The Poker Bonus Chaser's Journal

I went scrolling through the table lists at Pacific Poker looking for the juiciest tables.  I was focusing on $2/4, and thinking I might even try a little $3/6.  I got to the bottom of the $3/6 list and the first table listed in the $5/10 section caught my eye.  There was one open seat.  The table view flop percentage was listed as 79%.  The average pot size was $84.  What!?!  That can't be right.  I opened the table to see for myself.  On the first hand I obeserved the UTG player raised first in, and got 5 callers.  I immediately plopped into the open seat, which was immediately to the left of the UTG player who had raised first in.  I will now refer to him as "BF".

BF folded that hand to a turn raise.  Next hand he was on the BB, and 4 people limped ahead of him.  He raised when the action got to him, and everyone who had limped called, except SB, who 3-bet, and then BF capped.  That dropped 2 of the people who already had 2 bets in, but 3 players saw a raggedy A-high flop.  Flop betting was capped by all 3.  Two turn raises folded one player.  River betting was capped between the sb and BF.  SB showed AQo for a top pair.  BF showed 32o, which spiked an inside straight draw when a "4" landed on the river.

I nearly shat myself.  It has been forever since I have had perfect position on a full-blown maniac.  Not only that, but he seemed to be effecting the rest of the table to the extent that they were overplaying their hands as well.  Oh happy happy day!

Well, long story made short, BF busted in two orbits, and I never caught a hand.  He went out UTG capping T9o pre-flop, and re-raisng every street holding the idiot end of an inside straight draw that didn't hit this time.  To my chagrin, he immediately punched off the table once he was felted, as did two other players.  I stuck around for another orbit, but the table dynamic had changed so dramatically that I decided it was no longer the right place for me to be playing.  I was out 2.5 BB.  Not a bad investment for an opportunity like that.

I am getting more comfortable with that mentality - I am paying for opportunity.  It's been a helpful perspective.  I just need to keep reminding myself of this as the cards and chips go the other way, as will happen sometimes.

I found a good $2/4 table, but couldn't turn a profit.  The luckbox on my left couldn't stop flopping two pair (which he seems to believe is a great slow playing hand).  He snatched a few good hands from me this way, and I also gave him one poorly-played call down on his turn raise for an extra two BB he didn't deserve.  I dropped about 10 BB on that table and then had to punch out as I'd promised Mrs Bull I'd watch a DVD with her.  Again, I was happy to pay for that opportunity as I will beat tables like that in the long run. 

That 10 BB was just a loan. 

Posted by Bullajami at 08:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was getting very very frustrated.  I had picked two very good $2/4 full ring tables full of fish, and the cards just would not come.  After 45 minutes I was down 25 BB (again), with the coup de grace being when I got my KK rivered by the guy playing 85o from UTG.  Home alone, I made myself hoarse shouting at my computer monitor about the injustices of the deck.  In two sessions I was down nearly 45 BB.

And then everything changed.

I raised JJ from EP, and got 3-bet by some clueless condrychthes in LP.  I capped it.  Flop had both a Jack and an Ace, and we were OFF!  The flop betting was capped, and the turn brought another Ace.  When I three-bet the turn, he just called.  River was a blank and he raised my river bet, but only called my 3-bet.  His A3o didn't hold up this time!

Five of my next six pocket pairs flopped sets for decent pots.  I was back to even.  AA and QQ held up.  I made a correct lay down of KK on the turn.  Hit an OESD and flush draw.  Even Big Slick was hitting the flop for me.  I stacked (at limit holdem) two fish who left the table.  It broke up, and I decided to exit the other table as well - up 25.5 BB.  A 50.5 BB swing in one sitting.

I intentionally waited 24 hours to write about that session.  I wanted to digest the entire experience and see if I could find some meaningful relationship on my quest for Poker Fu.  I am not sure I found any.  I played well and went down 25BB.  I continued to play well and won back a little more than twice that.  Somewhere in the middle I wasted a lot of energy yelling.  I don't know what that all means yet, but it was time to write it all down.  Maybe I'll figure it out later.  Maybe not.

I am starting to become a firm believer that I am playing significantly better poker on two tables than I was playing four.  I don't think I would have laid down that KK hand if I had been four-tabling, for example.  I would not have had the read on the player that I knew had me beat - to know that I was beat.  I have played profitably on four tables for a long time, but I think I may stick with just two for a while.  It feels right.

Posted by Bullajami at 07:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Playing two $2/4 FRLH tables again yesterday.  Both nice and fishy, but I got ate up for about 19 BB.  When you flop 6 four-flushes and have odds to chase them all, but none hit, you're going to lose some BBs.  I also had an AQ pocket flop top two pair and not be the best hand.  That one cost me a few as well.  

I was getting a bit aggravated, but I just kept focused on the situation:  was it still +EV for me to be at the tables I was at?  As long as it was, I decided to keep playing.  Just keeping focused on the important things:  the expectation value of the scenario and the play of the current hand.  Around 10 pm one of the tables broke up and shortly thereafter the other had a turnover of about half the players, so I was no longer sure it was going to remain as fishy as it had been.  That's when I quit.

