have 18250 so far) to buy 400 more for a set of 700. That will be way cool. This also means that I am no longer interested in the Poker Stars chip set; in turn, I have 4000 FPPs to cash in at Poker Stars.

Now this is lucky

There is no other way to describe this hand except to say that a horseshoe fell out of my butt. How awesome is it to flop quads when your opponent flops a full house? Seat 1: tehsuk ($99 in chips)

Seat 2: Fragtis ($54.60 in chips)

Seat 3: majr ($58.55 in chips)

Seat 5: Larssa27 ($62.05 in chips)

Seat 6: GigaOuts ($42.30 in chips)

Seat 7: qquatro ($25.65 in chips)

Seat 8: ChrisDEFC ($100 in chips)

Seat 9: JACKKING1 ($25.60 in chips)

Seat 10: frazwood [7D,7C] ($81.20 in chips)

ANTES/BLINDS frazwood posts blind ($0.50), tehsuk posts blind ($1), ChrisDEFC posts blind ($1). PRE-FLOP Fragtis folds, majr folds, Larssa27 folds, GigaOuts folds, qquatro folds, ChrisDEFC checks, JACKKING1 calls $1, frazwood calls $0.50, tehsuk checks. FLOP [board cards 7H,6C,7S ] frazwood checks, tehsuk checks, ChrisDEFC checks, JACKKING1 bets $1, frazwood calls $1, tehsuk folds, ChrisDEFC folds. TURN [board cards 7H,6C,7S,JH ] frazwood checks, JACKKING1 bets $2, frazwood bets $4, JACKKING1 bets $4, frazwood bets $4, JACKKING1 calls $2. RIVER [board cards 7H,6C,7S,JH,8H ] frazwood bets $2, JACKKING1 bets $4, frazwood bets $4, JACKKING1 bets $4, frazwood calls $2. SHOWDOWN JACKKING1 shows [ 6H,6S ] frazwood shows [ 7D,7C ] frazwood wins $37.

SUMMARY Dealer: JACKKING1 Pot: $38, (including rake: $1) tehsuk, loses $1 Fragtis, loses $0 majr, loses $0 Larssa27, loses $0 GigaOuts, loses $0 qquatro, loses $0 ChrisDEFC, loses $1 JACKKING1, loses $18 frazwood, bets $18, collects $37, net $19

Bad Poker and the Pokerroom

I had another bad day of poker yesteday at Party Poker. I played a 6-max limit $1/$2 table that had 3 super-donkeys that kept sucking out on me. It was very frustrating to say the least. My bankroll there is now the lowest that it has been in probably a year. I am trying to think of a good strategy to rebuild. I am currently considering 7stud, full table limit, and $25 NL.

In other news, I signed up for another PSO promotion, this time at Pokerroom. The attraction was the upgrade to 9000 PSO points. So far, I have really screwed this one up. First, I deposited $500 to get the full $200 sign-up bonus. I forgot to read the fine print, however, and I won't get any of this bonus because I have to clear 10000 pokerroom points to get it. Oops. My next big mistake was playing short-handed tables and playing them poorly. Double oops. I was stuck about $100 at one point, but I have been grinding my way back since then. I think that I have recovered about half of that as of now.

So far, this is my least favorite site this side of Pacific Poker. I can't figure out how to get any statistical information, even something as simple as the number of hands that I have played. My biggest pet peeve, however, is how their waiting list works. Once your seat becomes available, a table magically (and quietly) appears out of nohere, usually on top of one of my existing tables. This has caused a couple of misclicks so far. Right now, my hope is to grind my way back to even, clear the PSO promotion, and cash out.