Bonus Whoring at Paradise Poker

I am going to write this blog entry differently than any of the others that I have written so far. I am going to write this one over several weeks (likely). It's about my latest round of bonus whoring at Paradise Poker.

To give the long-winded version of the story:

I initially signed up at Paradise Poker as part of a PSO promotion. I actually like the site; in fact, there are numerous sites that I like, but I can't play them all. Therefore, I try to stick to the sites that I like the best and the ones where I think I can win (i.e., everywhere except Poker Stars). Otherwise, I am playing where I think I can get the best bonus.

I did not play particularly well at Paradise Poker when I first played there and I essentially broke even. I actually lost with my poker playing but my initial deposit bonus kept me even.

Paradise Poker rarely offers reload bonuses, but they're quite nice when they do. Money is released in $10 increments, requiring 100 raked hands (minimum rake = $0.25). So, this reload bonus is similar to Party Poker's, but these bonuses are stackable and they never expire.

I don't recall doing this before, but apparently I had made a deposit at Paradise Poker during their last reload. When I logged in today to take advantage of their current reload bonus, I had $100 of bonus still waiting to clear. After my $400 deposit to get another $100 of bonus, I had $200 of bonus waiting to be earned.

After consulting bonuswhores.com, my plan is to play full-ring $1/$2 limit hold'em to clear the bonus. The bonus clears rather quickly at these stakes compared to the amount that needs to be wagered.

So, here begins my journal on clearing $200 of bonus at Paradise Poker, starting with a bankroll of $400.

29 June 2006, Session 1

I already had 93 bonus points on my account, so I needed to play only 7 raked hands to clear $10 of bonus. I sat down at a $1/$2 limit hold'em table and played tight-aggressive for two orbits. I folded every hand during the first orbit, but then picked up Ks Js on the button during the second orbit. A couple people had limped and so did I. The flop came As 8s 4s, giving me the nuts. I called on the flop, raised the turn, and bet the river, winning me a nice pot. I folded until I was UTG+2, when I limped with TT after both UTG and UTG+1 limped. Everyone else folded until the button, who limped. Four of us saw a flop that was jack-high; it was checked around. The turn was a seven, which gave me an inside straight draw in addition to my pair of tens. I called when UTG+1 bet out on the turn and on the river. I won the hand with my pair of tens (UTG+1 held K7). For the session, I won $16 plus cleared $10 of bonus.

Bankroll = $426 ($190 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

29 June 2006, Session 2

I just completed another session (2 tables, $1/$2 limit hold'em) in which I cleared another 100 raked hands for another $10 in bonus. I also won $21.25 my the poker, so the session was $31.25 at Paradise. Unforunately, I was simultaneously playing 2 tables at Full Contact Poker and I lost $20.70 there, so outside of the bonus... it was a break-even session.

Because I was playing 4 tables, I don't have many details from the session. I played very well. I had a bunch of costly hands where I had my opponent dominated pre-flop, caught a good flop, but s/he sucked out (AQ vs. AJ: flop an ace, jack on the turn; AK vs. K7: flop K 9 7; etc).

Bankroll = $457.25 ($180 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

29 June 2006, Session 3

Can you tell that work is not holding my attention today? Actually, nothing is holding my attention today. My mind is on the upcoming holiday weekend.

Anyhow, I just cleared another 100 raked hands. I cleared the first 40 or so playing a single table of short-handed (5-max) limit hold'em ($1/$2). I then two-tabled $1/$2 LHE (full-ring) until I cleared another 100 hands. I won maybe $10 playing short-handed and then played terrible while playing full-ring. I was down $20 or so until I caught a few big hands late. I think I ended the session +$7 or so.

Bankroll = $484.50 ($170 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

4 July 2006

After spending a long weekend traveling, I was very enthusiastic about playing poker again... but I was tired and not capable of playing well. Even so, I decided to single table a $1/$2 full ring game to clear some bonus before heading to bed for the night. Big mistake. I actually played well, but the cards were against me. I also misplayed several hands. Anyway, here are the hands that I remember.

Hand#1: I was the first raiser from middle position with TT. Only the big blind calls. The flop is A 8 3 (two hearts). He checks; I bet he calls. The turn is another heart: check-check. The river is the ten of hearts: check-check. He flips over Kx 3h and wins the hand.

Hand#2: I was dealt AA in early position. I raise; a donkey in middle position calls; and a super donkey re-raises from the button. I cap and both of them call. The flop looks good (I think): 5s 4s 4c. It gets capped on the flop. I put donkey on a flush draw (since he's merely calling) and super donkey on a big pocket pair, like queens or kings (since he's raising). The turn is a blank. The river is another spade, so I check. The first donkey bets; the second raises; and I fold. After it's all over, the first donkey rakes in a 34 big bet pot with Js 6s and the second flips over Ac 4d.

Hand#3: I am dealt AKo. I raise it up after someone limps from early position. The flop is A 6 2 (rainbow). He bets; I raise; he 3-bets; I cap; he calls. The turn is another six: he check-raises me. Skip the river... the dude held 6 6.

To make matters worse, I must have flopped sets in three or four different hands and got action on precisely zero of the them. The end of this bad session occurred when my daughter started screaming in her sleep, requiring that I quit my session after paying both blinds, forcing me to fold from the button and sit out the rest of the orbit. I think I lost $20 or so in the session.

Bankroll = $479.25 ($170 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

(note: I don't remember playing since 29 June... but clearly $484.50 - $20 is not $479.25... so, something is wrong with my math, but I am not going to complain).

5 July 2006, Session 1

On my lunch break, I decided to play a few orbits of short-handed (5-max) limit hold'em ($1/$2). I played very well, making almost no major mistakes. My opponents were difficult to play, however, as there was little logic to their play. I lost two hands when I played a legitimate hand aggressively against someone who held QQ. Because my opponent played the hand so passively, I had no idea that they were so strong. In another hand, my top-pair-on-the-flop got beat on the river by a donkey who check-called to the river with king high. And it wasn't all bad beats either -- I won a big pot with J7 after a flop of 9 7 2 with heavy betting. Both of my opponents, who called to the river, held AQo (unimproved). In the end, I finished the short session +$1.50 (hooray!) but I did manage to clear another $10 of bonus.

Bankroll = $489.75 ($160 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

5 July 2006, Sessions 2 and 3

I needed to take care of my baby daughter this afternoon while my wife worked. Because I was at my office, this actually involved letting my daughter sleep on my chest, giving me time to play poker online. I played extremely well (probably because I had nothing to do but play poker), winning a good chunk of change... maybe $30-$40. I played some 5-card draw, short-handed (5-max) limit hold'em ($1/$2) , and about 5 hands of 7-card stud.

Unfortunately, I decided to play again last night (I am writing on 6 July 2006) while I was trying to post an add to sell my car. I played short-handed, which was a doubly bad idea. I was not focused; I was tired; I didn't care. I did clear a bunch of raked hands, which wasn't enough to compensate for the fact that I donked away my entire $40 buy-in. Oh well.

Bankroll = $491.25 ($150 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

6 July 2006, Session 1

I am playing a short-session of full-ring $1/$2 limit hold'em before I go out to the lakes for work today. I initially played like a donkey call station, but luckily this was against over-aggressive donkeys who were betting with king-high. I won two big pots with this strategy before tightening up. To be honest, it was a boring session that netted +$14.25.

Bankroll = $505.50 ($150 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

6 July 2006, Session 2

When I started playing tonight, I immediately bought into a $1/$2 limit hold'em room at Paradise. I then started surfing the internet, eventually noticing that Party Poker has a reload going right now. Since these are always juicy and they have a time limit (unlike Paradise), I decided to play at Party tonight. Even so, I continued to play in the room at Paradise until I cleared another $10 of bonus. The session was an otherwise uneventful +$3 or so.