While losing is no damn fun, I am certain it will be necessary to have some more losing sessions on my quest for Poker Fu.  Its easy to play when you're winning.  Its a lot harder when you're losing.  I guess that means I have a bright side to the $76 I left on the tables last night.  I am one step closer to "fu". 

Posted by Bullajami at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found two very juicy tables of $2/4 FRLH last night so I bellied up to both.  I played about an hour total, so two table hours.  Ended up down $9.  I was down about $40 at one point.  Just a matter of getting cold-decked and not getting anything worthwhile to play.  Over the 100-110 hands I played, that's not such a big deal.  I hit a few hands near the end of my playing time, and made most of it back.

I was getting a little irritated at one point at the cold deck.  There was so much money going into the pots, and I was getting 63o, 92o, A3o, etc.  Just nothing playable.  (I was probably running under 10% vp$ip.)  I am paying a lot of attention to how I feel at the tables lately, and when I realized I was getting unhappy I took a piss break, setting out a few hands mid-orbit.  During this time I 'reminded' myself that I am not entitled to good cards, or even average cards.  That I had set myself up in a situation where it was likely I would win, but not certain that I would win. That I had done what was necessary up to this point to make money in this situation:  I was better trained in poker than my competition, I was exercising proper bankroll management, I had done well with my table selection, etc.  A few deep breaths and I was back at the tables, watching J6s played from UTG scoop a 12 BB pot. 

Whatever!  Good for him!  I hope he wins lots of money and comes back over and over, because in time, I will get lots of it from him!  I took a lot of notes last night.

I hit a couple of hands and made back most of my money.  I quit at the time I had pre-determined as my quitting time, based on needing to get to bed so that I could wake up early today.  Not because of any play-induced factors.  Overall, I am happy with my performance.  I have a couple of hands I may post in the forum for comment.

I realize that my posts likely have a noobish ring to them as I work my way through this.  Somebody with 250K+ hands ought to have most of this sorted out by now.  I can only state that this slump has, in some ways, put me back at 'square one', and I need to work at getting my negative emotions away from the table so that I can play as effectively as possible.

Posted by Bullajami at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Playing some Pacific Poker $1/2 full ring limit holdem last night.  I also had a .5/$1 table open, but I was not paying it much mind.  The .5/1 table was very loose, so I was just waiting to get paid for making a hand.  The $1/2 table was my focus.

My darn Hand Grabber wasn't working, so I was not able to capture the hand histories from that session.  It was a fairly good one.  there was a hand or two that I will post from memory in the forum.  I'd like to get some feedback on them.

Bottom line:  I made 25 BB at the $1/2 table, and broke even at the other.  I hit a QQ999 boat on the turn on the first hand, having checked in from the bb with Q9o.  Another player rivered his flush and refused to believe it wasn't good.  I went up about 10 BB on the first hand, and that little voice told me I should pocket the win and run, but I just turned it off this time.  I took a few deep breaths and looked at the situation:  this table was ripe, I could beat it, I had time to play, I had wanted to play a few hundred hands, there was no rational reason to quit it for $20.  I stayed for about an hour total, until the table broke up on its own.  It worked out well.  I quit the .5/1 table at the same time.  It was still running, but had tightened up quite a lot, and I saw no reason to play at a tight .5/1 table. 

I went to Absolute to check on something regarding my balance.  While there I got a wild hair to check the 7-stud tables.  There was a $1/2 limit 7-stud table tunning where the average pot size was $12.  There were two players that seemed intent on playing every hand to seventh street.  It looked like a good way to get some cheap ARPs, and see if I could make a hand, so I took the open seat.   10-cent antes, 50-cents if yo have to bring it in.  I folded about 12 in a row, but was getting an ARP on just about every hand.  Then I hit the 3s for my door card, and had to bring it in.  I was looking at all spades, though, and no other spades were showing, so I was not unhappy.  By fifthe street I had a K-high spade flush, and raised when it got to me.  I got two callers.  On sixth street I had 4-spades showing, but I still got called down.  It was a nice pot.  I played a few more hands until I cleared the ARPs required for a $10 bonus payout, and then I quit.  One of the bad players busted, and two idiots were making fun of the other one in chat, so I figured it wasn't going to be good for that much longer anyways.

I will have to consider Absolute 7-stud more often.  Absolute is a site I'd LOVE to play more often.  Never-ending bonuses, rakeback, a very good VIP program...but the limit holdem tables are just not fun to play (especially when slumping as I've been).  Too damn tight.  7-stud could be the answer there.  I shall have to keep it in mind for the future.

However, I think I am going to stick to my primary game - limit holdem - as I look for my fu.  It just seems logical to me that I should be playing the game I am best at while trying to get my mind right about poker.  I can branch out once my quest for fu is finished.

Posted by Bullajami at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I didn't play any poker last night, but I thought another entry today was in order anyways.  After re-reading my last entry, I am not sure if that bit of rambling made sense to anyone except me.

I regard the events of Saturday night to be positive in my quest for "fu" - a word I have decided to use to describe the perfect attitude about playing poker.  I believed I had poker fu at one time, but I seem to have lost it.  Or perhaps it was beaten out of me.  But I think its more likely that I almost had poker fu.  Because in my idyllic perception of this mental space, you couldn't lose it or have it beaten out of you.  The fact that I did lose it or have it beaten out of me implies I never really had it.  But I think I was close.  Six months or so ago, I was close.

