I know - it is something that will have to change. I actually went to bed last night and said to myself that it has to turn around. Not because I want it to, not because I think it should. It just has to.

There were two hands early on last night which I know I played too loosely - but as soon as I identified them, it was easy to put my hand on it to stop. Now I need my good hands to hold up consistently...

Anyway, I'm confident it will turn around, and that's the mindframe I'm keeping.

Seems like we are all hitting one of these losing streaks recently and so far, everyone has been pulling through alright. Hang in there and good luck for the future.

April 21st, 2005 (Thursday)

Well, this month just won't end. In trying to clear out the bonus of $100 at Interpoker, I dropped $376 for a $276 net. That's just atrocious.

I am going to try to pick up one of the other Cryptos (probably William Hill) with a $100 deposit and 2-table it to my 5 hours. Other than that, I'll probably play a little at UB so that I can withdraw there in the future (if you deposit for a bonus and then try to withdraw without playing, they might flag your account and interrupt the withdrawal temporarily).

Other than that, I've got to get in more hours at Games Grid and hopefully be able to move back up to $2/$4 soon ($3 hour sucks compared to $6/hour...). I'll try to be on 2 $1/$2 tables to help compensate.

However, tonight, I will probably just take the night off. Lindsay and I are meeting at the mall so the kids can play in the playspace there. We would be going to a park, but its a rainy-raw day today (which is similar to my mood...). We'll probably get home late for their bed times (probably 8:30pm or so) and then I'll consider going online - but I think it might be better to just take a break today. Tomorrow night, Lindsay's going to a concert and I'll be at home to play as much as I choose after the kids go to bed - so I'll have plenty of time then to play.

I might actually start working on a project I've had in mind for a while. I'm a lego person and I'm obsessed about castles and creating my own lego castle has been an item on my list for a long time. I've been hoarding pieces that would work well for it for a while and now have in the order of 2-3000 pieces to build with. While it isn't enough for what I want to do - it should be more than enough to get me started tonight. That actually sounds like a good deal of fun.

Another option is to get cracking again on writing - which of course is still by the wayside. I've had an idea I've been tossing about in my head, but I'm just not sure how it is going to work out - so I'm still thinking about it. Soon though, I'll need to start writing it to make sure that I can get it onto paper.

I didn't know

I've already got money heading to neteller - so once that is cleared I'll move it on over.

April 22nd - 24th, 2005 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

Let me just start this by saying "Boo Yah!" I'm not sure that I'll really have anything substantive in this post, but hopefully I'll manage something.

On Friday, I played from just before 9pm until almost 2am since Lindsay was over a friend's house after the Kelly Clarkson concert (which apparently was very good).

In any case, I only played on one hold'em table at GamesGrid during that time, but finished up there by almost $25 plus another $7 in bonus money. That might seem slow to some, but realize also that I would be making another $3/hour on top of that from the prop play (make it $2/$4 and I'd be making $6/hour).

I also played on UltimateBet - a $1/$2 Omaha Hi/Lo table and a $2/$4 Omaha Hi/Lo table. Between the two, I was down $9 plus another $25 of bonus money or so.

Lastly, I played 2 of the $5+.50 tournaments on UB with points I've earned (so they cost me nothing). In the first, I went out when I flopped top pair with AQ and pushed my shortish stack against my only opponent. He had hit 2 pair with his A2 on the A26 flop. He called a raise from me preflop - so I feel I won that hand. Too bad it meant I got knocked out...

In any case, the second one I played went much better, but I still got knocked out well before the money line (90th) - I finished 169th. My play during the tournament was solid though and left me feeling good about myself.

Numbers from Friday:

GG 4/22 8:51pm $1/$2 HE ring (9) $40 buyin, 1:52am, xx hands, +24.75
GG 4/22 8:51pm - 1:52 am, +7
$129.72 (+1 - tomorrow), ($2949)

UB 4/22 8:56pm $1/$2 O8 ring (10) $50 buyin, 10:32pm, 94 hands, +7.75, 44.75 UB points
UB 4/22 9:09pm $2/$4 O8 ring (10) $100 buyin, $50 rebuy, 1:55am, 272 hands, -16.75, 210.25 UB points
UB 4/22 9:20pm $5+.50 NL HE multi (769) 1250+125 pts, $3500 guaranteed, 565th, 9:46pm, 0
UB 4/22 11:00pm $5+.50 NL HE multi (842) 1250+125 pts, $3000 guaranteed, 169th, 12:53am, 0
$284.81 ($113.29)

On Saturday, I started the 300 raked hands for $30 on Interpoker with 2 $1/$2 tables (Hold'em and Omaha Hi/Lo) during the day. I played for a little more than an hour and finished up to the tune of $15. However, I was also playing a $2/$4 table at GamesGrid and finished down there by $50 - so it officially sucked as an afternoon session...