Bankroll = $519.25 ($140 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

8 July 2006, Session 1

After quickly clearing the Party Poker reload bonus, I once again returned to Paradise Poker to work on clearing their most recent reload bonus.

When I logged on to the site, there were rather long waiting lists for the full-ring $1/$2 limit games, so I bought in to a 5-max limit game. Before being dealt cards, I noticed that my table had a very loose-aggressive donkey at it, so if I could catch some hands, then I would make some money. My first hand I was dealt QQ and I won a nice pot. I also won a few other smaller pots. I then won a really nice pot when I tried to bully the LAG donkey with JTo from the button. He called my bets on the flop and turn (I caught a ten on the turn for second pair) but then raised me on the river. Given the pot odds, I made a crying call and he flipped over jack-high. Like I said, he was a LAG donkey. Soon after, I quit the table to play full-ring limit.

Once I reached the full-ring table, I won a nice pot with A8s against another over aggressive donkey who held 62o. Yep, that prize-winning hand 62o. Anyway, I flopped top pair and called his river bluff-raise and took down a nice pot. After that, I got sloppy and lost a few pots, before quitting a short session.

Bankroll = $543.50 ($140 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

8 July 2006, Session 2

I started by playing some short-handed $1/$2 limit and I did well. I think I won about $20 in about 3o hands. After that, I three-tabled full ring $1/$2 limit, which was a bad idea. I didn't get many cards and when I did... I got no action. It was just one of those days when I everything I did turned out wrong. For example, I raised from EP with KK. It folds to the blinds, both of whom call. The flop includes an ace, so I fold when the SB bets out and the big blind raises. Sadly, neither of them had anything better than middle pair (maybe they were colluding?) and I would have won the hand. Oh well... even with hindsight vision, I know that the correct play there was to fold. The best that I can say about the session is that I cleared some bonus cash.

Bankroll = $551 ($120 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

11 July 2006

My poker playing has lately been awful. Just awful. I played a bunch of hands in a short time period to clear a Party Poker reload bonus and, in the process, burned myself out on poker. Even so, I tried to clear a few hands for my Paradise Poker reload today... bad idea. I played maybe 20 hands and I played most of them like a donkey. In finally decided to quit when I won a large pot chasing runner runner to catch the idiot of a straight. I finished this session +2.75 but I could have easily lost $10-$20 (note: that's in only 20 hands)

Bankroll = $553.75 ($120 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

13 July 2006, Session 1

At lunch time, I decided to clear another $10 of bonus money at Paradise. I've played little lately, but I feel like my game is starting to come around. I quick session of short-handed limit seemed like just the trick. Speaking of tricks, I bought into two VERY tricky limit tables. They were both filled with maniacs would be bluff raise on the turn, call any raise preflop with any two cards, etc. Luckily, they were not very good players and I caught a few hands. I was initially worried when I was down $20 or so, but then I won a few nice pots. I eventually won a huge pot (at least 20 big bets), but the action was so fast that I can't remember the hand at all. I eventually lost a big pot with an ace-high straight to someone who held queens full. Oh well. I finished the session with more than $30 profit, plus another $10 in bonus cash.

One last thing: Today is my grandfather's birthday! He passed away a few years ago, but still... he was a huge influence on me and I miss him. Happy Birthday Gramps!

Bankroll = $596.25 ($110 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

13 July 2006, Session 2

I bought-in at three different $1/$2 limit tables... all three were extremely crazy tables (one was short-handed). I started great, winning a few big pots at the full-ring games when I was dealt KK back-to-back.

But then, the short-handed table got really crazy and I decided to mix-it-up with the donkeys, who were raising with crap like 92s. I lost a few pots on the river when I was pushing marginal hands in three-way pots. Oh well, it happens. I eventually settled down and started playing better. I had clawed my way back a bit at that table when I was dealt AT. The board was: K T 4 A T. Unfortunately, my opponent held KK and I lost a huge pot. In the end, I finished the session -$0.25. Yep, I lost less than a dollar during this entirely wacky session.

I have now cleared $100 of Paradise Poker bonus, half of the bonus that I am trying to clear. In addition, I have won $106 of real poker profit (53 big bets). I have played somewhere in the range of 1500-2000 hands, so my win rate (not including bonus cash) is 3.5 BB/100 hands (assuming 1500 hands) to 2.65 BB/100 hands. Not bad!

I am now going to cash out $206 (my bonus + profit) and try it all over again. To paraphrase Seymour Skinner from "The Simpsons". I am going to make a game of it. I am going to see how much money I can win while clearing $100 of bonus. Then, I am going to try and break that record.

Bankroll = $400 ($100 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

13 July 2006, Session 3

This was the donkey session from hell. I played seven-card stud, 5-card draw, Omaha 8/b, and short-handed hold'em, all $1/$2 limit. And I sucked at all of them. I lost my buy-in at least two different times and I was just a donkey. I think the only game that was profitable was Omaha 8/b. I am not going to say much else, except that I need to play better now.

Bankroll = $327.25 ($90 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

14 July 2006

I played a single session today, clearing another $10 of bonus. I mostly played $1/$2 limit, full ring, but I also played some Omaha 8/b. It was a rather short, uneventful session, but I won back some of my loss from my previous donkey session.

Bankroll = $348.05 ($80 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

15 July 2006

While playing at a private table at Party Poker with a bunch of guys from TPF, I played a single table of $1/$2 limit hold'em at Paradise. I played rather well, but I was lucky to not go bust. I kept catching good hands against better hands. I had a rather short stack (like $12) when I was dealt ATo on the big blind. The flop came KQJ (rainbow) and I eventually got my money all-in and tripled up. From there, I played a little better than break-even, finishing the session +$9.75.

Bankroll = $358.80 ($80 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

16 July 2006, Session 1

I woke up this morning and decided to finish off another $10 of bonus money. This was not a particularly ambitious goal -- I had only 16 raked hands to clear. I was tired and groggy, so I played a single table of $1/$2 5-max limit hold'em. I caught some cards, played them aggressively against call stations, and finished this short-session +$12.

Bankroll = $380.80 ($70 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

16 July 2006, Session 2

I need a break from poker. I donked away some cash at Party before switching to Paradise and donking away some more money. I won't go into details, but after a good start... a switch in tables (in broke up)... I lost my buy-in... the last hand I am dealt 99 in the small blind. The flop is 555 and I get all my money in against the big blind who had 53o.

Bankroll = $354.30 ($70 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

16 July 2006, Session 3

After deciding to take a break from poker, I took about an hour off and then decided to play at higher stakes. I am playing well below my skill level and my bankroll. So, I played a shortish session at $5/$10 limit at Party, which profitable. After a quick trip to the hardware store, I sat down with a beverage and decided to play a very short session at Paradise... playing $3/$6 limit. I won $25 in a short period.

Bankroll = $379.30 ($70 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

16 July 2006, Session 4

I seem to be playing numerous short sessions today. I started playing two tables of $2/$4 limit hold'em and one table of $1/$2 limit hold'em. I started out great on all three, winning some nice pots. And then, the donkey logic started to take over and I lost AJ vs. A8 on a flop of J 8 8 and KK vs. A5 (plus three others) when the donkey caught his inside straight draw on the river. I'm quitting the session after clearing another $10 of bonus in large part because I am incredibly frustrated right now.