So, why was Saturday night positive from a quest for fu perspective?  I won money at the cash tables - a rare occurrence, yet I realized later I was not in the correct frame of mind to play.  I think that's really key here.  I had a positive result, but I don't regard it as a positive experience.  My cards were good, but I did not conduct myself in a manner consistent with a right-thinking poker player.  I left a really good table for no other reason than I was afraid to give back my initial winnings.  A player with fu would have realized it was a wonderfully +EV situation, and played until it wasn't.  I did not do that.  The fact that I can now begin to see this is the positive outcome of that experience. (The $50 is nice, too!)

Confusing?  I had a positive result from the cards, but a negative attitude, but I recognized the attitude problem, so it's net positive.  Are we all on the same page now?

Next question is 'what to do about it?'  How does one overcome attitude at the table?  Do you simply say to yourself, "I know it would be cool to hit and run from this table with the $50 I've made thus far, but I am going to continue to play here anyways because it's a good table and I should be able to win some more"?  Is that the correct mental frame to be in at a table?  Feeling like you should leave, but knowing you should stay, so you force yourself to continue playing?  That does not seem healthy either.

How does one void the emotion from the tables?  Learning that seems to be my ultimate goal.  Learning that means finding fu.  I am just not certain what the next step on that learning path should be.

There are a few things tied into my emotional involvement at the table.  One is that I do not view chips as chips unless I am playing .25/.50 an below.  Above that and I am counting the impact, + or -, every pot I'm in.  Above that and getting outdrawn by someone playing poorly irritates me.  Below that and I think it's funny, and I don't mind.  Intellectually I realize there's no difference.  I should have the same reaction to hands I lose to donks at $3/6 as I do at .10/.20.  In reality it does not work this way for me.    

This has no impact on the way I play at the tables, mind you.  At least nothing measurable in Poker Tracker.  My stats are similar at all limits.  However, it has a big impact on whether or not I'll keep myself in (or take myself out of) a scenario where I have +EV.  Its why I quit a juicy table after one orbit.  Overcoming this is gong to be a huge step on the road to fu.

Suggestions are always welcome.

Posted by Bullajami at 07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I played for about an hour 3-tabling Pacific Poker .25/.50 limit on Saturday night.  It was very fishy, and I never hit the big hands that you need to take the big pots where 4 players go to showdown.  I quit down about 10 BB.  Then I got a wild hair to play some $3/6, so I jumped on one of the Pacific Royal Flush Jackpot tables.  Before each hand you have the option of chipping in 50 cents toward the RF jackpot.  I guess if it hits, those players who contributed win.  Thing is, there's a little spade icon by each players name that becomes red or green to show who paid the 50 cents for the RF jackpot.  As its hugely -EV to pay 50 cents extra every hand, you may as well post a sign the says "sucker" on your name if your spade turns green before every hand.  I had 3 at my table. 

My very fist hand I got a free look from the BB holding 94o, and flopped trips.  Took down a decent pot.  Limped in from the SB with T8s, flopped a T and a 4-flush.  Turned my flush and got paid off again.  Up 10 BB, I punched out after 1 orbit.

I did some work on the forums and site for a while, then went to Absolute.  I saw a looser than normal $3/6 table there, and slid in.  I played about 100 hands, having a big U-shaped session, down then back to even.  When I was back to within one BB, I cashed out.

In the light of a new day, I can see that this was not indicative of a good attitude toward poker.  At Pacific $3/6, I had a very beatable table, and I quit it because I was up and was afraid to give it back.  Scared money that I won?  WTF is that?  Then at Absolute, I got down froma few of the reasons you don't win all the time:  my QQ ran into KK, and a couple of hands that were marginal favorites on the flop, didn't hold up.  Boo-friggity-hoo, happens all the time to anyone that plays regularly.  Still, it had me feeling getting steamed, and then determined to get even.  Then quitting once I was.  Not the right mindset for the grinding game.

So, I am still questing for my "Fu".  Hope to find it one day.

Posted by Bullajami at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found a nice $20+2 with $200 added last night.  When I sat, it made 17 in the whole MTT. 

I have some hands to post in the forum, but long story short:  I took down 3rd for $108.  If you look at the table to the right, I am now positive on everything for the month except cash games.  Should I be taking a hint from this?  3 weeks is a very small sample size, but could it be that tournament play is my thing?  Hmmmmm.......

Posted by Bullajami at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is that a real phrase?  "Poker Doodling".  That's what I've been doing the past few days.  Doodling.  Just sort of playing here and there.  No real purpose or goal.  Just messing around.

I started at a 6-seat $1+.25 at Pitbull Poker last night.  After 2 orbits there were two players out, the same guy getting both their stacks.  I hadn't had anything but my blinds in the pot yet, being cautious and observant and not having anything to play.  I raised with a QTs and got two callers.  The flop was all rags, and my flush draw.  I pushed first in, hoping to take it down.  Big stack called with NOTHING.  That's right, NOTHING.  He had an ace-high hand.  I really liked that call, but I failed to improve, and he busted me.  I just laughed, though - which is a good sign, I think.  I should post this hand in the forum and ask for opinions.

