After 13 months of straight Iron Man qualification at Full Tilt, I can no longer qualify this month. Having recently purchased The Orange Box I was engrossed in a game of Portal last night and completely spaced on playing poker. I had already taken to many days off from the tables and now I can no longer qualify for the month.
It's been a personal matter of pride for myself that I could keep the streak going so I'm a little disappointed right now. Fortunately when I make Iron Man status again next month I will be able to take in a pretty decent bonus. I will miss out on my increased bonus medal counts though which really sucks. I was wanting to collect some more to make a purchase from the Full Tilt store but now it will take a little longer.
At least I'm winning money at the tables this month (now that I've publicly stated that you can expect the obligatory "worst day ever at the tables" post)
I'll post and end of month recap and some numbers tomorrow.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
My Will Be Done
There are times when poker just isn't about the cards...
Seat 2: wheaten ($81.45)
Seat 3: lifesagrind ($48.25)
lifesagrind posts the small blind of $0.25
Ruud27 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to lifesagrind [Kd Th]
Oak1974 folds
jcraw70 calls $0.50
Baschti84 folds
Glastoki folds
wheaten calls $0.50
lifesagrind calls $0.25 - Seeing a flop here is an easy decision
Ruud27 checks
*** FLOP *** [8h 3d Kc]
lifesagrind bets $1.50 - Top pair out of position, it's time to see if I can have this cheaply
Ruud27 folds
jcraw70 folds
wheaten raises to $3
lifesagrind raises to $5.50 - I know, what the hell am I doing. Problem is... he could put me on just about anything here, and I can put him on trying to take this away from me.
wheaten calls $2.50 - His call is telling
*** TURN *** [8h 3d Kc] [9h]
lifesagrind bets $11 - I have to continue considering my flop play
wheaten calls $11 - I know I'm beat here... but I also know he isn't 100% secure in his hand. Considering my play up to this point I'd have to put him on KJ, maybe KQ
*** RIVER *** [8h 3d Kc 9h] [2d]
lifesagrind bets $31.25, and is all in - I have two choices, check and fold, or push. I know he has me beat, but I also know he believes I could have him beat. I take the only reasonable choice left to me... push
wheaten has 15 seconds left to act
wheaten folds
Uncalled bet of $31.25 returned to lifesagrind
lifesagrind mucks
lifesagrind wins the pot ($33.25)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $35 | Rake $1.75
Board: [8h 3d Kc 9h 2d]
Seat 2: wheaten (button) folded on the River
Seat 3: lifesagrind (small blind) collected ($33.25), mucked
Moral of the story: Playing the player can be more important than playing your cards. (Just don't get too carried away with it)
Seat 2: wheaten ($81.45)
Seat 3: lifesagrind ($48.25)
lifesagrind posts the small blind of $0.25
Ruud27 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to lifesagrind [Kd Th]
Oak1974 folds
jcraw70 calls $0.50
Baschti84 folds
Glastoki folds
wheaten calls $0.50
lifesagrind calls $0.25 - Seeing a flop here is an easy decision
Ruud27 checks
*** FLOP *** [8h 3d Kc]
lifesagrind bets $1.50 - Top pair out of position, it's time to see if I can have this cheaply
Ruud27 folds
jcraw70 folds
wheaten raises to $3
lifesagrind raises to $5.50 - I know, what the hell am I doing. Problem is... he could put me on just about anything here, and I can put him on trying to take this away from me.
wheaten calls $2.50 - His call is telling
*** TURN *** [8h 3d Kc] [9h]
lifesagrind bets $11 - I have to continue considering my flop play
wheaten calls $11 - I know I'm beat here... but I also know he isn't 100% secure in his hand. Considering my play up to this point I'd have to put him on KJ, maybe KQ
*** RIVER *** [8h 3d Kc 9h] [2d]
lifesagrind bets $31.25, and is all in - I have two choices, check and fold, or push. I know he has me beat, but I also know he believes I could have him beat. I take the only reasonable choice left to me... push
wheaten has 15 seconds left to act
wheaten folds
Uncalled bet of $31.25 returned to lifesagrind
lifesagrind mucks
lifesagrind wins the pot ($33.25)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $35 | Rake $1.75
Board: [8h 3d Kc 9h 2d]
Seat 2: wheaten (button) folded on the River
Seat 3: lifesagrind (small blind) collected ($33.25), mucked
Moral of the story: Playing the player can be more important than playing your cards. (Just don't get too carried away with it)
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Sunday Tournies
Everybody knows about the Sunday majors.