Later on, I played some more at Interpoker ($1/$2 O8 and $1/$2 HE to start). I did reasonably well, and the Omaha table broke up, so I decided to switch things up and added a Stud table for a while.

I also played some more at GamesGrid in the evening - a little on an Omaha Hi/Lo table I tried to start and some more on a $2/$4 table. Between the two of these, I was up $49, so the afternoon session was a wash.

Numbers from Saturday:

IP 4/23 3:00pm $1/$2 HE ring (10) $40 buyin, 4:18pm, 63 hands, +8.20
IP 4/23 3:05pm $1/$2 O8 ring (10) $40 buyin, 4:04pm, 42 hands, +7.50

GG 4/23 3:03pm $2/$4 HE ring (9) $80 buyin, $40 rebuy, 5:30pm, xx hands, -50
$79.72 (27.50 points, $2949)

IP 4/23 8:12pm $1/$2 O8 ring (10) $40 buyin, 10:00pm, 74 hands, +3.75 (table broke)
IP 4/23 8:15pm $1/$2 HE ring (10) $40 buyin, 10:49pm, 147 hands, +17.25
IP 4/23 10:05pm $1/$2 Stud ring (8) $40 buyin, 10:41pm, 22 hands, +7.25
IP 4/23 8:12pm - 10:49pm, 243 hands, 0
$164.72

GG 4/23 8:18pm $1/$2 O8 ring (9) - start table, $40 buyin, < 10 hands 3 handed, 8:45pm, +9
GG 4/23 8:54pm $2/$4 HE ring (9) $80 buyin, 10:46pm, +40
$128.72 + 8 (136.72) (41.25 points, $2949)

On Sunday, I didn't have a lot of opportunity to play - just an hour in the afternoon when the kids were down for a nap and then a few minutes before Lindsay and I went out for a movie. I finished up everywhere, and by coincidence, managed to finish the 300 hands right before I left - so it was a nice day...

Numbers from Sunday:

IP 4/24 2:18pm $1/$2 Stud ring (8) $40 buyin, 3:03pm, 24 hands, +64
IP 4/24 2:18pm $1/$2 HE ring (8) $40 buyin, 3:10pm, 44 hands, +17
IP 4/24 2:18pm -3:10pm 68 hands, 0
$245.72

IP 4/24 8/30pm $1/$2 Stud ring (8) $40 buyin, 8:52pm, 16 hands, +35.07
IP 4/24 8:30-8:52pm 16 hands, +30
$310.79

Net change for the weekend: $245.26
Net time for the weekend: 11.417 hours, 27.700 table-hours

Total Net change for the month: ($205.42)
Total Net time for the month (actual hours): 71.867 hours
Total Net time for the month (table-hours): 176.717 table-hours

Real-Hourly rate: ($2.858/hr)
Table-Hourly rate: ($1.162/t-hr)

April 25th, 2005 (Monday)

So, it occurred to me after I made my most recent post that my $200 loss for the month so far is going to be cut in half from the prop play at GamesGrid. I should be taking in $100-$115 from it for the past week, so I am in a strong position now, and officially back to a better mood. The most important part of the prop play is the fact that it will bring my bankroll there back up to a reasonable amount...

Tonight is the infamous HORSE tournament, and I must say that it is getting quite lucrative with the overlay that Tighty is putting up. I've tried, unsuccessfully to get some others to play, and I can't understand why. It is a cheap, smack-talking fun tournament. Even when I was down $400 I was looking forward to it. I hope I can manage a better finish tonight (and given that I finished dead last... well, you get the point). So far, I'm still running positive from the three previous tournaments ($5.50 for three tournaments ($16.50), 1st place for the first one ($37.50, $25 last longer bet), $15 last longer bet in the second that I lost, and another $10 side bet in the third - so I've put in a total of $41.50 and got back $57 - so even if I lose tonight I am in good shape...

My money cleared into Neteller this morning, so I should be able to get into one of the other cryptos tonight if I choose to do that. I might just have one table at GamesGrid, the tournament and one more table at Full Tilt (or a second GG one if a good one shows up).

By the way - I never mentioned the resolution to the GamesGrid crash problem where I had money involved in a hand. It was resolved, though not exactly in the best way. Essentially they told me that in the even the server crashes, all bets are returned and the hand is stopped. What I was hoping for was verification that my money was returned - because at the time I thought I had been shorted. Since that time, I realize that I wasn't shorted - so it is a non-issue. In the future, I hope they will provide evidence to back up the decisions that were made (and since I know that a few of the important people over there will read this - consider this a request for an improvement ).

April 26th, 27th, 2005 (Tuesday, Wednesday)

Spent the day at home yesterday to help take care of the kids and my wife since the three of them were dead-dog sick and I wasn't feeling too hot myself... I did play some poker both days, but with a light load to handle.

I deposited onto William Hill on Tuesday but after I did, found out that my account was suspended. I emailed them and by Wednesday morning they had replied. It was a "random security check," which I had passed - so everything was unlocked and I could play.

