Since there won't be any gambling today, I thought I'd provide a quick summary of my first 15 days of sketching. A new month's sketch will begin tomorrow.
On-line Poker: Up $94.18. I really wish I hadn't played last Saturday afternoon before heading out to play with the boyz that night. Without that dismal afternoon, I would have been up over $400. I must've gone on tilt because I won 8 of the other 11 days I played on-line. I love that percentage, but one bad afternoon offset most of the gains I had made. Lesson (hopefully) learned!
Potawatomi: Up $398. Thankfully, Potawatomi helped offset the sting of one bad afternoon on-line.
The US Open: Down $60. My predictions didn't hold up very well.
Live Poker: Up $24.15. I only played one "live" game during the past two weeks and won a little bit of money.
Miscellaneous: Up $1. I placed some modest bets on my golf game and my basketball skills and barely netted ahead.
Daily Sketch: $0
Final Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $457.33
June 29, 2004: A (Relatively) Short Night
Since starting this Sketchbook two weeks ago, I've gambled all but one day. By anyone's standards (even my own), that's a pretty high percentage!
Having said that, I'm a little "burned out" right now and I plan on cutting down my gambling during the next few days. While I hope to visit Potawatomi for a few hours on Saturday, I don't plan on playing a lot of poker on-line through this upcoming holiday weekend. I'm happy to have won nearly $500 during the past 2+ weeks and it's time for a short break.
Tonight, I played a relatively modest 90 minutes of poker on UltimateBet's $2/$4 Hold 'em Tables and won $24.75 while intentionally playing EXTREMELY tight. It was a relatively uneventful evening until I turned my Big Blind 3s4c into a straight when the flop brought A-2-5. Fortunately for me, another player had AA in the hole and eventually lost a big pot to me. In the end, that one hand accounted for all my winnings. Thankfully, the guy holding the AA didn't raise pre-flop, which kept me in the hand.
I probably won't gamble tomorrow, so my "Month-to-Date Sketch" is probably finished for June. Thanks to my visits to Potawatomi this past weekend, it was a good month! :-)
Daily Sketch: Up $24.75
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $457.33
Having said that, I'm a little "burned out" right now and I plan on cutting down my gambling during the next few days. While I hope to visit Potawatomi for a few hours on Saturday, I don't plan on playing a lot of poker on-line through this upcoming holiday weekend. I'm happy to have won nearly $500 during the past 2+ weeks and it's time for a short break.
Tonight, I played a relatively modest 90 minutes of poker on UltimateBet's $2/$4 Hold 'em Tables and won $24.75 while intentionally playing EXTREMELY tight. It was a relatively uneventful evening until I turned my Big Blind 3s4c into a straight when the flop brought A-2-5. Fortunately for me, another player had AA in the hole and eventually lost a big pot to me. In the end, that one hand accounted for all my winnings. Thankfully, the guy holding the AA didn't raise pre-flop, which kept me in the hand.
I probably won't gamble tomorrow, so my "Month-to-Date Sketch" is probably finished for June. Thanks to my visits to Potawatomi this past weekend, it was a good month! :-)
Daily Sketch: Up $24.75
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $457.33
June 28, 2004: Potawatomi Casino - Part Two
Last week, Chris suggested that we visit Potawatomi tonight to play some blackjack. Chris participated in a golf outing during the day and he figured it might be a nice opportunity for him to visit the Injuns after the golf festivities were over. Naturally, I accepted his invitation to visit the casino with him.
Although Chris wasn't scheduled to get to the casino until 8:00pm, I decided to head there immediately after work and, consequently, arrived at the poker room at 5:40pm. When I got there, I learned that I was #2 on the waiting list for a $5/$10 table. The pit boss assured me that I wouldn't need to wait more than 10-15 minutes before I'd be able to sit down.
Wandering away from the poker room with a pager in my hand, I decided to walk around the casino and check things out for a few minutes. I was particularly interested in the "Let It Ride" table, where one particular gentleman was playing $50/hand on a $5 table. Remember, you actually place three bets every time you play a hand of "Let It Ride", so the guy actually had $150 on the table every time a hand was dealt. He was given a pair of queens while I watched, but nothing else very exciting happened during the ten (or so) hands I stood nearby. Personally, I've never seen anyone play that game for such high stakes.
After that, I walked to the $10 craps table, where I was surprised to see NO ONE playing. The dealers mentioned that the table was ICE COLD, but I decided to pluck down a hundred dollar bill and test my luck. Ten minutes later, I was down the $100 and praying my pager would go off. It didn't, so I foolishly decided to pluck down another $100 at the ICE COLD table. Thirty minutes later, I had won back my $100 and had an extra $165 in front of me. To put it mildly, I GOT HOT!! With no one else at the table, I hit a few numbers and saw the Field (which I like to bet) get really hot. If I wasn't rolling my number, I was rolling snake eyes, which pays two-to-one in the Field. After a few other people began to join the fun (and cooled off the table), I decided to call it quits - up the $165.
It had been 45 minutes since I had gotten my pager and I was beginning to wonder why I hadn't been beckoned to the poker room. When I went back to the room to see what was happening, I noticed that my name wasn't on the waiting list. Upon asking, I was told that they had forgotten to record my pager number, so they had no way of contacting me. The pit boss specifically mentioned that a spot had opened minutes after I left and I could have started playing poker very quickly. In hindsight, however, it was a good thing that they couldn't find me, because I wouldn't have wandered to the craps table and won the $165. Talk about dumb luck!
All told, I played poker for 90 minutes before Chris arrived. During that hour and a half, I won exactly TWO hands. Yet, I came out ahead $58 - which illustrates how tight I played. Folding hand after hand after hand, I didn't lose a lot of money and never found myself losing a big pot. However, I took home a nice bounty when my Jc Qc hit the flush on the river and won another healthy pile of chips when my AK held up when another King appeared on the flop. Other than those two hands, I don't recall ever staying in a pot through the river. Is that tight, or what?!?
By the time Chris arrived at the casino, I was already up $223 and I wasn't eager to watch that money disappear on a blackjack table. With that in mind, I decided to simply watch Chris play on a $10 table and added a relatively meager $5 to each hand he played. After thirty (or so) minutes, I was exactly even (at blackjack) and decided that I had gambled enough. When I left the casino, Chris was still playing blackjack and was on the positive side of even. I hope that trend continued after I left!
So . . . during the last two days, I've won nearly $400 at Potawatomi. That's VERY unusual! While I've improved my lifetime record to 5-for-5 playing in their poker room, I've never had great success playing the other table games. So, to take $400 out of that casino is quite gratifying - and unexpected.
Daily Sketch: Up $223.00
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $432.58
Although Chris wasn't scheduled to get to the casino until 8:00pm, I decided to head there immediately after work and, consequently, arrived at the poker room at 5:40pm. When I got there, I learned that I was #2 on the waiting list for a $5/$10 table. The pit boss assured me that I wouldn't need to wait more than 10-15 minutes before I'd be able to sit down.
Wandering away from the poker room with a pager in my hand, I decided to walk around the casino and check things out for a few minutes. I was particularly interested in the "Let It Ride" table, where one particular gentleman was playing $50/hand on a $5 table. Remember, you actually place three bets every time you play a hand of "Let It Ride", so the guy actually had $150 on the table every time a hand was dealt. He was given a pair of queens while I watched, but nothing else very exciting happened during the ten (or so) hands I stood nearby. Personally, I've never seen anyone play that game for such high stakes.
After that, I walked to the $10 craps table, where I was surprised to see NO ONE playing. The dealers mentioned that the table was ICE COLD, but I decided to pluck down a hundred dollar bill and test my luck. Ten minutes later, I was down the $100 and praying my pager would go off. It didn't, so I foolishly decided to pluck down another $100 at the ICE COLD table. Thirty minutes later, I had won back my $100 and had an extra $165 in front of me. To put it mildly, I GOT HOT!! With no one else at the table, I hit a few numbers and saw the Field (which I like to bet) get really hot. If I wasn't rolling my number, I was rolling snake eyes, which pays two-to-one in the Field. After a few other people began to join the fun (and cooled off the table), I decided to call it quits - up the $165.
