It's been a busy month. It seems like I never play much early in the year. Maybe I'm a "summer time" player. I played less than 40 hours combined between February, March and April. I got a few more hands in this month, but not many.
I have GOT to stay away from 7 card stud hi lo, or do some boning up on my strategy. I'm a solid 1.5 BB per hour winner at hi, and that's been my bread and butter since 2003. Heads up 7 card stud hi, I do quite well. Almost 2 BB per hour.
7 card stud hi lo? -9 BB per hour. That's with only ~2000 hands in, but still, pretty sick. I think I have several obvious leaks:
1. I don't know what the $%^& I am doing in 7 card stud hi lo.
2. I play a hi lo table or two while playing a hi table or two. Multi-tabling stud isn't easy since a lot of your edge comes from reading cards on other players' porches. Trying to keep track of both hi/lo strategy and basic hi strategy makes my brain hurt.
3. The main reason I'm playing the hi/lo tables is to rack up FAME points faster. Meanwhile I'm losing more $$ from sucking than I'll ever make in extra FAME credits and rakeback.
I've gotta find me a good 7cs hi/lo book. Paying 9 big bets per hour for lessons, stinks.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Haha - Obama got your money!
My wife linked me this and I just had to post it. I can't believe I went all of February with no posts. That does mirror my time at the tables though. I didn't even keep "Gold" status at Absolute Poker last month and that just takes a measley 500 FAME points.
Without further ado:
We got your money! Gonna print some more money! Gonna spend some more of your money!
While this is not a political blog, I think we can all agree that current money printing, spending spree going on in D.C. is getting a bit out of control.
Without further ado:
We got your money! Gonna print some more money! Gonna spend some more of your money!
While this is not a political blog, I think we can all agree that current money printing, spending spree going on in D.C. is getting a bit out of control.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Free Poker Tracking Tool
Tracking your results is the ONLY way to know if you are a poker winner or loser. I can't tell you how many players I've met who are in denial. Even online players who should be able to do the math to figure out that deposits are greater than withdrawals. They just... don't do the math.
I digress. Here's a free poker tracking tool. I'm not 100% sure which poker sites it works with, and will update as I get more details. For now, you can just click the link below and check it out for yourself. :)
Poker Score
I digress. Here's a free poker tracking tool. I'm not 100% sure which poker sites it works with, and will update as I get more details. For now, you can just click the link below and check it out for yourself. :)
Poker Score
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
PPA Action Alert
Stop browsing poker blogs and forums for a whopping 30 seconds and stick in a plug for online poker.
Click This Link to the PPA Action letter
No need to edit or even add to the letter unless you're just feeling wordy. In email campaigns, it's volume that counts more than substance of each individual message.
Fill in your name and address and click submit. It'll automatically ship your email to your legislators. If it takes you more than 30 seconds, it's because you are still a "hunt and peck" typer!
Online Poker has won a number of victories already in 2009. In the case of the Kentucky Governor attempting to steal 140+ online gaming domains, an appeals court has reversed the original hick Judge Windbag's decision, and made it clear that he is to not have more hearings on this matter. *Slap*
Three different court cases in three different states have resulted in positive results for the poker as a game of skill argument.
We are making headway, but that won't continue if we start laying down on the job. If you're reading this, it would have taken less time to send the email than it did to read my chatting about. :)
Click This Link to the PPA Action letter
No need to edit or even add to the letter unless you're just feeling wordy. In email campaigns, it's volume that counts more than substance of each individual message.
Fill in your name and address and click submit. It'll automatically ship your email to your legislators. If it takes you more than 30 seconds, it's because you are still a "hunt and peck" typer!
Online Poker has won a number of victories already in 2009. In the case of the Kentucky Governor attempting to steal 140+ online gaming domains, an appeals court has reversed the original hick Judge Windbag's decision, and made it clear that he is to not have more hearings on this matter. *Slap*
Three different court cases in three different states have resulted in positive results for the poker as a game of skill argument.
We are making headway, but that won't continue if we start laying down on the job. If you're reading this, it would have taken less time to send the email than it did to read my chatting about. :)
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
4 bucks might be dumb, but $2.50 for crappy coffee is dumber-er
McDonalds had the nads to erect this sign within sight of the Starbucks headquarters. Nice. It makes me chuckle, but let's look at the facts.
I'm not a coffee snob. I drink coffee out of a plain ol' drip coffee maker most mornings with powdered creamer and sugar.
It was early a.m. a day or two back and I needed some coffee to keep me alert while doing the email inbox grind. I wanted something with a bit more flavor, and Starbucks closes at 10 p.m., so I hit McDonalds for some of their gourmet coffee. I ordered caramel flavored cappuccino. Simple right? Expresso, steamed milk, cream on top, and some caramel drizzle in there for flavor, all neatly placed in a coffee cup with a sippy lid.
What did I get? Coffee in a coffee cup, a frappuchino lid (the ones with domed tops and large hole for a straw) with whipped cream piled up to the top of the cone so high it was peeping out the straw hole. Errr - have you ever drank hot coffee through a regular straw? They'll be treating you for 3rd degree burns on your tonsils. We all know the stories of how hot McDonalds coffee is after all.
When she handed me the drink, she kinda shook it and said "hmm...that just don't feel right. Don't feel like theys 'nuff coffee in thar fo' a large"... I should've been tipped off then that she left the steamed milk out.
I got home and dumped it into a large coffee mug, took a sip and about choked on the sickly sweet caramel flavoring. With no milk to mellow it down, it was just a bitter black coffee flavor with caramel drizzle.
I drank it all. I needs mah caffeine.
Moral? If you want gourmet coffee, go to Starbucks. Go to McDonalds if you want a farkin' hamburger.
