Hey,

I got this off the Bonus Whores website, its COMPBONUS which seems good for 20% up to $100 ($500 max deposit). It seems a little hit and miss as to who it works for though I got it okay.

Rich

Yup, it didn't work for me.

Well I better get this over with, I am not looking forward to posting this...

Results for March:

$3/$6

Hands: 2514
Amount Won: -$249.42
BB/100: -1.65

$2/$4

Hands: 664
Amount Won: $35
BB/100: 1.32

$1/$2

Hands: 3043
Amount Won: -$142.87
BB/100: -2.35

$100NL

Hands: 311
Amount Won: -$30.60
BB/100: -4.92

$50NL

Hands: 169
Amount Won: -$36.80
BB/100: -21.78

Total

Hands: 6701
Amount Won: -$424.69
BB/100: -2.33

Tournaments:

$10 S & G (2): Net $8
$10+$1 Multi-Table: Net -$11

Total: Net -$3



Well disappointing doesn't really cover it. I think this month has been a little tough to comment on as I seem to have been pretty dis-jointed in how I have played it. I am trying though to learn as much as possible. It is my first real losing month since I started to keep track of it.

Good news is as I have alluded to earlier, it seems you cannot really lose on internet poker!

My BR is now $2344 total. This is a $194 rise from 1st March. Basically some rabid bonus whoring from the Party skins which is going to continue into this month. I still have some stuff outstanding but I count these on my figures as they appear, just amending them from pending to cash as I release them, wouldn't want me to think I am actually winning!

My live play continues to go from strength to strength. I won a two table home game. I am very chuffed with this since the field in these games is actually a very high standard (and then there is Dave ).

Well my back is hurting now so I am going to rest a bit. Thanks for reading and I hope it will be better next month. There is already Empire and UB bonus' stuck in my pending now so fingers crossed...

Rich

Well played a little tonight. Happy.

I have this superstition that the first session of the month set the rest up. I have only played a real short one today but thats only because I noticed my attention was flying off in all directions. Its real hot in this house and I don't get my new desk till tomorrow so at the moment I am lying on my bed and using the laptop, not a great idea when you want to play a few hours of hardcore poker.

First hand of the month:

Party Poker 2/4 Hold'em (9 handed)

Preflop: Hero is CO with , . Hero posts a blind of $2.
5 folds, Hero (poster) checks, Button calls, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (4 SB) , , (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets, Button calls, SB folds, BB calls.

Turn: (3.50 BB) (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, Button folds, BB calls.

River: (5.50 BB) (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB folds.

Final Pot: 6.50 BB

Hero has Jh Qh (two pair, queens and jacks).
Outcome: Hero wins 6.50 BB.

Nothing special, nice and easy and I would love the rest of the month to be like this...

Results from today:

$2/$4

Hands: 61 (played only 2 tables)
Amount Won: $67
BB/100: 27.46

I am a little annouyed not to play more but I am just not feeling like it. I figure I have lost enough money pushing it when I have to that there is no point pushing when there is no time/bonus hassles. I will stick some hours in tomorrow once I am free from potential crippling back pain.

This months bonus whoring is already in over drive. I have 300 hands to unleash $100 from Party, then 500 hands to get another $100 from Empire (GET15 if you are interested) which I need to do before the next Empire one;

http://www.empirepoker.com/offer/epmania_april.html.bak

Also got the UB one in though god knows when I shall ever pull any of it off, its now $570 odd and counting.

Also I am in Vegas on the 25th April till 3rd May. Its my 26th birthday so I am going to enjoy myself with all the delights Sin City can offer (oh, and the missus will be there - Love you honey). If anyone wants to hook up buzz me, I have money!

Oh crap! Forgot, today was a new first. I now have a BR over $2500. Not bad for a $210 investment. With all the crap I have had for the last 6 weeks its reassuring to know I am still making money, even if its by hook or crook. Hopefully this month will see me get back to winning ways. I am going to stick with $2/$4 this month, playing $1/$2 if I need raked hands in a hurry. We shall see what NL I play, prob UB if I get a chance as they tend not to have much to offer in $2/$4 at social GMT hours.

Well got to go, but happier. Almost forgot what a winning day felt like...

Rich

Hi.

Due to a banging head ache plus being knackered from putting together my new desk (why do I order the most complicated one in the western world?) I only managed about an hour or so tonight. I wasn't going to bother but then figured I better kill that Empire bonus so I don't get them all stacked up.

I cleared 130 hands from 500. I reckon I can do 250 tomorrow without too much trouble, I might clear it if things are good.

Results:

$1/$2

Hand: 190
Amount Won: $19.75
BB/100: 5.20

Its a nice winning start to the month so far. I think it is a good thing for me to step back a little. I want to get maybe another month under my belt and really concentrate on my game before the next move up to $3/$6. I think I was a little eager in the past moving almost a level a month and I guess that was silly. At the moment I am just concentrating on decisions, am I making the right ones given the information I have and what I am doing to get that information? Easy really but some how I lost my way so go figure.

