Oh What A Night!

Late December back in '63.

No, not that one, the Inter Poker Challenge. Had a great night on a 1$ limit table, or so I thought until after 20mins I found I was actually on a £1 limit table. Fortunately I was up, so my 'up' was a bit more than I thought.
Finished the night at 606$ at Poker Room (36$ up) and wait for it....... 172$ at Inter.

See, to have found my feet at Inter.

Also, close to clearing the 100$ bonus, and there is a weekend bonus of 30$ if you play 350 raked hands Friday Saturday & Sunday - so I assume these count in our challenge? Have you guys got the promo code for the 30$ bonus?

Good luck all........

Who's the Daddy?

Good evening one and all, thank you for stopping by for my wit and humour (!!).

No bad beat or moans today. I know 80% of you don't care and the other 20% think I probably deserve them. But the main reason for no moans or bad beats? There aren't any, and what better reason is there than that :-)

OK, first of all, an update on our 50$ - 1000$ challenge, and things are starting to steady out and begin an upward trend. Played a couple of hours at Inter last night and managed to finish about 3$ up - which is a massive bonus compared to previous sessions. However, biggest hand of all Inter time for me this morning, when the following happened:

Dealt KK and raise to 4$, with 2 callers.
Flop of K 10 5 (two hearts). Ok, good flop for me - don't want to scare anyone away, but worried about the 2 hearts, so cautiously bet 1.50$, hoping someone will assume this is a sign of weakness. One caller and then third player raises to 5$.
Obviously I'm pretty happy at this as I have the nuts at the moment, so what's his hand. Should I re-raise or draw him into a big bet on the turn and re-raise there. I put him on a str8 or flush draw so I jst call and see the turn, as does the remaining player.
We see a 5 of hearts. I have a full house.
I bet 2.50$ this time, player 2 moves all in with 20$ or so, player 3 moves all in with 30$ or so, and I call, so pot is almost 100$. Player 2 turns over pocket 10s, also a full house, and player 3 an Ace high flush. My hand stands to win the pot.
Had a couple more good hands that stood and let the tables at 118$ - so the challenge is officially back on. Just hitting the tables now, so will post an update at the end of the evenings play.

As I re-loaded and started the challenge for a second time, when I hit 300$, I will remove 50$ from the account as I think this makes it kind of fairer? See how positive I have become - WHEN I hit 300$, not if.
(On another note, anyone know how to 'find a player' on Inter? Wanted to join you guys for a game, but couldn't see how to find anyone?)

Life off the tables is OK, hoping to find out a job this week, but the decision has been delayed to Wednesday. I've been told that I'm in with a good chance, but want to get it all sorted now, as it's been going on for a long time.
Took Mia for a walk in the park yesterday afternoon, as the sun was shining and it was too warm to stay ine the Tiny Ted's place. As she was running around the playground, she fell and cut both her knees. It wasn't a hospital 'bad' but the worse injury she's had and she was quite upset for a few minutes before she calmed down, wriggled out of my arms and, refusing my attempts at wiping the blood and dirt from her wounds, headed back to the swings and slides. There was a really funny moment later when she had to crawl through a tunnel in one of the play things, and the sounds of 'ow, ow, ow' came out as each knee touch the floor. Sweet and heart wrenching at the same time.
Called in at the chemist on the way home, and antisecptic wipes are about the most I could do. It obviously stung her as she cried more at this than when she fell, but I had to clean her up. Today she has been showing off her wounds to my dad, rolling her trouser legs up, pointing to her scabs and saying 'ow, ow, ow' which is really funny.

My brave little angel.

50$ Challenge Part 2

OK, I have faced the shame and have re-loaded 50$ to my Inter account after Cathy pointed out my massive over reaction to a number of unlucky hands.
'You can't expect to win every time you play' she observed. 'Yes I can' I replied, and stamped my feet before I was sent to Mia's naughty corner. 'Why can I never get you in the naughty corner?' I ask, but I think I better change the subject quickly......