On Tuesday, I was talking with a friend on the phone and wasn't really concentrating too much, so I kept it to one table on Games Grid. I finished down, but when you take into account the bonus and the prop play - it was pretty close to a wash - so I'm not too concerned.

On Wednesday, I finally hit the positive for the month of April. I'm now up something like $16.08 and since the next prop play payment won't be until Monday and into May - I'll have to work hard to make it a respectable number. Still positive from being down over $450 - is a good place to be.

I played only Stud at William Hill, as that's something I've been wanting to play more and more. Since they have a good selection of it - it seems a good way to play the bonus over there.

I also played a table at GamesGrid last night and was up a little bit to essentially knock off the loss from Tuesday.

Here's the numbers:

WH 4/26 $200 deposit - account suspended
GG 4/26 9:05pm $2/$4 HE ring (9) $80 buyin, $30 rebuy, 11:27pm, -42
$210.10 +5 (26.50, 2932)

WH 4/27 1:57pm $1/$2 Stud (8) $40 buyin, 3:33pm, 58 hands, +29.25
WH 4/27 2:00pm $1/$2 Stud (8) $40 buyin, 2:18pm, 11 hands, -10.50
WH 4/27 2:19pm $1/$2 Stud (8) $40 buyin, 3:32pm, 48 hands, -2.50
WH 4/27 1:57pm - 3:33pm $19.10 bonus dollars
$235.35

WH 4/27 10:05pm $1/$2 Stud (8) $40 buyin, $20 rebuy, 11:17pm, 51 hands, -14.50
WH 4/27 10:20pm $1/$2 Stud (8) $40 buyin, 11:41pm, 58 hands, +14.50
WH 4/27 10:05pm - 11:41pm 109 hands, $28.65 bonus dollars
$264.00

GG 4/27 10:20pm $2/$4 HE ring (9) $80 buyin, 11:32pm, +24
$239.10 +1 (8.25, 2927)

Net change for the two days: $52.00
Net time for the two days: 5.567 hours, 9.233 table-hours

Total Net change for the month: $16.08
Total Net time for the month (actual hours): 80.283 hours
Total Net time for the month (table-hours): 193.267 table-hours

Real-Hourly rate: $0.200/hr
Table-Hourly rate: $0.083/t-hr

April 28th, 2005 (Thursday)

Back to the black and feeling much better. My next goal is to break $200 for the month with only 3 days left to play. A tough goal to reach, especially with very few bonuses for me to work towards, but it will be the goal.

I found out today that my wife accidentally paid the wrong amount on our mortgage payment this month. It wasn't too little and normally that wouldn't matter, except this month, we're running just a little tighter than we had been. And as such, I had to move some money around to compensate. In the end though, its an extra $40 on the mortgage payment, which makes about a $200 difference on the end in interest charges...

I was thinking about some of the bonus offers out there and wondering why people play hold'em to release them. Frankly, hold'em generates some of the smallest pots out there, and frequently a pot won't qualify for it. While Omaha and Stud are generally slower, just about every hand is raked, and to great extent.

Picture the following:

1. Interpoker (or most sites that look just for a raked hand) - 800 raked hands to get $100. You get 60-80 hands/t-hr at hold'em, but only 25-50% of them are raked. You clear from 15-40 raked hands per t-hour and it will take 20+ t-hours to clear the bonus. If you played Omaha you might get only 40-60 hands per t-hour, but closer to 80% of the hands are raked. Now you get 32-48 raked hands/t-hr. At stud it is even a greater percentage. For instance, I played 300 hands of it in the past week and 290 of them were raked. That's a pretty high amount...

2. Ultimate Bet (or sites that look for a certain threshold) - here you need the rake to build up to get more released - hold'em has the smallest pots in general - so you end up clearing a pitiful amount at 1/2, but it gets better at 2/4 and 3/6. Omaha is pretty good at 1/2 and very good at 2/4.

At the Party skins - there's probably little difference, as the average pot size on most tables is pretty exaggerated from the rest of the sites - but I'd still say it is easier to get a raked hand in a game other than hold'em.

Add to all this that very few know how to play Omaha or Stud well - and it is a pretty good pit to jump into with a little bit of preparation. People wonder why I don't like to play hold'em - but if you saw some of the things I see in Stud or Omaha - you'd wonder why I'd ever want to go back.

Anyway, back on topic here, I probably won't get much opportunity to play today, maybe an hour or two. I've got some work to do on other things and that will keep me pretty busy I think. Friday and Saturday are still up in the air, and I think Lindsay wants to go to the drivein on Friday night if she's not working.

I pretty much clear all my bonues playing $25 PLO now since about 80-85% of hands seem to be raked.

Good to see your back in black buddy! I hope you reach your goal of pulling in a decently postive month.

As for only playing hold'em to unlock bonuses...well...i suck at everything else and i make money at holdem.