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.

It wasn't as bad as it could've been...

When I got home from work yesterday I had $451 in the pokerroom account. Not long after I started playing, I had $507. Well, as of this writing, I have $438. I got coolered with a flush over flush hand for $50 and then my AK ran up against KK with a K on the flop so I lost more than I should have. I played three $7+1 SNG qualifiers and didn't make the money in any of them. I managed to clear about 70 points toward the $100 bonus.

I still need to play on Partypoker to see if I can grind up the free $30.

I love cashouts...

I played only a few hands last night (less than 30) but managed to profit about $70. I then proceeded to cashout $90. That leaves the pokerroom bankroll at $451. I've been trying to decide if I'm running really well lately or if I'm starting to get better at the game. I try to push my edges as much as possible and I try to get out of a hand when I think I'm beaten. This, I think, is a sign of my poker maturation.

I got an email from Partypoker saying they have deposited $30 in my account. I logged in and sure enough, there is $30 in my account. I think I'm gonna try and grind it up starting at .25 NL and see what I can do. I'll have to play 300 raked hands before I can cashout.

I still have 910 points left to get the $100 bonus from Pokerroom, but I have until the middle of November to get it done.

I'm doing pretty well...

The pokerroom bankroll stands at $468. That would seem like $39 less than yesterday's reported total of $507. However, that would not include a $90 cashout. I won a $3.40 qualifier yesterday to a $20+2 tournament. I made good use of this ticket by finishing second in a $20+2 SNG for $60. I also finished second in another $3.40 qualifier so I have that ticket waiting on me.

This morning, I jumped into a .50 NL game with $35 and on the first hand I picked up JJ and though the board was very scary (Q-Q-8) the Jacks managed to hang on and win a $39 pot. I got out of that game with the profit pretty quickly and moved to a .25 NL game for the max buy in of $25. After a few orbits I Picked up KK and raised two previous raisers to $10. One guy went all in and there was a K in the door. He flipped over AK but it was no good and I doubled up. I made about $50 in 20 minutes. Pretty good for me. Then I made the $90 cashout.

I have about 920 points left to clear the $100 redeposit bonus.

Reversal of Fortune...

Yesterday and this morning were completely the opposite of my previous post. When I got home yesterday, the Pokerroom BR was at $255. I deposited $200 to take advantage of the Pokerroom redeposit. This leaves me a $100 bonus after 1,000 points. Well, as of today, I have a pokerroom bankroll of $462 and this is after a $150 cashout. I couldn't do any wrong playing NL yesterday. I managed to do quite well and increased the bankroll to $557 before going 2 bed last night. I played a little more this morning and doubled up pretty early on in a $1 NL game and then made a few more bucks in a .25 NL game 2 push the BR to $612 before the cashout.

I have 950 points left to clear the bonus.

It was a pretty good weekend until....

I cleared the $175 bonus on Friday afternoon and then made a $250 withdrawl. That puts me in pretty good shape with Pokerroom. I have made $250, $200, $100 and $120 withdrawals since my last deposit plus I have $255 still on Pokerroom. I was in even better shape until this morning. I managed to drop $85 in about 20 minutes. It wasn't hard.

Pokerroom is offering a 50% reload bonus so I'll probably be taking advantage of that pretty soon.

The Roll Continues...

I've been fearing the downturn lately, but it didn't come yesterday. The pokerroom BR stands at $400. I know, I know. That's $151 less that yesterday, but that doesn't include the $240 cashout. Nor does it include the $175 bonus that I am about to clear. I only have 31 points left. I will clear that today for sure.

I played pretty well and I'm getting a better feel for the game I think. I made two big laydowns yesterday that I might not have made previously. One was JJ and the other was KQ on a scary board. I also made one really donk play that cost me about $20. I called a big raise with a only a pair of nines on a nine high board (I had 10-9) and the guy flipped up trip 5's. I should've known better.

I am certainly on a roll, for me at least.

No Complaints...

I've been running pretty well lately. I haven't done anything spectacular and I haven't had AA or KK a lot. I have mostly been playing tight, solid, low-limit poker and doing pretty well. I push my edges and a I fold when I feel like I am behind. Yesterday, I played for a short while and managed to make a few dollars. However, I have been focused on my play as of late, making sure that I am making proper plays and thinking about the situations I am in. I think it is paying off. The pokerroom bankroll is at $551. That is up $44 from yesterday and up significantly from last Friday. I am also only 144 points away from clearing the $175 bonus.

I played in a $7+1 SNG yesterday. I had managed to finish second in one of these last week and still had a ticket left to play. I signed up and was a little more than 1,000 in chips with the blinds getting pretty high when I pick up 8-8 in late position. The one guy to my left called everything. And I do mean everything. It didn't matter what he was holding. If there was a big bet to him, he called it. Well, it folded around to me and I pushed all in with my 8-8. Sure enough, he called and flipped over 3-2. There was a 3 and a 2 on the flop. GG me. I couldn't believe it, but I wasn't surprised.

A Final Table!!!

I made a final table of a MTT yesterday. It was a $5.50 tournament and there were 463 entrants. I finished 7th. I never really had a big chip stack but I managed to hang around long enough and doubled up enough times to make the final table. The most I ever had at any point was 48,000 chips and that was with 6,000 and 3000 blinds. I was the short stack most of the way and finally got pushed out in seventh for $68. I was pretty pleased with it but I wish I had managed to move up a couple of more spots. The money would've been a lot better.

I then managed to take the $68 and donk it off in two .50 NL games which took me back down to $408 in the Pokerroom BR. However, after that, I got into a $1 NL game with $50 and doubled up on the second hand. That made me feel a little better.

Then, this morning, I played $1 NL and .50 NL and managed to make about $30. The pokerroom BR is at $507. That is up $108 from yesterday for those of you keeping score. I also only have 240 points left to clear the $175 bonus.

Not Much Poker

The Ongame network was down much of last night so I didn't get to play too much poker. I did manage one $7+1 SNG and finished second so I'll get to play that again. I should've won but my opponent sucked out on me twice. Once I had 10-10 vs his 6-6 and he hit a six on the river. Then when we were about even in chips, I had A-10 and the flop came 2-4-10. I put all the chips in and he called with 7-4. A 7 on the river and GG me.

I have 308 points left to clear the $175 bonus.

A Nice Weekend...

I was able to play quite a bit this weekend inspite of all the other committments I had. On Friday, I made a $200 cashout from pokerroom and as of this writing I have $404 on pokerroom and I have 324 points left to clear the $175 bonus.

I am thinking of moving to Hollywood Poker next because they give a 100% signup bonus and they are a member of the Ongame Network so I'll be playing the same games.

Another downturn...

A few weeks ago, I was running really well. All my draws were hitting. My low pocket pairs were turning into sets on a regular basis and every bluff I made worked. I wrote at the time that I feared the downturn. The downturn came, but I managed to survive it. Well, I'm running really well again and now I'm wondering when the downturn will come. I played for quite a while yesterday... wait, let me back up for a sec... yesterday morning, when I got to work, I had $400 in the Pokerroom Br. Well, I went home at lunch and managed to turn that $400 into $345. I made a couple of loose calls and it cost me. So when I got home yesterday, I got into a game and the hot streak took off. I was in a $2 NL game with $100 and doubled up pretty quickly. Then I played mostly $1 NL making a small profit while waiting on the $3,000 freeroll I was entered in.

In the freeroll, I had a sizeable chip stack most of the way. There were 558 entrants. The top 100 get paid. It gets down to 105 and I have about 5,000 in chips, a little above average at the time. I pick up QQ in early position and raise to 3,000. I get reraised by one of the big stacks and I call. He has AK and there is an A on the flop. GG me. I played for over two hours and got nothing. Oh well.

The pokerroom Br is at $460 and I only need 575 points to clear the $175 bonus.

A positive day

I managed to get back some of my losses from Monday. I managed to finish third in one $11 SNG and second in another. I also made a little cash in a $2 NL game. My K high flush was better than his 10 high flush for about $90. I also managed to double up in a $1 NL game after starting with $50 but then I gave it all back when a guy rivered a straight against me. I started yesterday with $326 and I ended it with $400. I also cleared a lot of bonus points. I now only have 684 points left to clear the $175 bonus. It should be done by the end of next week if not sooner.

I really haven't been keeping track of any interesting hands lately. I should do that more. I doubt that I get to play much on Friday or Saturday but I plan on playing the $3,000 player points freeroll tonight.

How to lose $125...

Call off your whole stack with A-Q when your opponent has AA.

Call off your whole stack with two pair when their is clearly a straight draw on the board.

The pokerroom br is at $326. I have 779 points left to collect the $175 bonus.

Weekend Wrap Up...

I deposited $350 on Pokerroom on Friday afternoon to take advantage of their 50% redeposit bonus. The bonus requires me to clear 1,250 points. As of this morning, I have 931 points left to clear. On the whole it was a profitable weekend. As of this writing, the Pokerroom Br is at $450. But that doesn't include a $120 cashout. I was pretty stoked to have done as well as I did. I managed to lay down QQ which is pretty big for me. I also finished second in a $11 SNG. I won a $7+1 SNG qualifier and I am waiting to use the ticket for a chance to qualify for the Pokerroom Big Deal.

I don't really remember any hands from this weekend that stand out. I managed to make $83 in a $2 NL game when I called a $50 raise with only a pair of eights. The guy was holding AK and there were no face cards on the board. It may have been a stupid call on my part, but it worked out.