It had been 45 minutes since I had gotten my pager and I was beginning to wonder why I hadn't been beckoned to the poker room. When I went back to the room to see what was happening, I noticed that my name wasn't on the waiting list. Upon asking, I was told that they had forgotten to record my pager number, so they had no way of contacting me. The pit boss specifically mentioned that a spot had opened minutes after I left and I could have started playing poker very quickly. In hindsight, however, it was a good thing that they couldn't find me, because I wouldn't have wandered to the craps table and won the $165. Talk about dumb luck!
All told, I played poker for 90 minutes before Chris arrived. During that hour and a half, I won exactly TWO hands. Yet, I came out ahead $58 - which illustrates how tight I played. Folding hand after hand after hand, I didn't lose a lot of money and never found myself losing a big pot. However, I took home a nice bounty when my Jc Qc hit the flush on the river and won another healthy pile of chips when my AK held up when another King appeared on the flop. Other than those two hands, I don't recall ever staying in a pot through the river. Is that tight, or what?!?
By the time Chris arrived at the casino, I was already up $223 and I wasn't eager to watch that money disappear on a blackjack table. With that in mind, I decided to simply watch Chris play on a $10 table and added a relatively meager $5 to each hand he played. After thirty (or so) minutes, I was exactly even (at blackjack) and decided that I had gambled enough. When I left the casino, Chris was still playing blackjack and was on the positive side of even. I hope that trend continued after I left!
So . . . during the last two days, I've won nearly $400 at Potawatomi. That's VERY unusual! While I've improved my lifetime record to 5-for-5 playing in their poker room, I've never had great success playing the other table games. So, to take $400 out of that casino is quite gratifying - and unexpected.
Daily Sketch: Up $223.00
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $432.58
June 27, 2004: Potawatomi Poker - Part One
Sunday morning, I ventured to Potawatomi Casino for some "live" poker action. With today's NASCAR race scheduled to start around 3:00pm (CST), I figured that I'd be able to put in a solid 5 hour session before the green flag waved. After all, I rarely miss a NASCAR broadcast!
The poker room opens at 9am, so I arrived at the casino minutes before the doors opened. As Ty learned, it's difficult to get on a table if you arrive a substantial amount of time after 9am, so I made sure to be prompt. While I was able to immediately claim a seat on a $5/$10 hold 'em table, Ty must've waited a good hour before getting on the same table - as a result of not arriving at the casino until 9:45am-ish. Had I known that he was going to play, I would have offered him a ride.
The first two hours proved quite lucrative. On one hand, I was dealt a 10-10 and claimed a substantial pot when two more tens appeared on the board. Another player was holding pocket aces and, despite the fact that no aces appeared, he chased those pocket rockets to the bitter end. Overall, this was my 4th visit to Potawatomi's poker room and the first time I've gotten four-of-a-kind. In each of my previous trips to the casino, anyone receiving four-of-a-kind received a nice Potawatomi hat as a reward. Unfortunately, that policy was recently discontinued when they ran out of hats. So, I didn't get a thing for the 4-of-a-kind. :-(
Two other times, I was able to flop sets when I held pocket 7's. All told, I was ahead nearly $250 after those first two hours. I had the table image of "Mr. 7" and things were going well.
Unfortunately, things slowed down substantially after that. During the course of the next three hours, some of my winnings slowly bled away while I waited for more pocket 10's and 7's. They never came, however, and I ended up leaving the casino ahead "only" $175 after playing for exactly five hours. Per usual, I played quite tight. I'm now 4-four-4 when I visit Potawatomi's poker room, so the Sunday morning tradition will continue.
Needless to say, there are some interesting people at Potawatomi. The guy sitting to my right was particularly "chatty" this morning and told me what cards he was holding every time he folded. While I don't mind being personable at the table, I didn't really need to know that he held a Q4 before folding the previous hand. I was actually amazed that he wanted to share so much information with me, and it got to be annoying. In the end, it was pretty easy to get up from the poker table and head home to watch the race.
Daily Sketch: Up $175.00
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $209.58
The poker room opens at 9am, so I arrived at the casino minutes before the doors opened. As Ty learned, it's difficult to get on a table if you arrive a substantial amount of time after 9am, so I made sure to be prompt. While I was able to immediately claim a seat on a $5/$10 hold 'em table, Ty must've waited a good hour before getting on the same table - as a result of not arriving at the casino until 9:45am-ish. Had I known that he was going to play, I would have offered him a ride.
The first two hours proved quite lucrative. On one hand, I was dealt a 10-10 and claimed a substantial pot when two more tens appeared on the board. Another player was holding pocket aces and, despite the fact that no aces appeared, he chased those pocket rockets to the bitter end. Overall, this was my 4th visit to Potawatomi's poker room and the first time I've gotten four-of-a-kind. In each of my previous trips to the casino, anyone receiving four-of-a-kind received a nice Potawatomi hat as a reward. Unfortunately, that policy was recently discontinued when they ran out of hats. So, I didn't get a thing for the 4-of-a-kind. :-(
Two other times, I was able to flop sets when I held pocket 7's. All told, I was ahead nearly $250 after those first two hours. I had the table image of "Mr. 7" and things were going well.
Unfortunately, things slowed down substantially after that. During the course of the next three hours, some of my winnings slowly bled away while I waited for more pocket 10's and 7's. They never came, however, and I ended up leaving the casino ahead "only" $175 after playing for exactly five hours. Per usual, I played quite tight. I'm now 4-four-4 when I visit Potawatomi's poker room, so the Sunday morning tradition will continue.
Needless to say, there are some interesting people at Potawatomi. The guy sitting to my right was particularly "chatty" this morning and told me what cards he was holding every time he folded. While I don't mind being personable at the table, I didn't really need to know that he held a Q4 before folding the previous hand. I was actually amazed that he wanted to share so much information with me, and it got to be annoying. In the end, it was pretty easy to get up from the poker table and head home to watch the race.
Daily Sketch: Up $175.00
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $209.58
June 26, 2004: A Heavy Weekend of Gambling Begins
This morning, I played on-line poker for a few hours - with mixed results.
First, I decided to play the $5/$10 tables on Empire Poker and couldn't catch any cards. After 90 minutes, I had lost all the money in my Empire account ($207) and slinked away. In hindsight, I guess I shouldn't have initiated the withdrawal that "busted" me yesterday. The next time I venture into Empire, I'll need to deposit some funds back into my account in my quest to earn the $100 bonus that I'm eventually going to earn.
After leaving Empire, I went to UltimateBet's $5/$10 tables and, thankfully, started to catch some better cards. After 90 more minutes, I won back exactly $157.95 of the $207 I had lost on Empire. Considering the fact that I found myself down a quick $50 on UltimateBet (I think I was on "tilt" early), I'm quite happy to "only" lose a total of $49.05 during my morning session. In fact, at one point, I was down nearly $270 and things were looking dreadful. To make up $220 left me relatively happy.
Then came the afternoon . . . Ugh!!
To put it mildly,things went VERY VERY poorly during a three hour run on UltimateBet's $5/$10 tables. All told, I lost a healthy $274.30. Yikes!
I got rivered more than I'd like to think about. My cards were actually ok, but I kept getting the 2nd best hand when I was beaten by someone who caught their magical card at the end. Without getting into great detail, it was VERY frustrating. I decided to quit when I noticed my "Month-to-Date" figure was still (barely) positive.
Saturday night, I played in my monthly low-stakes game with Tom, Rob, Jared, Andrew, and John (Tom's brother-in-law). Before the poker festivities began, Jared and I played some "horse" in Tom's driveway for a buck-a-point. After 45 minutes of shooting hoops, I claimed a whopping $1 from Jared. Woo hoo!!