Cashed out my Laddies account of 230$ as I've never managed to do well consistently there, so will take the money whilst it is still there. Am focusing on Poker Sites I have proven I can win at in the long run - which makes a lot of sense to me!

So I opened a 15/30c NL table at Inter (only for the challenge of course), and a 50c PL table at Poker Room. The difference could not be any more striking for me, with no apparent difference in my play.

I'm on a big roll at Poker Room at the moment, and my account peaked at 600$, before dropping back to 570$, some 370$ profit on my 200$ of two and a half weeks ago.
I dipped 30$ with my last hand of QQ and got three callers to my 2.25$ raise. Hit another on the flop, along with 2 spades, so bet the maximum of 11$, which got 2 callers. turn was 2h, so I moved all in and both called, turning over As 10s and Ks Qs - and the customary third hit the river to knock me back 30$. I know the odds can't have been great with 6 spades already out, but thats the way it goes sometimes. Overall a good day at Poker Room.

Moving back to Inter, and my run of bad luck was continuing. Typical hand would see me holding KQ and hitting a flop of K 9 2. My opponent had called my pre-flop raise with 92 (they were sooted!) - and these kind of hands are costing me. Not sure what I can do to avoid it? If a player is willing to call raises with 92s, how can you expect any stronger hands to stand up, it's just a coin flip every time?

After 30$ had gone, decided to leave the NL tables and move to limit and see if this would spark a change. And it did. Hit a 50c limit table and managed to build my 20$ stack up to 48$. Moved to a 1$ limit table and built up to 81$ before deciding that this was probably the best it was going to get and retired for the evening.

Played for an hour this morning, and the bad luck run kicked in again, with AA, QQ and AK (with A on the flop) all running into flushes (78, A10 and K4 all called my pre-flop riases for the record). A consistent run of open str8 draws and flush draws flopped, and not one hitting, added to numerous two pair losing to sets, and I just don't feel positive about the place at all.

Not sure if this is having some impact on my play, but when I get a strong hand, I'm playing much more tentitively. Whilst this may not be the best way to play, it has saved my a good few $'s. E.g my AK with A on the flop, one other player calling me all the way, and I checked a 10 on the river and he turned over A 10 to take the pot. This just seems to be the norm for me at Inter, and boy is it depressing :-( On a positive note, it is only 3 days, and surely it can only get better? For the record, account stands at 52$ - only 948$ to go!

Just about to give Mia her lunch and then it's off to Tiny Ted's - a kiddies club where they sing, dance and play on swings, slides and climb things. This should tire her out a bit ready for Daddy to head out to the pub for the game. I have to stay sober as the kid's are doing their athletes badge tonight, and muggins here has the job of organising it.

Hope the kids do better in their race than I am....

Challenge Over :-(

Well, my run at Inter was short and sweet.

Played 4 hands this morning at 25/50c NL:

Hand One: KK, bet 4$ two callers. Flop 6 j 10. My 5$ bet called by both. Turn is the customary A that is on the board over 8 out of 10 times I get KK (82% to be precise). One guy moves all in, other calls so I fold. One turns over A6o, the other KQ - so I was beaten by them both, and stack getting down to single figures.

Hand two: AJs - call 1$ raise, nothing on the flop so fold to bet.

Hand Three: 10 10 - raise to 1$, one caller and fold to his big bet on a K J 2 flop.

Hand 4: In the BB with 7s 2s, flop is A 4 8 (three spades so a flopped flush for me) - maybe a turn of luck. Move all in with my last 7$ or so and one caller turns over K 4 (no spades). Guess what happens? turn a 4, river an 8. I lose to a full house.

So guys - am I allowed to compete in your challenge at another poker site? Can I do it at Poker Room? And, as I found 50$ in my laddies account I forgot I had (as previous posts will show) and have built this to over 250$ so far - does this count?