I decided to look into the fishiest site I ever remember playing - Pacific Poker.  I bellied up to a $1/2 table and took down a quick $20.  Its still fishy there.  I remembered liking the 20-seat $8+.80s there, so I punched off my cash game after only a few orbits, and invested my winnings in an $8+.80 SNG. 

I started off down, but picked up an AA in MP during level 3.  UTG raised first in and I re-raised all-in.  You start with only 800 chips in these SNGs, so there's not much room for finesse.  It folded around and UTG called with KJs, so I doubled up.  After that I think I played very well.  I was probably a little too tight when we were down to about 10 players left.  My cards were not great, but it frequently folded around to me, and I never pounced to steal the blinds.  I thought the 6-way bubble play was pretty good, and I did steal a few here, being a medium stack at that time.  When it got down to 3-way, it seemed that my opponents had given up.  They played really awfully, and I busted them both out for first.  Perhaps they were satisfied with the payouts at third and better.

I was very happy with that victory, of course.  More than usual, as I think a few positive results will be very useful in promoting a more balanced view of poker, my downturn, and what actions I should be taking.  I realize that I shouldn't need some wins to established an objective, balanced view - but it would be dishonest for me not to admit that I do.  And I think that dishonesty would be more harmful in the long term than the inability to have an objective outlook in the face of beat after beat.  I have many things to work on in my poker game, not the least of which is me.  And within the "me" category, there are many things to work on. 

One at a time, I will fix them all.

Posted by Bullajami at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Bullajami at 06:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I decided to play $5/10 again last night.  The Old "I am due for a win" theory.  I mean, "how many nights in a row can I be a loser?  I'll just play one table.  Wait for my hand and then pounce."  To make a long story short, I waited for my hand, a flopped set of sevens, played it hard, and got 2-outtered on the river by a guy holding KK.  I finished the orbit (might as well get the raked hands for the Party bonus) and quit the table down 9 BB. 

That hand is not the problem.  I'll get 2-outtered like that about 4.4% of the time, right? 

Being down 9 BB made me depressed.  Depressed as in, "I should just quit and never play anymore" depressed.  Depressed as in, "Maybe I should drink that whole bottle of wine even though I have to be up at 0500".  Depressed as in , "I'm just gonna mope until I go to bed". (Which is what I did, btw - mope.)

It's only 9 BB, but they were 9 BB at the max limit I will play, which is not supposed to matter to me, but it does. 

I was supposed to only be playing for fun this month.  While a +20 BB session would be a barrel of monkeys at any limit right now, I knew that losing 5 or more BB at $5/10 - a completely reasonable probability - would be really really devastating to my beleagured psyche.  But I played $5/10 anyway.

What does all that mean?  The bottom line is that I am the problem.  Not that I am playing poorly, although I have never made any claims to perfect play .  The problem is my response to my situation.  I don't know at this point what I am going to do about it.  I need some time to think.  Taking that time might cost me the current Party bonus and my chance at double Poker Stars FPPs.  I think that's going to be a small opportunity price to pay if it can contribute to fixing my problem - me.

I think I'll play some.  I just don't think I'll play in anything that will be meaningful to my bankroll.  Some micro-limits, maybe finish out that PitBull Poker free money chase, I have some other "fun money" accounts where I may also play.  Maybe some $5 SNGs.  Some freerolls.

I'll get back in the grinding saddle eventually, but I don't know when.  Whenever I have some epiphany or Zen moment, I'll know.  And I'll let you know.  Until then I will be wandering through the poker wilderness, looking for my "Fu".

Posted by Bullajami at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

That's where if you take and graph the results, it would look like a "U".

I was intending to carve out some of the Party bonus last night, but after depositing, there was no bonus crediting by Party.  I e-mailed them , but got tired of waiting for an answer, so I moved on to Poker Stars.  3 X $1/2 FRLH tables.  Within 20 minutes I was down 20 BB and really starting to get steamed.  I seriously considered pushing the "I'm not having fun" button and wrapping it up for the night.  Not sure why I stuck around.  I guess being stubborn is fun, too.

I had also noted that there were some really bad players at the tables I was at.  One was so bad that it reminded me I hadn't seen anyone this bad in a while.  She kept hitting enough hands to keep in a +/- $20 range, though, so it was amusing to watch.  She got me for one small pot, but more on her later.  Finally some things began to fall into place.  I hit a couple of my draws on pots with a lot of action, and made a rapid climb back to 'down-just-a-few'.  I hit QQ twice for small pots, and shortly thereafter my pre-flop raises started getting enough respect that I could pick off a few blinds.  I got up a whopping $2, and decided I would quit for the evening while I was feeling contented with the comeback.  I dropped a few bets on my last orbit, and finished down $3.50.  I ground off about 100 FPPs for the bonus.

Back to the bad player; she was the calling station type of bad.  Sees 80% of the flops, for any cost, calls anything to the river.  What she made me remember is that these type players used to be everywhere.  It used to be very easy to find them.  Now, I can't remember when the last time I saw one was.  And where are the maniacs?  I haven't seen a player raise and re-raise every hand pre-flop since I don't know when.  We used to get long threads all the time about how to play against a maniac.  Not anymore.  They seem to have died out.