The actual poker-playing started out ok, when I took 2nd in our traditional $5 buy-in hold 'em tournament that begins every night of cards. I claimed $10 for the accomplishment, leaving me a net profit of $5. Andrew clinched the tournament when his A4 (I think) beat my 66. He claimed $20 for 1st place. The "low-light" of the tournament was watching Tom bust out after only four hands. We believe that it was the quickest exodus from any of our previous tournaments.
During the course of the night, I received better-than-average cards. With the maximum bet being $.50, it's really difficult to "clean up" during the 5-6 hours we play. With that being said, I won exactly $19.15 during "normal" poker play, which isn't too bad. Usually, my goal is to simply cover the costs of the beer I bring to the game and the food we eat that night. Mission accomplished!
Still, my on-line poker losses more than offset anything I won at Tom's house. I'm visiting Potawatomi tomorrow morning, so (hopefully) I'll be able to recoup some of my losses courtesy of the Injuns!
Daily Sketch: Down $298.20 (ouch!)
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $34.58
First, I decided to play the $5/$10 tables on Empire Poker and couldn't catch any cards. After 90 minutes, I had lost all the money in my Empire account ($207) and slinked away. In hindsight, I guess I shouldn't have initiated the withdrawal that "busted" me yesterday. The next time I venture into Empire, I'll need to deposit some funds back into my account in my quest to earn the $100 bonus that I'm eventually going to earn.
After leaving Empire, I went to UltimateBet's $5/$10 tables and, thankfully, started to catch some better cards. After 90 more minutes, I won back exactly $157.95 of the $207 I had lost on Empire. Considering the fact that I found myself down a quick $50 on UltimateBet (I think I was on "tilt" early), I'm quite happy to "only" lose a total of $49.05 during my morning session. In fact, at one point, I was down nearly $270 and things were looking dreadful. To make up $220 left me relatively happy.
Then came the afternoon . . . Ugh!!
To put it mildly,things went VERY VERY poorly during a three hour run on UltimateBet's $5/$10 tables. All told, I lost a healthy $274.30. Yikes!
I got rivered more than I'd like to think about. My cards were actually ok, but I kept getting the 2nd best hand when I was beaten by someone who caught their magical card at the end. Without getting into great detail, it was VERY frustrating. I decided to quit when I noticed my "Month-to-Date" figure was still (barely) positive.
Saturday night, I played in my monthly low-stakes game with Tom, Rob, Jared, Andrew, and John (Tom's brother-in-law). Before the poker festivities began, Jared and I played some "horse" in Tom's driveway for a buck-a-point. After 45 minutes of shooting hoops, I claimed a whopping $1 from Jared. Woo hoo!!
The actual poker-playing started out ok, when I took 2nd in our traditional $5 buy-in hold 'em tournament that begins every night of cards. I claimed $10 for the accomplishment, leaving me a net profit of $5. Andrew clinched the tournament when his A4 (I think) beat my 66. He claimed $20 for 1st place. The "low-light" of the tournament was watching Tom bust out after only four hands. We believe that it was the quickest exodus from any of our previous tournaments.
During the course of the night, I received better-than-average cards. With the maximum bet being $.50, it's really difficult to "clean up" during the 5-6 hours we play. With that being said, I won exactly $19.15 during "normal" poker play, which isn't too bad. Usually, my goal is to simply cover the costs of the beer I bring to the game and the food we eat that night. Mission accomplished!
Still, my on-line poker losses more than offset anything I won at Tom's house. I'm visiting Potawatomi tomorrow morning, so (hopefully) I'll be able to recoup some of my losses courtesy of the Injuns!
Daily Sketch: Down $298.20 (ouch!)
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $34.58
June 25, 2004: Busted!!!
After my successful venture into Empire Poker last night, I initiated a money transfer into my checking account. Usually, such a transfer takes 2-3 days, so I didn't expect to see that money until Monday. This morning, however, I found an e-mail in my account asking me to call the Empire Poker Customer Service Group. Upon calling, I "learned" that I wasn't allowed to have two separate accounts on Party Poker and Empire Poker (I acted surprised) and was told that I needed to close one of the accounts before I'd receive any more money. Apparently, I shouldn't have used the same checking account for each site, as that was the key factor that exposed me. Live and learn, I guess!
Since I had already emptied my Party Poker account earlier this week, that's the account I elected to close. After all, I didn't want to close the Empire account and lose the opportunity to earn the $100 sign-up bonus I had initiated earlier this week. In addition, my Empire Poker account still has a sizeable amount of money in it, and I didn't want to risk losing that cash. So, in a matter of minutes, my Party Poker account was closed.
Ultimately, it's no big deal. Since Empire and Poker are (essentially) the same site, it doesn't really matter that my Party Poker account has been closed. Customer Service was actually quite nice, although I did have a difficult time understanding the Middle Eastern accent that was speaking to me.
On to the gambling . . .
This afternoon, I golfed with my father, Chris, & Jared at Kettle Hills. On the back nine, the three boyz placed some "friendly" wagers. Throwing $2 out for each hole (total prize pool of $6/hole), the golfer with the best score claimed half the pot (Chris and I each received a one stroke handicap from Jared) and the golfer to sink the longest putt claimed the other half of the pot. If there was a tie (or if no one sank a putt greater than putter-length), the prize was carried over to the next hole. Despite the fact that I golfed poorly today (over 100), I broke exactly even while watching Jared claim $12 from Chris.
Not wanting to end the day all square (that's boring!), I decided to play on-line for 30 minutes before heading out for the night. Hitting the $2/$4 tables at UltimateBet, I won $44.40. Exactly $40 of that amount was won on the very first hand I played, when I was dealt KK. Otherwise, I simply treaded water for the next 29 minutes. If nothing else, my on-line winnings covered the cost of my round of golf (barely).
Daily Sketch: Up $44.40
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $332.78
Since I had already emptied my Party Poker account earlier this week, that's the account I elected to close. After all, I didn't want to close the Empire account and lose the opportunity to earn the $100 sign-up bonus I had initiated earlier this week. In addition, my Empire Poker account still has a sizeable amount of money in it, and I didn't want to risk losing that cash. So, in a matter of minutes, my Party Poker account was closed.
Ultimately, it's no big deal. Since Empire and Poker are (essentially) the same site, it doesn't really matter that my Party Poker account has been closed. Customer Service was actually quite nice, although I did have a difficult time understanding the Middle Eastern accent that was speaking to me.
On to the gambling . . .
This afternoon, I golfed with my father, Chris, & Jared at Kettle Hills. On the back nine, the three boyz placed some "friendly" wagers. Throwing $2 out for each hole (total prize pool of $6/hole), the golfer with the best score claimed half the pot (Chris and I each received a one stroke handicap from Jared) and the golfer to sink the longest putt claimed the other half of the pot. If there was a tie (or if no one sank a putt greater than putter-length), the prize was carried over to the next hole. Despite the fact that I golfed poorly today (over 100), I broke exactly even while watching Jared claim $12 from Chris.
Not wanting to end the day all square (that's boring!), I decided to play on-line for 30 minutes before heading out for the night. Hitting the $2/$4 tables at UltimateBet, I won $44.40. Exactly $40 of that amount was won on the very first hand I played, when I was dealt KK. Otherwise, I simply treaded water for the next 29 minutes. If nothing else, my on-line winnings covered the cost of my round of golf (barely).
Daily Sketch: Up $44.40
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $332.78
June 24, 2004: Empire Poker
Tonight, I played on Empire Poker's site for the first time. As I mentioned yesterday, Empire is a "skin" of PartyPoker, so it didn't really seem "new" to me. Other than a very slight change in the graphics, the game was played identical to Party Poker.