I also played in a .50 NL game. I started with $35 and cashed out $88. Mostly on people making really loose calls against me.

Not surprised at all..

I pretty much donked off the $64 I had on Bodog yesterday. It wasn't hard at all. Since I wasn't able to get the Mansion bet in the Steelers killed the Dolphins and I wasn't able to make a dime off it.

Pokerroom is offering a reload bonus of 50% so I'll be getting ready to take advantage of that soon.

For your viewing pleasure I have posted a photo below of a pic from CNNSI. Enjoy.

It ain't pretty...

The bodog Br started at $150 and is now at $64. The hand that really did me in was this: I picked up Q-10 in the BB. There are three limpers. The flop comes 3-5-Q. I raise to $6 to see where I stand. I get one caller. The turn is a Q. I feel pretty good but my kicker isn't the greatest so I raise to $8 to see where I stand. My opponent calls. The river is a 2 which I feel pretty good about. My opponent goes all in and I call. He flips over 6-4 for a rivered straight. It was the ultimate chase that ended up paying off.

I also played in a qualifier to the $100,000 tournament. There were 35 people entered. 3 get seats. I finished 5th. I was in pretty good shape until my A-J ran up against AA from the big stack at the table. I also played two $11 SNG's and busted out of both.

I've about decided that I'm a pretty bad player.

Bad Bankroll Management...

The title pretty much sums it up. I have never been good at practicing bankroll management. I like 2 play at about 2 levels higher than my bankroll will support. This doesn't mean I'm a bad player (which I may be) but it does mean that when I'm on a downswing, I lose considerabley more of my bankroll than I should.

Yesterday, I deposited $150 on Bodog and managed to run it up to $239 by the end of the night, mostly playing .50 and $1 NL. I also won a $11 SNG. Then, this morning, playing higher than I should and getting sucked out on once and one time making a rediculous play, I donked it down to $118.

This also applies to me losing almost $400 of profit on Pokerroom over the weekend cause I like playing in the $2 NL game. That is way above my bankroll.

My total bankroll is at $962, so I am far from going broke, but I didn't get that much by playing high, I got it by grinding it out on the .25 tables and at the $11 SNG's.

I guess it's a profit...

I played a lot of poker over the long weekend. A lot of poker. I managed to cash out $200 from Pokerroom on Saturday after I finished second in a $54 SNG. I also cleared a $120 bonus and a $30 bonus. After cashing out, I had $453 dollars in the pokerroom BR. Well, last night, I cashed out my last $53 from pokerroom. After donking off $400 playing in the $2 NL game, I figure it might be time to try another room until PR offers another reload bonus. I put $300 into pokerroom and I cashed out $353 so I came out ahead, but I made some dumb plays and blew a lot of money that I shouldn't have.

I'm lining up for the Pittsburgh bet on Mansion on Thursday. If that happened to come thru, I'd be in good shape and really, really happy.

It could've been worse...

When we last talked, the PR BR was at $465. As of this writing, it is at $426, which to me doesn't sound too bad, but it certainly could've been worse and at one time was much worse. At the lowest, it was $356, but I manged to win back some of my losses. I missed a couple of draws and got sucked out on for a big pot that cost me quite a few dollars, but tight solid play helped me get back some of the losses.

I lost some of my money yesterday at lunch and some more last night before KK bailed me out in a $1 NL game. The only really dumb play I made was pushing all in on a flush draw after someone had raised in front of me. I held A-2 of hearts and two hearts came on the flop. I reraised all in, got called and no hearts on the turn or river. It wasn't a smart move even if a haert had hit.

I have 193 points left to clear the $120 bonus and about 122 points left to get into the $6,000 free roll on Saturday.

I fear the downturn...

I have been running so well lately that I fear the down turn that is surely coming. The Pokerroom BR was at $400 yesterday. Well, as of this writing it is $465. I managed to make $24 yesterday and I made $41 this morning.

I played in a .50 NL game this morning and the first two hands were JJ and KK. I managed to get half of a guy's stack when I flopped a set of J's and the other half with the K's.

I have 289 points left to clear the $120 bonus.

I'm lining up the br to take advantage of the Mansion Poker bet. I really hope it pans out as I need the money.

On A Heater!!!

I must say I did pretty well yesterday. How well you ask? Well, good enough to make a $100 cashout and still have $400 left in the Pokerroom BR.

For a short time yesterday, I was three-tabling. Two $1 NL games and one .50 NL game. I made $8 on one of the NL games and got out. Then, my JJ got busted on the other $1 NL game and I was down to $17. I wasn't really happy, but I made the right play and got sucked out on. Oh well, I'm battling with my $17 when I pick up AK and raise to $5 I get one caller and the flop comes K high. I go all in hoping 2 pick it up right there but I get raised all in. I call and he flips over K-Q. I double up to $35 and hang around for a while. Then I pick up KK in the SB. There are two raisers in front of me so I raise to $15 to let them know I'm serious. Well, I get two callers. The flop is all low cards, so I go all in for my last $20 and get two callers! I'm certain I'm up against AA. The turn is a J and the river is low. One guy had A-5 and the other had a pair of 8's. Yeah for me!! I tripled up and was sitting with $105. It didn't take me long to book that profit and focus on the .50 NL game. Well, after quite a while, I was able to cash out $68 from the .50 NL game. There weren't any memorable hands, but I played solid and picked me spots.

So after the cash game wins, I played two $7+1 SNG qualifiers. I finished second in both so I still have a ticket to anther that I can use.

I still have about 350 points left to clear the $120 bonus. I should have it done by the weekend.

I am thinking of taking advantage of the Mansion Poker sports book promo. If you haven't heard about it, go to www.pocketfives.com and check it out.

Weak or Solid??

I played pretty well yesterday. I played one $11 SNG and finished third and played one $7+1 qualifier and busted 8th. I also played some cash games and did pretty well. The pokerroom BR, when last we talked, was $369. Well, now it is $415 which includes a short session this morning.

There are only two memorable hands. The first one is this: I pick up K-Q in the BB. There are four limpers. The flop comes K-Q-Q. I was pretty happy about this. I only made about $8 but it was the easiest $8 I've ever made.

The second was this: I picked up Q-7 of hearts in the small blind. I called and the flop came A-J-10, all hearts. I checked and called one bet and then on the turn, I rasied pretty big to chase every one off for about a $10 profit.

Every other hand that I won, I pretty much had the best hand each time and took care of business.

Little has changed...

I don't remember where I left off on Friday, but I think the Pokerroom BR was at $393. Well, as of this writing it is at $369. It may sound like a drop off, and I guess it is, but I dropped $100 on Friday afternoon and spent the rest of the weekend trying to get it back. I have noted to my self that I am down $24 from Friday afternoon, but that total includes 5 $11 SNG that I didn not cash in and several other SNG qualifiers of various limits that I did not cash in either. So I think the cash games went pretty well but the SNG's didn't turn out so well for me.

I did clear about 300 points towards the $120 bonus that is waiting for me.

I played a live home game on Saturday night. I didn't do well mainly due to the fact that I lost a big pot with flush over flush. It happens. I played ok, but I lost.

Not too shabby...

I didn't play too much yesterday, but the results were quite pleasing. I got to play a few hands of .25 NL yesterday at lunch. I was only involved in one hand and it went down like this:

I'm in the small blind and I pick up Q-10 of spades. There are the bet is raised to .50 and called by two people. The flop comes K-10-10. I check and two people bet .50 then a third guy raises to $5. I reraise to $15. Two people fold and the $5 raiser raises me all in. He flips over 8-10 of hearts. The turn and river are blanks and I more than double my $25 investment. Pretty happy with the results.

Then I played a few hands of $1 NL yesterday after work and managed to make about $10. This morning before work I played .50 NL and won $14 on the first hand. I played a few more hands and cashed out a $17 winner.

Hopefully the weekend will bring more good fortune.

I missed a day...

I missed yesterday because work was incredibly busy. That rarely happens, but yesterday was one of those days.

Where to begin. Back on Pokerroom. I got an email from Bonuswhores.com saying that Pokerroom had a reload bonus going but you had to earn 10 points for every $1 in bonus money. That's a little steeper than normal, but I was probably gonna reload anyway. Well, a day later, I get another email from Bonuswhores telling me that people had been reporting that they were getting a bonus from PR that only required 7 points for every $1 in bonus money. I deposited immediately. I deposited $300 and played for quite a while yesterday and this morning and I am happy to report that I cleared 110 points whilst profiting $40. The pokerroom Br is at $340.

I still have $95 on Bodog and I might play there some more. Bodog kinda grew on me and it is by far the loosest site I have ever played on. There is a lot of variance, but if you can take it, it's a pretty good place to play.

Because of the internet or inspite of it???

I haven't been able to play much lately because my internet connection is intermitent at best. I was able to play for a little while this morning and I managed to make $56. That puts the Bodog bankroll at $171. I started in a $1 NL game and doubled up on this hand: I pick up 10-10 on the button. I raise to $6 and get called by the big blind, who is also the biggest stack at the table. The flop comes 10-A-6. He checks, I check. He bets $8, I raise to $28 and he raises me all in. I call and the river was of no help. Yeah!! Double Up.

I then played a few hands of .50 NL and managed to make $6.

Hopefully the internet will be fixed soon and I'll be back to playing more regularly.

I've played better...

I didn't play that much over the weekend as I was out of town. I did play this morning and my AA got cracked by a guy with a huge stack that was trying to give it away. He called me with J-6 and rivered a straight. He wasn't gonna lay it down so there wasn't much I could do. I moved to another table and ended up making back about half of what I lost on the aces.