I think this is part of my current down turn.  I think online poker has just become more difficult to beat.  Not impossible, mind you, just harder.  The easy-picking Donkatopia days may be past us.  Or maybe I should spend more time at sites with poorer bonuses.  Perhaps that's the key.  Who knows?  It is something to think about, though.

Posted by Bullajami at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Are we having fun yet?

I'd be having a lot more fun if that top number in the column on the right were more friendly.  As you can see, I continue to get greased at the tables.  That's not really fun.  But, if we break it down a little more, its not been all crappy.

I have played in 3 SNGs, and have a first and two seconds from it.  This includes last night when I was playing a $10+1 at Absolute.  I wasn't getting any cards to start the tournament, and the play was very tight for a $10+1.  After about 40 minutes there had only been one bust out.  I was getting short, with about 6M.  The shortstack went all in UTG, and another short stack called him.  Looking down at T9s, I decided I had equity to make the call.  I flopped a T and rivered a T, and tripled up - putting me in second place.  That's where I stayed.  One guy put out the other 5 players, and it went to heads up with me a 5-1 dog in chips.  I went all-in on KTo on the second hand HU, and he called with KJo.  Still, I had fun making that comeback and making the money.

I did have one other SNG win, but it was at Pitbull Poker, and I do not yet count any of that money in my bankroll.  I am about 25% toward clearing the bonus, and if I ever do, I will have to figure out how to account for it at that time.

After SNGs, I'd have to say that NLHE has been a decent experience.  If the circus-style games I played to clear the Party bonus can be elimintated, I have been slightly profitable at it.  I can only play for about an hour or so, though, before I start to get a little antsy at the lack of action.  I need to work on my patience and discipline - but working on those things insn't fun, so that'll have to wait.

Limit holdem continues to beat the piss out of me.  I have been 1 or 2-tabling this month, in order to prevent the careless mistakes and to improve my player reads.  I feel that I am playing very well, better than usual, but I still get abused by the deck.  No fun.  No fun at all.  I keep trying though, because I know that when I finally have a good night I will feel pretty damn good!

The single worst experience, though, has been at PLO Hi.  I have done nothing less than nut pedal and get all my chips in when I am ahead, and I have been creamed at that game so far this month.  The worst was the Moron that called my flop all-in (I had the nut straight on a rainbow board) with his 2-pair, he hit his 3 outter for the boat.  (He only had 3 outs as I held one of the cards he needed!)  You dream about idiots that will play like that, but its a nightmare when they keep hitting.  And lately, when I am in the pot, hit they will!

For the rest of the month I have some more SNGs to look forward to.  I also have a Party reload, and Stars is offering double FPPs, so I think I need to do both of those as well.  Easy money is fun!

Posted by Bullajami at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Played some $100 NL at Absolute for starters.  Went down a few and then came back to even and punched off the table.  My freeroll at JunglePoker had started and I wanted to give it my full attention.  Not sure why I felt so dedicated to a freeroll, but I did.  I donked off my chips anyways, but I was focused while I did it! 

I waited patiently and then got my break - KK on the BB.  UTG opened for a raise, and he got re-raised all-in by the BTN, who had been fairly spastic.  They both had me covered, so I called.  I held up and tripled up.  The very next hand I gave 3/4 of it back when I called a flop all-in holding 88 on a 774 board.  Not my shining moment. . 

Shortly thereafter I got moved to a table where there was only one other active player!  8 people sitting out.  5 in a row on my left!  We seemed to be getting along fine, the other player and I, having an unspoken understanding that it was best if we didn't tangle, but just kept stealing the sitting out player's blinds.  I noticed he even folded once to let an all-in BB win so that we could continue without getting another live player at the table.  I doubled up through blind steals, and could have added another 50%, but I got proud.  Looking at A7s, I hoped the other guy would cede these blinds to me, but he raised first in, and instead of folding like a cooperative fellow, I raised him, violating our unspoken treaty.  He re-raised and I called.  Flop came AT5, none of my suit.  He bet and I re-raised him all-in.  He called and showed AT, and I was done for being dumb!

I moved back to NL $100, and about 3 orbits in I realized I was in a very good place - the play was looking loose and the pots were big.  I caught KK in EP and min-raised first in.  $30-stack min re-raises and $27-stack min re-raises him.  When the action comes back to me, I put in a fat $15 raise, and they both called.  All-rag flop and I put them both all-in.  They both called, one with JJ, the other with AKs and a flush draw.  Remarkably I held up, and cleaned them both out.  They both left the table and it broke up shortly thereafter.  I went to bed up $57.

But I couldn't sleep.  My insomnia forbid it.

I got back up and logged back into Absolute.  I saw a $2/4 limit game and grabbed the only open seat.  The pots were fat, with many players seeing flops.  I caught AA, and got cracked by 85o, who called the capped betting pre-flop from the BB. I dumped 23 BB on that table over the next 2 hours, but I'm not terribly unhappy about that session. 