Bankroll = $359.55 ($60 of bonus remaining to be cleared)

16 July 2006, Session 5

My fifth and final session of the day. This one was a longer session, enough to clear $20 of bonus. The problem, sadly, is that the cards did not cooperate. It seemed that I was always up against some donkey playing J5 and the flop would come AJ5 (and I'd hold AK). I was 4-tabling, and I think I won at only of these four. The good news is that was the $2/$4 table (the other three were $1/$2).

I must admit that I am merely going through the motions right now. I am clearing bonus to clear bonus. Looking at my play objectively, I seem to be losing about $10 per 100 hands, such that I am essentially breaking even. I need to find some focus so that I can win again. Maybe I should try playing no limit.

Bankroll = $364.55 ($40 of bonus to be cleared)

17 July 2006, Session 1

I have decided to stop playing limit and to try playing no limit at Paradise. In this short session, I initially bought into a $100 NL room and eventually into a $50 NL room as well. Once the $50 NL room was open, I quit the $100 NL room with $8 in profit.

Early on in the $50 NL, I busted the player to my left when I caught a full house on the turn while he hit his flush on the river. This sounds like great news, but the guy who replaced him was a COMPLETE maniac. He would raise 8x the big blind with any two cards. Normally this would be a good opportunity for profit, but considering that he was to my immediate left... I was in bad position.

Eventually, I won a few nice pots off of him but then I went bust with QQ against his AA went the money got in the middle preflop. I normally don't like to push with QQ but, like I said before, this guy was a complete maniac. He'd gone all-in preflop with AX and KJ at least three times prior to this hand, so I don't regret my push with QQ -- even after the fact.

Soon after that hand, the maniac left and I started attacking a very weak player two to my left. Unfortunately, he turned into a complete luck-box and he started catching cards. So, his stack when from $50 to more than $100 while mine went from $25 down to $6 (for the mathematically inclined, all of his profit was not against me).

I was now stuck almost $50 in the game; I could have bought in for more, but I needed to stop the bleeding, so I planned on playing a few more hands until I busted. But, I doubled up once and then won another nice pot, so that I had about $20 in the room. I then changed gears and started playing solid poker, grinding my stack back up near $30 before the luck-box busted and I had to get back to work.

Bankroll = $353.85 ($40 of bonus to be cleared)

17 July 2006, Session 2

This was another short session where I two-tabled two short-handed $50 NL tables. I initially was stuck a few dollars at one of the tables, but won it all back when I fired bets on the flop (call), turn (call), and river (fold) against an opponent who chased every flush draw in the book. I won a nice pot on the other table too when I caught my flush draw in a three-way hand. My short-term goal is to at least break-even for the second half of this bonus chase (i.e., lose $100 but get $100 of bonus...).

Bankroll = $371.30 ($40 of bonus to be cleared)

17 July 2006, Session 3

This session lasted about thirty minutes and it went quite well. I was two-tabling $50NL for the entire session.

At my first table, I won a few nice pots and built my stack up to $30 or so. I then was dealt TT and I raised it to $2 after the guy to my right limped. The small blind and the limper called. The flop was 7 3 3 and the small blind bet out, the limper called and I raised. The small blind then started spewing obscenties about me not having a three before he folded; the limper called. The turn was a blank but the limper check-raised me. I was pot-committed, so I called, leaving me with $0.25. The limper checked the river to me and I checked also. The pot (~$65) slid to me. The limper held K7. The small blind starting spewing more obscenities, claiming to have folded JJ.

I soon left that table and played at two other tables where I had a modest win (~$5). So far, it looks good for me to reach my short-term goal of finishing the bonus chase with at a net-break even. Perhaps I should have been playing no limit all along?

Bankroll = $422.90 ($30 of bonus to be cleared)

17 July 2006, Session 4

For whatever reason, I thought that it'd be a good idea to play some more at Paradise Poker. I played at crazy aggressive tables and I played poorly. In short, I lost about $100... I was a total donkey. All I needed to do was remain patient, catch some cards, and get paid. Instead, I tried to bluff donkeys willing to call all-ins with middle pair.

Eventually, I "smarted up" and I quit playing no limit. I was not on tilt, but I was frustrated by no limit donkeys (i.e., people who bet $6 into a $2 pot)... so I move to limit poker. I played short-handed $3/$6 limit hold'em. I made a great call with ace high and won a huge pot. I lost a huge pot where I flopped top two pair to someone who caught their flush on the river. In the end, I think I was +$25 playing a relatively small number of limit hands.

Bankroll = $352.65 ($20 of bonus to be cleared)

18 July 2006, Session 1

I hate Paradise Poker right now. I have pissed away virtually all of my profit as well as the bonus. At this point, I'll be lucky to break even for this bonus chase. I am tired, confused, and grumpy. I started this session playing $3/$6 limit (5-max) and I repeatedly got butchered by bad beat after bad beat. Flop top two pair? My opponent catches runner runner for a better two pair. Have an over pair on the flop? My opponent with top pair, seven kicker catches runner runner to back door a straight. It was brutal. I think I lost $100 in less than 30 hands. That's poker, I suppose.

At that point, I decided that it was best merely to drop stakes back to $1/$2 limit and merely close out the bonus chase, trying to lose as little as possible. I played some more 5-max and I broke even or lost a little at this game. I cleared another $10 of bonus, so I've got that going for me.

Bankroll = $233.15 ($10 of bonus to be cleared)

18 July 2006, Session 2

The only positive thing that I can say about this session is that it is the last one that I will play at Paradise Poker for awhile. The site is fine, but I really feel cursed right now -- to the point where I hate the site too. I promised myself that I would play well this session, no matter what happened with the cards. And with one exception, I played very very well. The exception hand was when I played TT aggressively against a guy who held KQ. The flop came queen-high and my best guess was that he caught a piece of the flop and that I was behind -- but I kept betting anyway. Stupid stupid.

My rationale for feeling cursed involved too many hands to count, but I'll give you two of the bad beat stories.

Cursed Hand#1: It's folded to me on the button where I hold AA. I'm already feeling unlucky, so I raise it up. A small pot will make me happy at this point, so there is no need to get cute. The big blind calls and the flop comes Q 6 4, one diamond. The action goes check-bet-call. The turn is a seven of diamonds. Check-bet-call. The river is the three of diamonds. I don't like a pair of aces against this board, so the action is check-check. He flips over Ad8d, for a back door nut flush. Shit!

Cursed Hand#2: I'm in the big blind, holding ATo. There is one limper but then the small blind raises (an over-aggressive donkey), so I call as does the limper. The flop comes A 8 4 (rainbow). A few hands earlier, I had previously smooth-called with AK a similar situation against the small blind. So, to mix things up as well as hopefully eliminate the limper, I raise when the small blind bets out. The limper folds and the small blind calls. The turn is a ten, giving me top two pair. The action goes check-bet-call. The river is a jack. After the donkey checks it to me, I actually consider the chances that this donkey has KQ -- I am feeling that cursed at this point. I figure there is no way that he called all the way to the river with that hand, so I bet. He raises and I make a crying call. He flips over KQ. FUCK!!!!

Anyway, like I said, it's over. That's the good news.

Bankroll = $210.15 ($0 of bonus to be cleared)

Summary

Mentally speaking, I split this bonus chase into two halfs. I won $206 during the first half and I lost $190 during the second half. Hence, for the entirety of the bonus chase, I won a whopping $16. That certainly makes me feel like a total donkey. While I certainly played better during the first half, I didn't play all that poorly in the second half. I caught some bad beats at some bad times. Also, I must confess to getting impatient and straying from my plan to bonus chase at $1/$2 limit, which was probably optimal for the rate of bonus chase versus the amount that needed to be wagered.