The bodog Br is at $113. That is -$81 since the start.

playing too much and not playing well...

I've been playing too much, too high and too poorly. I was up against a dude yesterday and I was sure if I was patient, I could make a good score. The guy literally raised every pot and didn't mind calling large raises. I picked up AK and just limped. He raised to $5 so I go all in. He calls with K-2. Two on the flop. GG me. So I rebuy into that game for anther $50. I'm patient and I wait. I pick up KK and the sure enough the guy raises to $5. I go all in. I get two callers. One has JJ the other QQ. Queen on the flop. GG me. So I dropped $100 with the best hand both times. That's just the way it goes sometimes.

Back to Play'en Poker

After spending the better part of two days in another state, I'm back on the poker playing trail. The Bodog bankroll stands at $117 after a $112 cashout from last night. I didn't really do anything spectacular. I doubled up on the first hand of a $1 NL table when I picked up 10-10 and flopped a 10. Another guy with a pair of 6's goes all in. What could I do? I called and won. Up $50 at that point, I proceeded to drop $15 in a .25 NL game and then busted out 4th in a $11 SNG.

The bodog bankroll is at $117 and the total bankroll is at $1117. That is +$74 since I left Pokerroom.

Basically Even

I'm basically even on Bodog at this point. I was up $200 after Saturday, but I managed to give all that back before 8:30 on Sunday morning. I made two donk calls and had two bad beats. All for $50. My AA got cracked by trip 6's and my flopped flush got beaten by a full house. I also thought for some reason that 7-7 was better than 10-10 and that my two pair was better than a flush. So after blowing the $200 profit that put me back to even, I now have $150 on Bodog and I'm hoping to get a little profit out of the deal while waiting on a pokerroom reload bonus.

The internet has been out intermitently and it's driving me crazy. After losing the $200 yesterday, the internet managed to be out the rest of the day. However, when I got out of bed this morning, it was working. Cox has a bunch of morons working for them.

I won't likely be posting tomorrow as I will be out of town.

$100

I deposited $100 into Bodog last night. I played exactly 2 hands and won $10. Add this to the $4.73 I already had in the account and the $10 signup bonus that bodog gives on every deposit and I now have $124 to work with. I won't be redepositing on Bodog. If I lose this $100, I'll be off to another site.

The reason I only played two hands is that the internet hasn't been working.

A Freefall

I managed to take the $42 I had on Bodog and turn it into $76 before turning it back into $4. Don't ask me how, just know that it wasn't hard.

I lost $50 playing $1 NL on this hand.

I flopped two pair and managed to get all my money in against a guy I knew was chasing a straight and damned if he didn't get his straight on the river.

I'm now trying to determine if I should deposit on Bodog or if I should wait on a Pokerroom reload bonus.

The Bodog Sojourn

Last we visited, the Bodog bankroll was at $43. Well, as we visit today, the Bodog bankroll is at $42 after a wild rollercoaster swing yesterday. I started out playing .25 NL and not once, but twice, I flopped a straight and got rivered by a full house. Twice I tell you. It wasn't pretty, but I managed to not go broke either time. The first hand went down like this:

I pick up 7-8 in the big blind and it's checked around to me. I check and the flop comes 5-6-9. I'm pretty excited cause I think I can make some money out of this. I check and the next guy bets $2. I'm thinking he must have trips or a high pair so I just call. The turn is a 9 and the guy fires out $5. I raise him his last $10 and he calls. He flips over K-9 and wouldn't you know it, a 5 hits the river. He rakes a huge pot which should've been mine. I'm pretty sure he wasn't gonna lay down the hand regardless so I really couldn't win.

A few hands later I pick up AA and some guy afte me goes all in for about $12 which is about what I had. I did my obligitory chat box type of "You may suck out on me, but I have to call" and then made the call. He flipped over KK and the AA held up so I was about where I started.

Then a few hands later, I flopped anther straight while holding Q-J in the small blind. The flop was k-10-9. I raised it a hefty bit and got called by a guy holding 10-9 for his last $8. There was a 9 on the river and he raked another pot that should've been mine.

Then I played two $11 SNG's. I busted out 5th in the first one and finished second in the other one for $30 or a $19 profit. When you do the math on all that, it left me with $42. It certainly could've been worse.

I really want to qualify for the Bodog $100,000 tournament they run on Sundays, but the SNG's are 5-handed and cost $24 to enter so I need to build my bankroll a little before I try one of those.

Another Site??

Since we last talked (over four days ago) I've cashed out all my money from Pokerroom. I am not dissatisfied, I'm just waiting on a redeposit bonus before I venture back in. Also, I got an email from Bodog that I had $10 in my account so I downloaded the software and played there last night. I started on the .10 NL tables and turned the $10 into $23. Then I moved to the .25 NL tables and turned the $23 into $43. So I'm gonna see how much I can build this into. I would like to try and qualify for the Bodog $100,000 tournament they have each week. They are constantly running satalites for the tourney so maybe I can get into one.

As for the pokerroom results. I started out with $600 at PR and cashed out $830 so I came out +$230. With a good redeposit bonus, I'll be back in there. My NL game is improving and I'm feeling more comfortable playing higher limits.

Don't Try This At Home...

I didn't play at all last night until about 9:30 and it wasn't a good idea. I had been to Logan's and Jose's and had about five beers so I was feeling no pain. I sat down and jumped into a $1 NL game for $50. The first hand I picked up 9-7 in the big blind. It's only me and one other guy. The flop comes 10-9-7. I checked, he bet $25 and I went all in. He thought for a second and called. He flipped over A-10 and rivered and A for a higher two pair. GG me.

So I was tilting/pissed and moved to another $1 NL game and bought in for $50. I donked that off in about 5 hands. None were memorable except for the bad play on my part.

So I'm down $100 and steaming pretty good. I have no idea what possessed me to jump into a $2 NL game but I did and bought in for $100 bucks. I was making some lose calls and fluctuated from $15 down to $15 up when this hand arose. I picked up J-9 in the big blind. I called a $7 raise from some guy who raised every pot. The flop came 8-10-Q. So I have a really good straight. The guy raised to $25 and I went all in. He called and the straight held up. I had a little over $100 when the hand started so now I'm back to even or maybe even a little on the plus side.

I'm still kinda excited from winning the big hand. The next hand (small blind for me) I picked up 3-6 of clubs. I called the extra .50 and the flop comes 9-K-8, all clubs. I bet out $10 trying to pick it up right there and pad my winnings. But I get called by the guy I had beaten in the previous pot. The turn is a red 2. I'm feeling like I have the best hand so I go all in. He calls for his last $80 with k-8 of spades. The river was no help to him and I won another fatty. I couldn't outta that game fast enough.

So I'm cashing out with $312 all because I was stupid and on tilt and got a lot lucky. I cashed out $125 which I was extremely excited about. All this happened in about 30 minutes. I could hardly believe it.

So the pokerroom BR is at $387 (which is $1 more than yesterday) and that puts me +$272 above my origional investment in Pokerroom.

A blip...

I managed to lose $10 yesterday. It wasn't hard. I played in a $11 SNG and busted out on this hand.

I'm in the small blind. I get dealt AA. The chip leader is to my left. It gets folded to me. I raise the minimum. The guy goes all in. So naturally, I call. He flips over 8-9 of diamonds and, of course, turns a flush. GG Me.

I managed to lose about $20 playing .25 NL but won $15 playing $1 NL. I played longer than I thought I did yesterday as I accumulated over 45 Pokerroom points.

The Pokerroom BR is at $386. That is +$145 from the origional investment.

En Fuego!!!

I had a pretty good weekend! By my standards it was a great weekend. If you will recall, when last we talked, the Pokerroom BR was at $319. Well, now it stands at $396, which doesn't really tell the whole story. In addition to that $396, I cashed out $150. This puts me $155 to the good on Pokerroom, and I'm loving that considering where I was just about a month ago.

There are not a whole lot of hands to rehash, but I will give you a "cliffnotes" version of how things went. On Friday afternoon, I got into a $1 NL game. I started with $50 and it didn't take long for me to have $108. I got out of the game and we went to PH and then to Brewskis for a while. We had to go to Cabot and Arkadelphia on Saturday for various stuff and I didn't get home until late. I played a few hands but hovered around even. On Sunday morning, I started in a $1 NL game with $50. Two hands in I pick up AA and get reraised. After an A high flop, my opponent goes all in. What could I do? I called and win. My stack is now at $125. Pretty good I think.

I also played several MTT and one SNG. I didn't cash in any of them.

I also finished up the $90 deposit bonus so I will be looking for a redeposit bonus from Pokerroom really soon.

It's nice to be running well. I'm starting to get the hang of NL and I'm playing really tight. Most of my good hands are getting paid off though I occasionally get sucked out on.

The pokerroom BR is at $396. That is +$155.

Two days in a row

Donk moves caused the BR to drop to $311. I could go into all of them, but the one that really killed me was this.

I pick up k-7 in the big blind. It's checked aournd to me so I check. The flop comes K-3-K. I raise to $1.50 and get two callers. The turn is a Q. I raise to $5 and the next guy goes all in for $15. The other guy calls his bet. I call and the river is a 9. The first guy to go all in did so with J-10 and rivered a straight. The other person had A-Q. So that took $27 from me right there. I was kinda pissed off so I moved to a $1 NL game and bought in for $50. On the first hand I pick up 10-10. There are two raisers to $3. I go all in (I was still steaming a bit from the previous loss) and both people call. One had A-K and the other had JJ. Needless to say I lost.