Usually a session like that makes me grumpy, especially on this slump I am having.  I think its partially because I get filled with self-doubt about whether or not I should continue playing.  That little voice tells me, "Maybe I'm not good enough to beat it".  Gets me irritable, hearing that little voice.  This did not happen last night.  I know I was out-playing that table, I just got reamed by the deck.  My play was not perfect, but it was good enough to be profitable at that table with an average distribution of cards.  I hated going to bed.  I wanted to stay at that table - it remained ever so ripe for the picking, but it was after 0300, and I have stuff to do today.

So, I lost money - again - but I am OK with it for a change.  And I had fun.

Perhaps tonight will be my night....

Posted by Bullajami at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No break in the clouds on my run of doom.  I got all-in on the flop twice last night with the best hand, and got stacked both times.  Once at PLO, and once at NLHE.  In PLO he hit his 3 outter for the boat, in NLHE he at least had a middle-pair with a flush draw going to call off all his chips with.  Still, donk plays by both villains, and they keep my money.

I wrote an article last October, where I stated my poker winnings (excluding bonus) to that time were a little over $4,700.  Last night put me back below that level.  A 7 month retracement of earnings that began with this slump in February.  It's well over 500 BB now.  It was inconceivable to me just a few months ago that this could ever happen.

May is supposed to be about fun, and last night wasn't it, although if both hands had held up, I'd likely be singing a different tune!  I'll have to figure out where to go next.  With $100 in Party and $120 in Poker Stars bonuses to clear, and good deals going at both right now, I'll be figuring them into my near future.  Just have to figure out how I want to approach them.  I'm also getting an SNG hankering, so I may have a go at some of those as well.  Got a few other sites to try out, also, so there's no lack of possibilities for me.

Posted by Bullajami at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Limit poker continues to beat me mercilessly.  Nothing new there, and its probably even more boring to read about than write about.  Two hands that convinced me to stop playing last night (they happened within 2 minutes of each other):

Bull AQo, Villain KK Board AQT T J

Bull J9s, Villain KJo Board 984 T Q

I was at Will Hill $1/2.  Just thought I'd pick off the hourly bonus for the month at a low-risk game.  I dumped about $45 chasing that bonus. 

I moved on to a $500 PLO table.  I started just watching, but it looked so beatable, I thought I'd sit in short-stacked and see if i could catch a hand or two.  Lordy that was juicy!  There were several players that were clueless, but I just could not get my hand.  Two of the fish were busted in 3 orbits, so when they left the table, I did too.  It seemed silly to sit there short-stacked when the table got harder to beat.

I played a few orbits at Absolute's $2/4 limit O/8.  Flopped a set of aces twice, and that cost me about $50 when they failed to be the high hand at showdown.  When it rains, it pours, eh?

Had enough of poker and moved on to casinos.  I had it in my head to play blackjack at Will Hill, Littlewoods, UKBetting and Intercasino, stopping when I was up or down $20 at each.  + $24 at Will Hill.  + $30 at Littlewoods.  I only had $19 in my account at Intercasino.  I ran it up to $65, but got a wild hair to let it ride, and went bust.  Started crappy at UKBetting.  Playing £1 per hand, 5 hands at a time I took some crazy 21s from the dealer.  Started Martingaling and doubled to £2 per hand, lost - £5, lost - £10, lost - £25 X 5 hands, dealer busts.  I was up £55 and my senses returned, so I quit.  Better to be lucky than smart.  Always.

I should probably point out that I have plenty of bankroll to be stupid with like that.  I whine and moan about my poker slump - and believe me, its painful - but I am in no danger of financial ruin, or even bankroll ruin.  I have about $11K in my gambling roll right now, so while dumping 25BB at a $1/2 table is irritating, it's laughably unremarkable to my bankroll.  I am excessively cheap and cautious for a persistent gambler.    (My foray into blackjack not withstanding!)

Posted by Bullajami at 08:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Played a little NL $200 at Absolute last night.  The blinds are .50/$1, and that's how it was listed in the lobby, so I thought it was a NL $100 table.  When I looked around, though, $100 buy-in covered all but one other person at the table - and since I knew who he was (and to be a good player) I didn't expect to get into a huge pot with him anyways.  So I sat with $100.  Got cold-decked for two orbits, and then picked off a few tiny pots.  Then I hit a nice $65 pot when I flopped the idiot end of a str8 holding 87s.  I was a little nervous about the hand, but the other two in the pot were both playing with about $30, and one had been playing quite loosely.  I wasn't letting that one go in that situation, and I got paid for it.  I punched off the table up $42.

I played about 3 orbits on a $2/4 FRLH table also.  I just happened to see that one was going and decided I could play it ABC style and still pay full attention to my NL game.  I overplayed JJ when a K flopped and got down about 5BB, but got it back when my 66 flopped a set later.  I made about $1.50 off that table. 

That was all the poker I played last night.  It felt good to bank a winning session.  I spent the rest of the evening working on my website, trying to find some additional poker bonuses to promote.  Also trying to make a comprehensive listing of the bonus offers for poker, and organize then in a coherent, efficient manner.  It's very time-consuming for me as I am not a trained geek - I have to learn by trial and error.  Mostly error, I think.  In the meantime, I post the new offers I find in the forum, so check there for bonus offers until I get my new (and hopefully improved) listing set up.  I also post some of the links in the right column of this blog, but there's usually some additional info in the forums.