(Since this is a poker blog, let me toss in a bankroll update. Well over my $2000 goal, and still have a couple of weeks to pad it (or lose it!) before 2008 is finished. I'm happy. Small stakes hobby that entertains and gives me a year end cash balance. Sure beats stamp collecting.)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
'Tis the season of giving...
This wouldn't fit under the tree, but it's my gift!
2008 Honday Pilot SE 4wd
Our Blazer has ~180k miles on it, and it was becoming increasingly unreliable. After spending another $1500 this month to keep it on the road, we figured enough was enough.
FYI - if you're watching the news about steep cuts in car prices, they're not joking. We got between $7000 and $8000 off MSRP. Granted, we told them our next stop was Carmax for a 2006 Pilot if we couldn't get a great deal on a new one.
It was the perfect time to buy a 2008 Pilot for sure. Besides the troubles the car industry is facing, this is the time of year they're trying to clear the 2008 models off the lot to make more room for their 2009's.
I've never bought a new vehicle, since you lose a ton of the value as soon as you drive it off the lot. This deal was just too hard to turn down though, and it was kinda nice seeing "40" on the odometer.
Lest this post seem "selfish" rest assured that I don't normally ask for much or get much on Christmas. I really get a kick out of giving. We're making 3 Angel Tree kids very happy this year, and even bailed my mother in law out a bankruptcy fix. Maybe I'll post about that later...
2008 Honday Pilot SE 4wd
Our Blazer has ~180k miles on it, and it was becoming increasingly unreliable. After spending another $1500 this month to keep it on the road, we figured enough was enough.
FYI - if you're watching the news about steep cuts in car prices, they're not joking. We got between $7000 and $8000 off MSRP. Granted, we told them our next stop was Carmax for a 2006 Pilot if we couldn't get a great deal on a new one.
It was the perfect time to buy a 2008 Pilot for sure. Besides the troubles the car industry is facing, this is the time of year they're trying to clear the 2008 models off the lot to make more room for their 2009's.
I've never bought a new vehicle, since you lose a ton of the value as soon as you drive it off the lot. This deal was just too hard to turn down though, and it was kinda nice seeing "40" on the odometer.
Lest this post seem "selfish" rest assured that I don't normally ask for much or get much on Christmas. I really get a kick out of giving. We're making 3 Angel Tree kids very happy this year, and even bailed my mother in law out a bankruptcy fix. Maybe I'll post about that later...
November has come and gone...
....without a single blog post. I kept meaning to swing over, but just never did find the time.
CEREUS rocks. CEREUS network was formed at the end of November, joining the player bases of Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. They also added heads up 7 card stud tables, which is wonderful.
On the webmaster end of things though, it was a huge headache. For over a week our rakeback stats were not able to be updated, while all the nickname changes, retracking of players, so on and so forth was muddled through.
With rakeback earnings from November, and barring a crappy run in the next few days, I'll have hit my $2000 goal for the year. It ain't much boys, but I don't play much either.
When I first went full time in poker marketing with our poker strategy site, I was able to play hours of poker each day "working from home". That's no longer the case. I barely have time to blog about, much less play poker. This is a good thing though. I'll have plenty of time to play after I retire. :)
CEREUS rocks. CEREUS network was formed at the end of November, joining the player bases of Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. They also added heads up 7 card stud tables, which is wonderful.
On the webmaster end of things though, it was a huge headache. For over a week our rakeback stats were not able to be updated, while all the nickname changes, retracking of players, so on and so forth was muddled through.
With rakeback earnings from November, and barring a crappy run in the next few days, I'll have hit my $2000 goal for the year. It ain't much boys, but I don't play much either.
When I first went full time in poker marketing with our poker strategy site, I was able to play hours of poker each day "working from home". That's no longer the case. I barely have time to blog about, much less play poker. This is a good thing though. I'll have plenty of time to play after I retire. :)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I'm a 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. FISH!!
I was playing around with my poker tracker stud stats, and pulled up my big bet per hour earnings based on days of the week and time of day. Turns out I'm horrible in early morning hours.
Between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., I'm a 2.7 BB/hour loser.
Between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., I'm an astounding 13.57 BB/hour loser. EEK!
This tells me two things. First, I suck horribly when I'm tired. Second, if I'm playing in the early a.m. hours, it's probably because I'm down, pissed off and tilting away more money trying to "get back to even".
I'll bet if I dug deeper I'd find that most of the $$ I've lost on downswings have come during those hours. I know for a fact that the only reason I'm up playing poker at those hours is when I've had a bad night and I'm just locked in, staring at the screen incredulously, waiting on another bad beat. Don't snicker... you've all been there.
I wonder if I could self exclude between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.? I know some sites like Full Tilt and Stars allow you to self exclude and lock you out of the site for a set time period that you request.... hmm.
This is just another example of how Poker Tracker is worth a lot more than the sticker price. Sadly, I think most players just use it to track their bankroll, or to see which "symbol" they are. (I'm the taz devil, Loose Aggressive/Aggressive btw, mainly due to playing a lot of heads up).
Quicky plug: If you want, I can get you Poker Tracker 3 Free. Click that link and read the blurb, then contact me. At the very least I can pass along my discount and get it for $72 for you instead of the $90 sticker price.
Between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., I'm a 2.7 BB/hour loser.
Between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., I'm an astounding 13.57 BB/hour loser. EEK!
This tells me two things. First, I suck horribly when I'm tired. Second, if I'm playing in the early a.m. hours, it's probably because I'm down, pissed off and tilting away more money trying to "get back to even".
I'll bet if I dug deeper I'd find that most of the $$ I've lost on downswings have come during those hours. I know for a fact that the only reason I'm up playing poker at those hours is when I've had a bad night and I'm just locked in, staring at the screen incredulously, waiting on another bad beat. Don't snicker... you've all been there.