Then I bought into another $1 game and won back $25 before calling it a night.

I played for a little while this morning and lost $9. I have to keep in mind that you cannot bluff at the .25 tables. It just doesn't work.

The Pokerroom BR is at $311. That is down $93 from the start. I have 124 points left to clear the $90 deposit bonus.

It was bound to happen...

I finally had a losing session yesterday. I got stacked in a .50 NL game. I bought in for $35 and lost most of the money in two hands. A pair of Jacks will never beat a pair of aces and A-Q will never beak A-K with only an A on the board. So after playing in a $5.50 MTT and making it to 50th place with 72 left (40 pay) I donked off all my chips on a board of A-2-10 while holding a K-10 and my opponent having A-10. It was a dumb donkey ass move on my part as I was pretty much a sure bet to make the money until I made that play.

So then I go to a $1 NL game and buy in with $50. I managed to get back $20 of the $35 I lost earlier by playing smart, tight agressive.

So the pokerroom BR stands at $350. That is $54 less than the origional investment. I also have 155 points left to clear the $90 bonus.

A little to the good

I played for a while yesterday. I ended up +$13. Not too bad. I mostly played .25 NL. I played two $3.40 SNG qualifiers and busted out of both of them. In one, I doubled up on the first hand and on the third hand I picked up another 900 chips with trip 10's and then managed to blow it all chasing a couple of flush draws and then finally busting out when my K-Q couldn't improve against A-Q.

I've tightened up my play in NL and have been doing pretty well lately. I haven't played a full SNG in quite a few days.

The pokerroom br is at $372. That is down $32 from the start. I only have 193 points left to clear my $90 deposit bonus.

Another Cashout!!!

I managed to do well enough yesterday to cashout $96. I love it when I'm running good. Here is a quick summary.

I got home yesterday around 5:00 and started in a .25 NL game. I managed to make about $8 in three orbits before I had to take Sarah to meet her Mom in Alma. So I don't get back home until about 8:30. I jumped into a .50 NL game and before I know it, I'm up $25. So with my $33 profit for the day I decided to play in a $14+1.50 MTT qualifier to a $100+8 tournament. There were only 15 people in the tournament. The top three got paid. First place got the ticket, second got $70 and third got $30. I played really well and made it to the top three. After third place got knocked out, I decided I'd rather have the $70 than a $100+8 ticket. So I started going all in every hand until I finally lost. That took the BR to $416 so I immediately made a $96 cashout.

Then, this morning, I jumped in a .25 NL game and before I know it, I'm sitting on $69, up from my origional amount of $25. Twice I got sets that held up. Once, I flopped trip 9's and anther time I flopped trip 7's. Both times I got paid off big time. Another time my pocket 10's held up and another time I turned a flush for a pretty big pot. Either way, it was a good run.

The party poker BR is at $359. Including the cashouts, I'm down $55 from my origional investment of $600. It's been a pretty good run. I hope it holds.

Who cashed out??

I did. I had a pretty good runt his weekend. On Friday, I bought into a .25 NL game with $25 and cashed out $91. Then I bought into a .50 NL game with $35 and cashed out $70. I had several sessions like this throughout the weekend and I only got stacked twice. So I made a $100 withdrawal request. It has yet to be processed, but I think that is because I requested it on a weekend. I'll give Pokerroom another day before I send an email inquiry.

I also played in a $5 multi table last night with 447 players. I finished 29th, good for $16.

I only have 251 points left to clear the $90 deposit bonus.

The pokerroom bankroll is $327, that is down $173 from the start.

The pendulum swings both ways?

Well, after Wednesday's debacle, Thursday was pretty much the opposite. I only played for about 45 minutes and banked $57. There were only two memorable hands. The first came up in a $1 NL game. I picked up KK on the button. There had been a $3 raiser UTG. I raised to $10 hoping to take it down right there. No such luck. The small blind called the raise. The origional raiser folds and we see a flop. A-K-Q. All diamonds. A mildly scary flop. So I bet out $10. My opponent goes all in for about $10 more. The turn and river are bricks. He flips over Q-10 and I essentially double up. I started the game with $50 and this gave me $95. I was outta that game quick.

Then I dropped down to a .25 NL game and made $7 pretty easily when I flopped a set and it held up.

After that, GK called and the crew was meet'en up at Powerhouse so off we went. I'll take it cause of the horrible day I had on Wednesday.

The pokerroom BR is at $357. That is down $243 from the start.

It wasn't good

I managed to drop $46 yesterday thanks to getting stacked twice, once in .50 NL for $35 and once in $1 NL for $50. The one that really pisses me off is this hand:

I picked up JJ under the gun. I raise to $5 and only get one caller, who is to my immediate left. the flop is all low, really low. So I'm pretty sure the flop missed him. I bet $10 and he calls. The turn is another low card so I bet $15. He calls. The river is yet anther low card. I bet $20 hoping he had A-K or A-Q and had missed completely. Unfortunately for me, he goes all in and since most of my stack was committed, I called. He flipped over AA. GG Me. I don't really think I could've played that hand much worse. The hand reaffirmed that I am a bad poker player. And what really pissed me off about the hand was that I had increased my starting stack of $50 to $65 and was preparing to sit out after this hand. If I hadn't gotten JJ, I would've just folded and taken my profit 2 the SNG's.

So after that I was tilting a little and I went to a .50 NL table. I'm on the button and a guy in late position raises to $3. I'm on the button with A-Q so I went all in. He called and no help came 2 me so I got stacked again.

After that, I played in the $3,000 freeroll and busted out pretty early. It's limit hold'em and I wasn't in the right frame of mind to play it.

Then I went to a $1 NL full ring game and started with $100. Not very smart considering my frame of mind, but then again, I don't do a lot of smart things when it comes to poker. Any way, thanks to a couple of loose calls, I managed to win $29. This leaves me at $304 total.

The Pokerroom BR is at $304. That is down $296 from the start.

Mov'en on Up!!

I managed to make a little bit last night inspite of getting stacked once in .25 NL. This happened on a hand where the guy made a loose aggressive call and hit his river card. This is from the same guy (KUMB) who cracked my AA with 66 when he rivered a straight two weeks ago (see previous post). Last night, I pick up AK in late position. I raise to $2 and the button calls. The flop comes A-5-K. I bet $3 and he calls. The turn is an 8. I go all in and he calls. The turn is a nine. He flips over 7-6 for the straight and I'm left with nothing. Oh well. That is the second time he has done that to me in less than two weeks. I was kinda steaming but it didn't take me long to get it back plus some.

On a different table, I picked up the beloved A-K. I raise to $2 and get one caller. The flop comes 2-Q-J. The caller bets $1 and I call. The turn is the magical 10. He goes all in. I think for a second, but the flop was a rainbow and I can beat trips so I call. He flips over Q-10 and I double up. Good for me. I was about $1 ahead for the day. After that, I played a $3.40 SNG qualifier and busted out 7th. Then I played a $11 SNG and finished third. I was all in as the short stack with 6-6 and got called by K-10. K-10 on the flop and GG me. That left with $344. I managed to make $8 this morning playing .25 NL. The majority of my money came when I rivered a straight and picked up a nice pot. I lost a pot after that or my take would've been more.

The Pokerroom BR is at $352. This down$248 from the initial deposit.

Also, I have 390 points left to finish off a $90 deposit bonus. I have until Sept. 4 to get this done so at 20 points per day, I should have it cleared easily by then.

It wasn't easy

When I last left you, the Pokerroom BR was at $314. Not bad considering where I was at one point, but when I got out of bed this morning, the Pokerroom BR was at $267. I managed to donk off $49 yesterday and it didn't seem that hard. Especially considering I finished third in two $11 SNG's. But after getting stacked for $35 in a .50 NL game and losing two other $11 SNG's, the BR stood at $267. Well, I am happy to report that as of this writing, the Pokerroom BR is at $331. How did that happen you ask? Well, when I got out of bed this morning, I hopped into a $1 NL full ring game. I play these every so often because they help accumulate points toward clearing bonuses and other pokerroom stuff. Well, this morning, I bought in for $60 and after a few hands, I picked up 9-9. I raised to $5 and get one caller. The flop is all low with two clubs. I bet $15 trying to pick it up right there, but the guy calls. The turn is a red Q. I bet $10 and the guy raises me all in. I don't know why I called, but I did. Well, the river was a 2s and the the guy flips over A-9 of clubs. He was on a flush draw and didn't get there and I am a bad poker player who doesn't really know when to fold so call me "doubled up" at this point. I started the game with $60 and cashed out $124. Not bad for a weak ass poker player.

I know many of you have heard of TAG (Tight Aggressive) or LAG (Loose Aggressive) but I think I'm gonna name my game LAW (Loose and Weak) cause that seems to be the way I'm playing lately. I make too many bad calls in NL and I've been make too many bad calls in SNG's too.

I have cleared enough points to play in the $3,000 Freeroll on Wednesday night. I cashed in this tournament last week. The top 100 get paid. even though it was only $10, it was still a cash.

Pokerroom BR at $331. That is down $269 from the start.

$25

$25. That's how much I profited over the weekend. I played a lot. I got stacked twice in .25 NL, I stacked one guy in .50 NL and I played five $11 SNG's in addition to three or four $3.40 SNG qualifiers. I won one $11 SNG and finished third in two others. I also made a few bucks in .25 NL though it's hard to tell if I actaully made money on the NL play.