Posted by Bullajami at 09:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The funnest thing I did all weekend was FINISH the Party Poker bonuses I was working on.  By the end I wasn't enjoying the play at all, but I am loathe to leave free Party money on the table, so I ground it out.

It all started well enough.  I decided to go back to my best game - FRLHE - as I consider that my best opportunity to make some money from poker.  Flopped a boat early and got paid for it, so I was up about 20 BB to start my Friday evening.  All downhill from there.  Finished that session down 8 BB.  Took another whack at limit holdem Saturday afternoon and then again Saturday evening.  I finished down on 11 of the 12 tables I played.  With about 500 hands left to clear the second bonus I was looking at being only about $50 profitable if I stayed even the rest of the way, and cleared both bonuses.  I switched to NL circusing to grind off the rest on Sunday afternoon.  I managed to lose another $28 in the process.  I finished both chases, and can bank a whopping $22 for my efforts.  Ugh.

Went over to Ultimate Bet to work on my NL game.  Played a few hundred hands of $50 max buy-in.  Finished down about $8.  Cards seemed about average.  So did the players.  I tried one semi-bluff on a gut-shot draw (with backdoor flush draw) on a board that looked pretty benign, but my pot-sized bet got min-re-raised.  I called it and then folded to an all-in turn bet when I failed to improve.  Other than that I was pretty much nut-peddling, but I don't think my betting was getting as much action as it might have if I was more clever.  I am learning.

I woke up too early this morning and decided to play some more NL.  First hand from the BB I get a free look with A2s.  I flop top pair and the flush draw.  I check the flop and MP bets the (small) pot.  LP calls it, and so do I.  Turn is a blank, and MP again bets the pot.  LP folds, and I call it again.  River is my nut flush card, and the board is not paired.  I bet out $5 hoping for a call.  MP comes OTT all-in.  I call, and MP shows that he rivered the str8 he had been betting into.  He had been playing short-stacked so I didn't double, making only about $14, but that was still pretty cool.  Good way to start the new week.  Let's hope that continues!

Posted by Bullajami at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Perhaps I have been identified as a Circus Player at Party by the other players?  I was finally getting a decent flow of the top 4 hands last night, but I could not get any action with them.  The only all-in I got called on was when I spiked a set of fives on the flop from the BB, and someone else hit TPTK.  I drifted off quite a lot of blinds last night, and also misread my hand once, thinking I had spiked a set of eights on the flop.  My pocket was really 83o, not 88.  Oops!  (That stupid "sidebet" tab was covering up part of my pockets all night at that seat.  After that goof I would expand that table to get a better look at my pocket before betting if it looked like I had a hand.  It was annoying, but I thought I may have at least bought an idiotic table image with my misread, so I thought I should stay.  I didn't hit any hands at that table, though.)

Down about $10 after 450 hands and the circusing was getting tedious.  I chose the two tables I felt were weakest, closed the other 4, bought my stacks up to table max on each ($25) and started playing 'real' poker.  I was hoping my tight table image would allow me to snatch a few blinds.  Instead, the opposite happenned - I was getting good pockets and good flops, and then not getting any action.  I checked flopped quads to the river and everyone folded to my 50 cent bet.  Ugh!  I still managed to lose another $2 or so.  i made a few bad pre-flop calls with marginal holdings that didn't pan out.    I was getting bored after just about 60 hands, so I closed out for the night.  It's all about fun this month.

Two days ago BetCRIS (Sportsbook to which I affiliate) sent me a notice that they were now partners with America's Cardroom, and that if I partnered (affiliated) with ACR, I would become wealthy beyond my wildest dreams.  Yeah....whatever.....yawn.  I decided to sign up, though, but found that before I could be an affiliate, I had to have a player account.  Most poker sites don't insist on this, but a few others have.  No big deal.  I registered for a player account and then an affiliate account on Tuesday night.  (I posted their link at the bottom of the right-hand column of the blog.  25% to $100, 12X points, Poker Room skin.)

To my surprise they called me at home last night to welcome me to ACR and to make sure I was able to navigate their site, and did I have any questions - either as a player or affiliate.  I was impressed by the attention I was getting, and I got the impression that may be indicative of their customer service in general.  So, while the bonus they are offering is enerally lackluster, if you value good customer service, you may want to give America's Cardroom a shot.

Posted by Bullajami at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, kinda.  I played about 500 hands of $25 NL circus last night, just grinding out the Party bonus.  Given Party's software, I can 6-table without any problems.  That auto-resizing feature is pretty darn cool.  I hope more sites start having that feature.  I can now understand why the 4-color deck is so popular.  I started using that, too.  I don't like it, but I mislike misreading the board even more.  Those tables get pretty small when you have 6 of them tiled on your screen.

I had remarkably few hands to play last night, even for circus-style.  I decided to allow a few modifications to the "true" circus.  I limped with pocket pairs or AQ, AJ in LP.  Or play them for one more bet from BB.  Two such hands cost me some money yesterday.  AQo from EP, I flop QQ7, and lose to KQ0 who truned a boat.  AJs from the BB lost to AKS, even thought I flopped top two, I pushed and he runner-runnered his flush.  I caught AA vs QQ right at the end of the session to double one of my stacks, so I only finished down about $12 after my lost blinds were all added in.  (I sit at the tables with $8)

I made that back this morning in one orbit at a $50 NL table when I flopped top 2 holding KQo.  I was only playing one table, and was trying to play 'real poker' for a change.  I only made one orbit because my internet connection started misbehaving, so I called it quits.