Well here's the two I'll be playing in tonight.
The Poker Grind.net presents...
Date & Time - Nov 18th @ 10pm
buyin - $20+2
Where - Full Tilt , click Tournament > Private
Name of Tournament - The Poker Grind.net Bounty
Password - thepokergrind
and
The Big Game
Well here's the two I'll be playing in tonight.
The Poker Grind.net presents...
Date & Time - Nov 18th @ 10pm
buyin - $20+2
Where - Full Tilt , click Tournament > Private
Name of Tournament - The Poker Grind.net Bounty
Password - thepokergrind
and
The Big Game
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A Little Presto Sauce
By far my most interesting hand since switching to No Limit Cash games this month.
Table Wood Plank - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em
Seat 1: anal_yzer85 ($92.45)
Seat 2: joepoker77 ($48.25)
Seat 3: drchad ($24.50)
Seat 4: drossxyu ($80.80)
Seat 5: electricladylnd ($49.05)
Seat 6: Quickfox7 ($43.15)
Seat 7: lifesagrind ($57.70)
Seat 8: cashinchecks1 ($36.70)
Seat 9: pete1974 ($15.40)
electricladylnd posts the small blind of $0.25
Quickfox7 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to lifesagrind [5d 5c] - lets see a flop shall we
lifesagrind calls $0.50
cashinchecks1 folds
pete1974 folds
anal_yzer85 folds
joepoker77 folds
drchad calls $0.50
drossxyu raises to $2.25
electricladylnd folds
Quickfox7 folds
lifesagrind calls $1.75
drchad calls $1.75
*** FLOP *** [2c 5s 2s]
lifesagrind checks - Life doesn't get any better, let's see who has what here
drchad checks
drossxyu bets $4
lifesagrind calls $4 - Please call drchad
drchad calls $4 - YES!
*** TURN *** [2c 5s 2s] [9c]
lifesagrind checks - How bad does the bettor want this
drchad checks
drossxyu has 15 seconds left to act
drossxyu bets $9.75 - ohhhh he likes his hand
lifesagrind has 15 seconds left to act
lifesagrind raises to $20 - Here's an amount you can call
drchad folds
drossxyu calls $10.25
*** RIVER *** [2c 5s 2s 9c] [5h]
lifesagrind bets $31.45, and is all in - Smooth and creamy, all you can eat
drossxyu calls $31.45
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lifesagrind shows [5d 5c] four of a kind, Fives
drossxyu mucks
lifesagrind wins the pot ($119.40) with four of a kind, Fives
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $122.40 | Rake $3
Board: [2c 5s 2s 9c 5h]
Seat 4: drossxyu (button) mucked [2d 2h] - four of a kind, Twos - Ouch, sucks to be him
Seat 7: lifesagrind showed [5d 5c] and won ($119.40) with four of a kind, Fives
It happens, rarely, but quads over quads is always a guaranteed double up.
Table Wood Plank - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em
Seat 1: anal_yzer85 ($92.45)
Seat 2: joepoker77 ($48.25)
Seat 3: drchad ($24.50)
Seat 4: drossxyu ($80.80)
Seat 5: electricladylnd ($49.05)
Seat 6: Quickfox7 ($43.15)
Seat 7: lifesagrind ($57.70)
Seat 8: cashinchecks1 ($36.70)
Seat 9: pete1974 ($15.40)
electricladylnd posts the small blind of $0.25
Quickfox7 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to lifesagrind [5d 5c] - lets see a flop shall we
lifesagrind calls $0.50
cashinchecks1 folds
pete1974 folds
anal_yzer85 folds
joepoker77 folds
drchad calls $0.50
drossxyu raises to $2.25
electricladylnd folds
Quickfox7 folds
lifesagrind calls $1.75
drchad calls $1.75
*** FLOP *** [2c 5s 2s]
lifesagrind checks - Life doesn't get any better, let's see who has what here
drchad checks
drossxyu bets $4
lifesagrind calls $4 - Please call drchad
drchad calls $4 - YES!