Unlike UltimateBet, Empire does not offer six-man $2/$4 or $3/$6 tables on its site. Instead, the six-man tables are limited to the $1/$2 tables and the $5/$10 tables. Forced to pick between the two, I opted for the $5/$10 tables. Having not played yesterday, I was eager to play some "meaningful" poker, so I opted for the higher stakes.
All told, I played 167 raked hands over the course of 2 hours, which leaves me "only" 633 more hands until I claim my $100 sign-bonus. I'm well on my way! :-)
*** Hand of the Day ***
Preflop: Yours Truly has Ts Td
Alyakarat raises to $10. I call. Small blind (Saccogf) calls. Big Blind folds.
Flop: 8s, 2d, 8d
Saccogf checks. Alyakarat bets $5. Yours Truly raises to $10. Saccogf folds. Alyakarat calls.
Turn: 5d
Alyakarat checks. Yours Truly bets $10. Alyakarat calls.
River: 9d
Alyakarat checks. Yours Truly bets $10. Alyakarat calls.
Final Pot: $93 after a house rake of $2.
Result:
Yours Truly shows Ts Td (flush)
Alykarat shows Th Tc (a pair of tens)
All told, I had a very productive night and there were some very interesting players at my table. If raised, everyone seemed intent on protecting their blinds, so some of the pots got rather large. Anytime someone flopped a middle pair, they chased it until the end - even if overcards came on the turn and river. Unlike Tuesday's games, I was never really down and clinched a winning night when my JQ in the hole produced a JJQ flop on the last hand I played. I didn't get a lot of action, but the $35 I won on that hand got me over $200 and I decided that I had played enough.
I'll definitely be visiting Empire's $5/$10 tables again soon! :-)
Daily Sketch: Up $205
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $288.38
Unlike UltimateBet, Empire does not offer six-man $2/$4 or $3/$6 tables on its site. Instead, the six-man tables are limited to the $1/$2 tables and the $5/$10 tables. Forced to pick between the two, I opted for the $5/$10 tables. Having not played yesterday, I was eager to play some "meaningful" poker, so I opted for the higher stakes.
All told, I played 167 raked hands over the course of 2 hours, which leaves me "only" 633 more hands until I claim my $100 sign-bonus. I'm well on my way! :-)
*** Hand of the Day ***
Preflop: Yours Truly has Ts Td
Alyakarat raises to $10. I call. Small blind (Saccogf) calls. Big Blind folds.
Flop: 8s, 2d, 8d
Saccogf checks. Alyakarat bets $5. Yours Truly raises to $10. Saccogf folds. Alyakarat calls.
Turn: 5d
Alyakarat checks. Yours Truly bets $10. Alyakarat calls.
River: 9d
Alyakarat checks. Yours Truly bets $10. Alyakarat calls.
Final Pot: $93 after a house rake of $2.
Result:
Yours Truly shows Ts Td (flush)
Alykarat shows Th Tc (a pair of tens)
All told, I had a very productive night and there were some very interesting players at my table. If raised, everyone seemed intent on protecting their blinds, so some of the pots got rather large. Anytime someone flopped a middle pair, they chased it until the end - even if overcards came on the turn and river. Unlike Tuesday's games, I was never really down and clinched a winning night when my JQ in the hole produced a JJQ flop on the last hand I played. I didn't get a lot of action, but the $35 I won on that hand got me over $200 and I decided that I had played enough.
I'll definitely be visiting Empire's $5/$10 tables again soon! :-)
Daily Sketch: Up $205
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $288.38
June 23, 2004: The "Skinny" on Party & Empire
.As promised in yesterday's post, I did ZERO gambling today. However, I kept busy . . .
In particular, I set up a new account at Empire Poker. For those of you unaware, Empire Poker is owned by the same company as Party Poker (my favorite site). They each use the same server and the poker rooms are nearly identical. People logged into Empire are playing against people logged into Party and everyone is co-mingled, without knowing the difference. Using technical computer-speak, Empire Poker is a "skin" of Party Poker.
With that being said, Empire and Party frown upon a person who sets up individual accounts on each site, since the two sites are really one-in-the-same. In fact, if you already have Party installed on your home computer, you cannot set up a new account at Empire - as they have ways of tracking your IP address and blocking your ability to set up a new account. However, if you're somehow able to establish an account at each site, the software allows you to use both packages on one computer. The only time the IP address is used is upon initial account set-up.
So, in an attempt to get an account at Empire Poker (where they are offering a $100 sign-up bonus), I used Theresa's mother's home computer. Since that computer doesn't have Party Poker, I had no problem setting up a new account on Empire. Of course, Theresa's mother's computer is INSANELY slow and uses a dial-up connection. All told, it took 38 minutes to download the Empire software, which seemed like an eternity. However, the process worked and I now have a new account established at Empire Poker with $100 bonus dollars allocated to me after I play exactly 800 hands on their site. However, unlike UltimateBet, Empire Poker won't prorate my play and they won't give me any of the $100 until I play exactly 800 hands. Technically, if I play 799 hands and quit, I'll get $0. That's kinda rough, but I don't envision any problem playing 800 hands during the course of the next few weeks. Considering the fact that I played 291 raked hands last night, it may only take a few days to reach 800 raked hands and earn my $100.
After setting up the account at Theresa's mother's house, I then headed back to my own apartment and downloaded the Empire software. It took exactly 6 seconds to download the software using my Roadrunner account! After the download was finished, I logged into the Empire software (in my apartment) and had no problems - because I wasn't trying to establish a new account. Isn't that interesting? Once you establish an account, your home computer doesn't care that you have existing separate accounts on Party and Empire. However, if you try and establish a new account on either site, your computer does care. I think it's interesting.
In case anyone thinks I'm a genius for getting by this "loophole" in the system, don't give me too much credit. The internet is littered with sites that suggest doing exactly what I did in establishing a separate account on Party and Empire.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $83.38
June 22, 2004: $3/$6 on UltimateBet
Tonight, I stepped up to the $3/$6 tables on UltimateBet and didn't fair very well. All told, I played 291 hands (3 1/2 hours) and I was ahead for exactly four of those hands. Similar to the first two hours of last night's session, I couldn't seem to catch any cards and found myself down the entire night - praying that I'd eventually hit the break-even point. Unfortunately, unlike last night, I didn't experience a magical hour that helped recoup all my losses. I believe that my lowest point was $160 down. I finished the night down exactly $68.85 - which is still pretty ugly, although it could have been worse. Oh well. If I won every night, this would be a pretty boring site, wouldn't it?!?
I think I'll take a one-night break from on-line poker and wait until Thursday to try and recoup tonight's losses. It's exhausting when you're always trying to climb a hill to break-even. I need a one-day vacation!
Daily Sketch: Down $68.85
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $83.38
I think I'll take a one-night break from on-line poker and wait until Thursday to try and recoup tonight's losses. It's exhausting when you're always trying to climb a hill to break-even. I need a one-day vacation!
Daily Sketch: Down $68.85
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $83.38
June 21, 2004: Bonus Codes
Almost every on-line poker site offers "bonus" dollars to anyone who establishes a new account. Of course, you need top play a certain number of raked hands to claim that bonus, but it's still a nice incentive for players like myself to explore new sites. Without these bonus opportunities, I'd play exclusively on PartyPoker's site.
Admittedly, however, it's a bit of a hassle to set up a new account, primarily because most credit cards don't allow you to use them for on-line gambling. Without the ease of a credit card, it usually takes 2-3 business days to deposit money into an on-line account. The 2-3 days is spent verifying checking account #'s that allow you to ACH money directly from your personal account into the on-line casino's account. There are other options that might cut down the 2-3 day waiting time, but they usually cost money. After all is said and done, it's extremely difficult to sit down at your computer on a Friday evening and expect to play poker that night (for real money) on a site you've never used before. However, once you're established an account somewhere, it's quite simple to transfer money to/from your on-line account.