There is only one hand that I really am kinda mad about and here it is.

The first hand of a .25 NL session. I'm in the BB and I pick up Q-7. There are two other limpers so three of us take the flop. The flop comes out Q-K-Q. I'm pretty excited because with three limpers I feel like I'm in pretty good shape. The turn is a 7 and now I know I'm going to pick up this pot so I just want to get maximum value. The river is a four. I bet $1 the second guy calls and the last guy goes all in for about $30. I was confused because all he had done to this point was call. Even if he had a K or a Q I still had him beat. I did wonder if he had K-Q but I had to make the call because of my full house. Well, he flipped over K-K for the flopped full house. I'm not sure if he played it well or I played it badly. Sometimes you just get broke.

The Pokerroom BR is at $314. That is down $286 from the start.

Doublemeup: Double Makes A Major Final Table

Doublemeup: Double Makes A Major Final Table

$296??

The pokerroom br now stands at $296, which if you have read the past few posts, sounds pretty good. However, the big boost came from clearing the $120 bonus yesterday. So when looking at the bottom line, I am down $304 on Pokerroom. I hope to now get back to my game of playing mostly $11 SNG's, SNG qualifiers and .25 NL. These games are where I made the vast chunk of the $2,000 I cashed out in June.

I played one $11 SNG yesterday and busted out 4th. I tried to steal the blinds with 8-9 suited and got called by A-Q and an A hit the flop. I also played 2-4 limit to finish up the bonus and ended up +$24. So I hope to stay away from the limit for a while as I try to build a little roll and hopefully cash out some more money.

A little bit better than yesterday

I tried to post a blog yesterday, but the system didn't seem to want any part of it. Well, to sum up Tuesday, I lost about $60 and was rather disappointed and disgusted with my play and poker in general. The BR had dropped from $198 to $138 and things were looking bleak. I had played two $11 SNG's and lost them both but I had won about $20 in .25 NL so I was close to even when I decided to play a little 2-4 limit. Not a good idea as I pretty much lost the whole $60

Well, Wednesday was a little better I played a little .25 NL when I got home and made $11 so I moved over to a $11 SNG. Busto in 10th when my JJ didn't hold up against k-7. This was my 11th straight SNG in which I hadn't cashed. I signed up for another one and instead of busto, it was presto. I took it down for a nice $50 payday. Then I had a free ticket to a Pokerroom $3000 freeroll. There were 441 people entered. Top 100 paid. I finished 71st for $10. Not great, but better than nothing.

Then this morning I played .25 NL for about 30 minutes and made $9. So the BR had climbed back to $197 and I only have 84 points left to clear the $120 bonus.

I'm just not that good!

bleh. Same story, different day. I played and lost. Two $11 SNG's and busted out in both. I played 2-4 limit trying to clear the bonus and way above my bankroll. Not good.

The pokerroom br is at $138. That puts me down $462.

Finally a positive day!!

The poker room br took a positive turn yesterday as I had my first winning day in about a week. I started with $150 and ended with $198. I played one $11 SNG, the rest was all cash game, either .25 NL or .50 NL. Three hands really illustrate the day. First, I picked up AA in late position. I raised to $2. I get two callers. The flop came A high so I checked. The first caller raised to $2, the second guy called and I went all in. They both folded. That was about a $10 pot. The next one and my real moneymaker for the day went like this. I pick up 10 10 on the button. I raise to $2 and it folds back around to the guy just in front of me. He goes all in for about $44 (this is a .50 NL game) and, after thinking for a bit, I called. He had AK and my 10's held up. I had started that game with $50 and now had $94. I was pretty stoked but then the poker gods took a little back. I picked up 7-7 in late position and called a $1 raise the flop brought a 7 with 2 clubs. The initial raiser bets out $5. He only had $14 so I raised him all in. The other guy in the pot folds. He insta called and flipped over J-J. Good for me, or so I thought. The turn and river both brought clubs and I'm the loser. Not surprising the way my luck goes with good hands.

In the SNG I played last night I got knocked out on this hand. I pick up AA under the gun with six left. The blinds are $75-$150. I go all in cause I don't like to get cute with AA. I get called by 5-5 and he flopped trips and for good measure got quads on the river. GG me.

Either way, I hope this is the start of a few positive days. I have 169 points left to clear the $120 bonus. This should be done by the weekend.

Can I be this bad???

I'm in a serious losing streak at the moment. I think when I left you on Friday, the Pokerroom BR was at about $300. Well, now it's at $150. I"m playing a lot of 2-4 limit but this hasn't been the problem. Here, in one hand, is a synopsis of my weekend. I got into .25 NL game Saturday afternoon. The second hand I pick up AA. I raise to $4. The only caller is a buy with teh screen name of KUMD. He calls the raise and we see a flop of K-10-9. I don't want to get cute so I just raise all in. The guy calls. He flips over 6-6. The turn is a 7 and the river an 8. GG me. That is about how well it has gone for me lately. I've been playing fewer hands and not getting into raising wars, but it just isn't going my way right now. Another hand that has been pretty typical for me is this: I pick up A-9 on the button in a .25 NL game. I limp along with three other people. The flop comes 9-9-4. The short stack of about $12 goes all in. I call and he flips over 4-4 for a flopped full house.

I also played five $11 SNG's yesterday and didn't get in the money in any of them.

Pokerroom bankroll is $150. That puts me down $450.

Re Deposit

Unfortunately, I had to redeposit on Pokerroom last night for $300.

I played three $11 SNG's with the money I had left when I got home yesterday and didn't make the money in any of them. That left me with virtually $0 in my account, so I went ahead and added another $300. I'm still playing off winnings, but I'm starting to get low. I need to get the bonus cleared so I can go back to my normal limits and SNG's.

I did manage to win a little bit playing 2-4 limit last night. I only need 440 points to clear the bonus.

The pokerroom investment is $600, there is $296 left.

Another Down Day

I only played for about an hour last night and managed to drop $24. Not surprising considering the bad run I've been on lately. When you combine a bad run with a bad player (me) you usually get a serious down turn. Oh well. I'll keep on playing thru it I hope.

The pokerroom br is now at $30. It started at $300. It is likely that I'll have to redeposit to clear the bonus. We shall see.

Not Good, Not Good At All

Well, since we last talked I have managed to get rid of most of the $300 I deposited on Pokerroom. I did this by playing 2-4 limit while trying to clear the bonus. The Pokerroom BR currently stands at $54 and that is after I won a $11 SNG last night. I still have 500 points to clear to get the $120 bonus, but I have over a month to get it done so I'll finish that up eventually. I made the vast majority of my money by playing $11 and $22 SNG's and .25 NL. This is what I need to get back to in order to try and rebuild the BR and hopefully not have to redeposit.

A Downward Slide

I played for a little while yesterday and I didn't do so well. I ended the day down $37. I lost $50 playing limit hold'em, finished third in a $11 SNG and won $1.20 playing .25 NL. Not outstanding results by anyone's standards. In the SNG, I got into the money with the chip lead, but donked off most of them by going all in with 2-2 and getting called by JJ. Oh well, GG me. I have earned 111 points toward the bonus. That leaves me with 729 left. I'm hoping to have it down to around 500 by Sunday, but we'll just have to see how it goes.

I am not working on Monday or Tuesday so there may not be an update until Wednesday, July 5.

Pokerroom

I started on Pokerroom yesterday and while I didn't do as well as I would've liked, I did make a small profit while earning 64 points toward clearing the bonus. The profit was $31 leaving the PR BR at $331.

I played mostly limit hold'em with mixed results. I started in 2-4 and ran up a $60 profit. Then, for whatever reason, I dropped down to 1-2 limit and lost $29. It was mostly due to dumb plays.

I've to to earn 776 points to finish clearing the $120 bonus.

On the Move!!!

Well what do ya know, I came flying out of the partypoker hole yesterday. Let me recap. If you've been reading (and few have) you know that I started playing on Partypoker with $109. When I checked in with you yesterday morning, I had managed to raise it back to $51. I went home yesterday at lunch and played a few hands. I was +$8 for the session when I managed to get all in with my KK vs a limper and a small raiser hoping to pick up the pot right there. Didn't happen. The limper had AA. So I'm back down to $33. I get home from work and start playing again. I manage to increase about $10 and then decide to play a $11 SNG. I won the SNG for $50. So now I'm at $81 and headed in the right direction. I moved back over to .25 NL and the first hand I pick up AA. Now this doesn't excite me too much because I've been losing a lot lately with AA. But in my normal fashion, I raise it up to $4. Some guy across from me goes all in. I'm pretty sure I'm ahead preflop (ha ha) so I make the call. AA holds up for me and I double up putting me at $106. Played a little more .25 NL inching up $7 more.

That left me with $113 on Party and a $4 profit. It certainly could've been better, but it damn sure could've been worse. So I made a little over $80 yesterday and when I was done last night, I cashed out. Pokeroom here I come. I deposited $300 on pokeroom this morning and will begin playing there tonight. I have to earn 820 points to clear off the $120 bonus. Also, Pokeroom offers frequent reload bonuses which I hope to take advantage of. This will likely require me to play more limit hold'em to clear the bonus, but I can do it.

Not Much To Report

I played a little poker yesterday and I actually managed to make about $20. No complaints here. The Party BR now stands at $51. It started at $109.

I realized that while playing six handed that I might be playing too many hands, so I have cut back on the number of hands I'm playing and the results seem to be positive so far. I'll keep ya posted.