*** TURN *** [2c 5s 2s] [9c]
lifesagrind checks - How bad does the bettor want this
drchad checks
drossxyu has 15 seconds left to act
drossxyu bets $9.75 - ohhhh he likes his hand
lifesagrind has 15 seconds left to act
lifesagrind raises to $20 - Here's an amount you can call
drchad folds
drossxyu calls $10.25
*** RIVER *** [2c 5s 2s 9c] [5h]
lifesagrind bets $31.45, and is all in - Smooth and creamy, all you can eat
drossxyu calls $31.45
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lifesagrind shows [5d 5c] four of a kind, Fives
drossxyu mucks
lifesagrind wins the pot ($119.40) with four of a kind, Fives
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $122.40 | Rake $3
Board: [2c 5s 2s 9c 5h]
Seat 4: drossxyu (button) mucked [2d 2h] - four of a kind, Twos - Ouch, sucks to be him
Seat 7: lifesagrind showed [5d 5c] and won ($119.40) with four of a kind, Fives
It happens, rarely, but quads over quads is always a guaranteed double up.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Robbing The Piggy Bank
errr... bankroll.
I've been watching for online bargains in an attempt to find a new laptop to replace my aging Dell. What I really wanted to buy was a Powerbook Pro but two things... cost and lack of Vista support meant I had to find a windows machine. With my new and hopefully successful career as a home PC support guy, most of my clients (when I get clients) will more than likely be on either XP or Vista machines. I needed to familiarize myself with Vista as well as be able to dual boot both it and XP.
I had settled on looking at refurbished machines as I felt that would give me the most bang for my buck and still be able to have a decent machine. This lead to spending a lot of time refreshing pages from wholesalers since this type of inventory moves quickly.
I've owned AT&T(yes they used to make laptops), Toshiba, and Dell in the past but I've heard good things about Acer and wanted to give it a try. As luck would have it I found the best deal on a new machine and oddly enough at a Best Buy. I now have an Acer Extensa 5620 and even though it's not a top of the line machine it is infinitely more powerful than my old machine and capable of running WoW just fine. (that was important criteria, my old laptop couldn't show all the texture maps. I often wouldn't see the mini map and the terrain was always just colored square patches, no roads, no nothing.)
At any rate I'm now enjoying my new toy and will be playing poker on it for the first time today.
I've been watching for online bargains in an attempt to find a new laptop to replace my aging Dell. What I really wanted to buy was a Powerbook Pro but two things... cost and lack of Vista support meant I had to find a windows machine. With my new and hopefully successful career as a home PC support guy, most of my clients (when I get clients) will more than likely be on either XP or Vista machines. I needed to familiarize myself with Vista as well as be able to dual boot both it and XP.
I had settled on looking at refurbished machines as I felt that would give me the most bang for my buck and still be able to have a decent machine. This lead to spending a lot of time refreshing pages from wholesalers since this type of inventory moves quickly.
I've owned AT&T(yes they used to make laptops), Toshiba, and Dell in the past but I've heard good things about Acer and wanted to give it a try. As luck would have it I found the best deal on a new machine and oddly enough at a Best Buy. I now have an Acer Extensa 5620 and even though it's not a top of the line machine it is infinitely more powerful than my old machine and capable of running WoW just fine. (that was important criteria, my old laptop couldn't show all the texture maps. I often wouldn't see the mini map and the terrain was always just colored square patches, no roads, no nothing.)
At any rate I'm now enjoying my new toy and will be playing poker on it for the first time today.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
SNG Maddness....NAH!
One would think that Full Tilt's SNG madness over the weekend would have played right into my strengths. I applaud them for the idea, but the implementation was poor. I simply wasn't prepared to devote four straight hours of multi-tabling. If I could have picked my own four hours it would have been easier but with their time restrictions I simply couldn't fit it in.
I really didn't want to fit it in either though. I've been playing the cash games over the past week (since Nov. 1) and been doing pretty well. I've gotten in 1,026 hands so far and I'm running at a very nice 27.5PTBB/100. This is well above expectation but I'll take it where I can get it.
I really didn't want to fit it in either though. I've been playing the cash games over the past week (since Nov. 1) and been doing pretty well. I've gotten in 1,026 hands so far and I'm running at a very nice 27.5PTBB/100. This is well above expectation but I'll take it where I can get it.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
October Meet November
Another month has come and gone and the older I get the quicker time seems to pass. I'm not sure what causes this phenomenon but I wish it would stop.