I'm clutching at straws I think. I'm a loser. I know.
I'll bet even Mia won't want to be near me. All my friends will stop returning my calls and e-mails. Cathy will start sleeping on the couch (or make me sleep on the couch more likely). Before long I'll have to move out as the neighbours start to shun me. My employers will fire me after finding out I've moved into my office full time. I'll find a large cardboard box and live under a bridge in town centre. I'll be stopping men in suits and asking them for any change, at least for a cup of coffee. 'Oh, go on mate, it's only a quid.' I'll grow lots of facial hair in which insects will build happy homes. And I'll be pleased about that. I'll drink a bottle of Vodka a day (and I don't even like Vodka!) I'll move to B&Q paint stripper when Vodka stops hitting the spot. Then I'll be arrested for shoplifting after realising I've been wearing the same clothes for 6 months and could do with a change. And that night in the police cells will be the happiest I can remember.

And all because of Inter Poker and a 50$ challenge

Never Seen Anything Like This!

First up, InterPoker account opened and 50$ deposited ready for the 'Race to a 1000$ Challenge' with Acornman, Juice and Rosie. I love a challenge and am up for this!

Was in a great mood as my Ladbrokes account has increased by another 50$ and the Poker Room account by another 70$ from play ealrier in the day - so I was feeling pretty good.

Loaded up Inter and sat down at a 25/50c NL table and waited for my first hand. 89s, no raise so I check. Flop 8 9 A. Nice start and I put 2$ in the pot, one caller. Turn is 10. another 2$ and a call. River is a 10. I check and opponent bets 5$. I fold as A anything beats me now, and he shows me Q 10. 'Why call the flop?' I asked. 'Dunno. Just felt like it' he replied.
Second hand is 78s and I call with no raise. Flop is 7 8 K. Bet 2$ one caller. Turn 2, bet and call and river A. I check the river, opponent bets 50c which I call and he turns over A7. Nearly 15$ down after 2 hands, and my target of 100$ for the night not looking remotely likely. Little did I realise that 6 hands later I would be down to 7$ after a run of horrific beats.

Fortunatley had 3 big hands with 2/3 callers which have funded the incredible run I was in the middle of. After flopping a str8 and losing on the river to a higher one, I looked down at 18$ and decided to quit. A look at my hand history shows:

7 str8s losing to flushes
3 str8s losing to higher str8s
2 flushes losing to FH's
14 two-pair losing to various
I stopped counting top pair losing, as I can;t count this as 'unlucky' so much
This is in 287 hands played.

If it wasn't for three hands that had 2/3 callers (AA and KK that both stood up, plus a winning flush), I'd be out already. Don't think I've ever hit that many hands in a night, let alone lose with them! A freak night for sure (though if this happened in a live game, you'd never go back to that casino again) but I'm not left with much room for error now. Inter not my favourite poker site by a long way :-(
Being positive though - it is amazing I haven't gone bust already, so I'm gonna keep smiling with that thought in mind.

Went back to Laddies for half an hour - and this is now my 2nd favourite pokerplace after Poker Room - Official. My $50 or so I forgot I had there until Friday is now over 250$, so pretty happy with this. Closed my Pacific account and cashed out $175 as I just didn't like the slow-ness
nor the fact that it wouldn't let me multi-table without folding hands and cutting me off. Never had this at any other site, so not sure what the problem is, but I don't have the patience for it!

So 4 sites now with Inter, (slight improvement at Titan after an hour's play earlier) though I can't see me staying there too long if the above run continues. Anyone else seen a run like this before in a relatively short hand count? Interested to hear.....

Enjoying the World Cup, been some cracking games and really interesting ones. Really looking forward to the Brazil game which was very dissapointing, along with the France game before it. I suppose you can't expect every game to be a cracker. My pre-tournament tip Argentina are looking good so far, but I'm not talking about England until after the next game - it's too depressing :-)

Good luck at the tables. I'll be back.

