A Staggering loss...

I managed to drop $200 yesterday. It wasn't hard. The one hand that stands out to me is this:
I pick up A-6 in the big blind and call the $1 raise. The flop comes 7-6-6. I'm feeling pretty good about this as I have a set with a great kicker. I check, the next guy bets $8 and I call. the turn is a J. He bets $16 and I went all in for about $90. He insta called and flipped over 7-7. GG me. There were a couple of more hands similar to that where I lost a nice hunk of money. I hope its just the down side of variance because I'm on a terrible run right now. The FTP Br is at $114.

Up and Down...

But mostly down. I played quite a bit yesterday and and even a little on Friday evening, but not on Saturday. I was doing pretty well, having run the bankroll up to over $400 at one point, but playing above my head and making stupid calls has resulted in the BR currently standing at $315. I've got to learn to be more patient. I made a couple of good calls, but I also made two really dumb calls that cost me a lot of money. I also had my AA cracked by 9-8 suited when the guy rivered a straight. Oh well, live and learn. Continue to play.

Went to the game in Little Rock on Saturday and had a nice time. I got to see a few ULM people plus I enjoyed seeing Deborah as well. ULM put up a good fight for about two quarters, but Arkansas has too many weapons for ULM to compete very long. I've posted a picture below of the highpoint for ULM fans.

It ain' t much but it's something...

After getting my aces cracked on Wednesday, I was back at it yesterday, trying to grind it up. I started yesterday with $320 and I now have $327. At one point, I had it up to $338 after finishing third in a $5.50 HORSE SNG. I then played a $10+1 18-man SNG and finished 6th. My 8-8 got out run by A-6. There was a 6 on the flop and a 6 on the river. GG me.

I'll be back at it this evening.

My wife has dressed up as a doctor for her halloween work day. Maybe I'll be able to post a picture of it.

Cracked Aces...

The title pretty much sums it up. I was playing in a $1 NL game and I had taken $40 and worked it up to $135. I picked up AA in late position and raised it up to $8. I got one caller. The flop was 8-9-J. The caller checked. I bet $15 hoping to pick it up right there. Instead, the guy goes all in for about $110. I called (I should know better) and he flipped over 8-9. There went all my profit and then some. The FTP bankroll is now at $320. That is down about $25 from yesterday which is somewhat disappointing considering how well I had done to that point.

I did finish second in a $5.50 HORSE SNG.

More Poker...

I played for quite a while yesterday as there was time until the wife got home and I was forced to participate in hanging curtains. I didn't do too poorly as I played two HORSE $5.50 SNG's finishing 2nd in one and out of the money in the other. I also played some $1 NL and made a few bucks. As I recall, the FTP Br was at $316 yesterday and it is now at $345. Not great, but I'll take it. I played a little while this morning and made about $10 which made the total look even better. FTP players seem to be really loose with their starting hand requirements. I get called a lot by players who really don't have anything. And I make pretty good raises when I get a good hand.

Not much to report...

I didn't get to play much yesterday. It was the wife's birthday and we were out with friends. I did get to play a few hands yesterday at lunchand doubled up nicely when my set of 2's held off AK for a $38 profit. I donked off some of that playing RAZZ and a HORSE SNG but the FTP BR is at $306.

Hopefully more tomorrow.

Back at it...

I spend four days in Indianapolis last week for work so there was no poker. I got back on Friday night and started back in on the poker Saturday morning. When I got back from Indy, I had $229 in the FTP account, now I have $284. I have played several $5.50 HORSE SNG's. I won one and finished 3rd in two others. I like the changing games. I have also played quite a bit of .50 RAZZ. It's a game kinda like Stud except in reverse. I've done ok in that too. I'm still chasing a cash in the $11 45-man SNG's. I've made the final table a few times but I haven't made the money yet. Yesterday I was in good shape with 14 to go. I was 7th in chips and a guy called my big raise with a 6-6. I had QQ. A 6 on the river and I was pretty much done for. I finished 12th. The blinds go up really quickly in these tournaments.

On the Move...

I am now playing at FullTilt Poker. The screen name is Smackover1. I played for a little while last night and did "OK" in .25 NL winning about $15 but I managed to donk my way out of a $11 45 man SNG when I raised all in with K-7 and was called by KK. GG me. Then I managed to totally lose $25 playing omaha Hi/lo. It wasn't hard. I started with $250 and I now have $232.

Off to Full Tilt

I'm going to be moving over to Full Tilt for my poker action. The ongame network, of which pokerroom is a member, is restricting U.S. residents so I won't be playing there anymore.

I didn't do to well this weekend. Two hands sum it up. My 10-10, all in for $100 with a 10 on the flop gets rivered by a straight. That one really hurt cause it would've really put me in good shape. Then my KK all in pre flop is up against AA. That one cost me $50.

I did manage to cash in two MTT. I didn't make much in either one, but cashing is better than not cashing.

a down swing..