A sick sick session at Full Contact Poker

(this was written 27 June 2006)

I'll admit that I am somewhat bored with poker right now. Part of my problem is the game is a grind. I have been playing limit hold'em and $50 NL hold'em and I have been slowly winning at both. I am losing my focus because I don't feel challenged by these games anymore. Clearly, I should move up in stakes, but the paradox is... I am not comfortable playing at the higher stakes. It isn't a lack of confidence in my game, but rather it's an inability to mentally separate the bets wagered from its "real world" value. That is, I find it incredibly stupid to wager $50 or $100 on a hand of poker considering what I could buy with that $50 or $100.

Anyway, in spite of my reluctance, I bought into a $100 NL game. The table initially had only one person. First hand, I was dealt AA in the small blind (button), so I limped. He raised to $5, so I pushed all-in and he calls instantly. I never actually saw what hand he held, but when I checked the hand-history it was As 4s. Unfortunately, three spades came and I lost the hand.

Needless to say, I am immediately put on tilt. I continue to play at the table, correctly figuring that if I play my best game that I can win my money back (and then some) relatively easy. The flaw in my logic, of course, is that my tilt factor was going to prevent me from playing my best game.

I then manage to play another 100 hands or so, donking away another 1.5 buy-ins. Because I usually buy-in for half of the maximum (perhaps I should write a blog entry about why I do this), I am stuck $125. That is not a huge problem, except that I am incredibly annoyed and that my bankroll at FCP was only $300.

After quitting the $100 no limit game, I am left with $175 in my bankroll. I'm really competitive, so I want to get back on the horse immediately. What's the best way to do this? (sarcasm warning) Start playing $200 NL of course!

I win my first two hands playing $200 NL. The first I bluffed a blind-stealer and the second I made a large pre-flop raise with AA that won me a nice pot (there was a pre-flop raise plus a few callers). I then bluffed at a rather large pot with a straight draw that missed, but my opponent folded so I won. Suddenly, I have $163 in the room, which should placate my steam factor a bit, but no... I'm still on tilt.

What is the purpose of all of this dialogue? That's the set-up for this hand, which is likely the third largest pot that I have ever won (the other two were both $250, both times holding JQ). It is definitely the largest pot that I have ever won while holding ace-high.

Texas Hold'em $2-$2 NL (Real Money), #652,106,707 Table jockelito's HE, 27 Jun 2006 2:18 PM ET Seat 3: phnx666 ($81.60 in chips)
Seat 5: MartinAce ($72.30 in chips)
Seat 6: IGrindU ($321.50 in chips)
Seat 8: quetico0 ($164.60 in chips)
Seat 9: morspige ($263.60 in chips)
phnx666 posts blind ($1), Mar posts blind ($2).

PRE-FLOP
IGrindU folds, ME bets $7, morspige folds, phnx666 calls $6, Mar bets $15, frazwood bets $157.60 and is all-in, phnx666 folds, Mar calls $55.30 and is all-in.

FLOP [board cards 5D,JH,9C ]


TURN [board cards 5D,JH,9C,10H ]


RIVER [board cards 5D,JH,9C,10H,6C ]


SHOWDOWN
frazwood shows [ AC,KS ]
Mar shows [ AD,QC ]
frazwood wins $92.30, quetico0 wins $148.60.

Session Summary: 117 hands, +$5.65

Harry Potter!

Let me begin this blog entry by saying:

It's my blog and I'll write what I want.

So, J.K. Rowling has said that at least two different characters will die in the seventh and final book of the Harry Potter series. In addition, she has hinted that Harry might die also. I am re-reading the existing six books for like the 30th time, and I have some thoughts to add.

It is clear to me that the sixth book was intentionally written to confuse the reader as to whether Snape is a good guy or a bad guy. There is considerable dialogue regarding whether or not Dumbledore should trust him. I read something last night that has me completely convinced that Snape is a good guy -- Dumbledore says that when he destroyed one of Voldemort's horcruxes (Marvolo's ring) that he would have died except that Snape saved him. There is no reason why Snape would have done this if he was not a good guy.

Anyway, where am I going with this? I definitely think Snape dies in the final book. I cannot envision any other possible outcome for him, except perhaps that he is the ultimate hero at the end and that he becomes the new head of Hogwarts or something like that. He is far too immersed into the battle of good versus evil to survive (or conversely, to triumph completely).

Incindentally, I think my blog on Harry Potter is completely appropriate for my poker blog this morning. I am completely bored with poker and I need a break from it. I am playing poorly, making decisions too quickly, not concentrating, and not discerning the betting patterns of my opponents. I donked away a good amount of money last night and I'll continue to donk away money if I keep playing like this. I certainly won't be able to play much this upcoming weekend -- we're traveling to visit my parents.

Roller Coaster Ride at Party

I am pretty sure that I've said this before, but just to be sure... I usually play a minimum of 20 raked hands at Party Poker each day. I do this to get the bonus Party Points, which accumulate over time, allowing me to get various gifts from Party Poker.

Today was one of those days that I did not feel like playing much, so I sat down for the exclusive purpose of clearing 20 raked hands. The best and fastest way for me to do this is to sit down at two $50NL 6-max tables. I usually play tight-aggressive and win or lose less than $5. Not so today -- things got very exciting. I freely admit that I played a few of these hands horribly, but it was still quite the roller coaster ride today.

Table 1: Completely Boring

I played 25 hands at this table. Not a single one of these hands had a net win or net loss of more than $0.50.

Table 2: Losing my Shirt (twice!)

Hand 1

$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, June 25, 09:57:09 ET 2006
Table Table 108000 (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: m ( $27.50 )
Seat 2: B( $19.10 )
Seat 4: D ( $72.10 )
Seat 5: A ( $50.45 )
Seat 6: Fa ( $69.50 )
Seat 3: frazwood ( $25 )
B posts small blind [$0.25].
frazwood posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ Ah Kc ]
D calls [$0.50].
A folds.
Fa calls [$0.50].
m folds.
B folds.
frazwood raises [$1.50].
D folds.
Fa folds.
frazwood wins $3.25

Hands 2-5

I fold Pre-flop

Hand 6

$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, June 25, 09:59:17 ET 2006
Table Table 108000 (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: m ( $27.70 )
Seat 2: B ( $22.25 )
Seat 4: D ( $70.85 )
Seat 5: A ( $49.70 )
Seat 6: Fa ( $67 )
Seat 3: frazwood ( $26 )
Fa posts small blind [$0.25].
m posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ Qs Qh ]
B calls [$0.50].
frazwood raises [$2.50].
D folds.
A folds.
Fa calls [$2.25].
m folds.
B folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8c, Jh, 7h ]
Fa checks.
frazwood bets [$4].
Fa is all-In.
frazwood is all-In.
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3d ]
** Dealing River ** [ Jc ]
frazwood shows [ Qs, Qh ] two pairs, queens and jacks.
Fa shows [ 9c, Ts ] a straight, seven to jack.
Fa wins $41 from side pot #1 with a straight, seven to jack.
Fa wins $50.35 from the main pot with a straight, seven to jack.

I hate the way I played this hand. My big mistake was getting myself in too big of a hurry. Because I was two-tabling (and not concentrating enough), I failed to notice the possible straight as well as the flush draw.