Since I've nearly depleted my bonus account at UltimateBet (the initial $50 is down to $8.40), it's time to start exploring other options. Even though I'm doing fairly well on Ultimate (I've won over $200 in the past week on that site), I've decided that I'm going to take advantage of all the bonus dollars floating around the internet poker rooms and play other sites offering to give me bonus dollars. While I'm aware that most of the other sites won't be as "elaborate" and easy-to-use as PartyPoker and UltimateBet, I'm willing to play some other sites if they want to give me free money.
With that in mind, I started researching other sites and the individual sign-up bonuses they offer. However, it didn't take long to discover that UltimateBet is currently offering a 20% bonus (up to $50) for existing players who make an additional deposit into their account before July 1st. Taking advantage of this offer, I immediately transferred enough money into my UltimateBet account to take advantage of the full $50 bonus available to me. At the same time, I cleaned out my PartyPoker account. From what I've read, PartyPoker will notice that I've emptied my account and will (hopefully) send me an offer which includes a redeposit bonus code. When I receive that offer, I'll go back to Partypoker. Until then, however, I'll continue to play UltimateBet until I deplete the newly established $50 re-deposit bonus. Who knows? Once I use up that $50, maybe UltimateBet will have another offer on the table for me.
On a side note . . .
As I looked into bonus opportunities, I felt like a teenager researching secret codes for video games. A lot of these bonus opportunities aren't widely publicized and you need the "secret" code to capitalize on them, although the codes are relatively easy to find if you're looking for them. Obviously, the poker rooms aren't looking to give money away, so they don't give these codes to anyone wandering through the numerous on-line poker rooms. However, after a few minutes of surfing the web, I was holding a dozen different "secret" bonus codes for various on-line poker sites.
On to the gambling . . .
Tonight, I went back to the six-man $2/$4 Hold 'em tables on UltimateBet and was HAMMERED early. Surprisingly aggressive (and loose) players dominated the table. For two hours, I couldn't catch ANYTHING and watched my account balance dwindle. During those morbid 120 minutes, I was dealt AA twice. The first time I saw pocket rockets, a K-K-4 flop proved perfect for the player who held K4 suited. Apparently, that player felt that K4 suited was a monster hand - even after my obligatory pre-flop raise. Needless to say, I didn't win that pot and quickly chastised the guy for throwing in $4 before seeing the flop. The second time I was dealt AA, I raised from the first position and watched everyone fold to me. While I appreciated the win, the $3 I earned for my AA didn't quite seem worth it.
All told, I was down nearly $175 after two hours. Admittedly, during the year that I've been actively playing on-line poker, I've been down more than $175 during a nightly session. However, I don't recall ever losing that much money on such a relatively low-stakes table. Considering my usual "tight" play, it's actually remarkable that I was able to lose so much money over such a relatively short period of time. In hindsight, I'm glad that Theresa wasn't watching me play, because she tends to take my losses rather hard and it would have been difficult to continue playing if she had been around. Luckily, she was out shopping!
Thankfully, the tide changed drastically over the next 60 minutes. Suddenly, I started to repeatedly flop top pair, my flush draws started to hit, and my opponents' cards got amazingly cold. Over the next hour, I was able to win back ALL $175 and quickly retired when I realized that I was actually ahead for the night. My final earnings weren't significant, but considering the hole I found myself in after two hours, I'm quite happy with the evening's net result. I wish I could tell you my win percentage over the past hour, because it must have been outrageous. To win nearly $200 on a six-man $2/$4 table during the course of one hour is VERY unusual. Too bad it followed two hours of consistent losing, but I suppose that's poker for ya!
Daily Sketch: Up $16.65
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $152.23
Admittedly, however, it's a bit of a hassle to set up a new account, primarily because most credit cards don't allow you to use them for on-line gambling. Without the ease of a credit card, it usually takes 2-3 business days to deposit money into an on-line account. The 2-3 days is spent verifying checking account #'s that allow you to ACH money directly from your personal account into the on-line casino's account. There are other options that might cut down the 2-3 day waiting time, but they usually cost money. After all is said and done, it's extremely difficult to sit down at your computer on a Friday evening and expect to play poker that night (for real money) on a site you've never used before. However, once you're established an account somewhere, it's quite simple to transfer money to/from your on-line account.
Since I've nearly depleted my bonus account at UltimateBet (the initial $50 is down to $8.40), it's time to start exploring other options. Even though I'm doing fairly well on Ultimate (I've won over $200 in the past week on that site), I've decided that I'm going to take advantage of all the bonus dollars floating around the internet poker rooms and play other sites offering to give me bonus dollars. While I'm aware that most of the other sites won't be as "elaborate" and easy-to-use as PartyPoker and UltimateBet, I'm willing to play some other sites if they want to give me free money.
With that in mind, I started researching other sites and the individual sign-up bonuses they offer. However, it didn't take long to discover that UltimateBet is currently offering a 20% bonus (up to $50) for existing players who make an additional deposit into their account before July 1st. Taking advantage of this offer, I immediately transferred enough money into my UltimateBet account to take advantage of the full $50 bonus available to me. At the same time, I cleaned out my PartyPoker account. From what I've read, PartyPoker will notice that I've emptied my account and will (hopefully) send me an offer which includes a redeposit bonus code. When I receive that offer, I'll go back to Partypoker. Until then, however, I'll continue to play UltimateBet until I deplete the newly established $50 re-deposit bonus. Who knows? Once I use up that $50, maybe UltimateBet will have another offer on the table for me.
On a side note . . .
As I looked into bonus opportunities, I felt like a teenager researching secret codes for video games. A lot of these bonus opportunities aren't widely publicized and you need the "secret" code to capitalize on them, although the codes are relatively easy to find if you're looking for them. Obviously, the poker rooms aren't looking to give money away, so they don't give these codes to anyone wandering through the numerous on-line poker rooms. However, after a few minutes of surfing the web, I was holding a dozen different "secret" bonus codes for various on-line poker sites.
On to the gambling . . .
Tonight, I went back to the six-man $2/$4 Hold 'em tables on UltimateBet and was HAMMERED early. Surprisingly aggressive (and loose) players dominated the table. For two hours, I couldn't catch ANYTHING and watched my account balance dwindle. During those morbid 120 minutes, I was dealt AA twice. The first time I saw pocket rockets, a K-K-4 flop proved perfect for the player who held K4 suited. Apparently, that player felt that K4 suited was a monster hand - even after my obligatory pre-flop raise. Needless to say, I didn't win that pot and quickly chastised the guy for throwing in $4 before seeing the flop. The second time I was dealt AA, I raised from the first position and watched everyone fold to me. While I appreciated the win, the $3 I earned for my AA didn't quite seem worth it.
All told, I was down nearly $175 after two hours. Admittedly, during the year that I've been actively playing on-line poker, I've been down more than $175 during a nightly session. However, I don't recall ever losing that much money on such a relatively low-stakes table. Considering my usual "tight" play, it's actually remarkable that I was able to lose so much money over such a relatively short period of time. In hindsight, I'm glad that Theresa wasn't watching me play, because she tends to take my losses rather hard and it would have been difficult to continue playing if she had been around. Luckily, she was out shopping!
Thankfully, the tide changed drastically over the next 60 minutes. Suddenly, I started to repeatedly flop top pair, my flush draws started to hit, and my opponents' cards got amazingly cold. Over the next hour, I was able to win back ALL $175 and quickly retired when I realized that I was actually ahead for the night. My final earnings weren't significant, but considering the hole I found myself in after two hours, I'm quite happy with the evening's net result. I wish I could tell you my win percentage over the past hour, because it must have been outrageous. To win nearly $200 on a six-man $2/$4 table during the course of one hour is VERY unusual. Too bad it followed two hours of consistent losing, but I suppose that's poker for ya!
