Long Time, No Blog
It's been quite awhile since I have written a blog. There are numerous reasons for my hiatus.
First, I have been busy with both my professional and personal lives. Personally, my family took a short vacation that did not involve any poker. Second, the new school year has started and that has taken up a considerable amount of my time.
Second, I have gotten frustrated with poker and I am in the middle of a "break" from poker (well, not really). I cashed a decent amount of my bankroll and I am trying to play for "fun", which means that I am relaxed, merely trying to make good decisions and not really caring whether I win or lose. I've learned that when I get into this mind-set that I can win. A lot. And that's starting to happen, although I also dropped down in stakes, so it's not a huge amount of money.
Before I decided to take my "break", I had a few big losses and a few frustrating nights. I had a similar feeling this February when I cashed out 90% of my bankroll and gave it to my wife, never to see it again. So, I did something similar... I cashed out about $1000 and decided to take a break (note: I'm not giving the money to my wife this time).
I then decided to sign-up for a promotion at Pokersourceonline. I have completed virtually every promotion that they had available, except for Golden Palace Poker. I had avoided Golden Palace because I had heard that there were difficulties with the cashout procedure (i.e., they required two picture IDs, a bill with your address, and a note from your mother). I also noticed that a new promotion was available: Dream Poker. So, I signed up for both of these and I have been trying to clear them since.
Dream Poker (a Prima site), so far, has been anything but a dream. Their initial deposit bonus and the PSO promotion clear only at $1/$2 stakes or higher. Also, the promotion/bonus clears only with contributed pots, so 7stud would be great but I've never found a game going. Furthermore, it's not clear what no limit stakes (if any) will clear the bonus. I've read at the PSO forum that $50 NL counts, but the raked hands that I've cleared at these stakes so far have not counted. My e-mails to Dream Poker support have either been ignored or resulted in a form letter that is written ambiguously. This is a big negative, in my opinion, but I have nonetheless continued to play.
Thus far, I have been playing almost exclusively $1/$2 6-max limit hold'em at Dream Poker. I have played poorly at times and well at others. I took one horrendously bad beat (see below) that cost me some good money. I also had a ridiculously bad session (i.e., I played poorly) that was a reminder of why I needed a break in the first place. My most recent session, however, was great. I played well, caught cards, and had donkeys raising with top pair against my set or overpair. Juicy. I won almost $60 in only 32 hands. I am currently +$26 at the site, having cleared about 1/3 of the promotion.
In contrast, Golden Palace Poker has been a pleasant surprise. I initially deposited $320 so that I would be clearing an $80 sign-up bonus at the same time as my PSO promotion (i.e., each would require 10,000 action points). I immediately cashed out $120 to figure out if the rumors about the difficult cash-outs were true (final answer: not true; my money appeared in my Neteller account in a few days). Also, I like the software and the games have been rather soft. The sign-up bonus/promotion clear based on a formula that involves your contribution to the pot, but I'm still accumulating action points rather quickly at $50 NL even though I am playing rather tight. I am also winning; I've won a little more than $200 while clearing almost 5000 action points.
So, a "thumbs down" to Dream Poker and a "thumbs up" to Golden Palace Poker. And finally, here is my bad beat. I normally don't like bad beat stories, but this is a good one. Enjoy!
** Game ID 919351168 starting - 2006-09-01 12:34:11
** Breathe Again [Hold 'em] (1.00|2.00 Fixed Limit - Cash Game) Real Money
- frazwood sitting in seat 1 with $50.00
- Giantfish123 sitting in seat 2 with $41.79
- bigphatass2 sitting in seat 3 with $38.25
- hassan123 sitting in seat 4 with $117.94
- SuperEan sitting in seat 5 with $98.00 [Dealer]
- YellowMan1 sitting in seat 6 with $24.00
YellowMan1 posted the small blind - $0.50
frazwood posted the big blind - $1.00
** Dealing card to frazwood: 10 of Spades, 10 of Hearts
Giantfish123 raised - $2.00
bigphatass2 called - $2.00
hassan123 folded
SuperEan called - $2.00
YellowMan1 folded
frazwood called - $2.00
** Dealing the flop: King of Diamonds, 2 of Spades, 10 of Clubs
frazwood checked
Giantfish123 checked
bigphatass2 checked
SuperEan bet - $1.00
frazwood called - $1.00
Giantfish123 folded
bigphatass2 called - $1.00
** Dealing the turn: 5 of Spades
frazwood checked
bigphatass2 checked
SuperEan bet - $2.00
frazwood raised - $4.00
bigphatass2 folded
SuperEan raised - $6.00
frazwood raised - $8.00
SuperEan called - $8.00
** Dealing the river: 5 of Hearts
frazwood bet - $2.00
SuperEan raised - $4.00
frazwood raised - $6.00
SuperEan raised - $8.00
frazwood called - $8.00
SuperEan shows: 5 of Clubs, 5 of Diamonds
frazwood mucks: 10 of Spades, 10 of Hearts
SuperEan wins $42.00 from the main pot
First, I have been busy with both my professional and personal lives. Personally, my family took a short vacation that did not involve any poker. Second, the new school year has started and that has taken up a considerable amount of my time.