I wonder if I could self exclude between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.? I know some sites like Full Tilt and Stars allow you to self exclude and lock you out of the site for a set time period that you request.... hmm.
This is just another example of how Poker Tracker is worth a lot more than the sticker price. Sadly, I think most players just use it to track their bankroll, or to see which "symbol" they are. (I'm the taz devil, Loose Aggressive/Aggressive btw, mainly due to playing a lot of heads up).
Quicky plug: If you want, I can get you Poker Tracker 3 Free. Click that link and read the blurb, then contact me. At the very least I can pass along my discount and get it for $72 for you instead of the $90 sticker price.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
HR 6870-Payments System Protection Act of 2008
Barney Frank guided HR 6870-Payments System Protection Act of 2008 through its first step on the way to eventually (hopefully) becoming law with a 30-19 victory in the House Financial Services Committee.
Short summary - if this amendment is enacted into law, it will mean that the UIGEA only covers sports betting. Online poker and casino games will NOT be covered unless an Administrative Law Judge rules otherwise.
This is great news for the online poker community. Why? For those of you who don't know anything about the UIGEA, it is the piece of legislation that ran Party Poker, iPoker, Pacific Poker and host of other online poker rooms from the USA market. If this gets through to become law, I could see two very quick benefits:
1. Sites that moved out of the USA market in 2006 can come back. Welcome back Party, Titan, Pacific and a host of other fishy rooms. Welcome back the Party Poker jingle as one of the most popular ads on GSN and WSOP t.v. spots.
2. A poker/casino ewallet would be able to open and run without fear of prosecution. Tired of waiting 3 weeks on your Full Tilt Poker check? Epassporte could come back? Neteller maybe?
If you want to read it, here is a cut/paste of the legal jargon. My analysis is not expert analysis, but gleaned from some very knowledgeable posters on 2 plus 2 forums.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Payments System Pro-
tection Act of 2008’’.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION.
The Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Gov-
ernors of the Federal Reserve System, whether acting
jointly or separately, may not propose, prescribe, or imple-
ment any regulation under subchapter IV of chapter 53
of title 31, United States Code, or otherwise give effect
to such subchapter or any such regulation, including the
proposed regulations published in the Federal Register on
October 4, 2007, except to the extent as any such regula-
tion pertains to wagering of the type that is prohibited
(as of the date of the enactment of this Act) under chapter
178 of title 28, United States Code (relating to profes-
sional and amateur sports protection) or except as pro-
vided in section 3.
SEC. 3. RULEMAKING TO IMPLEMENT SUBCHAPTER ON
PROHIBITION ON FUNDING OF UNLAWFUL
INTERNET GAMBLING AND DEFINE UNLAW-
FUL INTERNET GAMBLING.
(a) INGENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 2, the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System, in consultation with the At-
torney General, shall jointly develop and implement regu-
lations (which the Secretary and the Board jointly deter-
mine to be appropriate), on the record after opportunity
for agency hearing involving an administrative law judge
or similar official, under subchapter IV of chapter 53 of
title 31, United States Code, that shall include a definition
of the term ‘‘unlawful Internet gambling’’ for purposes of
such subchapter and such regulations, after conducting a
full economic impact study of the proposed regulations
under chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code (commonly
referred to as the ‘‘Regulatory Flexibility Act’’).
(b) COORDINATIONWITHPROHIBITION.—Upon the
effective date of final regulations under subsection (a),
section 2 shall cease to apply.
Short summary - if this amendment is enacted into law, it will mean that the UIGEA only covers sports betting. Online poker and casino games will NOT be covered unless an Administrative Law Judge rules otherwise.
This is great news for the online poker community. Why? For those of you who don't know anything about the UIGEA, it is the piece of legislation that ran Party Poker, iPoker, Pacific Poker and host of other online poker rooms from the USA market. If this gets through to become law, I could see two very quick benefits:
1. Sites that moved out of the USA market in 2006 can come back. Welcome back Party, Titan, Pacific and a host of other fishy rooms. Welcome back the Party Poker jingle as one of the most popular ads on GSN and WSOP t.v. spots.
2. A poker/casino ewallet would be able to open and run without fear of prosecution. Tired of waiting 3 weeks on your Full Tilt Poker check? Epassporte could come back? Neteller maybe?
If you want to read it, here is a cut/paste of the legal jargon. My analysis is not expert analysis, but gleaned from some very knowledgeable posters on 2 plus 2 forums.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Payments System Pro-
tection Act of 2008’’.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION.
The Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Gov-
ernors of the Federal Reserve System, whether acting
jointly or separately, may not propose, prescribe, or imple-
ment any regulation under subchapter IV of chapter 53
of title 31, United States Code, or otherwise give effect
to such subchapter or any such regulation, including the
proposed regulations published in the Federal Register on
October 4, 2007, except to the extent as any such regula-
tion pertains to wagering of the type that is prohibited
(as of the date of the enactment of this Act) under chapter
178 of title 28, United States Code (relating to profes-
sional and amateur sports protection) or except as pro-
vided in section 3.
SEC. 3. RULEMAKING TO IMPLEMENT SUBCHAPTER ON
PROHIBITION ON FUNDING OF UNLAWFUL
INTERNET GAMBLING AND DEFINE UNLAW-
FUL INTERNET GAMBLING.
(a) INGENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 2, the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System, in consultation with the At-
torney General, shall jointly develop and implement regu-
lations (which the Secretary and the Board jointly deter-
mine to be appropriate), on the record after opportunity
for agency hearing involving an administrative law judge
or similar official, under subchapter IV of chapter 53 of
title 31, United States Code, that shall include a definition
of the term ‘‘unlawful Internet gambling’’ for purposes of
such subchapter and such regulations, after conducting a
full economic impact study of the proposed regulations
under chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code (commonly
referred to as the ‘‘Regulatory Flexibility Act’’).
