Okay, so everyone watched in pain as I slid my way down $450 this month, and luckily I turned it around. I managed to finish up for the month, not a lot - but at least it was a positive number. Also, with regard to the grand scheme of things, with the exception of January, February and March, April's total was right in line with most of my previous months. That being said, I was still upset about the month as a whole.
I didn't end up playing on Friday and played a fair amount of Saturday. Although at one point on Saturday I was up almost $100, I kept playing and eventually cashed out only a $33 winner. Not a big deal since the majority of my loss came on two hands that occured simultaneously at GamesGrid. In both I flopped a set (middle and bottom) and in both lost to bigger sets. Obviously I'm not too upset about it (in terms of the loss), and the fact that I kept my head about me afterwards is a good sign.
If anyone hasn't noticed, I'll let you know that I am crushing all 7-Card Stud games I play lately. 7-Stud is the reason why I got out of my hole in April and has already posted a nice win for me in May. I have been experimenting playing 2-3 tables of it and I'm starting to feel more comfortable with it. My starting hand selection still needs work and I have some ideas I need to work out, but those will be posted in the Stud section.
Anyway, here are the stats from Saturday:
GG 4/30 3:47pm $2/$4 HE ring (9) $80 buyin, 5:55pm, +21.75
GG 4/30 4:15pm $1/$2 HE ring (9) $40 buyin, $20 rebuy, 5:50pm, -25
$273.85 +7 (38, 2920)
GG 4/30 8:33pm $2/$4 HE ring (9) $80 buyin, 12:57am, +11
GG 4/30 8:35pm $2/$4 HE ring (9) $80 buyin, $40 rebuy, 12:56am, -86
$198.85, +28 (-7 from earlier) (141.50, $2920)
FTP 4/30 8:46pm $2/$4 Stud (8) $80 buyin, Perry Friedman, 11:04pm, 133 hands, +83.60
$214.95
Net change for the day: $33.35
Net time for the day: 6.533 hours, 14.767 table-hours
Total Net change for the month: $90.33
Total Net time for the month (actual hours): 88.467 hours
Total Net time for the month (table-hours): 211.400 table-hours
Real-Hourly rate: $1.021/hr
Table-Hourly rate: $0.427/t-hr
So not quite $100 for the month, but also the most hours I've played in month (and table-hours by a long shot). The hourly rate is shot, but in the end, I guess I'm really just happy I survived. There are a lot of reasons I could have stopped playing when I was down. Credit another point to the supportive wife (and the one who likes to kick my ass when I complain about losing...).
Also, the hours aren't really done justice here since May will get credit for the bonus at GamesGrid for prop play from this week. It should be right in the range of $120 this week, so it's unfortunate that it has to wait.
I'll have next month's plan up in a little while in a new topic.
Good luck in May everyone.
/d
Statistics: Posted by starstealer — Mon May 02, 2005 7:49 am
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Well, apparently my date-night with my wife is in a bit of jeapordy. She normally doesn't sit for kids on Friday nights anymore, but the person that she switches off with apparently was in a car accident - so she'll be going into work unless her alternate decides she's good enough to go anyway. Not a big deal, Lindsay and I get plenty of time with each other, and obviously this is a rare occurence, so I'll just roll with it and play some poker tonight after all.
I got an email to try out Superior Poker. It didn't look like anything special, so I probably won't since I've never heard of it and there are plenty of other places I'd try first.
Since I'll be playing tonight, I'm still hopefull about making the $200 mark for the month and will probably push it tonight to make it. This could mean I spend a lot of time playing beyond my reasonable limit - but if things are going well, I will. Also, if I do hit $200 profit tonight, I could very well get up right at that moment.
In terms of where to play, I'm just not sure yet. I'll probably have GamesGrid up, as I've only played 11 hours or so there so far (and so I've only made $66 in prop play so far) - maybe two tables. Beyond that, I'm thinking either Ultimate Bet or Full Tilt. I'd play on the cryptos, but I figure I'll get plenty of that starting Monday.
The best thing about Monday though is getting that immediate boost to my account from GamesGrid. Granted, I'm still running a loss there, but it is quickly closing up (and after Monday will be gone completely). Now that I've started to really figure out my play there, I think I will be comfortable playing until they discontinue the VFP program. If I can get my bankroll there up to around $500 - I'll even start mixing in some $3/$6 - as it is the same players as $2/$4 most of the time.
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Next up is coming up with a plan for May. I think I might keep the same plan on my bankroll for May as I did for April, with one exception. On May 13th-15th, my wife and I and some friends are going to Foxwoods. For this event, I'll be taking money out of my bankroll to play poker with (and it will probably be returned after we return, assuming there is something to return).
This event is something I've been planning for about 5-6 months, so its a pretty big one to me. Given the schedule of who is going to be around when, I figure most of Friday will be spent in the poker room. Saturday we'll probably have a relaxing day and will get some playing time in and then Sunday Lindsay has a massage (so I'll be playing poker then too...). Originally, I was going to take $400 for us both for just poker. However, the more I think about it, the more I think $800 would be a better number. With my online roll at or around $1750, I'll still have enough to cautiously play $2/$4 when we get back, especially if between now and the Wednesday before we leave I pick up the bonuses at the 3 cryptos I now have accounts with.