Table 2, Hand 7

$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, June 25, 10:00:30 ET 2006
Table Table 108000 (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: m ( $26.95 )
Seat 2: B ( $21.25 )
Seat 4: D ( $70.85 )
Seat 5: A ( $52.25 )
Seat 6: Fa ( $89.35 )
Seat 3: frazwood ( $24 )
B posts small blind [$0.25].
frazwood posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ 3c 3s ]
D folds.
A folds.
Fa calls [$0.50].
m folds.
B calls [$0.25].
frazwood checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Jc, Ac, 3h ]
B checks.
frazwood bets [$1].
Fa calls [$1].
B folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ts ]
frazwood bets [$2].
Fa calls [$2].
** Dealing River ** [ 7s ]
frazwood bets [$4].
Fa is all-In.
frazwood is all-In.
frazwood shows [ 3c, 3s ] three of a kind, threes.
Fa shows [ Kh, Qc ] a straight, ten to ace.
Fa wins $65.35 from side pot #1 with a straight, ten to ace.
Fa wins $46.10 from the main pot with a straight, ten to ace.

Even though I played it like a donkey, I don't mind the way I played this hand nearly as much. Still, I'm stuck $49 in six hands. So, I leave this table an open up a new one.

Table 3: Winning it all back and then some

Hand 1

$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, June 25, 10:02:12 ET 2006
Table Table 109780 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: s( $9.42 )
Seat 2: r ( $49.50 )
Seat 3: m ( $58.75 )
Seat 4: P ( $85.37 )
Seat 5: o ( $49.70 )
Seat 6: frazwood ( $25 )
ordensg15 posts small blind [$0.25].
frazwood posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ 4c 7h ]
s calls [$0.50].
r calls [$0.50].
m calls [$0.50].
P calls [$0.50].
o calls [$0.25].
frazwood checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ac, 7s, 4h ]
ordensg15 checks.
frazwood bets [$3].
s folds.
r calls [$3].
m folds.
P calls [$3].
o folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4s ]
frazwood checks.
r checks.
Pchecks.
** Dealing River ** [ 3c ]
frazwood bets [$8].
rraises [$16].
P2 calls [$16].
frazwood is all-In.
r calls [$5.50].
P calls [$5.50].
r shows [ 3s, 3d ] a full house, Threes full of fours.
P shows [ 5h, 2d ] a straight, ace to five.
frazwood shows [ 4c, 7h ] a full house, Fours full of sevens.
frazwood wins $73.50 from the main pot with a full house, Fours full of sevens.

The river in this hand was ridiculously good for me. It made both of my opponents strong hands (but not as strong as mine), allowing me to almost triple up.

Hand 3

$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, June 25, 10:03:55 ET 2006
Table Table 109780 (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: s ( $8.42 )
Seat 2: r ( $24 )
Seat 3: m ( $58.25 )
Seat 4: P ( $61.77 )
Seat 5: o ( $49.20 )
Seat 6: frazwood ( $73 )
s posts small blind [$0.25].
r posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ Qh As ]
m folds.
P calls [$0.50].
o folds.
frazwood raises [$2].
s folds.
r folds.
P calls [$1.50].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6s, 7c, Ah ]
P checks.
frazwood bets [$3].
P calls [$3].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kh ]
P checks.
frazwood bets [$4].
P calls [$4].
** Dealing River ** [ 9s ]
P checks.
frazwood checks.
P shows [ 6h, Qd ] a pair of sixes.
frazwood shows [ Qh, As ] a pair of aces.
frazwood wins $17.85 from the main pot with a pair of aces.

Hand 6

$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, June 25, 10:05:46 ET 2006
Table Table 109780 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: s ( $8.17 )
Seat 2: r ( $49.50 )
Seat 3: m ( $57.70 )
Seat 4: P ( $53.67 )
Seat 5: o( $49.20 )
Seat 6: frazwood ( $81.85 )
P posts small blind [$0.25].
o posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ Ad As ]
frazwood raises [$3].
s folds.
r calls [$3].
m folds.
P calls [$2.75].
o folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8s, Th, Jh ]
P checks.
frazwood bets [$6].
r folds.
P calls [$6].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3c ]
P checks.
frazwood bets [$6].
P calls [$6].
** Dealing River ** [ 7c ]
P checks.
frazwood checks.
P shows [ Js, Qh ] a pair of jacks.
frazwood shows [ Ad, As ] a pair of aces.
frazwood wins $31.85 from the main pot with a pair of aces.

Hand 7

$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, June 25, 10:06:44 ET 2006
Table Table 109780 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: s ( $8.17 )
Seat 2: r( $46.50 )
Seat 3: m ( $57.70 )
Seat 4: P ( $38.67 )
Seat 5: o ( $48.70 )
Seat 6: frazwood ( $98.70 )
o posts small blind [$0.25].
frazwood posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ 9d Ad ]
s calls [$0.50].
r folds.
m folds.
P raises [$1].
o folds.
frazwood calls [$0.50].
s calls [$0.50].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6d, Ks, 8c ]
frazwood checks.
s checks.
P checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kd ]
frazwood checks.
s bets [$0.50].
P calls [$0.50].
frazwood calls [$0.50].
** Dealing River ** [ 4d ]
frazwood checks.
s checks.
P checks.
frazwood shows [ 9d, Ad ] a flush, ace high.
s doesn't show [ 5h, 6h ] two pairs, kings and sixes.
P doesn't show [ 7h, 9s ] a pair of kings.
frazwood wins $4.55 from the main pot with a flush, ace high.

Hands 8-12

I fold all of these pre-flop; I lose a net of $0.25 during these hands.

Session Summary: 43 Hands, Net = +$23, Win Rate = 53 PTBB/100 hands

This and That

For the second day in a row, there is nothing much to complain about as far as my poker goes. I am playing both limit (full-ring) and no-limit hold'em (usually 6-max) very well. I have been playing more Pot-Limit Omaha 8/b, which is clearly not my strongest game, but it's new and fun. My pattern lately is to play tight-aggressive for awhile, to win a little, but then to get impatient and lose a big pot, usually with the second nuts. Oh well.

I finally cleared enough bonus points at Full Contact Poker such that they released $100 of bonus money to me. I had grinded my stack there up to $544 ($644 with the bonus), so I cashed out my original investment of $300, plus another $50 as a bonus reward to myself. Considering that my bankroll there was once as low as $210, I am quite happy with this turn around. This leaves me $294 bankroll, which is plenty to play $50 NLHE, $25 PLO8/b, or even $1/$2 limit.

Although most of my blog lately has focused on Full Contact Poker, I have also been playing at Party Poker a little bit each day to get their bonus Party Points (you get 200 bonus points for play 5 days a week; 500 bonus points for playing 20 days a month). I have read on the internet that Party Poker's points system sucks, but I like it a lot considering that about 70% of the points that I accumulate are "bonus" points.

I have two things to mention about the Party points. First, I cashed in some of my points today to get a copy of Dan Harrington's book on no limit hold'em tournaments. I've heard good things about it, so I am excited to be getting it.

Second, in playing my 20 raked hands today, I managed to donk away about $35. Not good. I tried to bully call stations, which is usually a bad idea. The session ended when I check-raised all-in while holding K8 after a flop of K 4 2 (I had a short stack, so it wasn't that bad of a play). The donkey in the cutoff called with K7 but the bettor on the button pushed all-in (the donkey called AGAIN) with 22. Oops.

In other news, someone kindly sent me a private message at www.thepokerforum.com to let me know that my comments were not working on my blog. Many thanks!

I think I have the problem fixed, but I would appreciate it if someone other than me could post a test comment.

Nothing much exciting going on

This blog entry is going to be really short... I just don't have much to say, and I mean that in a very good way. Normally, I focus on my flaws and trying to get better. Right now, though, my confidence in my poker abilities is sky-high. I have been winning consistently at no limit hold'em and I have even done well playing limit hold'em. I have started a new streak on the HORSE tournaments, having failed to cash two tournaments in a row, but I am reasonably happy with the quality of my play.