Even though I was losing a small amount of cash last night I was having fun.  It amuses me to clear Party bonus, to be 6-tabling, and to see some of the ridiculous banter that goes on at the Party NL $25 tables.  Two nights ago I was circusing, and I pushed pre-flop with AKo.  I got called by J7s, and a 7 flopped.  However, the 4th of my suit fell on the river and I won with a flush.  My opponent just started going crazy in chat.  "What a JOKE!  Your play is a fking JOKE! That's total horsesht!"  On and on he went. After calling an all-in with a J7s, he was totally irritated that flopping a 7 didn't entitle him to the pot.  I didn't want to leave that table, but I had to rat hole the money, so off I went.

I have about 1150 more hands to play at Party and I suspect most of them will be done circusing.  If I get far enough ahead (in terms of accumulated raked hands compared to time left for the bonus is concerned) I may switch over to a focused NL $50 game.  I am still interested in playing for real at NL, and the notorious Party fish should be a good place to cut my teeth while there's still some bonus left to clear (padding my play).

Three-Bet Donkey (a.k.a. "Ramble") has posted some good observations on why he switched to NL from limit recently.  Check it out here.

Posted by Bullajami at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I like poker quests.  There's something about having a short-term goal that keeps things at the table interesting to me.  My last two quests have been focused on earning a certain amount in a certain way, and I fell short on both.  I find that moderately irritating - not completing a quest, which defeats the primary purpose of poker and questing in the first place - to have fun!  For me, after all, poker is still just a hobby.

I have been on a horrible slump for several months.  I might have passed through this slump already, and be out the other side of it,  had I the temerity to just grind through.  I don't.  When the beats pile up it effects me to the extent that it is best that I play less.  Thus, if I am going to have a 40,000 hand slump, it's going to take a while to get through it because my rate of play slows down markedly.  It's just not fun to take multiple two-outters in a session, and when it happens I quit playing for a few hours.  It saves me many broken mice and undeserved cross words at my family.  I have overheard my children warning each other, "Watch out for Dad, he's having a bad night at poker," too many times.

This month's quest I am out to put the joy back in my game.  If it ain't fun, I ain't doing it at the table.  Fortunately, clearing $200 in Party bonuses amuses the pee out of me, so I am likely to finish that, although I may be doing it at $25 NL tables circus-style (playing short-stacked and only the top 4 hands).  There's something about circus-style play that amuses me to no end so far.  I think I will likely do some freerolls and some $10 SNGs, too.  A few cheap buy-in MTTS at Betfred might be good.  Maybe some $50 NL or PLO, I enjoy those games.  Even a juicy $5/10 game is not out of the question if my head is in the right spot that particular night.  Wherever the spirit takes me.

It's a GAME.  I am going to PLAY it.  Happy Flopping!

Posted by Bullajami at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The recent Party double-bonus has me still grinding, vice starting my experiment at NL.  I want to focus on a single table when I start at NL.  Maybe two.  But, I need 2,000 raked hands at Party in ten days, so 4-tabling limit holdem seems the thing to do right now. 

Actually, Party gave me 3 bonuses.  The day before the recent double reload they gave me $75 for not playing for a while.  $75 in my account that I had to work off at 10X.  No deposit required.  I started working at the $1/2 tables and got lit up for 30 BB right away, losing holding jacks full and a flopped nut straight.  Then I hit the two reloads so that I had some cash in my account, and went to the NL $25 tables to play a little circus style.  Had my QQ busted twice - by A8o and A3o - all in pre-flop.  AKs lost to AQo, and I limped from EP, pushed on the flop with both AA and KK and ran into flopped flushes both times.  I won a couple of time, too, and finished the $75 chase down $74.62.  Thanks for the 38 cents, Party!

Saturday I played a $5+.50 SNG at UB.  Took second.  I also played a bit of Prima NL.  I never finished that Stan James chase.  I only need a few dozen more raked hands there for the $100, so I thought I'd try to finish that off.  I had a couple of good hands right away, went up about $25, and decded to quit while I was ahead.  I need to bank some wins to get my mojo back.

Last night I started to work on the first $100 reload at Party.  I ground out about 400 hands at $1/2 limit.  Led off with a nice rush, and got up about 20BB.  QQ holding up 3 times was nice.  As time wore on , though, the fish broke me.  Got KK thrice in about 5 minutes (4-tabling) won one small pot and lost two nice ones.  Got my AA cracked by a reasonable flush draw.  And I check-raised, then called down a LAG with a marginal hand, and he finally had the goods.  I finished the session down 7 BB.  Grrrrr. 

It was annoying to go from well up to a little down, but in general the play at the tables I was at was much poorer than I have seen elsewhere of late.  One of my KK hands there were 4 of us capping it pre-flop.  My premium hands were getting lots of action, the fish were just unordinarily lucky.  I felt very comfortable that I could easily beat those tables, so I am not dreading going back tonight.  Hopefully the cards will fall more considerately for me when I do.

Posted by Bullajami at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)