The world serious of poker starts today.

Not a Good Run

I didn't play well this weekend and the results showed. I got AA cracked twice, again. I made a couple of weak calls and this leaves me with a PartyPoker BR of $30. I am amazed at what people will call a big raise with preflop. I've gotten to the point that when I get AA, I raise big hoping to just take the pot right there, but it doesn't seem to work for me. The first time I got AA cracked on Saturday morning, I raised to $4 and get one caller. the flop comes 9-Q-2. I go all in and the guy insta calls. He flips over A-Q and get a Q on the turn. GG me. The second time my opponet called a $3 raise and flopped a set of 7's. Oh well. I probably shouldn't being playing so much NL.

On a much brighter note, I did receive the $300 check from Powerplayer. I was quite surprised. I actually have the check in hand and plan on depositing it today. If they ever have a reload bonus on Powerplayer, I might return to the site.

Oh So Bad!

So this is the way it's gonna be. I managed to drop $75 yesterday playing .25 NL and it wasn't hard. This is the way it went down.

Hand #1. I pick up QJos and call. The flop comes A-K-10 rainbow. I flopped the nut straight. I raise to $2 and get raised to $4. I'm thinking the guy must have trips so I call. The turn is the 2C. I raise to $4 and get raised all in. I call. The river is the 6C. My opponent flips over QJ of clubs. GG me. He went runner-runner to beat me out of a huge pot.

Hand #2. I pick up KK in late position and raise to $2 like I always do with big hands. I get one caller. The flop comes 6-K-2 with two diamonds. I bet $2 and get called. The turn is a 9H. I raise to $5 and get reraised all in. I call and the river is a 10D. My opponet flips over 8-9 of diamonds. GG me. He called his whole stack off on a flush draw.

Hand #3. I pick up A-J of clubs and raise to $2. I get called and the flop comes A high. I raise to $4 and get called. The turn brings me a J. I'm feeling pretty good about the hand right now as my stack had built from $25 up to about $40 and the guy calling me had more than $50. I raise to $15 and get reraised all in. I call and he flips over KK when I think is good until the river brings his two outer and GG me.

I don't know if I'm playing these hands badly or just running bad at the moment. I couldn't lose on Monday when I built the PartyPoker BR up to $212. Now it's down to $60. Oh well. I'll just keep on grinding.

Stupid AA!

The downswing continues as I am back to where I was on Monday before I went on the big heater. Yesterday my AA got cracked again. I went thru a period like this about four months agon on Powerplayer when I couldn't win with AA or KK. I hope it's just a temporary thing.

On a somewhat brighter note, I received an email yesterday from Powerplayer saying a check for $300 was in the mail to me. Now, I realize the old "check's in the mail" line when I see it, but the new ownership seems to be credible so I'll give them a week or so to see if the check actually arrives.

The partypoker br started at $109. It now stands at $150.

The Downside

Monday I couldn't lose. Yesterday I really couldn't win. I played for about two hours and lost $35. Not as much as I won on Monday, but still not a good day. I had AA cracked twice. People will call a $4 raise with anything in the .25 NL games. The first time, I get beat by two pair which wasn't surprising cause there were three other people in the pot and they all called the raise. The second one it was just me and the BB heads up. He called the initial raise and then two more before hitting his straight on the river. I made a couple of weak calls and that left me down $35.

The partypoker br is at $177. It started at $109.

On A Heater!!!

I was on a pretty good rush yesterday afternoon. It would've been even better had my aces not been cracked. I started the day with a BR of $151 and ended it with a BR of $212 (this is my partypoker br, not my total br). I was a card catching machine and I guess people thought I was bluffing, which I rarely do. I "stacked" a guy when I had KK and he chose to go all in with 10's. Then I rivered a flush and got a good portion of another guy's stack. I didn't really outplay anybody, I just caught good cards. All this while playing sixhanded .25 NL on Partypoker. I'll take +$61 any day of the week. I had worked it up to $224 at one point, but then the AA went down to a guy who called a $4 raise with Q-8 and flopped a straight. I've gotten to the point that I raise pretty big with the big hands cause I don't want them to lose. It's tough to get away from big hands even when you are sure you are behind.

I'm giving serious consideration to moving 2 Absolute Poker because of their first time and reload deposit bonuses.

PartyPoker BR at $212.

Inch'en on up!

I had a respectable weekend at the tables. For those of you keeping score, and I'm sure there aren't many, the PartyPoker Bankroll was at $107 when we last talked on Friday. It now stands at $151. That makes me +$44 for the weekend. I could've been better. Last night (Sunday) I had managed to work it up to $173, but managed to give back a little over $20 when I didn't hit a flush. The big boost came on Saturday when I played a $33 SNG and finished second, good for $90.

On a different note, I got an email from Powerplayer saying they had changed overship and that they would re-investigate my missing $300. It is likely too much to ask to get it back but I guess I can hope.

A Tough, Not So Good Day at the Tables

I played for a couple of hours yesterday and didn't do so well. The PartyPoker BR when we last talked was at $151. It now stands at $107. And the tough part is that before it settled at $107, I had run it up to $171. I got busted for $30 in a .50 NL game when my QQ ran into a turned set of fours. Then I played in a $11 SNG and busted out sixth. No hands of note. Then I lose about $25 more playing .50 NL on a couple of donk moves and getting rivered on a flush. It could've been worse but, I flopped a set of fours and made quite a bit back when my opponent had KK.

I did see maybe the sickest bad beat I've ever personally witnessed last night. It went down like this. The flop was Q22. Innocuous looking at first. Then the betting started. I wasn't involved in the hand, but two stacks of more than $50 in a .50 NL game got all the money in after the turn. One guy had QQ, the other guy had 22. One flopped a full house and was beaten by flopped quads. The QQ kinda slow played his hand as he only raised to $1 preflop. That's just asking for trouble.

Back to the grind today. I imagine I'll have plenty of time to play this weekend as it's supposed to rain.

Partypoker BR at $107.

Doing some Party'en

Since my debacle with Powerplayer, I have gone back to Partypoker, in the short term at least. I deposited $109 last night with the intentions of playing for a while. The have a 15% reload bonus going on so I had to play 163 hands to earn the bonus. I have 73 left. The results were pretty good on my behalf. I played quite a bit of .50 NL. I also played two SNG's. A $22 SNG (busted 4th) and a $11 SNG (finished 3rd). Every session of .50 NL I played was profitable. I only got below my buyin a couple of times and I always managed to rebound. The first time I bought in for $35 and cashed out $50. Another time I bought in for $30 and cashed out $50. I also had two other sessions where I bought in for $30 and cashed out $38 and $39. Not bad for me. I should note that these games were shorthanded (six players).

The partypoker BR started at $109 and now stands at $151.

Not Very Happy

Grrr. Looks like Powerplayer and the Ongame Network have screwed me out of $300. Not surprising the way Powerplayer does business, but I'm still disappointed. I haven't decided on a new site yet. Kinda taking a break from Poker for a few days. Maybe I'll start a new site on Saturday.

I am not a happy man

In fact, I am angry. There is $300 missing from my Powerplayer account. I don't think it was stolen per se, because there is no withdrawal or other financial transaction listed on my account. I hope it is just a mistake by the Ongame network. Anyway, here's how it went down. I played in a $11 SNG on Saturday and when I busted out, I went to play in a .25 NL game. When I signed up for the SNG, I had $323 in my account. After paying the $11 for the SNG, that left me with $312 in my account. When I bought in to the . 25 NL game, it would only let me buy in for $12. I thought this was odd and when I looked at my account page, There were $0.00 dollars in there. I have sent Powerplayer an email, actually two, and I got one back saying they had turned it over to their investigations team and they will be getting back to me. I'm rather concerned that I will never see this money again. But if I don't, I can assure you that I am done with Powerplayer.

Anybody else ever have a problem like this?

2nd

I only played one tourament yesterday due to Thursday night activities. I finished second good for a $30 profit. I don't know how much I'll get to play tonight, but tomorrow, I should be able to play as much as I want.

The BR is $335.

A withdrawal and a loss...

The good news: My previous withdrawal from Powerplayer was finally completed yesterday so I made another withdrawal for $200 that will hopefully be completed within the next 10 days. Money in the neteller account is much better than money in the PP account.

The bad news: After making the withdrawal, that left the Powerplayer account at $353. Then I proceeded to lose about $36 in various ways. I lost $18 in .25 NL, I lost two $3.40 SNG's and one $11 SNG. The only memorable hand from any of the three came in the $11 SNG. It was down to five and I was getting kinda short stacked. On the button, I made an attempt to steal the blinds by raising all in. Bad timing on my part as I was insta called by the big blind who had AA. GG me.

Back to the grinding as the Powerplayer BR is $316. I'm slowly trying to get all my money off of Powerplayer so that I can move to Pokerroom. The cashouts on Powerplayer take forever. They advertise on the site that neteller cashouts take up to two days, but that is incorrect. I've never had one that was less than 5 days and one took 18 days. This last one took nine days.

Really, it was only $3

I played a lot of poker yesterday and had a really wild swing that ended up with me losing only $3 for the day. I played three $11 SNG's and lost $25 in .25 NL. I lost the $25 not long after I got home from work. It wasn't pretty and I don't really want to talk about it. Then I played three $11 SNG's. The first one I busted out in 8th place when a guy rivered a flush to criple me. I was out a few hands later. The next one I busted out in 10th place (rare for me) when my pair of 7's didn't hold up in a race. These losses have the BR down to $503 including the buyin for the next SNG. Oh well. On to the third one. I took it down. I played really well and was very patient. I eliminated places 2, 3 & 4. My chip stack was strong going into heads up and I managed to put the guy away when my QJ turned into a straight against his A-6. So now the Powerplayer Bankroll stands at $553. I gotta keep growing it.