Daily Sketch: Up $16.65
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $152.23
June 20, 2004: Father's Day
I spent a good amount of the day with my dad and stepmom, so there wasn't a lot of time for gambling. Still, I got in a couple hours of on-line action during the morning.
Playing a $2/$4 Hold 'em table on UltimateBet, I won a quick $87.57 during a 40 minute session on a 6-man table. The winnings would have been nearly $150 if one of my opponents hadn't hit a flush on the river of the last hand I played. I had flopped the nut straight, but a final diamond ruined my chances at taking home a very nice pot. At the same time, I've whittled down my initial $50 sign-up bonus to $8.40. So, I've basically made a "free" $41.60 by playing on UltimateBet during the past 9 days.
Next, I ventured over to PartyPoker and decided to take my chances at a $20(2) single table tournament. Similar to yesterday's three-table tournament, I again finished just outside the money when I took 4th place. Third place was awarded $40. I won nothing.
I concluded my morning poker with some simple $1/$2 Hold 'em action (on PartyPoker) and won back $20.25 of the $22 I had lost in the tournament. So, after all was said and done, it was a successful morning.
Unfortunately, my luck didn't carry over into the afternoon. Things didn't go well for Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, or Scott Verplank at the US Open and I didn't win anything in the two pools I had entered. Thankfully, my successful on-line poker playing over the past few days offset the $60 I had invested in those two pools.
Daily Sketch: Up $85.82
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $135.58
Playing a $2/$4 Hold 'em table on UltimateBet, I won a quick $87.57 during a 40 minute session on a 6-man table. The winnings would have been nearly $150 if one of my opponents hadn't hit a flush on the river of the last hand I played. I had flopped the nut straight, but a final diamond ruined my chances at taking home a very nice pot. At the same time, I've whittled down my initial $50 sign-up bonus to $8.40. So, I've basically made a "free" $41.60 by playing on UltimateBet during the past 9 days.
Next, I ventured over to PartyPoker and decided to take my chances at a $20(2) single table tournament. Similar to yesterday's three-table tournament, I again finished just outside the money when I took 4th place. Third place was awarded $40. I won nothing.
I concluded my morning poker with some simple $1/$2 Hold 'em action (on PartyPoker) and won back $20.25 of the $22 I had lost in the tournament. So, after all was said and done, it was a successful morning.
Unfortunately, my luck didn't carry over into the afternoon. Things didn't go well for Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, or Scott Verplank at the US Open and I didn't win anything in the two pools I had entered. Thankfully, my successful on-line poker playing over the past few days offset the $60 I had invested in those two pools.
Daily Sketch: Up $85.82
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $135.58
June 19, 2004: Saturday Morning Poker
Theresa's cousin was married today, so my on-line poker was limited to 3 hours of morning action. On UltimateBet, I played 45 minutes of $2/$4 Hold 'em and won a tidy $78.47 on a six-man table. As you may recall, I thought the $5/$10 tables were loose on Thursday. This morning, however, the $2/$4 tables were even looser. Unfortunately, there weren't enough people playing $2/$4 Hold 'em, so I had to leave the table after 45 minutes when everyone else left. I guess that's a hazard of playing poker on a smaller site.
So, I merrily took my $78.47 and went to PartyPoker to see what was happening there. Since I was already up during the morning, I decided to enter a $30(3) multi-table Hold 'em tournament capped at 30 players. At the same time I played that tournament, I also played on a low-stakes & Stud Hi/Lo Table ($.25/$.50) and lost $2.37 before I left that table to focus on the tournament.
The multi-table started well. After winning a big hand early, I was the dominating chip leader and kept that lead for the first 45 minutes. After that, however, I couldn't catch any cards and slowly dropped out of the lead. Still, I hung in pretty well and ended up in 6th place - one spot out of the money. I went all in with a Q6 when the flop came up 3-6-10 but was eliminated when my only caller hit a flush on the river. Ughhhh!! The very next hand, another player went all-in and was eliminated. He won $90 for taking 5th place. I won $0 for taking 6th place.
Oh well. All told, I played about 1 hour and 45 minutes before being eliminated.
At the same time, my US Open picks probably aren't going to be good enough to win any money in the two pools I entered - but we'll see. The four golfers I selected in Bob's pool all find themselves in the Top 19 entering the final round - which doesn't sound bad. However, I really need Ernie Els to win the tournament and I'll need strong performances from Sergio Garcia and Scott Verplank on Sunday to have any chance of finishing in the money. It also wouldn't hurt my chances to see Phil Mickelson blow up.
Daily Sketch: Up $43.10
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $49.76
So, I merrily took my $78.47 and went to PartyPoker to see what was happening there. Since I was already up during the morning, I decided to enter a $30(3) multi-table Hold 'em tournament capped at 30 players. At the same time I played that tournament, I also played on a low-stakes & Stud Hi/Lo Table ($.25/$.50) and lost $2.37 before I left that table to focus on the tournament.
The multi-table started well. After winning a big hand early, I was the dominating chip leader and kept that lead for the first 45 minutes. After that, however, I couldn't catch any cards and slowly dropped out of the lead. Still, I hung in pretty well and ended up in 6th place - one spot out of the money. I went all in with a Q6 when the flop came up 3-6-10 but was eliminated when my only caller hit a flush on the river. Ughhhh!! The very next hand, another player went all-in and was eliminated. He won $90 for taking 5th place. I won $0 for taking 6th place.
Oh well. All told, I played about 1 hour and 45 minutes before being eliminated.
At the same time, my US Open picks probably aren't going to be good enough to win any money in the two pools I entered - but we'll see. The four golfers I selected in Bob's pool all find themselves in the Top 19 entering the final round - which doesn't sound bad. However, I really need Ernie Els to win the tournament and I'll need strong performances from Sergio Garcia and Scott Verplank on Sunday to have any chance of finishing in the money. It also wouldn't hurt my chances to see Phil Mickelson blow up.
Daily Sketch: Up $43.10
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $49.76
June 18, 2004: Others Join the Fun
I didn't do any gambling today. That's probably going to prove to be an unusual comment, but it's the truth. Promise!!
Instead, I let Theresa play 30 minutes on UltimateBet before we headed out for dinner with friends. Playing a low-stakes table ($.25/$.50), Theresa lost $3.90 from my account. Needless to say, I've already written up the IOU - although I'm not certain I'll collect.
Later in the night, I let Jared take a turn at a $10(1) tournament on PartyPoker. Starting with 1,000 chips, Jared was up to over 1,700 chips before anyone knew what was happening. However, Jared's overly-aggressive play eventually became his downfall and he finished in 9th place - out of 10 players. In describing his play, Jared had the following quotes:
"Obviously, I lost focus. I was distracted when my beautiful girlfriend started watching my play over my shoulder. I may have caused Steve's account to decrease by $11, but I gained the respect and admiration of everyone who kept calling my bluffs during the course of the tournament."
Watching Jared's play, here is my analysis:
"LOOSE LOOSE LOOSE LOOSE LOOSE LOOSE!!!"
Daily Sketch: Down $14.90
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $6.66
Instead, I let Theresa play 30 minutes on UltimateBet before we headed out for dinner with friends. Playing a low-stakes table ($.25/$.50), Theresa lost $3.90 from my account. Needless to say, I've already written up the IOU - although I'm not certain I'll collect.
Later in the night, I let Jared take a turn at a $10(1) tournament on PartyPoker. Starting with 1,000 chips, Jared was up to over 1,700 chips before anyone knew what was happening. However, Jared's overly-aggressive play eventually became his downfall and he finished in 9th place - out of 10 players. In describing his play, Jared had the following quotes:
"Obviously, I lost focus. I was distracted when my beautiful girlfriend started watching my play over my shoulder. I may have caused Steve's account to decrease by $11, but I gained the respect and admiration of everyone who kept calling my bluffs during the course of the tournament."
Watching Jared's play, here is my analysis:
"LOOSE LOOSE LOOSE LOOSE LOOSE LOOSE!!!"