My main goal for the money that we take out for gaming is to put it back. I expect that we will spend a little time at some of the casino games for their enjoyment (because not everyone plays poker and because Lindsay and I both enjoy Carribean Stud for instance), so if we can break even between those and poker - I think we'll be doing good. If we end up making some money and start eating into the cost of the trip overall - even better. In all honesty though, I'm just not sure how much we'll have left after the weekend.
I've been trying to figure out when I need to have the appropriate amount in my Neteller account, and to be safe, I'm thinking to start transferring money into it starting on the Monday before we leave. If the money is freed up beforehand, I'll probably start moving it around then, that way I won't be stressing about it.
The rest of the trip is probably going to cost in the range of $1k or so. Anything less than this is gravy obviously, but with the nice italian dinner on Saturday and the massage on Sunday - I just don't see it happening. Hopefully, we'll be able to comp some things to ease the burden a little.
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Well, I just got another call from my wife and it appears our date-night is back on. The person who was in the accident is a little shaken and doesn't really want to drive, but she really doesn't want to be at home - so she's going over anyway. If I was in an accident that took me to the hospital - I think I'd take a few days break from driving and work. I guess that's just not her style though. In any case, I'm glad, because now I get some time with my wife...
I think we have some wine at home too - so maybe we'll have some drinks tonight too. I really don't drink anymore, which is great because it was costing us a fortune when I was a little drunk fish. I went out with one of our friends one night and with just the two of us drinking, we finished off the better part of $200 on scorpion bowls and head hunters. Then there was always the nights that we would mix up 2 gallons of Alabama Slammer and finish them both off... Now I have one drink and I'm feeling good.
I guess this is long enough for now. I still have plenty to think about for May, but I guess that can wait until then. Have a good weekend everyone.
Statistics: Posted by starstealer — Fri Apr 29, 2005 2:28 pm
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Anyways, I played on two tables at GamesGrid and pretty quickly needed to reload on one of them after my aces UTG got cracked and my queens on the button fell victim to an overaggressive SOB who decided that 47o was a good hand and raised it on all streets. To make it worse, I flopped a queen - he rivered his straight - gutshot and runner runner... grrr.
Of course, I reloaded when I had pocket sevens and figured I was going to get beat on the river (I didn't improve, but bet it the whole way). He called me on the river (the board was JT43A) - but my sevens took it. I went on to win about $20 from that table. The other table was nothing special and I only picked up enough to stay afloat of the blinds.
Lastly, I played shortly at the Perry Friedman table on Full Tilt Poker ($2/$4 Stud, 7 players max). He was very talkative and generally made for a good game. I took him for about $20 myself, but redistributed it when my aces up didn't pan out and got beat by another player's boat. He had a smaller two pair and rivered it - but I can't be too upset, since I only showed a pair of sixes up.
So it wasn't a big night, but another nice little win. Here's the numbers:
GG 4/28 8:26pm $2/$4 HE ring (9) $80 buyin, $40 rebuy, 10:04pm +27
GG 4/28 8:48pm $2/$4 HE ring (9) $80 buyin, 10:04pm, +4
$271.10 +6 (30.75, 2926)
FTP 4/28 9:37pm $2/$4 Stud (8) $80 buyin, 10:05pm, 38 hands, +3.90
$131.35
Net change for the day: $40.90
Net time for the day: 1.650 hours, 3.367 table-hours
Total Net change for the month: $56.98
Total Net time for the month (actual hours): 81.933 hours
Total Net time for the month (table-hours): 196.633 table-hours
Real-Hourly rate: $0.695/hr
Table-Hourly rate: $0.290/t-hr
Statistics: Posted by starstealer — Fri Apr 29, 2005 8:27 am
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Anyway, bri - if you are working on bonuses that only require a raked hand, I think 25PLO is fine. However, if you are on a site that has a minimum rake or increases as you get more rake - I think limit is the way to go. For example:
At pokerstars, you release $1 for every 5FPP earned. However, you earn a FPP only when you reach $1 in rake ($20 pot) in NL and PL games. If you are playing $1/$2 limit, you get a FPP from $.75 in rake ($15 pot). If you are playing $2/$4 limit, you get a FPP from $1 in rake (again, $20 pot). $20 pots are frequent and normal at $2/$4 - I don't think the same could be said of 25PLO.
/d
Statistics: Posted by starstealer — Fri Apr 29, 2005 7:54 am
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As for only playing hold'em to unlock bonuses...well...i suck at everything else and i make money at holdem.
Statistics: Posted by kennyg — Fri Apr 29, 2005 1:35 am
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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.
Statistics: Posted by starstealer — Thu Apr 28, 2005 3:02 pm
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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
Statistics: Posted by starstealer — Thu Apr 28, 2005 9:17 am
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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
).Statistics: Posted by starstealer — Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:41 pm
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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)
Statistics: Posted by starstealer — Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:24 am
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