A Pretty Good Day!!!

I didn't even play that much yesterday, but I'll have to say it was a pretty good day. As I recall, the Powerplayer bankroll (not the total bankroll) was at $505 last we talked. Well, as of this morning, it's $556.70. Yesterday when I got in from work, I played .25 NL and made $8, then I played a $3.40 SNG qualifier. Ka donk a donk. I busted out fourth on a stupid move. I called an all in with K-7. Not a smart move. So then I played a $11 SNG. Book it. Winner for $50. Then more cash games for another $6 or so. Then this morning 40 minutes or so of cash games netted me $2.70. I know, I know. It doesn't sound like much, but I just keep trying to grind it upward. I've played higher stakes. A lot higher, but I experienced more variance and at this point, I'm enjoying the level I'm playing at. I'm one of those dudes that is playing to make money and I'll play at whatever level it takes to make money.

$11

$11. That's how much profit I have after the weekend. I started on Friday afternoon with $494 and now I have $505. It should've been a little higher. I was at $525 last night, but I managed to lose $20 and it didn't seem that hard. The first hand I lost on I picked up KK in late position. A guy in front of me goes all in for about $4.00. I raised it to $8 and the button calls. The flop brought an Ace and the button had called with A-9. Oh well. The next hand I lost I picked up A-J in late positon. I turned a straight. In an attempt to get the maximum amount out of my opponent, I made a small bet trying to get him to call. And he did call right down to the river where he filled up. His trip queens turned into a fullhouse when a nine came on the river. Other than that one session last night, I played pretty well all weekend. I didn't play one single SNG. It was all cash games.

Mov'en on Up!!

I didn't get to post yesterday cause of the stupid Wal Mart shareholders meeting. Oh well, that the price you pay when you live in the backyard of the World's Largest Retailer. I played two SNG's yesterday. In the $11 SNG, it was winner winner, chicken dinner. I don't really remember any hands, but I was happy to take it down. I also played a $3.40 qualifier to a $22 tournament and finished second. Then I managed to Donk off $16 in a .25 ring game. There are a lot of leaks in my cash game play. I gotta work on tightening those up. I'm still in pretty good shape. I cashed out $108 on Tuesday taking the powerplayer BR down to $450. As of this morning, it stands at $494. I'll let you know how the weekend goes.

A Cashout!!!

I had a pretty good day yesterday. I played four SNG's, three of the $11 variety and one was a $3.40 ticket to a $22 SNG. I won three of the four. The $3.40 SNG I dominated from the start. I rarely get a big stack and continually grow it like I did in this one, but when I got it to heads up, I was ahead $12,500 to $2,500. It didn't take me long to finish it off. The other two wins were relatively uneventful except for the fact that I won.

Another big bonus yesterday was a double up in a .25 NL game. The big hand went down like this: I limped with 10-8 of spades. The flop came 7-9-J with two spades. I was pretty happy to get the flop was hoping to make a little bit off this. Well, the guy to my right bets $3. I just called figuring he was trying to run me off. The river is a 2. He bets $10 so I go all in. He insta calls and the river is a K. Double me up. I exited the game pretty quickly after that and went to bed, but not before....

I cashed out $108 to the neteller account. The Powerplayer account had grown to $558 and shipping $108 off to Neteller seemed like a good idea. It takes forever for me to get my cashouts from Neteller so it will likely be a week to 10 days before I get the money.

Not Much Poker

I didn't play poker at all on Saturday or Sunday. On Saturday, I went to Little Rock to see Live and Dwight Yokam at Riverfest. I'm not a huge fan of either one, but my friend is and we had a good time. Sunday, Sarah and I floated the Elk River. And let me tell you, it was all I had heard it would be on a holiday weekend. It wasn't as good as Mardi Gras, but there were plenty of titties in full view. I have pictures of several, but I'm not going to post them. The river was packed and the drunk girls were plentiful.

I played three SNG's yesterday and finished out of the money in two and third in the last one. The first one I busted out of in 10th. My KK ran into a set of 10's. The second one was uneventful as I never caught any cards. The third one I made it into the money with a short stack and busted third.

I also donked of $25 in a .25 NL game. I gotta quit playing cash games so much. The powerplayer BR is at $465 so I guess I lost $9 between Friday and Monday.

Two SNG's

I only managed to play to SNG's yesterday at we went to the see a band play last night. Both SNG's were of the $11 variety. In the first one, I did something I rarely do, I busted out first, on the first hand no less. I picked up QQ in the small blind and raised a $200 raiser to see where I stood. He called the raise. The flop was all low so I went all in hoping to pick it up right there. Nope. He had KK. GG me.

In the second one, I was in control from the start. At the third level, I picked up JJ and raised it up. I got one caller. The flop was J-3-K. After a check and then a round of betting, I go all in and get called by a guy with AK. After that, I contiually built the stack, making smart raises and good laydowns. I won it pretty easily. The BR on PP is now at $474.

I probably won't get to play too much this weekend as it's a holiday weekend and I'm going to Little Rock tomorrow and we're gonna be floating the River in Noel, MO on Sunday.

A positive day

I played three $11 SNG's yesterday. Out of the money on the first one. Second in the second one and Winner Winner Chicken Dinner in the third one. That allowed me to post a modest $55 gain for the day. In the one I won, I was down to 700 in chips after the third hand when my AK got run down by a set with after K on the flop. Somehow I managed to hang around and come back to win. I put three bad beats on my opponent after it got to heads up. The one most notable was when I was all in with Q-5 and he calls with AK. The 5 hit the river and I doubled up. Ive suffered my share of bad beats so I didn't feel too sorry for the guy.

This morning I played .25 NL for about 5o minutes and made $6. The only really memorable hand I played was one that I lost. I picked up KK in early position and raised to $3. I got one caller. An A came on the flop. I bet out $3 and he called. Now I'm figuring he has the A and I need to be careful. There was no help on the river so I checked. He bet and I folded. I'm getting to the point where I can make those laydowns and be ok.

UGH!!!

I played four $11 SNG's yesterday and the finishes go like this. busted, busted, third, Winner!. The win puts me up about $30 for the day and I should've been content with that. But not me. I managed to donk off $25 in a .25 NL game. I gotta think about playing fewer cash games. They are the drag on my bankroll. So I ended the day +$6.

This morning, I played a $3.40 SNG qualifier and finished third. So I get to play that one again. Then I played a $11 SNG and busted out 5th. Then off to the cash games where I dropped $5. Early morning poker was not good to me.

$18 in the Red

I started the weekend with $427 and ended it with $409. It should've been better and certainly could've been worse. During the course of my weekend, I was down to $345 and up to $459. I won two $11 SNG's and finished second in two others. I lost more than I won playing .25 NL thanks to my set of queens losing to a set of kings. In another session of .25 NL, my trip sevens lost to a flush and cost me a nice hunk. Oh well.

Not much Poker

I didn't play too much yesterday. I played a $7+1 SNG qualifier and finished third. Once I got into the top three, I played pretty loose. The payout for second and third is the same and I was trying to take down the second stack to get to heads up. It didn't work out so I still have a $7+1 ticket to use.

I played a few hands of .25 NL and made $4.15. No hands worth mentioning.

MY PP roll is at $427 right now. I'll post my total on Monday to see if I went up or down for the weekend.

Up and Down...

I played quite a bit yesterday and ended up with a $5 profit, but it wasn't easy. I had to donk off some money is .25 NL game, get knocked out of a $3.40 SNG, lose about $5 in .25 NL (more on the crucial hand in a sec), finish second in a $11 SNG for $30 and then win $12 in .25 NL.

The hand where I lost the $5 in .25 NL went down like this. I bought in with $25 and had worked it up to $36. I picked up AK in late position and raised it up $2. I get only one caller. The flop comes 5-K-7 with two clubs. I bet out $5 trying to run the guy off if he's on a flush draw. He calls. The turn is a blank. I bet $6, which is 2/3 of his stack. He calls, which tells me he's either on a strong flush draw, has a king or flopped two pair. The turn is the K of clubs. I knew when it hit that it wasn't good for me. He immediately bet his last three bucks and paid him off. He flipped over 10-9 of clubs. Other than going all in was there anything I could do to run this guy off the hand? Not likely, but it's guys like this where the money is made. "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug." And in this case, I was the bug.

If you are up for some entertaining reading on a poker playing girl in Vegas, check out this blog http://carmensincity.blogspot.com/ It's rather entertaining.

Third Place...

I made proper use of the $30+3 ticket I won on Monday night by finishing third in a $30+3 tournament good for $60. I finished third in spite of never getting above 2,000 in chips. It was quite odd as person after person who was ahead of me got knocked out. The hand that got me into third came down like this and a I wasn't even involved. A guy with about 2,600 goes all in with 3-3. He gets called by the big stack with AK. The flop comes down 5-8-J. The turn is an 8 and the river is a 5. GG to the 3-3 and hello to third place for me. I was pretty stoked as that moved the BR above $2,200.

