Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Adjustments

So, I’m on Party; my screen name there is on a Bill Hicks theme.

I ended up depositing through Western Union, so you don’t even need a credit or debit card to play online poker folks. It cost me a few quid to deposit that way, but the 25% bonus (worked off in six hours) more than covered that. My rakeback deal came via www.rakeback.net and I was very happy with their administration, though the proof of the pudding will be in actually getting paid of course.

I’ve been trying to tally up what sort of rakeback I think I am earning but I quickly forget about it so the first payment will be a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant.

My results have hit a plateau since that initial entry. There are some adjustments I need to make due to the generally very poor standard of play; more than once I have made what I considered routine folds to heavy action in a three-way hand, only to find I would actually have three-quartered a nice pot. (I’ve been playing mostly PLO8 so far).
I think in general I am going to need to bluff less and value bet and call more. Also, I have to pay more attention; I can’t count on having two or three players whose tendencies I already know, like on my normal site. The turnover is just too fast on Party. I also think it SUCKS that they don’t have six-max tables of Omaha.

Another adjustment is that I have to get used to the dreadful, corny graphics. My particular gripe is that I think the cards in front of each player are too small. I frequently fail to notice a player is still in the pot. Of course that’s for me to deal with, but I don’t really see why the cards should be so microscopic.

Actually I played at my normal site yesterday, for whatever reason (the comfort of the familiar perhaps). Made only a tiny profit for a few hours work, thanks largely to making a dreadful all-in raise against a frequent raiser who turned out to have the goods. That pot alone would have made it a perfectly acceptable session, so a big ‘Oops’.

I also suffered my worst beat in a long while, in a two-table sit ‘n’ go. I raised preflop (five handed as only eleven players left at this stage) with A9. One caller from the blinds. He bet the AT4 flop, I raised all-in for what was almost all his chips, and he thought for a while before calling with K5! The turn and river came QJ to make him a straight, and instead of having a nice stack to shoot for the money places I was out.
There are 990 possible turns and rivers there, and I win the hand with 943 of ‘em.

Won’t be playing tonight as I am off up north for an early work meeting tomorrow. I will be visiting my ex (the proper one, not the recent one) and am really looking forward to seeing her.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Fight For Your Right

I am on Party!

At long ever last.

Iggy and everyone else is right, these players are absolutely awful. I'm winning stupid amounts at PLO8, despite a four out river costing me a monster. It is unreal how bad these people play.

More exciting, I am now in a world of RAKEBACK. Its almost like being a prop player, but with no obligation to start or maintain bad games. I am loving it any time a pot I am not involved in becomes a monster resulting in the maximum rake, knowing I have just made X cents for doing absolutely nothing.

I also realise I now have the opportunity to use Pokertracker, if I so choose.

It is all most exciting, after playing the same one site exclusively for years. It also makes the dream seem all the more attainable.

Happy days!