For the most part, though, I have been grinding away at Full Contact Poker, slowly building my bankroll there. I am also very slowly clearing bonus points, hoping for the day when some of this bonus money will be released. So far, I have played around 3000 hands, and I have cleared about $80 worth of bonus money. The first release will be at $100. My goal was to build my bankroll up to $500, so that I could cash out $300 when the $100 of bonus was released and I would still have $300 of bankroll to chase the remaining $200 of bonus that I have yet to clear. As of right now, my bankroll sits at $510, so all I have to do is tread water for a little bit.

Unfortunately, I don't "tread water" very well, so I am going to try and stay focused and keep winning. Otherwise, I'll probably donk away a serious amount of cash (usually equal to the amount of the bonus).

Right now, unfortunately, I cannot get on to the Full Contact Poker site, so I am playing Omaha 8/b at UltimateBet. I am +$12.75 playing pot-limit with blinds at $0.10/$0.25. How exciting! (update: I just donked away a bunch of money... I'm now -$8 at UltimateBet)

A Comeback at FCP, HORSE, and a Bad Beat

I'm going to write this blog entry in reverse order of the title.

A Bad Beat

I know that bad beat stories are a dime a dozen, but I like to include hand histories in my blog. Also, I think this bad beat is rather impressive, given how far ahead I was of DONKEY on the flop.

$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Monday, June 19, 13:37:40 ET 2006
Table Table 108010 (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: fec222 ( $126.22 )
Seat 2: Thrak42 ( $54.92 )
Seat 3: DONKEY ( $14.13 )
Seat 4: JTEEX ( $51.11 )
Seat 5: LuckyTran ( $28.10 )
Seat 6: frazwood ( $24.95 )
fec222 posts small blind [$0.25].
Thrak42 posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ 7s 8s ]
DONKEY calls [$0.50].
JTEEX calls [$0.50].
LuckyTran folds.
frazwood calls [$0.50].
fec222 calls [$0.25].
Thrak42 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4d, 6d, 5s ]
fec222 bets [$2.49].
Thrak42 raises [$5.98].
DONKEY calls [$5.98].
JTEEX folds.
frazwood is all-In [$24.45]
fec222 folds.
Thrak42 folds.
DONKEY is all-In [$7.65]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 5d ]
** Dealing River ** [ 5c ]
DONKEY shows [ 4s, 3s ] a full house, Fives full of fours.
frazwood shows [ 7s, 8s ] a straight, four to eight.
frazwood wins $10.82 from side pot #1 with a straight, four to eight.
DONKEY wins $36.33 from the main pot with a full house, Fives full of fours.

HORSE

As I said in my previous blog, I am really enjoying playing $5 + 0.50 HORSE SNGs at Full Tilt Poker. I have played only one of these since my last blog. It was last night and I won it rather easily.

I initially donked off some chips calling down a DONKEY with ace high. This actually was worth the chip value that I lost, because the DONKEY was a loud-mouth, and pointed out to the entire table that I was a "horrible poker player". I played tight-aggressive from then on, and I got it to five-handed with about 1500 chips (starting chip amount = 1500).

The blinds/antes were rather large at this point, so I needed to make a move quickly or I was going to be out. In hold'em, I was dealt KQs on the button, so I raised it up and got called in two spots. The flop was K K 9 and I raised an early bettor, who called. The turn was my gin card (queen) and I merely called a bet, because I had position and I was almost all-in (I wanted to get all-in on the river). When my opponent bet out on the river, he was almost forced to call my raise because of the pot-odds. He probably would have called anyway, as he held JT. There's nothing like chasing an inside-straight draw, catching it, and losing anyway!

After that, I had plenty of chips to do damage and I simply outplayed my opponents to win. The heads-up match was particularly easy because my opponent had little clue how to play Omaha 8/b. The first hand (we started about even in chips), I flopped the nut high (ace-high spade flush) and low and he called me to the end with some crappy high hand (top pair?) and no low. After that, I simply played tight-aggressive, pushing when he was weak and folding when he wasn't.

Full Contact Poker

After struggling for awhile, I think that I have finally found my rhythm at Full Contact Poker. I am now +$100 for the site, even though I have yet to clear any bonus money. I have been playing a little $100 NL, which is great for clearing bonus points, but it's a little above my comfort level as far as what I am capable of losing. I certainly feel like I can beat the $100 NL game, but I am more comfortable playing $50 NL, so I have decided (for now at least) to stick to that game.

I have been slowly grinding my stack upwards, mostly by avoiding big pots without a really strong hand. It seems almost too simple to be true.

Being a Moron

Before I start this blog entry in ernest, I'll start with a little bragging about a lucky hand.

I called a mini-raise from the small blind with 9s 8s... On the flop, I was quite pleased to get all of my money in the middle with the nuts and have two callers. I was worried by the turn, which paired the board, but I noticed that I picked up a straight flush draw. I was laughing when the Qs came on the river, giving me the straight flush. I am sure that donkey#2 was quite shocked to see the main pot slide somewhere else when he held queens full. The amazing thing, thanks to donkey#1, is that donkey#2 actually made a small profit on this hand.

$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Thursday, June 15, 11:34:01 ET 2006
Table Table 108084 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: jajjy1 ( $37.44 )
Seat 2: donkey3 ( $19.46 )
Seat 3: donkey2 ( $43.35 )
Seat 4: shooterm1a1 ( $49.73 )
Seat 6: donkey1 ( $57.60 )
Seat 5: frazwood ( $19.45 )
frazwood posts small blind [$0.25].
donkey1 posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to frazwood [ 9s 8s ]
jajjy1 folds.
donkey3 calls [$0.50].
donkey2 raises [$1].
shooterm1a1 folds.
frazwood calls [$0.75].
donkey1 calls [$0.50].
donkey3 calls [$0.50].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Td, Js, 7h ]
frazwood checks.
donkey1 checks.
donkey3 checks.
donkey2 bets [$3].
frazwood calls [$3].
donkey1 raises [$10].
donkey3 folds.
donkey2 calls [$7].
frazwood is all-In [$15.45]
donkey1 calls [$8.45].
ramridge2 calls [$8.45].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ts ]
Philms83 bets [$23.90].
donkey2 is all-In [$23.90]
** Dealing River ** [ Qs ]
donkey1 shows [ 9d, Jd ] two pairs, jacks and tens.
donkey2 shows [ Qd, Qh ] a full house, Queens full of tens.
frazwood shows [ 9s, 8s ] a straight flush, queen high.
donkey2 wins $47.75 from side pot #1 with a full house, Queens full of tens.
frazwood wins $56.40 from the main pot with a straight flush, queen high.

And now... onto the actual blog entry...

I think a lot about poker. I'll play an interesting hand and I'll think about what was the correct way to play it, both with my cards as well as the cards of my opponent. I think considering both sides of a hand of poker is important to get better, because your profit in poker, over the long term, comes from repeatedly making better plays than your opponent.

Anyway, I was playing $1/$2 limit hold'em yesterday at Full Contact Poker. There was an early limper and the person to his immediate left raised. Two folks from late position also called, so I decided to call from the big blind with 7h 8h. The pot was going to be about $10 (assuming that the limper called minus the rake) and 10:1 is good pot odds for a drawing hand like 78s.

I then got lucky and I flopped trip sevens. Because there was a flush draw and I had four opponents in the hand, I bet it aggressively on the flop. I got raised by the original raiser, and I three-bet it when it came back around to me. Just the two of us saw the turn, which was a blank -- as was the river.