Then this morning, I managed to donk off $22 playing .25 NL. The hand that cost me the cash went down like this. I picked up AK in late position. I raised it to $2. I get one caller, the small blind, and we take a flop of K-Q-3. I bet $2 and get called. the turn is an 8. I bet $5 and get called. The river is a Q, which I should've stayed away from, but I bet $12 and get insta called by Q-10. I did not play it well. When I get out in front of people I try to make them pay to catch me, but I didn't make this guy pay enough and he chose to stay in the hand. But when the last Q hit the river, I should've checked. It was a bad play on my part.

I still have a $7+1 ticket that I will be using tonight. Wish me luck.

Ended Up a Winner!

I played mostly SNG's last night. Three $3+.60 with two seconds in the first two and then out of the money in the third. The last SNG of the night was a $4.50+50 for a ticket to a $30+3 tournament and I ended up winning. I tripled up about halfway thru and was never really threatened until it got heads up. I had a 2 to 1 chip lead when it got to heads up, but lost it on an all in play. I quickly gained it back when my 9-9 held up against an A-K and shortly thereafter put the game away.

I played some .25 NL and donked away $17 when my 4-4 didn't beat AA, but whatelse is new the board was all low and I thought the guy had AK or AQ. I played it poorly and I know it.

I'm hoping to take advantage of the $30+3 ticket tonight and maybe turn it into some cash. I also have a $7+1 ticket and I will likely use that one as well.

A $20 Gain

When I started playing on Friday afternoon, I had $356 in my pokeroon acct. Last night when I quit playing, I had $376. So I made $20 for the weekend. Better than losing, I suppose. I alternated between .25 NL and SNG qualifiers. And since I only won one qaulifier all weekend, and I played about 13, you can guess that my ring game results were pretty positive. The only had that I really remember was this: I picked up A-Q in early position and raised to $2. A very loose player in late position called and he and I take a flop of Q-J-7. I bet $3 and he raises all in for his last $15. I called and he flipped over J-4. Thanks man! I wish they were all that easy.

I finished third in a $7+1 qualifier yesterday afternoon which game me a new ticket to the same tournament. So last night, the last tournament I played was the $7+1 SNG that I had a ticket for. I finished second. I got to heads up with about 1,000 less chips than my opponent and lost an all in in the first hand. GG me. Looks like I'll be playing another one tonight.

Four More SNG's

I played four SNG's yesterday. One $50+4 (finished 6th), one $7+1 qualifier (finished 4th), one $4.50+.50 qualifier (finished 4th) and a $3.30+.30 (Winner!) for a $20+2 ticket. I was gonna play a $20+2 last night, but Sarah would have none of that. The final hand of the $3.30+.30 came down like this: I picked up A-7 and go all in like I do with any ace when it's heads up. I get called with 5-6 of diamonds. There was a 7 on the flop and no diamonds or a straight came to bail the guy out so I'm da winnah!.

I played about 40 minuts of .25 NL this morning and would up with a $2.65 profit.

The bankroll is well over $2,000 now.

I'm gonna post my SNG results when I get to 400. I'm at 388 right now.

FOUR SNG's

The title pretty much sums it up. I played four $7+1 qualifiers last night. I won the first one, finished in fourth in the second and fourth ones and six in the third one. There weren't a lot of interesting hands in any of them. In the first, the last hand came down like this: I picked up A-5, and as I'm prone to do, I go all in with any A. So I go all in and get called by K-9. I rivered a straight, but it didn't matter because A high would've won the hand. So that win leaves me with a $50+4 ticket which I will likely use on a SNG.

The other three weren't really exciting. The last hand of the second one went like this: I picked up QQ on the button. I go all in (only four left and high blinds) and I get called by the BB. He flips over QJ of diamonds and flops a flush. GG me. I realize http://doublemeup.blogspot.com/ claims to be the most unlucky person on earth, but If I don't have him beat, I'm at least giving him a good run for his money.

Mostly SNG's

I played five SNG's yesterday. Four qualifiers and one $30+3. I finished second in one $7+1 so I'll get to play another $7+1. The decisive hand went like this. I pick up 33 and raise all in. I know, I know. That might not have been the best hand 2 go all in with, but I had been running over the guy. He finally called an all in with KJ and hit a K on the turn. That knocked me down to about 1,000 in chips and two hands later, I was done.

In the $30+3, I went out in 10th. The hand that did me in was kinda stupid on my part. I was in the big blind and it folded around to the small blind. I had A-2 suited. The small blind raised me so I raised him all in thinking he didn't have an ace. Wrong! He had A-Q. The flop brought an ace, but no 2 to bail me out. GG me. I got cute, which I rarely do, and it cost me. I won the entry through a sattelite so it didn't cost me too much, but I still shouldn't have done it.

I played about 30 minutes of .25 nl and lost four dollars. I was up $1 when I tried to get away with raising up preflop in late position to scare off the blinds and the button ended up with AA. I was glad I only lost four $$$$

A Pretty Good Weekend!!

I played for a while this weekend and did pretty well. I finished second in a $50+4 SNG for a smooth $150 and I won a $22 SNG for $100. I also played for short sessions of either .50 or .25 NL and I made a profit in all four. I won a $8 qualifier SNG to get me in the previously mentioned $50+4 SNG and last night I capped it off by winning a $5 qualifier to a $33 tournament I started the weekend with a little less than $300 in my account and ended it with a little more than $500. All in all, I'll take it. I played several other qualifier SNG's but didn't win any. I finished second a couple of times and out of the money in the rest.

As it currently stands, I have a ticket for a $7+1 qualifier and a ticket to a $30+3 tournament. I'll probably use both 2 night and let you know tomorrow how it went.

Only One Game

I played one SNG last night when I got in. It was $4.50+50 qualifier to a $30+3 tournament. I finished second and there was really only one memorable hand and it happens to be the last one. When I get to heads up, I've got about 6,500 chips. The other guy has about 8,500. The first hand of heads up action I go all in with J-8 of spades. The guy insta calls with J-8 of diamonds. There were three diamonds in the first four cards. GG me.

I've been reading a blog by a guy named Don http://doublemeup.blogspot.com/ who claims to be the most unlucky person on the face of the earth. I can't imagine that he is any more unlucky than I am as I never win a race and continually get sucked out on. I realize that one of the reasons I suffer a lot of bad beats is that I rarely get my money involved unless I have a pretty good hand. I know I play a TAG style. People who play a LAG are more likely to get their money in with a weaker hand and suck out.

I'm remembering an interview I saw with Troy Aikmen where he was questioned about his very few fourth quarter comebacks in comparison to John Elway, Joe Montana and Dan Marino. His response was "When it got to the fourth quarter, we were rarely behind." The reason I don't suck out on people very often is that I'm not behind preflop very often. Oh well. Enough of the bad luck. I just try to keep getting my money in with the best hand and hope for the best.

4 SNG's and a double up

I played four SNG's last night. I finished third in one, fourth in two and ninth in the other. I only have one interesting hand from the four. In the ninth place finish, I pick up KK in early position and raise to $300. I get two callers. The flop is 4-5-7. I bet $400 and get one caller. The turn is a 10 and I go all in. The guy calls. The river is a 5. He flips over A-5. GG me. I might could've played it better, but after the 5 on the flop, I don't think this guy was going away. He was in til the river.

Then I played some .50-1.00 NL. I was only in for two orbits cause I doubled my starting stack pretty quick and took the profit. I started with $40. after about five hands, I pick up AJ suited.There is one limper in front of me so I raise to $4.00 hoping to pick up the blinds plus the limper. What do ya know. I get three callers (both blinds) plus the limper. The flop comes A-k-4. It's checked to me so I bet $5. The blinds fold, but the limper calls. The turn is a 7. I bet $10 hoping to run him off the hand. He calls. Now I'm thinking I'd better be careful. But I can't help but think if he had AQ or AK that he would've raise preflop. I'm a little worried about a-4 or something like that, so I go all in for my last $15. He calls. The river is a blank and he flips over A9. I couldn't get off that table fast enough. I started with $40 and left with $83. I kept thinking "I played that crazy." But that's the kind of play that you get in the low limit games.

I have to go to Little Rock on business this afternoon and won't get back until late so I doubt there is any poker played today.

Not playing much

I haven't played too much poker in the last couple of days. I did play three SNG's yesterday. I played a $7+1 qualifier and finished second which gives me another $7+1 ticket. Then I played a $22 SNG. I finished 9th when my 88 didn't hold up against an AJ. The last tournament I played was a $50+4. I'm proud to say I finished second. Good for $150. I was lucky to hang around long enough to get second. I had a couple of marginal hands hold up to get there. But when I got there, I was a big unlucky. When it got to heads up, I was outchippped 2-1. About the third hand, I pick up AK and go all in. The guy calls with A-10 and now I'm up 2-1 in chips. The very next hand, I get KK. I just call hoping to get him to make a play. He goes all in and flips over AJ. He flops an A and is back up 2-1. Three hands later, I get 66 and go all in. He call with A-10 and flops an A. GG me. I wasn't too upset because I did finish second and that gives me a lot more $$ to play the qualifiers. My bankroll has gotten about $2,000 and stayed there. I've been kinda bored with the cash games lately and will probably stick to the SNG qualifiers for a while. Playing $7+1 is cheap and the competition seems to be pretty weak. I'll probably mix in some $22 SNG's just keep it interesting.

A long weekend

I played for a few hours this weekend. The results weren't negative, but I didn't do as well as I would've liked. I won two SNG's for $100 each, but managed to lose a lot of it in cash games and playing other SNG's. I think the total for the weekend was +$52.