Daily Sketch: Down $14.90
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $6.66
June 17, 2004: UltimateBet $5/$10 Hold 'em
This morning, I discovered that the $100 withdrawal I had initiated from my UltimateBet account on Monday had correctly posted to my U.S. Bank checking account. So, if nothing else, I'll confidently declare that money can be taken from UltimateBet without too much trouble. Hopefully, I don't have problems with any future sites. I plan to explore bunches of on-line poker sites this summer, so it will be unfortunate if something happens that prevents me from claiming all my money back from any of those sites. Of course, having said that, I can't imagine leaving a lot of money at any particular site, anyway.
That reminds me . . . the other day, I read a blurb from an on-line player who complained that PartyPoker stopped paying interest for funds that exceeded $10,000 in anyone's account. Personally, I can only dream of having enough money that allows me to keep $10,000 in an on-line poker account. After a couple successful nights earlier this year, I know that my balance exceeded $1,000 - but I quickly withdrew a lot of that money. I certainly NEVER considered letting the balance get anywhere near $10,000. Yikes!
Still feeling the sting of Tuesday's failures at the head-to-head tournaments, I decided to attack UltimateBet's $5/$10 Hold 'em tables tonight. Thankfully, they have six-seated tables. I like six seats (over ten seats) simply because the action is faster and you don't need to play as tight. When ten guys are sitting at your table, you generally need a very good hand to see the flop and you need a really good hand to take down the pot. It's pretty unusual to see everyone fold at a ten person table, so you'll usually need to show your cards to win. With that in mind, it's pretty difficult to bluff your way through a pot when you're playing against nine other people.
Six-man tables are significantly different. While it's nice to have good cards, you can pay to see the flop with above-average hands and go from there. Tonight, there were A LOT of very loose players on my tables - which was great. One guy (GForce), in particular, always raised when he had a pocket pair and then bet out the rest of the way. As an example, GForce was dealt 7-7 on one hand. He immediately raised and two people called - as I folded. The flop was 8s-Kh-Jh, GForce bet, and the other two players called. The Turn was a 9d. Again, GForce bet and was called by both players. Finally, the turn was a 4c. Again, G Force bet and was called by one of the players. The other guy had a king and won a pretty nice pot with the simple pair of kings. I might understand why GForce would have bet after the flop (to see where he was at), but he should have quit at that point. With so many overcards on the board, did he really think his 7's were going to hold up? If nothing else, why in the world did he place another bet after the river?
Anyway, that kind of play abounded all night. Being new to UltimateBet, I'm not sure if this is typical, but I hope so. After 2 hours of play, I won $113.45 on the $5/$10 tables and, in the process, whittled my bonus dollars down to $23.04. In the end, the quick action of the six-handed tables really helped me take a good chunk out of that bonus. In hindsight, I might have won more money if I had caught a good run of cards, but they never came. Still, my cards weren't terrible - which probably explains why I came out ahead. I'll definitely explore the $5/$10 tables again this weekend. If I can win $100 every night I play, I'll be plenty happy. :-)
Daily Sketch: Up $113.45
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $21.56
That reminds me . . . the other day, I read a blurb from an on-line player who complained that PartyPoker stopped paying interest for funds that exceeded $10,000 in anyone's account. Personally, I can only dream of having enough money that allows me to keep $10,000 in an on-line poker account. After a couple successful nights earlier this year, I know that my balance exceeded $1,000 - but I quickly withdrew a lot of that money. I certainly NEVER considered letting the balance get anywhere near $10,000. Yikes!
Still feeling the sting of Tuesday's failures at the head-to-head tournaments, I decided to attack UltimateBet's $5/$10 Hold 'em tables tonight. Thankfully, they have six-seated tables. I like six seats (over ten seats) simply because the action is faster and you don't need to play as tight. When ten guys are sitting at your table, you generally need a very good hand to see the flop and you need a really good hand to take down the pot. It's pretty unusual to see everyone fold at a ten person table, so you'll usually need to show your cards to win. With that in mind, it's pretty difficult to bluff your way through a pot when you're playing against nine other people.
Six-man tables are significantly different. While it's nice to have good cards, you can pay to see the flop with above-average hands and go from there. Tonight, there were A LOT of very loose players on my tables - which was great. One guy (GForce), in particular, always raised when he had a pocket pair and then bet out the rest of the way. As an example, GForce was dealt 7-7 on one hand. He immediately raised and two people called - as I folded. The flop was 8s-Kh-Jh, GForce bet, and the other two players called. The Turn was a 9d. Again, GForce bet and was called by both players. Finally, the turn was a 4c. Again, G Force bet and was called by one of the players. The other guy had a king and won a pretty nice pot with the simple pair of kings. I might understand why GForce would have bet after the flop (to see where he was at), but he should have quit at that point. With so many overcards on the board, did he really think his 7's were going to hold up? If nothing else, why in the world did he place another bet after the river?
Anyway, that kind of play abounded all night. Being new to UltimateBet, I'm not sure if this is typical, but I hope so. After 2 hours of play, I won $113.45 on the $5/$10 tables and, in the process, whittled my bonus dollars down to $23.04. In the end, the quick action of the six-handed tables really helped me take a good chunk out of that bonus. In hindsight, I might have won more money if I had caught a good run of cards, but they never came. Still, my cards weren't terrible - which probably explains why I came out ahead. I'll definitely explore the $5/$10 tables again this weekend. If I can win $100 every night I play, I'll be plenty happy. :-)
Daily Sketch: Up $113.45
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $21.56
June 16, 2004: The U.S. Open
With the U.S. Open Golf Tournament scheduled to begin tomorrow, it's time to submit my teams for the two contests I'm entering. As you'll learn, I seem to enter some type of pool for most every major sporting event in the country. :-)
First, I need to pick my golfers for Bob's pool. In this contest, you simply pick any four golfers and the total money they earn this weekend determines your place in the standings. Each entry costs $25 and - I believe - the top 4 place are paid out. I expect that 20 people will join this pool. I don't know that I've ever won money in Bob's pool (he does this for each of the four golf majors), but I keep trying. In fact, I'm entering this pool twice, for a total cost of $50, and I'm letting Theresa pick one of the teams - from a list I'm giving her. Maybe she'll change my luck. Probably not, however.
My Team: Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, & Scott Verplank.
Theresa's Team: Garcia, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson, & Stewart Cink.
The other pool is cheaper - although more complicated. In Jim's pool, you select any 8 golfers and your team receives a total score each round based on each player's handicap. Phil Mickelson has the smallest handicap (0) per round while Raymond Floyd has the highest handicap (3). In other words, if Ray Floyd shoots a 75 on Thursday, his adjusted score is 72. If Mickelson shoots a 70, his adjusted score is 70. I won't bother putting down all the golfers I'm selecting. Jim's pool costs $5/team. Again, I'm entering twice, so that'll cost me another $10.
All told, I'm spending $60 on this weekend's U.S. Open. Hopefully, I'll report some winnings Sunday night. Until then, however, I'll count that money as lost - which will hurt my daily sketch. So be it.
I only played poker for 20 minutes on UltimateBet tonight and went 1-1 in head-to-head action. Thankfully, I won a $30(1.50) tournament while losing a $20(1) tournament - so I actually netted $7.50 ahead in that regard. Woo Hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Down $52.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $91.89
First, I need to pick my golfers for Bob's pool. In this contest, you simply pick any four golfers and the total money they earn this weekend determines your place in the standings. Each entry costs $25 and - I believe - the top 4 place are paid out. I expect that 20 people will join this pool. I don't know that I've ever won money in Bob's pool (he does this for each of the four golf majors), but I keep trying. In fact, I'm entering this pool twice, for a total cost of $50, and I'm letting Theresa pick one of the teams - from a list I'm giving her. Maybe she'll change my luck. Probably not, however.