At any rate it's time to asses the previous months play and things went decently for me. I managed a 16.9% ROI on my SNG's and of the 4 multi-table tourneys I played in, I final tabled one. Not too shabby.
I'm looking to change gears in November and focus more on the cash games. The urge to play them has been building for a while so I'm going to give in. Abandoning my previously played 6-max cash games for the slower paced full ring should help ease the transition from SNG's. Beyond that there really isn't much to tell. See ya next time.
At any rate it's time to asses the previous months play and things went decently for me. I managed a 16.9% ROI on my SNG's and of the 4 multi-table tourneys I played in, I final tabled one. Not too shabby.
I'm looking to change gears in November and focus more on the cash games. The urge to play them has been building for a while so I'm going to give in. Abandoning my previously played 6-max cash games for the slower paced full ring should help ease the transition from SNG's. Beyond that there really isn't much to tell. See ya next time.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Still Have My Eyes
Even though I claimed the need to gouge my eyes out after my bad beat exit from the MATH last night, I did not follow through. Wanted to, just couldn't put my family through it.
I can't say I played as well last night as I did the night before, but I was still playing pretty good poker. I was well on my way to the final table when some player I've never seen before decided to make a monumentally stupid move that worked out for him by way of a three outer on the flop. Run on sentence withstanding this player was a pretty easy read. One of those players that was aggressive for the sake of being aggressive. Wanted to resteal at every opportunity and defended their blinds when it was completely unnecessary.
At any rate I went out in 14th and I can take solace in the fact that I played pretty well for the most part.
I can't say I played as well last night as I did the night before, but I was still playing pretty good poker. I was well on my way to the final table when some player I've never seen before decided to make a monumentally stupid move that worked out for him by way of a three outer on the flop. Run on sentence withstanding this player was a pretty easy read. One of those players that was aggressive for the sake of being aggressive. Wanted to resteal at every opportunity and defended their blinds when it was completely unnecessary.
At any rate I went out in 14th and I can take solace in the fact that I played pretty well for the most part.
Monday, October 22, 2007
How To Lose $1,000
Before last night I hadn't played a MTT since August. Beyond that I hadn't seen action in a blogger tournament since June. (I did play the Pokerstars coop event for bloggers but I'm not counting that.) I expected a very rusty and poor performance but I can't actually remember when I had played better.
Everything was clicking for me yesterday. I decided to play one token satellite to gain my entrance for The Big Game. I won the token.
When the tournament started everything progressed well and I managed to be among the chip leaders throughout most of the event. By the time the final table started I was the chip leader and I continued to build my stack from there. Within a few orbits I had a 2:1 chip lead over my closest competitor. I truly felt this was my tournament to lose.
As play continued I took a back seat to the action and tightened up. I saw no need in giving anything away and I watched on as TripJax began to make a big move. As we reached the final four he and I would swap the lead several times.
This is where things went horribly wrong. Four handed and in the SB TripJax raises to 4,200. Button folds and I decided to take a flop with A6d, the BB folds. Here it gets interesting as the flop brings 345 rainbow. I have the open end straight draw and an Ace for a possible 11 outs. I figure this is a good spot to take the pot down since if I get called I have plenty of outs, and if he is stealing the blinds with say KQ or so he will have to let it go. I make a pot sized bet of 10,400 and Trip goes into the tank for a few moments. When he decides what to do he fires back at me with a bet of 23,000.
I know I'm looking at an overpair at this point. The thing is I was really only dead if he had 22, 77, or AA. I believed I was left with only 2 choices, fold or push. Folding left me with 36,000 chips and second place, but just barely. It also would have made TripJax a very big stack and he was the one player I didn't want to have chips. His bet was also an odd amount. If felt a bit like a "go away I don't want to invest anymore money" bet. I believed that a push could be enough to make him fold if he felt vulnerable. After all, with that flop I could have a lot of big hands if I'm willing to push.
So push I did. He goes into the tank and then calls showing me one of the three hands I really didn't want him to have. The 77. I can't hit one of my remaining 9 outs and I'm sent packing in fourth place. To say I was pissed would be an understatement. I didn't stick around to see who won, although if TripJax didn't win something went horribly wrong.
I had already spent the first place money in my head. I need a new laptop and I was going to take that money and get one. I'm calmed down now but I have to admit that loss bugged me for hours.