(b) COORDINATIONWITHPROHIBITION.—Upon the
effective date of final regulations under subsection (a),
section 2 shall cease to apply.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Politics and Poker
If you don't want to read my opinions on politics, this video sums my feelings up quite nicely.
It's Time for Campaign'in
Despite the title, this post has very little to do with poker. My livelihood has been under heavy attack by my party of choice since at least 2006 (longer, in truth, since it took years for anti gambling legislation to pass). So as a poker player, I am a bit stuck when it comes to my feelings on the political races in 2008.
My political leanings come across as odd to some. My guess is that I'd be hated by both sides. In a nutshell, I'm a pro-life, pro-gambling, pro-capital punishment, anti-nanny state, fiscal conservative. I'm also a devout Baptist.
I just typed and then deleted about 4 paragraphs explaining why my belief system is not contradictory. Then I realized that I have nothing to defend, so what's the point? Everyone has their right to their own opinions and beliefs. Some people's are just wrong, that's all. :)
I think the candidate who would have most fit my beliefs would have been Ron Paul. I can't bring myself to vote for Obama, but I feel like going out and pushing all the Republican buttons in the poll booth will just be rubber stamping the nanny state decisions and stinking pile of crap that was the Republican controlled congress until 2006.
I think I'll vote for Ron if he's on the ballot. Both the Dems and Reps have got to come to the realization that they are losing the middle as they get more and more extreme. Maybe then we'll see some real change in government.
Voting for someone who has no real shot is not wasting your vote. The reason we have such crappy choices these days is because the sheep keep falling for that 'lesser of two evils' line. If enough votes start being cast for 3rd party candidates, the two main parties will realize they need to field candidates that appeal to these 3rd party voters. Think about it. Elections are decided by tiny percentages. If all of a sudden 5% of votes were being cast for a 3rd party, the two main parties would be falling all over themselves to try to pick up that 5%.
That's my .02 political thoughts.
It's Time for Campaign'in
Despite the title, this post has very little to do with poker. My livelihood has been under heavy attack by my party of choice since at least 2006 (longer, in truth, since it took years for anti gambling legislation to pass). So as a poker player, I am a bit stuck when it comes to my feelings on the political races in 2008.
My political leanings come across as odd to some. My guess is that I'd be hated by both sides. In a nutshell, I'm a pro-life, pro-gambling, pro-capital punishment, anti-nanny state, fiscal conservative. I'm also a devout Baptist.
I just typed and then deleted about 4 paragraphs explaining why my belief system is not contradictory. Then I realized that I have nothing to defend, so what's the point? Everyone has their right to their own opinions and beliefs. Some people's are just wrong, that's all. :)
I think the candidate who would have most fit my beliefs would have been Ron Paul. I can't bring myself to vote for Obama, but I feel like going out and pushing all the Republican buttons in the poll booth will just be rubber stamping the nanny state decisions and stinking pile of crap that was the Republican controlled congress until 2006.
I think I'll vote for Ron if he's on the ballot. Both the Dems and Reps have got to come to the realization that they are losing the middle as they get more and more extreme. Maybe then we'll see some real change in government.
Voting for someone who has no real shot is not wasting your vote. The reason we have such crappy choices these days is because the sheep keep falling for that 'lesser of two evils' line. If enough votes start being cast for 3rd party candidates, the two main parties will realize they need to field candidates that appeal to these 3rd party voters. Think about it. Elections are decided by tiny percentages. If all of a sudden 5% of votes were being cast for a 3rd party, the two main parties would be falling all over themselves to try to pick up that 5%.
That's my .02 political thoughts.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
1-outters don't tilt me!
Losing back to back with AA dealt vs 2 small pair will tilt me. But losing to a 1 outter? One almost feels privileged to have witnessed the rare event. I received this blessing both on Saturday and Sunday (and yes, I went to church two services that day!)...
Two 1 outters in one weekend. I need to grab some lottery tickets while I'm out tonight.
A one outter is like catching a glimpse of a shooting star. Even in 7cs where you see more cards, it's still going to be something like 2.5% chance to hit. For you geeks out there, it's rolling a 1 on a 40 sided die, cleaving the ogre standing in front of you from head to crotch with a well crafted, but non-magical short sword, killing him instantly.
+150 XP.
Yeah. It's that rare.
Bankroll Update: After blowing $200 at the Fair and a crappy week at everything but NLHE cash games, ~1200. Blah.
Two 1 outters in one weekend. I need to grab some lottery tickets while I'm out tonight.
A one outter is like catching a glimpse of a shooting star. Even in 7cs where you see more cards, it's still going to be something like 2.5% chance to hit. For you geeks out there, it's rolling a 1 on a 40 sided die, cleaving the ogre standing in front of you from head to crotch with a well crafted, but non-magical short sword, killing him instantly.
+150 XP.
Yeah. It's that rare.
Bankroll Update: After blowing $200 at the Fair and a crappy week at everything but NLHE cash games, ~1200. Blah.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Approaching 2k! Time to rob it!
Bankroll at $1788.83 counting bonus earned. Wilson County Fair is this week though, and sounds like a nice family out'ing. Time to strike a match to a couple hundred.
When my 2 year old is downing cotton candy as fast as he can while we're watching the fireworks, I'll pause for a brief moment to think about those folks who have made this possible... Vladdy, ICOMINATCHA, DKNY333, etc.
Peekaboo!
TY!
When my 2 year old is downing cotton candy as fast as he can while we're watching the fireworks, I'll pause for a brief moment to think about those folks who have made this possible... Vladdy, ICOMINATCHA, DKNY333, etc.