Well I am going to catch some shut eye, playing again tomorrow so report back then.

Rich

Thanks Kenny,

There is a rumor on another forurm Ice once posted a losing session but I put them right.

I have no clue what March was about but I guess the monkey's got the better of the good guys. Got to remember good poker wins in the long term, now all I need to do is learn good poker...

It is my sad duty to report I had aces cracked today, 17 times good so I guess it was due but still sucks, some guy limping before me hit a set of 8s, bah.

Right, results:

$1/$2

Hands: 738
Amount Won: -$57
BB/100: -3.86

This wasn't as bad as it looks, okay it does suck. I played two sessions today, one on Empire and one on Party. On the Empire one I unleashed my $100 bonus but in the process lost exactly $100 doing it (I was $20 ahead too when I started). This sucked but I figured it just proves online poker is rigged etc. Basically I got few good hands and when I did I either got no action (AA, KK twice and QQ all got folded around me) and when I did I would get stiffed (AQ losing to Q2o from someone who actually choose to play it EP then caught two pair). I have to admit I took it very well as it was almost comical, everything that can for wrong did and I lost $120 over three tables.

Well working on the assumption I had used up all the bad luck it was possible to have I decided to do some damage on Party. I played on 4 different tables winning on all of them and dragging back half the damage. I also played some really good hands, playing hard into frequent raisers etc. I have to say GT Plus is great for this. I have got out of some potential nasty situations (folding queens on a low flop as the betting got too heavy from a real passive player meant could stick him squarely on a set) and made money from situations where my cards weren't great but nor were others. I still see this has the new part of my game I am learning and its nice when you stick a move on someone making them fold a better hand.

As therapy and way of dealing with bad beats I have decided to post good ones I lay on others. This way I can tell myself the world and especially random shuffle programs don't hate me too much. This is the sort of thing I am normally on the end of...

Party Poker 1/2 Hold'em (9 handed)

Preflop: Hero is CO with , .
UTG calls, 1 fold, MP1 calls, MP2 calls, 1 fold, Hero calls, Button calls, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (7 SB) , , (7 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP1 checks, MP2 bets, Hero raises, Button folds, SB folds, BB folds, UTG folds, MP1 folds, MP2 calls.

For the love of god! Why do I never get an easy hand? I decided to try for a check raise as I wanted to flush out who liked this hand and who didn't. If I lead I am going to get a load of calls from someone with the flush and anyone with a heart drawing for the four flush.

Turn: (5.50 BB) (2 players)
MP2 bets, Hero calls.

Guess he put me on the "free card play" and he 100% must have the flush, well I still have outs...

River: (7.50 BB) (2 players)
MP2 bets, Hero raises, MP2 calls.

Boo-yah, gotcha!

Final Pot: 11.50 BB

Results below:
MP2 has Ah 4h (flush, ace high).
Hero has Jd Ks (full house, kings full of jacks).
Outcome: Hero wins 11.50 BB.

Bet he thought all his Christmas' had come at once, god I love poker sometimes.

Interestingly looking at the hands of today I had a bad AK day, losing money but folding three out of four times on the turn when I missed and knew no one was folding. This is one of the things I have to adjust when going from $2/$4 to $1/$2. It seems on $2/$4 leading the turn when it misses, especially against good players, tends to fold one or two players. On $1/$2 no chance, if they called that far they are all over you. I guess its the money thing, knowing you are going to be paying $8 to see the turn and river and feeling real dumb if I turn over AA when all you got it bottom pair makes folding seem real smart. Paying $4 and though, whole different ball game!

One annouying hand today was when I played real hard into a raiser with 88, I had 2nd pair but I KNEW he had missed with AK or AQ so I jammed the flop and turn, only to get out drawn on the river. I totally throttled off but it still sucks when you lose $16 on a hand where if you were going to lose you could have played it cool and lost maybe $8. Worse being I then get a load of grief about playing like a muppet with only the 2nd pair, I bit my tongue but I am still smarting.

Well I got to sleep. Tomorrow will see me play the final 190 hands on Party then maybe a little UB till the Empire reload.

Rich

In true pro style I am not playing tonight because I cannot be arsed.

Instead I am going to move about two feet to my right and lie on my bed watching TV. I have decided I am going to read a bit of SS2 but also ER is on tonight.

I am well up on my bonus whoring, just 200 hands and I have another $100 off Party (surely I cannot lose $100 in 200 hands ). I am also up about $30 on the tables. While this isn't great I pulled it back from $30 under last night so it could be much worse.

I will be back tomorrow with more fun and games.

Rich

Hi Sports Fans,

Sorry for the lack of posting. I have been playing this week but not having a great time so spending half an hour after a crappy session writing about it seemed more torment than therapy.

I have been trying to get off the Empire bonus since 10th April. I think it is easy to give you a run down on my week than go into daily detail.