The one positive out of all this is my passion for the multi's in rekindled.
See you at the tables.
Everything was clicking for me yesterday. I decided to play one token satellite to gain my entrance for The Big Game. I won the token.
When the tournament started everything progressed well and I managed to be among the chip leaders throughout most of the event. By the time the final table started I was the chip leader and I continued to build my stack from there. Within a few orbits I had a 2:1 chip lead over my closest competitor. I truly felt this was my tournament to lose.
As play continued I took a back seat to the action and tightened up. I saw no need in giving anything away and I watched on as TripJax began to make a big move. As we reached the final four he and I would swap the lead several times.
This is where things went horribly wrong. Four handed and in the SB TripJax raises to 4,200. Button folds and I decided to take a flop with A6d, the BB folds. Here it gets interesting as the flop brings 345 rainbow. I have the open end straight draw and an Ace for a possible 11 outs. I figure this is a good spot to take the pot down since if I get called I have plenty of outs, and if he is stealing the blinds with say KQ or so he will have to let it go. I make a pot sized bet of 10,400 and Trip goes into the tank for a few moments. When he decides what to do he fires back at me with a bet of 23,000.
I know I'm looking at an overpair at this point. The thing is I was really only dead if he had 22, 77, or AA. I believed I was left with only 2 choices, fold or push. Folding left me with 36,000 chips and second place, but just barely. It also would have made TripJax a very big stack and he was the one player I didn't want to have chips. His bet was also an odd amount. If felt a bit like a "go away I don't want to invest anymore money" bet. I believed that a push could be enough to make him fold if he felt vulnerable. After all, with that flop I could have a lot of big hands if I'm willing to push.
So push I did. He goes into the tank and then calls showing me one of the three hands I really didn't want him to have. The 77. I can't hit one of my remaining 9 outs and I'm sent packing in fourth place. To say I was pissed would be an understatement. I didn't stick around to see who won, although if TripJax didn't win something went horribly wrong.
I had already spent the first place money in my head. I need a new laptop and I was going to take that money and get one. I'm calmed down now but I have to admit that loss bugged me for hours.
The one positive out of all this is my passion for the multi's in rekindled.
See you at the tables.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Championship Bust
I'm out of the WBCOOP in 924th place. The hand that did it?
Enjoy
PokerStars Game #12626266672: Tournament #63028692, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level V (200/400) - 2007/10/14 - 16:09:08 (ET)
Table '63028692 132' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Warnosh (8625 in chips)
Seat 2: lifesagrind (14950 in chips)
Seat 3: sijht.nl (11500 in chips)
Seat 4: draconid (14800 in chips)
Seat 5: 66Buffalo66 (23525 in chips)
Seat 6: StrangePP (13525 in chips)
Seat 7: cwebb1977 (25575 in chips)
Seat 8: polyballer9 (8150 in chips)
Seat 9: DodgerPL (23875 in chips)
StrangePP: posts small blind 200
cwebb1977: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to lifesagrind [4s 4d]
polyballer9: calls 400
DodgerPL: folds
Warnosh: folds
lifesagrind: calls 400
sijht.nl: folds
draconid: folds
66Buffalo66: folds
StrangePP: calls 200
cwebb1977: checks
*** FLOP *** [8c Ac 4h]
StrangePP: checks
cwebb1977: bets 1400
polyballer9: folds
lifesagrind: raises 1800 to 3200
StrangePP: folds
cwebb1977: calls 1800
*** TURN *** [8c Ac 4h] [9h]
cwebb1977: checks
lifesagrind: bets 5200
cwebb1977: raises 5200 to 10400
lifesagrind: raises 950 to 11350 and is all-in
cwebb1977: calls 950
*** RIVER *** [8c Ac 4h 9h] [As]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cwebb1977: shows [9d Ah] (a full house, Aces full of Nines)
lifesagrind: shows [4s 4d] (a full house, Fours full of Aces)
lifesagrind said, "lol"
cwebb1977 collected 30700 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 30700 | Rake 0
Board [8c Ac 4h 9h As]
Seat 1: Warnosh folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: lifesagrind showed [4s 4d] and lost with a full house, Fours full of Aces
Seat 3: sijht.nl folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: draconid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: 66Buffalo66 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: StrangePP (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: cwebb1977 (big blind) showed [9d Ah] and won (30700) with a full house, Aces full of Nines