Peekaboo!
TY!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Nice PPA YouTube Video
I got a kick out of this, because I believe it captures perfectly, how absurd it is for the DOJ to be focusing on online poker. Congress: if the DOJ has enough budget to go after all the true issues + online poker, then they are overfunded. Please stop wasting tax payer dollars on goof ball stuff!
In other news, our bottomless bonus deal with Next Poker is getting pretty popular among non-USA players. It equates to 45% rakeback in ring games and 62.5% tourney fee rakeback. If you were ever searching for any of the following:
OnGame Rakeback
PokerRoom.com rakeback
bwin rakeback
Then please look over our Next Poker deal. It's hard to beat.
In other news, our bottomless bonus deal with Next Poker is getting pretty popular among non-USA players. It equates to 45% rakeback in ring games and 62.5% tourney fee rakeback. If you were ever searching for any of the following:
OnGame Rakeback
PokerRoom.com rakeback
bwin rakeback
Then please look over our Next Poker deal. It's hard to beat.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Bankroll at 1500+
After tonights action, I'm at $1500+. A month ago after a withdrawal and a few crappy sessions, it was ~600, so that's solid growth. If I can keep it a secret, it might stay in the bankroll a while longer. ;]
The nice jump has been due to a couple of good HU sessions. The aforementioned Vlad match, and then tonight DKNY333 dropped about $160 before leaving. Funny.. usually when peole have their nickname as "donkey" or "fish" they're actually quite solid. Not the case for this guy. He's one of the most aptly named players I've seen.
Oh, and also a good run over at Stars. I started with a 0 bankroll there. We keep $$ on several sites to pay rakeback advances when they're requested, so I just have to keep careful records of plus/minus. I wanted to take a shot at a satellite to this years WCOOP 100k 7cs event. One of the regular satellites is a 3000 FPP buyin. I had a whopping 2400. Shows you how much I play there eh?
Anywhoo, figured I might as well earn 600 more FPP's and see if I could turn a profit at the tables and buyin for free to the satellite. Mission accomplished. +329 in ring game play there, and I've got just a tad over 3k FPP's.
The 5/10 game there looks soft. They and FTP are pretty much the only 2 rooms with populations large enough for soft 5/10 games in stud. If Stars had some sort of rakeback besides the VIP program, I'd jump on it. No way I'm going to play 99999999999999999999999 required to make the top level and earn 27% rakeback though.
Now to just find a few hours to play one of the FPP satellites to WCOOP 7cs event, and we'll be all set.
The nice jump has been due to a couple of good HU sessions. The aforementioned Vlad match, and then tonight DKNY333 dropped about $160 before leaving. Funny.. usually when peole have their nickname as "donkey" or "fish" they're actually quite solid. Not the case for this guy. He's one of the most aptly named players I've seen.
Oh, and also a good run over at Stars. I started with a 0 bankroll there. We keep $$ on several sites to pay rakeback advances when they're requested, so I just have to keep careful records of plus/minus. I wanted to take a shot at a satellite to this years WCOOP 100k 7cs event. One of the regular satellites is a 3000 FPP buyin. I had a whopping 2400. Shows you how much I play there eh?
Anywhoo, figured I might as well earn 600 more FPP's and see if I could turn a profit at the tables and buyin for free to the satellite. Mission accomplished. +329 in ring game play there, and I've got just a tad over 3k FPP's.
The 5/10 game there looks soft. They and FTP are pretty much the only 2 rooms with populations large enough for soft 5/10 games in stud. If Stars had some sort of rakeback besides the VIP program, I'd jump on it. No way I'm going to play 99999999999999999999999 required to make the top level and earn 27% rakeback though.
Now to just find a few hours to play one of the FPP satellites to WCOOP 7cs event, and we'll be all set.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
PSORG vs. VLADDYMOGUL
Rarely do I make brag posts, but with blowhards like this I'll make an exception. Besides, ol' Vlad is the vain type, so I'm sure he googles his own nickname daily. Vladdy, if you're readying this... tx for the chips!
Vladdymogul - Absolute Poker, is the epitome of those wanna be players who are just good enough to ruin a good table. He's LAG, which makes him dangerous heads up. With a good run of cards, he can put a serious hurt on your roll. However, he has two glaring weaknesses which I won't mention here, in case he is reading. I like taking his chips.
For anyone who has played him, they know that he's has a penchant for calling anyone who beats him in a pot a "dumb lucky fish" for starters and then progressively worse from there. I got him so tilted yesterday that he was even calling our avatar pics names. Stuff like "your baby is so ugly, I'd wipe my a$$ with his face." Now, that really doesn't bother me. My babies are both Gerber baby quality. (Love is blind. If you have kids, you really do think you're babies are the cutest ever born). Another player sat, nick KOPE, who is a very nice social player, and one of my biggest donators. Unfortunately his avatar is his (or her) baby's pic as well. After about 3 hands of listening to Vlad's BS about 'ugly baby', Kope leaves. There goes my ATM. Back to me and Blowhard Vlad.
I went about +100 on him pretty quick, and then he got hot and won most of it back. The typical lines: "where did your luck go fish?! I own you!"... the usual. All caps tossed in to let me know he was shouting at me.
After his cards cooled off, I went back to taking his chips. I'm in the middle of reading Your Best Poker Friend by Alan Schoonmaker. He includes a great discussion on putting your opponent on tilt. So I broke one of my cardinal rules of not responding to jackasses, and started needling Vladdy. No cussing, no ALL CAPS, just little zingers. I even sang to him a bit:
It's just a matter of time...
You'll lose your chips...
And whiiinnnneeee....
(Sung to the tune of that old country song - Two Sparrows in a Hurricane).
