Seeing as how this journal is about beer, what is your level of brewing sophistication? Kits? Malt extract with a partial mash? Full mash and sparge? When someone mentions Michael Jackson does beer come immediately to mind? Do you bottle or keg? Grow your own hops? Experiment with adding fruit?

This is a promising journal.

I still consider myself a novice brewer. I tried one kit then read a couple books and began visiting one of the local homebrew stores. Most recipe's I brew these days are partial mash. All Ale's to this point as I don't have a low temp set up for lagers.

Favorites so far

Oatmeal Cookie Stout
Cherry Wheat
Cascade Ale

I have also tried several more complex recipe's with coffee, Cinamon, Honey and a myriad of other fruit and spice ingredients but of the dozen or so recipe's I've experimented with I prefer the three above best.

I currently have a 5 gallon batch of Oatmeal Cookie Stout bubbling away in the pantry. Cooked it up on Saturday, will be ready for secondary this coming weekend and bottling about 10 days later.

I have not tried kegging yet but that is probably the next investment I will make. I currently have 6 cases of 22 oz bottles and 2 cases of the Grolsh style flip tops. I seldom have more than 2 cases of empties as I really do enjoy the brewing process. Kind of like being a chef except you don't get to taste your work for about 6 weeks. I am not a heavy drinker (Ask Kenny, I only had 2 beers and that was plenty for me) but I always drink one or two after work.

I will probably post afew recipe's if anyone is interested.

First three days of 6 max not off to a stellar beginning but it is still early.

Here's a few stats although I am just getting started it should show how I am playing





I will play 10K hands or until I lose 5 buy ins at it. Then re evaluate. A lot more losses to junky 2 pair and strange straights at 6 max but it seems there are a lot of wild players so I am sure it will be a good move when I figure out when to fold.

Thanks for the clarification low dough. I wanted to post the image but couldn't make it show.

Iplayed another 700 hands last night and am beginning to recover. I think I am just trying too hard to play more hands. I ran about 26/13 last night and made ~$50 back.

I am surprised to see several set miners at 6 max. I am playing 3 tables and had 2 players at all three with 11/6 and 13/5 stats after more than 300 hands. There is always one or two 45/25 types at the table as well and they are the ones killing me right now. I have a hard time putting them on a hand and I know I am getting blown off the winning hand many times but have bad timing when I make my stands so far.

Starting to get used to the 6max thing. Still playing just 3 tables and I think I will stick to that for the time being.

I would really consider folding this hand at full ring but decided to call. Bad guy was 29/4/2.4 with about 60 hands.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?971287

Opponent here was 74/31/2.05 after 130 hands and running over the whole table. He built a big stack winning big pots with all kinds of crazy hands. I think I was ahead the whole way and he was bluffing the river flush but I know that river was my money card.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?971336

Back into the positive

Currently running 31/13/2.85 after 3100 hands and 6.5ptbb/100.

Fermentation activity is slowing on the stout, down to about 6 bubbles thorugh the vapor lock per minute. Black as tar and smooth as silk, One of my favorites.

Yeah 31/13is quite LAG. The bigest wnners in my big NL$50 DB are guys running at like 12/3, 12/10 and stuff like that.

BK is right when he says loosening up a lot might be totally nnecesry when playing small stakes.

First week of playing strictly 6max behind me. I think I am overdoing it a bit trying to play more hands per Kenny and Alex comment. Below is the chart.





I see lots of opportunity to improve as there were many hands I had to fold with good but not great holdings (2 pair and TPTK) that would have been good and quite a few bad calls in there as well. It's seems like tilt control which I havn't had a problem with in a long time is a bit tougher as well. Hand reading and the use of GT+ seem much more important at 6max than full ring at this level. I am getting quite a few hands against the requlars so I am starting to make better decisions against them.

3 tabling a couple hours each night should make 3 to 4K hands per week easy.