After the pot slid to me, my opponent (who held QQ) said, "Nice call with trash cards, moron." This is a thought that I would often have when I first starting playing poker seriously. I played tight-aggressive and I was exclusively playing premium hands. I didn't understand the value of drawing hands like suited connectors (or indeed, any two cards). I rarely play suited connectors when I'm playing limit hold'em, but a 10:1 price is simply too good to refuse.

Struggling at FCP

In my last few blog entries, I noted that I was mostly playing at Full Contact Poker -- a Poker Room skin. The site plays just like the Poker Room... I am playing at FCP because I qualified for a $300 sign-up bonus.

My bankroll at this site has been a real roller coaster so far. I initially won about $40, then lost it. Then, I lost even more, getting stuck as far as $80. Then, I fought my way back to even, only to lose it all back in less than 15 hands (of limit poker, no less!!!).

I have not played particularly well at FCP. I am not particularly interested in playing poker right now... in fact, the only game that seems exciting to me are HORSE tournaments at Full Tilt Poker (more later). Even so, I checked my Poker Tracker stats, and I am approximately even playing Hold'em at FCP. That means, if I can manage to play a little better and if I can manage to stay away from 5-Card Draw, then I can probably start grinding out some money at FCP.

I started tonight's session stuck about $15. I opened a $50 NLHE, 6-max table and I played intelligently the entire night, winning about $20. I also played a little 7-stud, winning $4. I played some $1/$2 Limit Hold'em (full-ring), losing $10-$15.

I also played some $50 PL Omaha 8/b. The latter game is usually great for clearing bonuses because the pots often get very very large because of the high/low nature of the game. This is great for generating rake, which helps my bonus clear faster (I played very few hands). In the end, I won about $25 playing Omaha 8/b when I won two big pots during my last five hands.

Winning Hand#1: I was dealt A 3 5 6 (two suits); the flop gave me a draw at the nut low hand. I played it check-call. The turn gave me the nut low hand, and I made a pot-sized raise. When the river was a blank, I made another pot sized bet and my opponent folded, giving me the entire pot.

Winning Hand#2: I was dealt A 2 4 5 (two suits). The flop was 3 4 7 (rainbow), giving me the nut low and draws at some non-nut straights. I made a pot-sized bet and I got called in two spots. The turn was a six (completing the rainbow) and giving me the second best possible hand plus the nut low. I made another pot-sized bet and I was called again in two spots. The river was 10 (no 3-flush on the board) and I pushed all-in with my straight + nut low. I got called in one spot, by an opponent who also held A2. So, I took down 3/4 of a very large pot.

In other news, I have been playing HORSE SNGs at Full Tilt Poker, where my bankroll had once dwindled to as low as $15 (I could always re-load, of course). I decided that it was kind of stupid to play hold'em at Full Tilt, since I can find MUCH softer games elsewhere. So, why play at FTP? The HORSE tournaments, obviously, which are a lot of fun for me.

I have discovered that the HORSE SNGs are profitable also, at least at the $5+0.50 level. I have tried to play one of these whenever I have about 90 minutes of free time. I have actually cashed five straight times, re-building my bankroll up to $40. It's not big money, but I am a horrible tournament player, so this is quite exciting for me. I think that I have a much bigger edge in these HORSE SNGs than other tournaments because I can play four of the five games really well (Hold'em, Omaha 8/b, Razz, 7-stud). I am even getting better at 7-stud 8/b.

I won my last HORSE SNG, even though I was severely short-stacked when it got down to four handed. First, the other short-stack decided to make a desperation all-in and lost. Then, the two big stacks went at each other in two consecutive hands, knocking one of them out. Suddenly, I had backed my way into second place. Luckily, the big stack was a HORRIBLE poker player, and I quickly built myself a 3-to-1 chip advantage. I unfortunately donked it away playing Stud 8/b. I then lost a few pots playing Hold'em, again finding myself with a short-stack playing Omaha 8/b. I then won 5-6 consecutive pots. The last two hands of the SNG involved my opponent capping on the turn and river when I held both the nut low and the nut high (like I said, he was TERRIBLE).

Party Poker Reload

I spent the poker portion of my weekend trying to clear the Party Poker reload bonus ($100 for 1000 raked hands). I mean that literally, because I focused more on clearing raked hands than I did playing solid poker. I initially built my stack up to +$150 for the reload, but then I became sleepy (and kept playing -- doh!) and I donked away most of that. Admittedly, I had three hands (blinds = $0.25/$0.50) that were particularly painful and expensive, otherwise I played "ok" (not great).

Hand#1: I raised to $2 from the button with Ad Kd. The big blind re-raised to $4. Although I am always scared of AA/KK here (re-raises are very rare at my tables), the re-raise was not big enough to make folding the correct play. The flop was perfect: Td 6d 2d. The big blind overbet the pot; I pushed all-in and he instantly called. The turn was a blank; the river was Tc and the $78 pot slid to my opponent, who flipped over Th Ts.

Hand#2: I raised from the button with QQ. The big blind called, as expected since this guy had a VP$IP of 75%. The flop was Tc 9s 3d. The BB checked; I made a pot-sized bet and he called. The turn was 8d. The BB checked and I pushed all-in (doh!). My opponent flipped over Jc 7c.

Hand#3: My opponent raised to $1.75 from under-the-gun. I called from the big blind with QQ. The flop was 9d 6s 5d. My opponent bet out about 1/2 the pot; I raised about the size of the pot; he called. The turn was 7c. I made a good sized bet (about $7) and he called. The river was another queen, giving me top set. I thought the chances of this guy holding an eight were rather slim, so I pushed all in and he called. He had two eights.

I don't think I played hands #2 and #3 very well, but even so... those two donkeys had to call big bets to catch an inside straight draw. The third hand was the most interesting hand of the three because of the dialogue that occurred afterwards. My opponent immediately called me a moron and an idiot. He even made a reference to me being a professor, suggesting (perhaps) that he is a reader of this blog. In the end, however, I think we broke even because he failed to fold TPTK in a hand when I flopped bottom set I enjoyed his obscenity-laden chatter -- I went into my "mad genius" persona and kept discussing his wonderful nipples and the clowns that were attempting to eat me (yes, I'm weird!).

I also had a semi-interesting session with another member of TPF during all of this (anacr1me). I don't know if he noticed me (he did not comment, which was the correct thing to do). We played maybe 30-40 hands at the same table, only butting heads in one hand (I won it when he folded to my raise on the turn). He was playing pretty tight and I was catching cards (I increased my stack from $25 to around $90 during this period).

Full Contact Poker + Party Poker Reload

In my last blog entry, I mentioned that I had opened an account at Full Contact Poker, attempting to take advantage of their sign-up bonus. Their cashier system is a little strange, so although I deposited $300 into my FCP account, I only transferred $100 into my poker account. Essentially, this made me feel like I was playing on a short bankroll, even though I was not.

Because of my "short bankroll", I started playing $0.50/$1.00 limit hold'em, full ring. I did very well at first, winning about $35 in my first session. I then played some short-handed $50 NL, donking away most of my profit. After that, I went on tilt, and lost the remainder of my profit and I was even stuck a few dollars. Even after quitting for the night, I continued to play poorly at FCP. I slowly lost about $80 playing $25 NL, $1/$2 five card draw, and $0.50/$1.00 full ring limit hold'em.

Eventually, I decided that I needed to get my act in gear and play for a little bit higher stakes (I was having difficulty taking the lower stakes serious enough to win). So, last night, I transferred all of my bankroll into my FCP poker account, and decided to play a single table of 6-max $50 NLHE.