Seat 8: polyballer9 folded on the Flop
Seat 9: DodgerPL folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Enjoy
PokerStars Game #12626266672: Tournament #63028692, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level V (200/400) - 2007/10/14 - 16:09:08 (ET)
Table '63028692 132' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Warnosh (8625 in chips)
Seat 2: lifesagrind (14950 in chips)
Seat 3: sijht.nl (11500 in chips)
Seat 4: draconid (14800 in chips)
Seat 5: 66Buffalo66 (23525 in chips)
Seat 6: StrangePP (13525 in chips)
Seat 7: cwebb1977 (25575 in chips)
Seat 8: polyballer9 (8150 in chips)
Seat 9: DodgerPL (23875 in chips)
StrangePP: posts small blind 200
cwebb1977: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to lifesagrind [4s 4d]
polyballer9: calls 400
DodgerPL: folds
Warnosh: folds
lifesagrind: calls 400
sijht.nl: folds
draconid: folds
66Buffalo66: folds
StrangePP: calls 200
cwebb1977: checks
*** FLOP *** [8c Ac 4h]
StrangePP: checks
cwebb1977: bets 1400
polyballer9: folds
lifesagrind: raises 1800 to 3200
StrangePP: folds
cwebb1977: calls 1800
*** TURN *** [8c Ac 4h] [9h]
cwebb1977: checks
lifesagrind: bets 5200
cwebb1977: raises 5200 to 10400
lifesagrind: raises 950 to 11350 and is all-in
cwebb1977: calls 950
*** RIVER *** [8c Ac 4h 9h] [As]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cwebb1977: shows [9d Ah] (a full house, Aces full of Nines)
lifesagrind: shows [4s 4d] (a full house, Fours full of Aces)
lifesagrind said, "lol"
cwebb1977 collected 30700 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 30700 | Rake 0
Board [8c Ac 4h 9h As]
Seat 1: Warnosh folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: lifesagrind showed [4s 4d] and lost with a full house, Fours full of Aces
Seat 3: sijht.nl folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: draconid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: 66Buffalo66 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: StrangePP (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: cwebb1977 (big blind) showed [9d Ah] and won (30700) with a full house, Aces full of Nines
Seat 8: polyballer9 folded on the Flop
Seat 9: DodgerPL folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Tru Dat
Remember when shortly after Neteller shut out US players, PokerStars began the process of offering the Tru Card Prepaid Visa Card. They offered early signups for the card to select players and since Pokerstars wasn't supporting ePassporte yet I signed up and took one. I never did use the card and I'm not even sure Pokerstars ever officially utilized it as a deposit and withdrawal method. The card has sat in my desk drawer since the day I rec. it and then today this came via email.
Dear payTru Member:
Please be advised that you will not be receiving a replacement card for your current payTru card once it has expired. Please examine the expiration date on your payTru card and check your balance at www.paytrucard.com. Please plan the use of your card accordingly as it relates to point of sale purchases and ATM withdrawals. Remember that all transactions carry a nominal transaction fee which is deducted in real time, so please plan for this when performing your transaction(s).
Your card will not be accepted at merchants or ATM machines once it has expired.
This is not a result of your use of the card and does not effect your credit rating in any way. We will advise you in the future if there are changes to this policy.
Thank you for your membership patronage.
payTRu Card Services
Seems odd that they would just be canceling my account since I've never used it. Sounds more like they may be closing down for good.
Dear payTru Member:
Please be advised that you will not be receiving a replacement card for your current payTru card once it has expired. Please examine the expiration date on your payTru card and check your balance at www.paytrucard.com. Please plan the use of your card accordingly as it relates to point of sale purchases and ATM withdrawals. Remember that all transactions carry a nominal transaction fee which is deducted in real time, so please plan for this when performing your transaction(s).
Your card will not be accepted at merchants or ATM machines once it has expired.
This is not a result of your use of the card and does not effect your credit rating in any way. We will advise you in the future if there are changes to this policy.
Thank you for your membership patronage.
payTRu Card Services
Seems odd that they would just be canceling my account since I've never used it. Sounds more like they may be closing down for good.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
My Turn
I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!
This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.
