March 10th, 2005 (Thursday)

For last night, I didn't play any poker but I did manage to get a solid amount of work done with my application. I've finished the draft of the data dictionary like I wanted and forwarded the latest changes to the developer to incorporate into the application. I've also run into a few small problems with a few of my reports - so I'll have to return to those tonight to figure out how to get them fixed.

I've also started examining the data I have about my opponents in both limit omaha hi/lo and pot limit omaha hi/lo. One of the players I had marked as a passive fish has turned out to be a profitable player in a big way (28BB/100 over 783 hands), so I'll need to at least pay attention to him for the future.

Tonight, I'll probably work some more on the app - I've already accepted that I missed my own date for beta release, but I'm also confident because we are in the very final stages now. If it was just me holding things up (for more reports), then I'd probably release it now. However, there are a few outstanding bugs that need to be resolved first.

I'll probably check back in later with a plan of attack for the night once I know what else I need to do tonight. Until then - have fun at the tables.

(Continued)

Hmmm... Things just got complicated. I've got a list of things left to work on for my application which I intended on working on tonight. However, I also just learned that PokerStars is doing a reload bonus starting today and continuing until March 17th. This would normally be fine, except some of my money is currently tied up at Interpoker while I was working on the bonus over there. Since the Crypto sites have been known to take their time - it would seem to be in my best interest to finish that up tonight and possibly tomorrow to get my money out - and then be able to deposit into Pokerstars on Tuesday or Wednesday - maybe even Thursday. I don't like cutting things down to the wire, but if need be, I will.

Luckily, I do have about $500 on my Neteller account right now, so even if I don't get the money in on time, I'll still be able to take advantage of most of the bonus - just not the maximum.

Lastly, I read somewhere that UltimateBet was doing a reload bonus too - but I haven't found anything to confirm this as of yet. If that is the case, I will likely miss it because of the timing of things (I'd much rather have Pokerstars bonus money than Ultimate Bet bonus money...). I still have around $100 of bonus on UB to unlock anyway - so its no big loss if I don't make this one...

But as I said, this makes things more complicated.

Tonight, after the kids are in bed (so starting around 9:30 or even 10pm...), I'll pop onto 2 tables at Interpoker and play until midnight, maybe even 1am. Whilst I am there, I will also work on my application with what I can - at the very least to finish up the 5-6 reports that I have left to code up. Hopefully I can get started on the help file as well. This also means I probably won't have a chance to test the full install, which I'm informed should be working fully now, or the criteria page, which still has a few bugs that need to be worked out.

Trying to figure out where I am in terms of that bonus - I played 298 hands at Interpoker the other night over the course of 297 table-minutes (or approximately 1 hand/minute). I was estimating that somewhere between 40% and 60% of those were raked - so, assuming that is correct, I have 120-180 raked hands completed out of a needed 450. This means I'll need another 270-330 raked hands to complete the bonus, which translates to 450-550 hands. In short - I don't think I'll be able to finish off the bonus tonight - unless I am able to add a third table.

In terms of my application, while I was at my real job today, I had a revelation about the issues I was facing and have now come up with the solution for them, so I should be able to finish off the rest of the reports without too much problem.

Good luck to everyone tonight.

Yeah, I thought the call with A4s was a little loose preflop, but I can't fault your play on the rest of the streets. I had 88, but no one folded to 2 bets and then the overcard hit, so I shut down.

Actually, that hand wasn't too bad - some of the others that no one saw - now those were bad...

However, as I said, a fair amount of time I'm playing on the fact that I can push the table around. There were a couple of times I checked on the turn and then check-raised on the river - and they folded. These are the plays I'll make at the Cryptos that I won't go near when I'm at Stars or UB or Empire.

/d

March 11th, 2005 (Friday)

Alright, so I've been giving this some thought - this month might just be the big one I've been looking for. Here's some reasons why?

1. Currently, I have played 8/10 days. Over that time, I have put in 26 hours at the tables and netted a profit of $180.80.
2. I still have some pretty nice bonuses coming my way that I'm already working towards:
2a. $90 from Interpoker - should be done tonight
2b. $120 from Pokerstars - should be started after the weekend
2c. $125 from UB (I've got $177 there actually) - I'll probably work a little more on this.
3. $2/$4 seems to still be treating me well - but time will tell on that one.

So, with the first two bonuses plus my net profit so far, that puts me at $390. I'll probably double my hours, so add another $110 to that (because I've made about $70 in bonus money so far). That brings me to a cool $500.

How does this make it a big month? Well, first of all, it exceeds my original goal ($300), and hits the first level of the plan I set out at the beginning of the month.

Beyond that, the results I've had thus far from cards have not been very impressive - and definitely below my standard. This means I feel I can do significantly better that the $110 in 26 hours. I would love it if I actually managed to put up $200 or more in non-bonus money before the end of the month.

Factors that could prevent me from reaching my goals: Life mostly. I won't be playing Saturday and not likely on Sunday (except for the BTP tournament maybe) or even Monday for that matter because of my birthday dinner out (Saturday) and dinner at home with my father on Monday (for both our birthdays).

Later this month, I've got my 2 root canals - which should knock me out for at least a day - maybe two. There's also Easter to deal with.