Unfortunately, there are not very many 6-max tables available at FCP (most of the tables are 5-max), so I signed up for the waiting list. I noticed that there was a seat available in a $100 NL, 6-max table. Like the brain surgeon that I am, I bought in ($50), promising myself to play ultra-tight. I carefully watched the playing style of the people at my table and they were awful! They were pushing all-in with middle pair and getting called by top pair, weak kicker. In short, it was as juicy of a table as I have ever seen.

I won a few small pots, building my stack to about $60. Eventually, I had my "big hand". It was folded to the cut-off, who limped. I then raised (4x) from the button with KQs; the blinds folded and the cut-off called. The flop was a good one for me: K 9 2 (rainbow). The CO checked; I bet out, about 75% the size of the pot. The CO then check-raised me. Normally, I would say folding here was the correct play, but these donkeys were playing so crazy that I felt that there was a good chance that I had the better hand. So, I pushed all-in. I was immediately worried when he called, but then feeling better when a queen came on the turn, giving me top two pair (hoping that he did not flop a set). Regardless, when the river blanked, the pot was slid to me. I checked the hand history, and my donkey opponent held K3o.

Soon after, I quit that table because my spot had opened at the $50 NLHE table. I played only two orbits, but I doubled up when I flopped a set and someone pushed all-in with TPTK. In short, I played about 30 hands, winning $90 or so. I am now +$9 at FCP. The only bad news is that I have barely cleared any of the bonus. I am considering quitting the site because the bonus clears so slowly.

In other bonus-whoring news, Party Poker announced their reload yesterday. So, I deposited $500 to get a $100 bonus, requiring 1000 raked hands. After losing an all-in in my first orbit, I have played very well and gotten good cards. I am currently +$68 after playing 228 hands (29 PTBB/100 hands).

Getting Lucky

The title of this blog is a reference to my poker play, not my personal life. In fact, on Friday, our obstetrician recommended that we avoid all "pelvic activity" (the precise phrase that she used) for the short term (yep, Mrs. Frazwood is pregnant again).

My poker play has been absolutely horrible. I have played like a donkey, making idiotic calls that made absolutely no sense. I should be stuck $200-$300, but instead I am up about $200 during the streak.

Lucky hand#1: $100 NL

I am dealt 77 in the big blind; three people limp; I check. The flop is 3c 4s 5s. I make reasonable bet (3/4 of the pot) with my overpair + inside straight draw. I get one caller. The turn is an overcard; let's say Kh (I don't remember exactly). I fire out again, and my opponent calls again. The river is As, completing the flush draw. I check and my opponent pushes all-in. For whatever reason, I call his bet. What reasonable hand can I beat here? After re-evaluating the hand, I can't think of one. Well, my opponent held a completely UNREASONABLE hand (6c 8h) and I took down a monster pot with a pair of sevens.

Lucky hand#2: $50 NL

The best part about this hand is that I dropped down in stakes. My opponent was to my immediate right and he had been raising about 25% of the hands preflop. So, I decided to play table captain when he raised in front of me (I held As Ts) and I pushed all-in; he immediately called. The flop was Js Qh Qc. The turn was 4d. The river was Ks, giving me a straight. The my opponent, the so-called "donkey", flipped over Ah Ad.

Lucky Hand#3: $50 NL

At this table, I had been playing rather loose-aggressive (at least for me). In this hand, there was one limper when I raised from the button with Kd Ts; both the big blind and the limper called. The flop was Td 7s 4s. The big blind checked; the limper made a smallish bet (maybe 1/4 of the pot); I raised about the size of the pot. The big blind then raised and the limper folded. I did not even think about the fact that the big blind had check-raised following a bet and a raise. This definitely means strength. Well, being the donkey that I am, I pushed all-in and the big blind instantly called. The turn brought another ten and the river brought a spade of some kind (I don't remember exactly). Anyway, my opponent held 7d 4h, so I got lucky and sucked out yet again.

Lucky Hand#4: $50 NL

This hand was lucky of a different sort. Well, maybe... you be the judge. I was dealt Ad Ah on the button. A loose-aggressive player raised 4x the big blind from under-the-gun. I normally re-raise in this position, but I figured that I could merely call and then push all-in on the flop after my opponent bet out. After everyone else folded, the flop was Ac 2s 2h and my opponent checked it to me. Because I held an almost an unbeatable hand, I checked also. The turn was a blank spade of some kind. My opponent checked. Now, I normally bet in this position (even if I slow-play, I normally make a bet on the turn), but I start to think that I should give my normally aggressive opponent a chance to bluff at this pot. In fact, I hoped for a spade to hit on the river, possibly giving him a flush (or at least that he can represent a flush). I get VERY LUCKY and when the river brings Qs. Even better, my opponent makes a pot-sized bet. I hope that he caught his flush, so I push all-in and he instantly calls. He held Qh Qd.

Now you might be wondering why I got so lucky here? Unless my opponent catches one of the two remaining queens on the river, I don't think I win more than $2 in this hand.

With all of this luck, I did the sensible thing: I quit for the day.

I most recently decided to open a new account at Full Contact Poker to take advantage of their generous sign-up bonus. For those of you who do not know about FCP, it is a Poker Room skin that was started by Daniel Negreanu (well, actually, Daniel sold the naming rights and then signed-up to endorse and promote the site). Before the site opened, Daniel asked members of the original Full Contact Poker forum to re-sign up. These people (including me) were deemed "charter members", which gives us special opportunities beyond the normal people. For example, my sign-up bonus is 100% up to $300 (the regular sign-up bonus is 100% up to $200).

The bonus at FCP clears rather slowly but they allow 90 days to clear it and you can clear it in installments. That is, right now, I have 90 days to clear a $100 portion of my $300 bonus. After that, I can try to clear another $100 worth (or I could go for all $200 of the remainder) of bonus and I get another 90 days to clear that. It's a weird confusing system. The problem is that I have a bankroll of only $100 and I need to play a lot of hands to clear the bonus.

My Poker Addiction

Y'all might know that I am addicted to poker. Well, not really. I am obsessive about winning and I am as competitive as anyone that I have ever met. That's slightly different than being addicted to poker, but only slightly.

This obsession is my explanation for my never-ending quest to be a winning heads-up poker player. Of all forms of poker, this would seem to be the one for which I would have the easiest time winning. I understand how the game is played; I can read hands properly; and I know how to bet. I am certainly not the best player in the world, but heads up matches against your average online poker playing donkey should give me a substantial edge.

And yet, I don't think I am a winning heads up player -- even at the lowest stakes. I have tried playing tighter, looser, more aggressive, less aggressive -- I have tried everything. And this isn't even against tough competition -- this is in the $5 + $0.25 games at Poker Stars, Full tilt, or (now) UltimateBet.

Well, folks, I think that I have finally found my winning formula. I simply need to make smaller bets. I have been playing most recently at UltimateBet, and I think that I have it. I can bet aggressively, but with bets that are the 1-3X the minimum. This allows me to put pressure on my opponents without risking too much money. They're call stations, normally, so when I have a hand, I can build and win a nice pot. When I have read that they have something (or I am on a stone-cold bluff), then I can slow down or fold without any problems at all. The structure at UltimateBet is pretty slow, so I have plenty of time to grind away at my opponents. At that, folks, is my edge: the ability to grind and grind, whereas your typical internet donkey tries to win quickly.

Since I made this discovery, I have won 3 matches and lost only one. The one match that I lost was somewhat of a fluke. I got one of those hyperaggressive opponents who pushes all-in seemingly every hand. Literally, this guy pushed all-in preflop on the first, second, fourth, and fifth hands. I limp-called on the fourth hand, flipping over my QQ to his KTo. The flop came AK4, though, and I did not improve on the turn or river. Oh well, it wasn't grinding, but I'll take those odds any day of the week.