Registration code: 2864930
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Iron Man Medal... Not So Special
One should always read the fine print. When I checked my Iron Man Status page and saw mention of a new Iron Man Medal, I thought, how cool. I was going to be rewarded for 12 months of consecutive Iron Man Status with a little token of my accomplishment.
Imagine my shock when I logged on to play last night and saw a few other players with medals. Then I found out that anyone who had qualified last month got one. That was completely sucky.
Since it's just a promotion tool for Full Tilt and not a real recognition of accomplishment I'm going to have it removed from my avatar.
A positive spin on the whole thing is that now I can tell who plays a lot when they sit down at the table.
My apologies for a disjointed post.
Imagine my shock when I logged on to play last night and saw a few other players with medals. Then I found out that anyone who had qualified last month got one. That was completely sucky.
Since it's just a promotion tool for Full Tilt and not a real recognition of accomplishment I'm going to have it removed from my avatar.
A positive spin on the whole thing is that now I can tell who plays a lot when they sit down at the table.
My apologies for a disjointed post.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
A Cold September
Sadly September was a losing month. When it comes to losing months though, this is the kind I would choose to have. I ended up down a grand total of 72 cents. That's right $0.72. When I receive my rakeback for the month it will be profitable but I don't like to count that as actual poker winnings.
On the SNG front I managed to finish the month with two good sessions which saved me. A total of 152 played for an ROI of 0.4%. Better than a negative ROI I suppose.
Having just completed my 12th consecutive month of Iron Man status at Full Tilt I'm not going to give up now. After this month my avatar will recieve the "Iron Man Chip" addon. Although I play with avatars turned off it may look cool. (Haven't actually seen one yet)
In order to maintain I'm going to keep playing the $24 turbo SNG's each day, but only four of them. If I want to play more after that I'm going to switch to NL cash games. My NL record has sucked this year and I want to put some time in to see if I can end the year in the black on these.
In other news; I've had a WoW (World of Warcraft) account for months but have never spent much time in game. I've finally found a character I like to play though so that is all changing. With renewed interest I will more than likely be spending my free time leveling up instead of doubling up.
On the SNG front I managed to finish the month with two good sessions which saved me. A total of 152 played for an ROI of 0.4%. Better than a negative ROI I suppose.
Having just completed my 12th consecutive month of Iron Man status at Full Tilt I'm not going to give up now. After this month my avatar will recieve the "Iron Man Chip" addon. Although I play with avatars turned off it may look cool. (Haven't actually seen one yet)
In order to maintain I'm going to keep playing the $24 turbo SNG's each day, but only four of them. If I want to play more after that I'm going to switch to NL cash games. My NL record has sucked this year and I want to put some time in to see if I can end the year in the black on these.
In other news; I've had a WoW (World of Warcraft) account for months but have never spent much time in game. I've finally found a character I like to play though so that is all changing. With renewed interest I will more than likely be spending my free time leveling up instead of doubling up.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Spinning wheels
I wish I knew how to win right now. I managed to donk out of the HUC losing two straight to Highonpkr.
I also can't seem to get my head above water in the SNG's right. I'm only down a small amount but with my recent withdrawal I may have overestimated my risk of ruin.
I have a bad tendency to lose when I'm feeling the pressure to win.
Light bulb moment: I finally realized as I'm writing this why that is. Bad beats affect me more when I feel the pressure. I literally cussed at the computer during play tonight which is something I rarely ever due. Hmmm maybe writing in this blog still has value after all.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Monday, September 24, 2007
Excuses are like...
and everybody's got one. While I'm playing more SNG's this month, I'm certainly not seeing an increase in my ROI. As a matter of fact, I'm faring much worse this month. In August I played 80 SNG's for a 15.5% ROI. In September I've played 114 so far with a 2% ROI.
I could equate my issues into forcing myself to play when I don't really want to, having other projects going, not concentrating, but those are all just excuses. The fact of the matter is that I'm not playing the way I know to play. No excuse makes up for the fact that I know I'm playing poorly yet make no effort to correct it.
Patience young padewan. If I could give one piece of advise to anyone wanting to play SNG's. That would be it. Patience is the single most important key to success at the low limits. I need to practice what I preach.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Where To Begin...
Let's see. I know my posting has been sporadic at best lately but I am still playing poker. In fact staying true to my word I'm still on track to double my play from last month. My problem is a severe lack of free time right now. I'm getting ready to embark on a very exciting, yet very scary career move.
