you can't expect to be playing your a-game (esp. HU/SH) after not playing for four months --give it some time.

also note that low limits at party are probably full of bonus chasers, so the games may not be that good.

hang in there... you'll get it back.

My annotated monthly W/L for the last little bit.
04/2005: +214 <------ Starting playing LO8
05/2005: +716 <------ Actually learned how to play LO8
06/2005: +277
07/2005: +298 <-------- Switched to PLO8
08/2005: +548
09/2005: +1099 <-------- Actually learned how to play PLO8
10/2005: +505
11/2005: +1322 <-------- Moved up to $100 / $200 games
12/2005: +169 <-------- School starts
01/2006: +633
02/2006: +410
03/2006: -4.6 <-------- Project starts
04/2006: 0
05/2006: 0
06/2006: 0
07/2006: 0
07/2006: +32 <-------- Project ends

I am posting this list for 2 reasons
- To point out that I had a solid win today to push me into the positive for this month. Yeh!
- To lament the mistakes I am making. I noticed a significant drop in my abilities when school started, and noticed another significant drop when my project started. Now I feel I have to relearn the lessons that I learned through pain about this time last year.

Most likely after getting out of school I am going to work for google, so the money isn’t that big a deal anymore. It is just frustrating to be looking back at a session where I made a mistake, then remembering a similar situation, and looking back at my notes for a previous session and seeing a comment about the exact mistake.

Anywho, I am enjoying playing again which I wasn’t 6ish months ago so that is good. I also have the energy to improve which I also didn’t 6ish months ago, so I am sure I will get my old form back (esp SHed), and in the mean time I just have to be patient (ironically one the main things that I have having trouble with SHed).

Signed up at Hollywood for the signup bonus and I think their $25 tables (at least last night) are better then Partys. I saw 3 tables with ave pots > $12 all of which have player per flop above 65%. There was also one game that had an average pot > $20. Add that to the bonus and I think they are going to get my secondary table business.

The session was an eh. At the $25 tables I won 2 stacks with a boat, but then didn't win another hand. At the bigger tables ($100 and $200) I won a bunch of hands but all the big hands that I made, everyone folded to my flop bet. However, all of the times I tried to steal a pot someone called me. This is just short term variance (the players at this level aren't smart enough to pick up on that), but it is frustrating none the less.

I only won $2 but I was bonus whoring like mad so I
- cleared $19 from WillHill
- another 80 hands from Inter (180 total, so 320 to go)
- 30 Hollywood Player point (worth around $6, woot!)

Another random note. I find it interesting how hard it is for my to adjust to a new site. I don't mean the players, I mean the UI. While playing at Hollywood I missed posting my blinds twice, I posted when I didn't want to twice, I got timed out three times, and just generally felt awkward. The UI really isn’t that different then the other sites I play, but by now the Crypto / Party interface is so familiar that it is kinda soothing. Strange.

Sat down to play a short SHed session at the $200 tables and some generous people decided to throw some money at me.

Game #3332976334: Omaha H/L PL ($1/$2) - 2006/09/03 - 22:32:25 (ET)
Table "hopesfears" Seat 1 is the button.
Seat 1: Jourji ($192.12 in chips)
Seat 2: Gar130411 ($100.49 in chips)
Seat 6: Lucky12 ($75 in chips)
Seat 7: Sim250820 ($68.13 in chips)
Seat 8: Ya_right ($171.83 in chips)
Seat 10: TurtlSoup ($417.75 in chips)
Gar130411: posts small blind $1
Lucky12: posts big blind $2
----- HOLE CARDS -----

dealt to TurtlSoup
Sim250820: calls $2
Ya_right: folds
TurtlSoup: calls $2
Jourji: calls $2
Gar130411: raises to $4
Lucky12: calls $2
Sim250820: calls $2
TurtlSoup: calls $2
Jourji: calls $2

----- FLOP -----
Gar130411: bets $2
Lucky12: raises to $4
Sim250820: folds
TurtlSoup: calls $4
Jourji: folds
Gar130411: calls $2
----- TURN -----
Gar130411: checks
Lucky12: bets $2
TurtlSoup: raises to $38
Gar130411: raises to $74
Lucky12: folds
TurtlSoup: raises to $110
Gar130411: is all-in $18.49
Returned uncalled bets $17.51 to TurtlSoup
----- RIVER -----
----- SHOW DOWN -----
TurtlSoup: shows (A Straight, Queen high)
Gar130411: shows (A Straight, Ten high)
TurtlSoup collects $215.98 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot $218.98 Main pot $215.98 Rake $3
Board [Td 8h 7s 9s Qd]
Seat 1: Jourji (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: Gar130411 (small blind) showed [8d 6d 7c 9h] and lost
Seat 6: Lucky12 (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 7: Sim250820 folded on the Flop
Seat 8: Ya_right folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 10: TurtlSoup showed [Jh 5d Qc Ad] and won ($215.98) with HI: A Straight, Queen high
****HAND ENDS****

I usually don’t play it like this but I knew Gar130411 was just waiting to give someone his stack, and luckily he gave it to me.

After multiple hands like this I was up 1 ½ buys and all the fish left. It ended up 4 way and I started playing passive because I didn’t want to mess up this big session. After realizing that I decided it was time to stop, it was only suppose to be a short session anyway.

sounds like you're on a good run... nicely done.

Played very well except one donk bet. I attempted to bet a scare card without really thinking about my opponents stack size and got myself pot committed. The bad part was that with my donk play I actually made it correct for him to call my previous bet (which it shouldn't have been).

Got a long 4 tabling session in, including a tiny bit of SHed. Even with that one donkey hand I ended up winning a little over a stack. Currently I am running really good, I hope it continues *knock on wood*.

My favorite hand of the day. This is the way to get value out of a great flop.

Omaha Hi/Low $1-$2 PL (real money), hand #961,118,798
Table Chengdu, 6 Sep 2006 3:37 PM ET

Seat 1: tarheel06 ($45.60 in chips)
Seat 2: toppair29 ($256.15 in chips)
Seat 3: cubelain ($111.50 in chips)
Seat 4: frye23 ($38.85 in chips)
Seat 6: BBW55 ($84.15 in chips)
Seat 7: 1409rporter ($41.00 in chips)
Seat 8: IAmABuggyBot , , , ($144.00 in chips)
Seat 9: Girli1979 ($28.65 in chips)
Seat 10: xx_pamela_xx ($380.20 in chips)
ANTES/BLINDS
xx_pamela_xx posts blind ($1), tarheel06 posts blind ($1).

PRE-FLOP
toppair29 folds, cubelain folds, frye23 calls $1, BBW55 calls $1, 1409rporter folds, IAmABuggyBot bets $6, Girli1979 folds, xx_pamela_xx folds, tarheel06 calls $5, frye23 folds, BBW55 calls $5.

FLOP [board cards , ,
tarheel06 bets $1, BBW55 calls $1, IAmABuggyBot calls $1.

TURN [board cards , , ,
tarheel06 bets $2, BBW55 calls $2, IAmABuggyBot folds.

RIVER [board cards , , , ,
tarheel06 bets $2.50, BBW55 calls $2.50.

SHOWDOWN
tarheel06 shows , , ,
BBW55 mucks cards
tarheel06 wins $30.

My guess is that BBw55 had the other 2 A's

This session also set the high water mark for my PLO8 winnings. Right before I stopped playing I had a nasty run and lost approx $500. I have now made all of that back and then some. Yeh!