It had the desired effect. For the longest space ever, Vladdy didn't say a word. I finally asked him if his chat had been banned and got the "lets move up a level! I'll pwn you!" response.
Anyway, final session stats:
87 minutes. 257 hands. PSORG +138.50 (23.88 BB/hour. Average players 2.5, so yeah, it was almost exclusively a heads up match).
Vladdymogul -209.75
He paid me, he paid all the rake, and he paid a few other players who sat for a few hands here and there.
Vladdy, if you're reading this, I'd be happy to teach you 7 card stud. I'd even give you a discount. $80 bucks an hour. That's currently cheaper than the rate you paid yesterday. (23.88 BB/hour multiplied by the 2/4 limit = $95.52/hour)
Like two aces get'n cracked by fives...
all you ever do is cry...
With a head full of dreams but no skills, you'll lose everythiinnggg
Man, I gotta get this up on YouTube!
Vladdymogul - Absolute Poker, is the epitome of those wanna be players who are just good enough to ruin a good table. He's LAG, which makes him dangerous heads up. With a good run of cards, he can put a serious hurt on your roll. However, he has two glaring weaknesses which I won't mention here, in case he is reading. I like taking his chips.
For anyone who has played him, they know that he's has a penchant for calling anyone who beats him in a pot a "dumb lucky fish" for starters and then progressively worse from there. I got him so tilted yesterday that he was even calling our avatar pics names. Stuff like "your baby is so ugly, I'd wipe my a$$ with his face." Now, that really doesn't bother me. My babies are both Gerber baby quality. (Love is blind. If you have kids, you really do think you're babies are the cutest ever born). Another player sat, nick KOPE, who is a very nice social player, and one of my biggest donators. Unfortunately his avatar is his (or her) baby's pic as well. After about 3 hands of listening to Vlad's BS about 'ugly baby', Kope leaves. There goes my ATM. Back to me and Blowhard Vlad.
I went about +100 on him pretty quick, and then he got hot and won most of it back. The typical lines: "where did your luck go fish?! I own you!"... the usual. All caps tossed in to let me know he was shouting at me.
After his cards cooled off, I went back to taking his chips. I'm in the middle of reading Your Best Poker Friend by Alan Schoonmaker. He includes a great discussion on putting your opponent on tilt. So I broke one of my cardinal rules of not responding to jackasses, and started needling Vladdy. No cussing, no ALL CAPS, just little zingers. I even sang to him a bit:
It's just a matter of time...
You'll lose your chips...
And whiiinnnneeee....
(Sung to the tune of that old country song - Two Sparrows in a Hurricane).
It had the desired effect. For the longest space ever, Vladdy didn't say a word. I finally asked him if his chat had been banned and got the "lets move up a level! I'll pwn you!" response.
Anyway, final session stats:
87 minutes. 257 hands. PSORG +138.50 (23.88 BB/hour. Average players 2.5, so yeah, it was almost exclusively a heads up match).
Vladdymogul -209.75
He paid me, he paid all the rake, and he paid a few other players who sat for a few hands here and there.
Vladdy, if you're reading this, I'd be happy to teach you 7 card stud. I'd even give you a discount. $80 bucks an hour. That's currently cheaper than the rate you paid yesterday. (23.88 BB/hour multiplied by the 2/4 limit = $95.52/hour)
Like two aces get'n cracked by fives...
all you ever do is cry...
With a head full of dreams but no skills, you'll lose everythiinnggg
Man, I gotta get this up on YouTube!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
90% rakeback at Absolute Poker?
Wow. I just did some quick math. My rakeback stats show I'm generating about 11 cents per raked hand. If I'm playing 2/4, I get 1 FAME point and 4 credits for every raked hand. 60 credits clears $1 in bonus. Got a headache yet?
The skinny is, if I'm clearing reloads (which I am perpetually doing at AP!) I earn $1 bonus for every $1.60 paid in rake. That's 60% rakeback. Tack on the 30% I'm earning from our standard Absolute Rakeback deal, and I'm earning ~90% rakeback if my math is anywhere close to being correct.
At $1/$2, I only earn one FAME point every 2 raked hands, so that math would fall apart there. Roughly $3.30 rake paid for every $1 bonus earned. That's still what.. around 33% rakeback. Add on my 30% rakeback deal, and it's still a nice 66% rakeback at AP.
I haven't even started calculating the fact that I can spend those earned credits for merchandise or points for cash trades. I need to sleep.... I'll run those numbers later.
Here's hoping AP doesn't catch on anytime soon and change the way we earn FAME points at 7 card stud tables. Antes > Blinds in the FAME program.
The skinny is, if I'm clearing reloads (which I am perpetually doing at AP!) I earn $1 bonus for every $1.60 paid in rake. That's 60% rakeback. Tack on the 30% I'm earning from our standard Absolute Rakeback deal, and I'm earning ~90% rakeback if my math is anywhere close to being correct.
At $1/$2, I only earn one FAME point every 2 raked hands, so that math would fall apart there. Roughly $3.30 rake paid for every $1 bonus earned. That's still what.. around 33% rakeback. Add on my 30% rakeback deal, and it's still a nice 66% rakeback at AP.
I haven't even started calculating the fact that I can spend those earned credits for merchandise or points for cash trades. I need to sleep.... I'll run those numbers later.
Here's hoping AP doesn't catch on anytime soon and change the way we earn FAME points at 7 card stud tables. Antes > Blinds in the FAME program.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Poker Pet Peeves
I have two on my mind. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd make a top 10 list. I'll make them brief so I don't get bored typing them, and you don't get bored reading them.
1. "Gawd I hate playing with all these idiots. I'd rather play a small game with good players than a big game with a bunch of fish!"