Being known as the "tech guy" to all my friends I get called upon whenever someone has a PC related issue. Every time they call me, they also tell me I should work on computers as a business. I've heard this enough times that I've finally decided to do just that. It will start as a part time gig that hopefully grows into a full time job. I will be launching next week and getting everything ready has been very time consuming.
Playing poker has actually led to my being able to do this. You see all of my startup costs have been covered by poker profits. In fact, I believe that I will never have to spend a dime of "my own" money during the life of the business. I see no reason why I can't cover my small monthly costs (phone, advertising, etc.) with poker play.
This has led me to consider something within poker I've never really had to deal with before. Proper bankroll funding versus risk of ruin. I've really emaciated my bankroll during this process. The bankroll is currently sitting at about $750. I like to maintain a minimum of 45 buy ins but prefer 65 for SNG's. Presently I'm playing the $24 turbo's but I should be playing the $12 ones. Normally I would just drop down in limits and continue playing. The thing is that I believe I have proven to myself that I can beat these games. I feel it would take a severely freakish losing streak for me to be in bankroll danger. Thus I've decided to stay where I'm at and play a little thin.
At any rate look for some more frequent posting coming up. In the mean time go check out The Poker Grind.net and show some support for a new blogger on the scene.
Update: I received my money from Full Tilt a few days after posting about it so alls good.
Being known as the "tech guy" to all my friends I get called upon whenever someone has a PC related issue. Every time they call me, they also tell me I should work on computers as a business. I've heard this enough times that I've finally decided to do just that. It will start as a part time gig that hopefully grows into a full time job. I will be launching next week and getting everything ready has been very time consuming.
Playing poker has actually led to my being able to do this. You see all of my startup costs have been covered by poker profits. In fact, I believe that I will never have to spend a dime of "my own" money during the life of the business. I see no reason why I can't cover my small monthly costs (phone, advertising, etc.) with poker play.
This has led me to consider something within poker I've never really had to deal with before. Proper bankroll funding versus risk of ruin. I've really emaciated my bankroll during this process. The bankroll is currently sitting at about $750. I like to maintain a minimum of 45 buy ins but prefer 65 for SNG's. Presently I'm playing the $24 turbo's but I should be playing the $12 ones. Normally I would just drop down in limits and continue playing. The thing is that I believe I have proven to myself that I can beat these games. I feel it would take a severely freakish losing streak for me to be in bankroll danger. Thus I've decided to stay where I'm at and play a little thin.
At any rate look for some more frequent posting coming up. In the mean time go check out The Poker Grind.net and show some support for a new blogger on the scene.
Update: I received my money from Full Tilt a few days after posting about it so alls good.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Foreboding
The last time I received a response like this the site went under and I never saw my money.
Hello Tom,
Thank you for contacting Full Tilt Poker 24 hour Email Support.
We sincerely apologize for the extended delay in processing your
withdrawal request and any inconvenience this may have caused you. While
withdrawals normally take 24-48 hours to process, we are currently
receiving an unusually high volume of withdrawal requests at this time,
making our average processing time longer than 48 hours.
We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, and we anticipate
returning to our regular processing times of 24-48 hours as soon as
possible.
We value your business and appreciate your continued patience.
Regards,
Hello Tom,
Thank you for contacting Full Tilt Poker 24 hour Email Support.
We sincerely apologize for the extended delay in processing your
withdrawal request and any inconvenience this may have caused you. While
withdrawals normally take 24-48 hours to process, we are currently
receiving an unusually high volume of withdrawal requests at this time,
making our average processing time longer than 48 hours.
We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, and we anticipate
returning to our regular processing times of 24-48 hours as soon as
possible.
We value your business and appreciate your continued patience.
Regards,
Monday, August 27, 2007
And The Challenge Begins
The Heads Up Challenge 5 got underway today and I played my first match in the hearts bracket against the Surly Poker Gnome. I was fortunate enough to win back to back matches in the best of three series to move on.
To be fair I was running very good tonight. In my set of 4 SNG's I managed two firsts and a third. I then won not only the two matches against pokergnome but also one against some random player.
All in all an excellent night of poker.
To be fair I was running very good tonight. In my set of 4 SNG's I managed two firsts and a third. I then won not only the two matches against pokergnome but also one against some random player.
All in all an excellent night of poker.
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