All Empire:

$2/$4

Hand: 527
Amount Won: -$290.25
BB/100: -13.77

$1/$2

Hands: 665
Amount Won: $127.03
BB/100: 9.55

$50 NL

Hand: 156
Amount Won: $69.69
BB/100: 44.67 (am I working this out right, don't I have to double it or something?)

Overall

Hands: 1348
Amount Won: -$93.53
BB/100: 4.50 (go figure?)

I guess this doesn't look as bad on paper as I thought but it still seems a lot of turmoil for a $150 bonus. I guess the real gore is in the details...

AA: Won 50% for a loss of $42.25 (8 times)

KK: Won 66.67% for a win of $13.24 (6 times)

QQ: Not had it once!

JJ: Won 75% but lost $1.75 (4 times)

I think the point of this is just to say that things have been very tough. I feel I have done well to minimise me losses and at times I have really been in the zone. I just am not feeling an satisfaction in this state of affairs. I think this more reflects a general malaise I have felt with poker since mid Feb. Well I have decided to take steps.

One big consideration for me has been to be able to build my BR so I can take money out when required, just the odd $200 here and there. Well I am not under that pressure now as I have got a nice pay rise and life is good. This means I can relax a bit and enjoy the game more. Well that is the theory. I think that I have been worrying about the bottom line too much which makes me see the online poker world as "against me".

I have decided since I am in this position I am going to spend the next six weeks playing no limit only. I truely believe I have the type of game that works with NL, hell I know I have. I think what has stopped me playing has been risk aversion on my part. Well stuff it. I have about 40 buy-ins for $50NL (which is where I am going to start) and plenty of time. My recent tournament results seem to validate this, while I know there are differences the way I see hands is pretty similar. Anyway its more fun too.

I decided to put my new found vigour to Empire and the results are up top for you too see. I know one winning session is only the first step on a long road that has some pretty hairy pot holes, hence why I am clearing the next 6 weeks to really go for it. I am going to play, post hands and learn as much as I can. I think I have always seen myself as a NL player but never until now had the drive to really go for it. I think the change is that I am really not afraid to lose, be it stacks or weeks or months. I am willing to play the learning curve and I hope to end up a little further up the track later on.

I would love if any NL players want to share some hard learnt tips, maybe save me a few $$$ in learning down the line. I think my post flop play is still pretty good though I am paying a lot more attention to the table. With limit you can let GT plus take a lot of it since there are not that many plays someone can really pull with total confidence. NL I am looking for patterns and weakness. I can happily tell you most of the pots I won were with calculated bluffs or semi-bluffs. I also got out of some potential cripplers. I will post hands either here or on the NL section has we go.

Okay, got to share this but before I do I need to add some color. This guy had been pissing me off for a half the night. He was making like he was NL guru telling others off etc even though he was pretty poor, always trying to make "plays". Before you all bash me on this hand I know it is shocking though I really felt I was only gambling that he didn't have a jack.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (9 handed)

UTG+1 ($159.85)
MP1 ($41.35)
MP2 ($49.5)
MP3 ($50.75)
CO ($33.6)
Button ($43.25)
SB ($54.95)
BB ($45.75)
Hero ($50)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , . SB posts a blind of $0.25.
Hero raises to $2, 7 folds, BB calls $1.50.

Flop: ($4.25) , , (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $3, BB raises to $6, Hero raises to $15, BB raises to $24, Hero calls $9.

Turn: ($52.25) (2 players)
BB bets $12, Hero calls $24 (All-In), BB calls $7.75 (All-In).

River: ($96) (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $96

Results in below:
BB has Jh Jc (three of a kind, jacks).
Hero has Ts Tc (straight, jack high).
Outcome: Hero wins $96.

He then spent the next five minutes berating me (rightly I admit in this case) so I asked if he wanted to know why I played it like that. He said damn right so I told him he was a complete retard who it was an honor to lay such a crappy beat on and if he would like to reload I will happily take his stack with a proper hand. Now the rest of the table starts up telling him to reload (as he has been sulking though out his tirad against me). He declines. What I didn't realise was he that he was now on my other table telling everyone how shit I was and that I deserve to choke on his money. I try to have some class and tell everyone I laid a very poor beat on him and that I am now playing sensible. He then starts going on about how I was 3% to win on that flop etc so I tell him that he is assuming I knew he had jacks, which I clearly couldn't have. He then asked what else could he hold by the way he bet (this got me). As I listening to all this he all-ins for $40 on the flop heads up against another player who quickly calls. Result? Other player has a set and he has bricks...

God is so kind sometimes!

Well I am pokered out tonight. I am now 775/1050 but I can put them away tomorrow then I might try to play off some of my UB mountain.

Rich

Yep nothing gives me as much satisfaction (at the poker tables anyway) than laying a beat on an asshole. Good luck with your NL endeavor. I have been dabbling in it myself with mixed results but on the positive side of the balance thus far so can't complain too much.