March 14th, 2005 (Monday)

So today's my birthday and I'm at work. I checked my email a minute ago and found that Interpoker has deposited $10 into my account with no release requirement. Nice! Since I wasn't even sure I was going to play tonight, this puts me $10 up with no minutes logged... anyone want to figure the hourly rate on that? This deposit also puts me up to over $400 in profits for the month - so I'm in good position to hit stage two of my bankroll plan for the month (see the 2nd post of this thread for that plan).

In any case, I'll be doing dinner at home tonight with Lindsay, Mark and Mandy (who also just had a birthday on Saturday). Nothing too complex probably, but it will be nice to have another dinner with some people. One thing that I don't always realize is that I don't give myself enough opportunity to socialize with people other than my wife and my kids. This probably means I won't play any cards tonight, but its my birthday, so I don't mind taking a break.

Tommorow, we are taking delivery of our new mattress. Lindsay's been on cloud nine waiting for this thing to show up and I have to admit I'm glad its coming. Nothing like spending a grand on something and having to wait a few weeks before you get to actually enjoy it... In any case, I expect it will take a few nights to get used to it - so I'm not really expecting to get much sleep in the upcoming days. The couch and recliner we ordered are still a few weeks away, but at least we'll have something tomorrow.

If I do get to play tonight, I'll probably give another go at the $10 rebuy tournament, though if I get on the computer before 9:15pm, the $10+1 Omaha Hi/Lo tournament will definitely be on my list. I doubt I'll make that one though.

hey Star
I don't reply much, but keep writing...I read always read your journal...
B

Yeah - I'm pretty happy with the solid hourly rate thus far. Even if I have another down day at Pokerstars the next time I play (when I'll finish up the bonus) - it will be offset by the $120 bonus that will be released.

I had a hand last night that reminded me of the game I was playing with Norton at the table the other night. This hand happened to be with Mark, a real-life friend, and someone whom I can read very easily.

I'm in MP with Axo and he's UTG and open raises. Right now, unless he's bluffing, I can pretty safely put him on a pair 10s or higher, AK and a small likelihood of AQs. Since I've got an ace - I'm hoping this means he doesn't have one - and decide to call.

I made this call - I freely admit it is a non-optimal one. However, there's more going on here than you might think. Mark respects my play - anytime I step "outside of the box" he takes offense to it - as if I made the play to personally affront him. This, in essence, puts him on minor tilt - just because I played the cards in the non-optimal way (which by putting him on tilt, makes it more optimal - go figure). If I happen to win with the hand - he's absolutely fuming... so back to the hand.

I flat call his raise and everyone else folds. The flop is AJ4, so I have top pair with a weak kicker. He bets, I raise and he reraises.

At this point, I have to think about what he has. I do not give him credit for two pair - as that simply isn't an option, unless he came in with AJs for a raise UTG - and for him - that's just not happening. So what remains is a) AK, AQs b) JJ c) AA or d) KK or QQ or TT

In scenario A - he very well could play this way - but AJ would definitely be on his mind for my cards. As such - I think he would probably not 3-bet here - fearing that exact combination.

In scenario B and C - I very much doubt he would've led at the pot with top or middle set and then 3-bet when I raised. He knows I'm aggressive - but he would rather hang me with a set and slow play it. If 44 was an option - I could see him leading out with this - but as I said, I didn't really consider this among his hands.

So this leaves me with Scenario D - he likes to make big moves with his big pairs. He has been known to push them hard even when someone seems to be showing cards to beat him. His three bet - therefore - indicates to me that he has one of these two pairs - and in fact, I put him on KK.

Alright - back to the hand and he has 3-bet me. I flat call - confident now that I'm actually ahead. The turn is a low card (a six I think) and he bets again and I call. The river is a queen, and again he bets (by betting out here, he doesn't have the queens because - again - he would try to set me up for a check-raise). Now, again confident that I have him beat - and that even if I don't that I can show my cards and put him on minor tilt, I raise. He thinks for a while and calls. He shows his cards (pocket kings) and starts laying into me about making such a bad preflop call. He stays at the table until I leave, and I have recovered my losses on that table for the night (I was down around $80 before this hand, and he dumped a little more off in the next few rounds).

March 16th, 2005 (Wednesday)

Well, just had a pleasant surprise to end my work day. Lindsay and I have been planning a trip to Foxwoods for May for her birthday/mother's day/valentine's day. When I was online looking at the reservations that I will be making, I also looked at the upcoming shows and noticed that Bill Engvall is coming to the Fox Theatre on March 25th (well before our scheduled trip). She and I absolutely love the Blue Collar tour and especially his "Here's your sign" stuff - so we wanted to go - despite the fact that we really shouldn't be spending the money on it... In any case, when I had looked (about a month ago), the show was sold out.

This morning, he had a short talk on the radio station I listen to, so my wife suggested I take another look and see if some tickets had been freed up. Just to humor her - I did (very much not expecting any to be available...) - and lo and behold - there were some tickets. A few quick calls later and I'm the brand new owner of four tickets (so that we can go with a couple of friends). Now she's on the phone looking for a baby sitter...

To make this better, I'll probably have the opportunity to play a little poker while I'm there. Probably not a lot - but I will try to get some time in. Also, this will give me an opportunity to pick up a Wampum card so that I might be able to take advantage of a discount for our trip in May. Its all coming together now...

In any case, I almost want to play poker tonight just because I'm in such a good mood. Hell, I'd download a poker client now if I thought it wouldn't get me fired (and believe me - it would...).