Wow. That's a paraphrase of a post on our no deposit bonus forum. Some goober who think's he's solid got bad beat out of a tourney (if you're decent, that will usually be how you get KO'd! That or a coin flip loss.) He wanted to let everyone know that he quit the forum because of it. His post was titled "what a joke".
This goes beyond the "table coach" peeve (which would be on my top 10). From what I understand, this guy is decent at cards. He's just an idiot when it comes to the fundamentals of winning at cards. Little does he know that "joke" he's talking about is on him.
2. All the people still screaming rigged and posting 4 month old 'news' posts regarding the super user scandals at Absolute and Ultimate Bet. Let it die already. The players who lost money to the insider cheats were all paid back, and paid back with interest at Absolute Poker! Ultimate Bet, the new ownership repaid the players who were affected, even though the scandal happened under the old owners. That's pretty classy in my book.
High dollar players have a right to be upset and untrusting of AP and UB. Everyone has a right to be upset that Absolute tried to keep things under wraps instead of dealing with the situation in an open manner. The entire poker industry has the right to be ticked at the bad press this generated and the potential fishy's who got spooked away.
My peeve is the lifetime losers who keep pounding away at this on forums and in their own heads justifying their losses with the "AP is rigged" mantra. Please, try a new mantra. Slowly, thinking deeply upon these words: I suck. I suck. I suck...ooohhmmmm. I suck. I suck...
I gave a very polite rebuttal to one of these type posters and his reply was just to tell me I was "trying to cover up for AP". Ok. Better than trying to cover up my -10 BB/100 hands with a couple of "we wuz cheatered!" posts each day, eh?
1. "Gawd I hate playing with all these idiots. I'd rather play a small game with good players than a big game with a bunch of fish!"
Wow. That's a paraphrase of a post on our no deposit bonus forum. Some goober who think's he's solid got bad beat out of a tourney (if you're decent, that will usually be how you get KO'd! That or a coin flip loss.) He wanted to let everyone know that he quit the forum because of it. His post was titled "what a joke".
This goes beyond the "table coach" peeve (which would be on my top 10). From what I understand, this guy is decent at cards. He's just an idiot when it comes to the fundamentals of winning at cards. Little does he know that "joke" he's talking about is on him.
2. All the people still screaming rigged and posting 4 month old 'news' posts regarding the super user scandals at Absolute and Ultimate Bet. Let it die already. The players who lost money to the insider cheats were all paid back, and paid back with interest at Absolute Poker! Ultimate Bet, the new ownership repaid the players who were affected, even though the scandal happened under the old owners. That's pretty classy in my book.
High dollar players have a right to be upset and untrusting of AP and UB. Everyone has a right to be upset that Absolute tried to keep things under wraps instead of dealing with the situation in an open manner. The entire poker industry has the right to be ticked at the bad press this generated and the potential fishy's who got spooked away.
My peeve is the lifetime losers who keep pounding away at this on forums and in their own heads justifying their losses with the "AP is rigged" mantra. Please, try a new mantra. Slowly, thinking deeply upon these words: I suck. I suck. I suck...ooohhmmmm. I suck. I suck...
I gave a very polite rebuttal to one of these type posters and his reply was just to tell me I was "trying to cover up for AP". Ok. Better than trying to cover up my -10 BB/100 hands with a couple of "we wuz cheatered!" posts each day, eh?
Diamonds? Nice FAME change. AP/UB Merge soon?
Kudo's to Absolute Poker for already making a change to the tiers of their loyalty program, FAME. When they first launched, the tables that I generally play (1/2 through 3/6 stud), you earned 1 FAME for every 2 raked hands. It wasn't until 5/10 level that you earned 1 FAME point per raked hand. They've moved that down so that now you earn 1 FAME point per raked hand starting at 2/4 on up.
I got to "platinum" status in July, but it took around 100 hours which is double what I normally put in during a month. I figured ahh, no way I'll do that on a regular basis. However, with this new change, and the fact that 2/4 tables aren't totally uncommon at Absolute, makes me think that earning the monthly 2500 points required won't be too difficult. Tack on the fact that Absolute and Ultimate Bet are merging into the Cereus network this month, and I see plenty of 2/4 and 3/6 action in my future at Absolute.
Who knows? Maybe I'll hit diamond status one month. You keep that status for 3 months once you've made it, whereas the plantinum status has to be earned monthly.
I got to "platinum" status in July, but it took around 100 hours which is double what I normally put in during a month. I figured ahh, no way I'll do that on a regular basis. However, with this new change, and the fact that 2/4 tables aren't totally uncommon at Absolute, makes me think that earning the monthly 2500 points required won't be too difficult. Tack on the fact that Absolute and Ultimate Bet are merging into the Cereus network this month, and I see plenty of 2/4 and 3/6 action in my future at Absolute.
Who knows? Maybe I'll hit diamond status one month. You keep that status for 3 months once you've made it, whereas the plantinum status has to be earned monthly.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Rounders
I recently rented and rewatched the movie Rounders. For those of you who don't know, Rounders is a great poker movie, maybe even one of the best made on the game. It features Matt Damon as a good card player with the ability to read what his opponents are holding. This got me thinking of some Daniel Negreanu videos I've seen on YouTube.
Daniel Negreanu, like Matt Damon's character in the movie, has the uncanny ability to predict his opponents pocket cards in Texas Hold'em. A tell when picked up will often give clues to the strength of an opponents hand. However, to be able to accurately foretell the exact hole cards as these two do is something else entirely. So how do they do it? Is it some kind of 6th sense as the commentators seem to claim, or is it through absolute observation and a knowledge of the game.
It certainly would be an excellent skill to have and would allow you to win many poker tournaments. However online poker is quite different from live poker games, as the person is not there to observe and pick tells from. Tells are only in the form of betting strategies, and time taken to bet. In addition to knowledge of their game play.