Mark Scores 30 in England World Cup Romp!

Well, I suppose England never like to do things the easy way. They seem to adjust their game to the quality of the opposition. Play a good team, we play well, play a poor one, and we play poor. Saying that, how hot must it have been on that pitch, and at least we won and top the group after the first game. A comfortable win against T&T and we're through.

One point I was puzzled with, is did you see who the FIFA rep gave 'Man of the Match' to? David Beckham or Steven Gerrard (great first half performances)? Joe Cole (probably the most deserving)? No. He gave it to Frank Lampard. Was he watching a different game? Was I watching a different game? I didn't realise he was playing for the first 25 mins? Maybe it was just me.

And the England players think they had it hot? I was at a friends to watch the game, which was great, coz the girlies came as well and we had a good laugh - heading to a local park after the match to show them how it should be done. It was 30degrees and we were running around like mad men (well, I wasn't, have to watch my ankle!) and I think I was on my 10th hat-trick before we realised that it would be much more sensible to sit in the pub and watch the Sweden game. Cathy's mum had kindly agreed to take Mia for the afternoon, so it was good to catch up with friends and spend time together without constantly stopping Mia from trying to eat snails or putting sticks down her ears.

Yesterday my Dad did a BBQ and we headed over there in the afternoon and tried my best to keep Mia in the shade, constantly running after her with suncream wipes of the factor 2,705 variety - which is a lot easier than it sounds! Jeez, it was hot and, like her dad, she's not great in high temperatures and has been a bit lethargic this week. Her bedroom was 29 degrees last night, so we had to have a fan on through the night to keep her cool-ish.

Played a bit of poker Friday night with Mr Acornman and had one of my most profitable times at Ladbrokes in a long time. I've never managed to post a profit over a period of time there, and as I play at places where I do, I stay elsewhere. Was reading his blog the other day and thought, I've never played with him (I think?) so headed to Laddies for a chat and a game. Found him doing well on a 50$ NL table and sat down to play. Was lucky to hit a flush in one of my first few hands and got a caller, then a big two pair, so before too long had doubled up. We decided to play a SNG - when my expert reading skills were in full force, thinking my 9's could beat my opponents raise - he turned over AA - doh! and out I went.

Headed back to the cash tables and again found a run of hands and quickly doubled up my 50$ buy in. Moved to another table and hit a 41$ profit before deciding that, as this is my best ever return at Laddies - to cut my winnings and moved to Poker room where i hit a third in a 10$ SNG and then crashed out in 5th in the second when 96s busted my aces, to break even.

Had a review of my accounts and was pleasantly surprised to see:
Ultimate Bet $282 (cashed this profit as I have too many accounts running), Poker Room 440$ (opened up with 200$), Laddies 196$ (had 55$ left there I'd forgotten about), Pacific 195$ (opened up with $150) and Titan 175 (125$ starting) - so almost 1300$ in my online accounts. Checked against my balance for the year and I'm standing at (if I were to cash in all my accounts now) - £1509 in profit for the year. £700 has already been spent around the house, so not a bad year all round.

The reason I mention this is that I Enjoyed playing with AM and I know, as with Juice, that things may be on a slight downturn, but i firmly believe that if you had a succesful winning formula before, it is still that now. The Sigmund Curve tells that all aspects of our life will go through periods of ups and downs, and it's not always how you react to the ups that make the difference, but how you respond when the downs are kicking in. Martin Luther King said words along the lines of 'the true test of a mans character is not in moments of comfort and convenience, but in moments of challenge and hardship'. I've not been playing the game long enough to be able to give anyone advice, but my own thoughts are to keep doing the right things. I played at Titan last night and flopped 17 open str8 draws - and not one hit. When I play tomorrow, I'll probably only flop 5, but 4 will hit - and that's the way life goes sometimes. Remember, if this were easy, everyone would be doing it and we'd all just break even.

I suppose the important thing is that if you enjoy doing it, how much value can you put on that?