Second, I have gotten frustrated with poker and I am in the middle of a "break" from poker (well, not really). I cashed a decent amount of my bankroll and I am trying to play for "fun", which means that I am relaxed, merely trying to make good decisions and not really caring whether I win or lose. I've learned that when I get into this mind-set that I can win. A lot. And that's starting to happen, although I also dropped down in stakes, so it's not a huge amount of money.
Before I decided to take my "break", I had a few big losses and a few frustrating nights. I had a similar feeling this February when I cashed out 90% of my bankroll and gave it to my wife, never to see it again. So, I did something similar... I cashed out about $1000 and decided to take a break (note: I'm not giving the money to my wife this time).
I then decided to sign-up for a promotion at Pokersourceonline. I have completed virtually every promotion that they had available, except for Golden Palace Poker. I had avoided Golden Palace because I had heard that there were difficulties with the cashout procedure (i.e., they required two picture IDs, a bill with your address, and a note from your mother). I also noticed that a new promotion was available: Dream Poker. So, I signed up for both of these and I have been trying to clear them since.
Dream Poker (a Prima site), so far, has been anything but a dream. Their initial deposit bonus and the PSO promotion clear only at $1/$2 stakes or higher. Also, the promotion/bonus clears only with contributed pots, so 7stud would be great but I've never found a game going. Furthermore, it's not clear what no limit stakes (if any) will clear the bonus. I've read at the PSO forum that $50 NL counts, but the raked hands that I've cleared at these stakes so far have not counted. My e-mails to Dream Poker support have either been ignored or resulted in a form letter that is written ambiguously. This is a big negative, in my opinion, but I have nonetheless continued to play.
Thus far, I have been playing almost exclusively $1/$2 6-max limit hold'em at Dream Poker. I have played poorly at times and well at others. I took one horrendously bad beat (see below) that cost me some good money. I also had a ridiculously bad session (i.e., I played poorly) that was a reminder of why I needed a break in the first place. My most recent session, however, was great. I played well, caught cards, and had donkeys raising with top pair against my set or overpair. Juicy. I won almost $60 in only 32 hands. I am currently +$26 at the site, having cleared about 1/3 of the promotion.
In contrast, Golden Palace Poker has been a pleasant surprise. I initially deposited $320 so that I would be clearing an $80 sign-up bonus at the same time as my PSO promotion (i.e., each would require 10,000 action points). I immediately cashed out $120 to figure out if the rumors about the difficult cash-outs were true (final answer: not true; my money appeared in my Neteller account in a few days). Also, I like the software and the games have been rather soft. The sign-up bonus/promotion clear based on a formula that involves your contribution to the pot, but I'm still accumulating action points rather quickly at $50 NL even though I am playing rather tight. I am also winning; I've won a little more than $200 while clearing almost 5000 action points.
So, a "thumbs down" to Dream Poker and a "thumbs up" to Golden Palace Poker. And finally, here is my bad beat. I normally don't like bad beat stories, but this is a good one. Enjoy!
** Game ID 919351168 starting - 2006-09-01 12:34:11
** Breathe Again [Hold 'em] (1.00|2.00 Fixed Limit - Cash Game) Real Money
- frazwood sitting in seat 1 with $50.00
- Giantfish123 sitting in seat 2 with $41.79
- bigphatass2 sitting in seat 3 with $38.25
- hassan123 sitting in seat 4 with $117.94
- SuperEan sitting in seat 5 with $98.00 [Dealer]
- YellowMan1 sitting in seat 6 with $24.00
YellowMan1 posted the small blind - $0.50
frazwood posted the big blind - $1.00
** Dealing card to frazwood: 10 of Spades, 10 of Hearts
Giantfish123 raised - $2.00
bigphatass2 called - $2.00
hassan123 folded
SuperEan called - $2.00
YellowMan1 folded
frazwood called - $2.00
** Dealing the flop: King of Diamonds, 2 of Spades, 10 of Clubs
frazwood checked
Giantfish123 checked
bigphatass2 checked
SuperEan bet - $1.00
frazwood called - $1.00
Giantfish123 folded
bigphatass2 called - $1.00
** Dealing the turn: 5 of Spades
frazwood checked
bigphatass2 checked
SuperEan bet - $2.00
frazwood raised - $4.00
bigphatass2 folded
SuperEan raised - $6.00
frazwood raised - $8.00
SuperEan called - $8.00
** Dealing the river: 5 of Hearts
frazwood bet - $2.00
SuperEan raised - $4.00
frazwood raised - $6.00
SuperEan raised - $8.00
frazwood called - $8.00
SuperEan shows: 5 of Clubs, 5 of Diamonds
frazwood mucks: 10 of Spades, 10 of Hearts
SuperEan wins $42.00 from the main pot
posted by frazwood at 10:28 AM
2 Comments:
This is 6 max correct? Why didn't you raise pre-flop and proceeded to raise flop. "FSP" (Fancy Play Syndrome) Is simply. -EV
Preflop: I called from the big blind because the raise plus calls suggested that TT was not going to hold up unimproved. I essentially was playing the hand as "no set, no bet". This was perhaps timid or passive, but certainly not fancy.
Flop: This is a very safe flop to slow-play a set. The only hand that has me beat is KK (not likely). The only draw is JQ... there are no flush draws. If the turn came without an ace or nine, then my plan was to raise once the bets doubled.
This was a loose-aggressive table, so I still think this was a +EV play. In reality, any bet on the flop would have likely been called by the guy with 55... if it was FPS, then it saved me a small bet or two.
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