I played a little poker yesterday and did pretty well in the cash games, but I managed to give it back in the $25,000 rebuy tournament. I had won a ticket to this tournament earlier in the week and decided to use last night. I was in pretty good shape ending the first hour when the rebuy period ends. I had tripled up about 20 minutes in when my QQ held against 9-9 and A-J. I was in about 90th place with 450 players left (725 started) and four minutes left in the first hour when I picked up QQ again. There was one raiser in front of me and he had raised to 400. The blinds were at 150-75 so I raised to 3000 putting him all in. He insta called and flipped over KK. I was down to about 800 had to rebuy. I then added on but my AK got outrun and I was out soon after. I'm not a good player and these tournaments amplify my poor play even more. I have $348 in the pokerroom account.

Finally a winning day...

I managed to make a few bucks yesterday for the first time in a quite a while. I also won a $3.40 SNG to a $20 tournament. I used the $50+4 ticket I had to play the US daily with a $13,000 prize pool. I busted out in 176 when I called an all in with my KQ suited and was beaten by a AQ. It wasn't a good call on my part but I was starting to get a little short stacked and didn't play it well. In cash games, I did much better. I stayed out of the $2 NL game and made about $100 in either .25 NL or .50 NL.

The PR bankroll stands at $340. I am close to clearing the $30 bonus.

I don't feel much like blogging...

when I'm losing. I've been losing way too much lately. Too many leaks in my game. I did manage to win a $7+1 SNG qualifier yesterday so I can play in a $50+4 SNG or the US daily tournament. The pokerroom br is at $249.

It hasn't gotten any better...

I played enough over the weekend to clear the $100 bonus, but that really didn't help any. I have $280 in the pokerroom account. I haven't been playing very well and I've also taken a couple of bad beats. The one that really stands out is this one: I pick up 6-6 in the small blind and call the big blind. Three of us go to the flop. The flop comes out 6-10-7. I'm pretty happy about this and start to go about extracting maximum value. I'm slightly worried about the straight, but I proceed any way. I make a $2 bet (this is in .50 NL) and get two callers. The turn is a 7 which makes me feel good cause a straight is no longer possible. I check hoping for some action from the other two. The big blind bets $5 and I raise 2 $10. He calls. The river is a K. I bet $5 hoping for a call. The big blind raises all in. I call. He flips over 77 for quads. GG me.

I also played in homegame tournament on Saturday night. I finished 4th out of 10. I had KK and the small stack called me all in with A-6 and turned an A. Then I get the small stack all in again. He has 4-4, I have A-10. The flop brings and A, the turn brings a 10. The river brings a 4. GG me.

I had two concerns about the homegame. I didn't really know but one other person playing and I didn't know him well. Two of the final four were related (father-son) and the other guy was the host. The son (of the father son combo) was the chip leader by a large amount and I'm pretty sure he slowplayed his father. There were several times where the father was low on chips and the son would make a substantial raise, the father would come over the top and the son would fold just giving the pot to the father.

The second concern was that the rebuy period was clearly stated at the start that is would end at 9:00. But three people were allowed to rebuy well after 9:00. Otherwise, I'm certain I would've made the money. I won't likely be going back to this game. Not because I think they cheated, but because I'm an outsider and they don't mind it if I get the shaft.

Still Grinding...

I played for quite a while yesterday and increased the Pokerroom BR from $173 to $218. I played two MTT for $5.50. I busted out pretty early in one when my AK ran up against AA. Oh well. But the second tourny I finished 15th out of 480. I made a donk play getting pushed out when I did. I called a big reraise with 9-9. I know better than to call a reraise in that situation.

I also played a little .25 NL and made about $15. I'm starting to realize that .25 and .50 NL are the games where I have the biggest edge.

I need 267 more points to clear the $100 bonus.

A slight Improvement...

I did a lot of grinding yesterday. A lot. I managed to improve the PR bankroll from $85 to $173. Playing at limits of $1, .50 and .25. All were NL. That is the good news. The bad news is that I had it up to about $224 at one point. I cannot even begin to explain how my aces go cracked by a set and my straight was rivered by a flush. Enough about the bad beats though. I'm trying to be more focused and make better laydowns when I know I'm beaten.

I have 298 points left to clear the $100 bonus.

The implosion continues...

The internet got fixed. I wish it hadn't. I managed to drop $210 yesterday. Again, it wasn't hard. My QQ ran up against A-10 on a board of 10-10-8 and that cost me about $80 cause I raised it pretty big before the flop. I also had two sets get outrun by flushes. And the last hand that cost me a bunch was when I tried to chase down a straight. I had Q-J and the board held a 9 and a 10. No straight for me and $210 down.

I am only 398 points away from clearing the $100 bonus. I have $112 in the Pokerroom account. I need to make it hold up.

Stupid Cox Cable...

There was no poker played yesterday as I am again having trouble with Cox Cable. If there are other alternatives out there, I'd love to hear about them.

A total implosion...

I didn't do very well this weekend. In fact, you could say I did about as poorly as I have ever done. I played way about the bankroll and it wasn't pretty. However, before I say that the world is over, I should say that I cashed out $200 on Saturday afternoon and that left me with $285 in the Pokeroom account. I manged to lose all but $13 of that. I played a lot of SNG's and didn't win or even cash in any of them. Then I played way too much $2 NL and that is very hard on a bankroll.

This morning, I put $300 back on Pokerroom so that I can clear the bonus. I still have 519 points left to pick up the $100 bonus.

I have quite a bit of money in Neteller and I'm thinking of taking some of it out until I have a better feel for how the internet gambling ban will shake out.