Check the Vids Below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv2C_m0D-gY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO8k47_lP0M
That first one is my favorite poker clip of all time. They're playing 7cs, which is my game. Damon does a great job of deducing the hands and it is very realistic if you know how to play stud and understand the thinking that goes into reading hands. What is also cool is the fact that he makes his bets with 0 regard to what he holds himself. He's making the betting decision based on what the other players hold.
Now... this wouldn't work in the low limits vs. imbeciles. The guy with 2 pair would never fold! Ahh well... 10/20, this could happen though. Of course, at 10/20, you'll rarely have that many people seeing the river!
FYI - the big difference in these two videos is the game being played. Negreanu's ability to read people in holdem is much more amazing, IMO. But then again.. I'm a stud player, so reading stud hands is something that comes a lot easier to me now. I'm still a holdem noob.
Daniel Negreanu, like Matt Damon's character in the movie, has the uncanny ability to predict his opponents pocket cards in Texas Hold'em. A tell when picked up will often give clues to the strength of an opponents hand. However, to be able to accurately foretell the exact hole cards as these two do is something else entirely. So how do they do it? Is it some kind of 6th sense as the commentators seem to claim, or is it through absolute observation and a knowledge of the game.
It certainly would be an excellent skill to have and would allow you to win many poker tournaments. However online poker is quite different from live poker games, as the person is not there to observe and pick tells from. Tells are only in the form of betting strategies, and time taken to bet. In addition to knowledge of their game play.
Check the Vids Below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv2C_m0D-gY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO8k47_lP0M
That first one is my favorite poker clip of all time. They're playing 7cs, which is my game. Damon does a great job of deducing the hands and it is very realistic if you know how to play stud and understand the thinking that goes into reading hands. What is also cool is the fact that he makes his bets with 0 regard to what he holds himself. He's making the betting decision based on what the other players hold.
Now... this wouldn't work in the low limits vs. imbeciles. The guy with 2 pair would never fold! Ahh well... 10/20, this could happen though. Of course, at 10/20, you'll rarely have that many people seeing the river!
FYI - the big difference in these two videos is the game being played. Negreanu's ability to read people in holdem is much more amazing, IMO. But then again.. I'm a stud player, so reading stud hands is something that comes a lot easier to me now. I'm still a holdem noob.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Lightning Fast Update
I need to sleep. This'll be short and sweet.
1. I'm trying to get to the platinum level in the Absolute Poker FAME program this month. It requires 2500 fame points. I'm at 2475, so should close that out during my next session. I generally only play about 40 hours a month, but this month it'll be well over 100 hours.
2. You'd think with all the extra hours I'm putting in, it would mean a big boost to the roll. Wrong. After bumping up to about $1100 and then dropping a bit, I've been treading water at about $800. I'm probably playing a bit fatigued with a newborn and doubling the amount I usually play. But I really feel it's just variance. Looking at my PT stats from today's session where I dropped about $100, I lost with AA, KK, QQ about 75% of the time. That's not normal. The problem was not catching that 2nd pair. I lost count of the times my split aces would go down to 88 66 or some such garbage. Frustrating.
3. After I get to the 2500 points, I may take a week off. I just wanted to do it to see how much of a pain it would be. Proves quite the pain at 1/2 and 2/4 stud. If there was a regular 5/10 game, it would be a cinch. The 5/10 7cs level would be perfect for FAME points. Rarely do you see a "good" 5/10 game going though. 2/4 does decent, but the games grow/die/grow/die all day. 1/2 is really the only constant.
4. Surprisingly, I've been able to work and play, even with the newborn. He's not got any of the issues that Dylan had that kept us both up practically every night 2 years ago. Muchas gracias Dios!
So that's about it. As testament to a warped month, my PT stats show me earning a big 1.27 BB's per 100 hands. Meanwhile, I'm minus $6 bucks for the month. Funky eh? Really crappy albeit short 5/10 session a couple nights ago is the main reason for that. My earnings this month have been bonus and rakeback. Blah. Here's hoping for a stellar final week of July (if I play much at all at the end of the month!)
1. I'm trying to get to the platinum level in the Absolute Poker FAME program this month. It requires 2500 fame points. I'm at 2475, so should close that out during my next session. I generally only play about 40 hours a month, but this month it'll be well over 100 hours.
2. You'd think with all the extra hours I'm putting in, it would mean a big boost to the roll. Wrong. After bumping up to about $1100 and then dropping a bit, I've been treading water at about $800. I'm probably playing a bit fatigued with a newborn and doubling the amount I usually play. But I really feel it's just variance. Looking at my PT stats from today's session where I dropped about $100, I lost with AA, KK, QQ about 75% of the time. That's not normal. The problem was not catching that 2nd pair. I lost count of the times my split aces would go down to 88 66 or some such garbage. Frustrating.
3. After I get to the 2500 points, I may take a week off. I just wanted to do it to see how much of a pain it would be. Proves quite the pain at 1/2 and 2/4 stud. If there was a regular 5/10 game, it would be a cinch. The 5/10 7cs level would be perfect for FAME points. Rarely do you see a "good" 5/10 game going though. 2/4 does decent, but the games grow/die/grow/die all day. 1/2 is really the only constant.
4. Surprisingly, I've been able to work and play, even with the newborn. He's not got any of the issues that Dylan had that kept us both up practically every night 2 years ago. Muchas gracias Dios!
So that's about it. As testament to a warped month, my PT stats show me earning a big 1.27 BB's per 100 hands. Meanwhile, I'm minus $6 bucks for the month. Funky eh? Really crappy albeit short 5/10 session a couple nights ago is the main reason for that. My earnings this month have been bonus and rakeback. Blah. Here's hoping for a stellar final week of July (if I play much at all at the end of the month!)
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