My Team: Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, & Scott Verplank.
Theresa's Team: Garcia, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson, & Stewart Cink.
The other pool is cheaper - although more complicated. In Jim's pool, you select any 8 golfers and your team receives a total score each round based on each player's handicap. Phil Mickelson has the smallest handicap (0) per round while Raymond Floyd has the highest handicap (3). In other words, if Ray Floyd shoots a 75 on Thursday, his adjusted score is 72. If Mickelson shoots a 70, his adjusted score is 70. I won't bother putting down all the golfers I'm selecting. Jim's pool costs $5/team. Again, I'm entering twice, so that'll cost me another $10.
All told, I'm spending $60 on this weekend's U.S. Open. Hopefully, I'll report some winnings Sunday night. Until then, however, I'll count that money as lost - which will hurt my daily sketch. So be it.
I only played poker for 20 minutes on UltimateBet tonight and went 1-1 in head-to-head action. Thankfully, I won a $30(1.50) tournament while losing a $20(1) tournament - so I actually netted $7.50 ahead in that regard. Woo Hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Down $52.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $91.89
June 15, 2004: On-Line Poker
My favorite on-line poker site is PartyPoker. Last Friday, though, I established a new account at UltimateBet.com. It's the first time I've played on any site other than Party. UltimateBet was offering a 20% deposit bonus for new players - so I decided to sign up. Cashing in for $250, UltimateBet will give me $50 once I play a predetermined number of raked hands on their site. Based on early action, it's going to take quite some time, however, to earn the $50. So far, I've earned exactly $7.35 of the potential $50 - based on the number of hands I played this past weekend. That still leaves $42.65 that needs to be earned before I max out.
At any given time, PartyPoker typically has 30,000 people playing within their site. By contrast, UltimateBet has "only" 10,000 people playing at any time, so (obviously) that site isn't as popular. Still, I won't complain if their aren't as many "suckers" on UltimateBet. By Sunday night, the $250 I had originally invested in UltimateBet had increased to $352. I initiated a $100 withdrawal back into my checking account to make sure that function was working. While I haven't seen the $100 hit my checking account yet (such withdrawals typically take 2-3 business days), I'm certain it will appear in the next day or two. Anyway, since the $100 winnings occurred before today, I'm not going to count that amount in my tracked earnings. The tracking, after all, starts today. So here we go . . .
As of 6:00pm CDT, my PartyPoker account consisted of exactly $109.56 and my UltimateBet account had a balance of $252. Since I'm earning bonus money while playing on Ultimate, that's where I plan on spending most of my time during the next couple weeks. After I earn the $50 bonus, I'll start "exploring" other sites.
As I begin to track my gambling, I'm hoping to keep my overall poker play relatively conservative. After all, I don't want to start $500 in the hole and find myself climbing a steep hill right away!
Tonight, I focused on the $20(1) head-to-head tournaments. Despite the fact that tournaments don't help to reduce the $50 bonus, most of the money I've made on UltimateBet has been through these one-on-one tournaments. So, I thought that this would be a good way to start my website. Unfortunately, things didn't go very well tonight. Overall, I went 6-8 and lost $54 during a 90 minute session. Thankfully, my last opponent (Zolof) lost his connection during that final game and was forced to concede the tournament (and the $20) to me. Of course, I had a 3-1 chip advantage at the time, so I was sitting pretty good, anyway. A guy with a screen name of Bobciosek treated me particularly bad. I went 2-5 against him, which pretty much accounted for all my losses. He was getting great cards and I couldn't beat him. Other than him, I went 4-3 against other players - which isn't very impressive.
After leaving the tournament area (in disgust), I headed to the NL Hold 'em tables. If nothing else, the action on these tables would help me claim some of the remaining $42.65 bonus that's still outstanding. Taking $50 to a low stakes game, I nearly recouped all my losses on the 1st hand I played. Coming into a ten-man table, I was dealt Qd-6d. Having been forced to match the big blind (as a new player), I checked the bet when no one raised. The flop was Qh-Kd-6s. Pditty9600 went all-in and I quickly called. His Kh-3s didn't hold up when garbage came on the turn and flop and I scooped a pot that left me with $89.90 - or a quick profit of $39.90. Suddenly, I was only down $15 for the night and feeling pretty good about myself.
Watching the Pistons/Lakers game, I played extremely tight poker the rest of the night. I lost two decent pots when my pocket 9's and pocket J's were both beaten (an Ace appeared on the board each time). I didn't win any significant pots and gave back about $25 of the $39.90 I had previously won at the table. I probably should have quit playing when I noticed myself paying much more attention to the basketball game, but that's life. So, in the end, my first night of sketching resulted in a loss. Oh well . . . there's always tomorrow!!
Daily Sketch: Down $39.39
At any given time, PartyPoker typically has 30,000 people playing within their site. By contrast, UltimateBet has "only" 10,000 people playing at any time, so (obviously) that site isn't as popular. Still, I won't complain if their aren't as many "suckers" on UltimateBet. By Sunday night, the $250 I had originally invested in UltimateBet had increased to $352. I initiated a $100 withdrawal back into my checking account to make sure that function was working. While I haven't seen the $100 hit my checking account yet (such withdrawals typically take 2-3 business days), I'm certain it will appear in the next day or two. Anyway, since the $100 winnings occurred before today, I'm not going to count that amount in my tracked earnings. The tracking, after all, starts today. So here we go . . .
As of 6:00pm CDT, my PartyPoker account consisted of exactly $109.56 and my UltimateBet account had a balance of $252. Since I'm earning bonus money while playing on Ultimate, that's where I plan on spending most of my time during the next couple weeks. After I earn the $50 bonus, I'll start "exploring" other sites.
As I begin to track my gambling, I'm hoping to keep my overall poker play relatively conservative. After all, I don't want to start $500 in the hole and find myself climbing a steep hill right away!
Tonight, I focused on the $20(1) head-to-head tournaments. Despite the fact that tournaments don't help to reduce the $50 bonus, most of the money I've made on UltimateBet has been through these one-on-one tournaments. So, I thought that this would be a good way to start my website. Unfortunately, things didn't go very well tonight. Overall, I went 6-8 and lost $54 during a 90 minute session. Thankfully, my last opponent (Zolof) lost his connection during that final game and was forced to concede the tournament (and the $20) to me. Of course, I had a 3-1 chip advantage at the time, so I was sitting pretty good, anyway. A guy with a screen name of Bobciosek treated me particularly bad. I went 2-5 against him, which pretty much accounted for all my losses. He was getting great cards and I couldn't beat him. Other than him, I went 4-3 against other players - which isn't very impressive.
After leaving the tournament area (in disgust), I headed to the NL Hold 'em tables. If nothing else, the action on these tables would help me claim some of the remaining $42.65 bonus that's still outstanding. Taking $50 to a low stakes game, I nearly recouped all my losses on the 1st hand I played. Coming into a ten-man table, I was dealt Qd-6d. Having been forced to match the big blind (as a new player), I checked the bet when no one raised. The flop was Qh-Kd-6s. Pditty9600 went all-in and I quickly called. His Kh-3s didn't hold up when garbage came on the turn and flop and I scooped a pot that left me with $89.90 - or a quick profit of $39.90. Suddenly, I was only down $15 for the night and feeling pretty good about myself.
Watching the Pistons/Lakers game, I played extremely tight poker the rest of the night. I lost two decent pots when my pocket 9's and pocket J's were both beaten (an Ace appeared on the board each time). I didn't win any significant pots and gave back about $25 of the $39.90 I had previously won at the table. I probably should have quit playing when I noticed myself paying much more attention to the basketball game, but that's life. So, in the end, my first night of sketching resulted in a loss. Oh well . . . there's always tomorrow!!
Daily Sketch: Down $39.39
June 14, 2004: The Sketching Begins . . .
Hi! My name is Steve and I like to gamble. For anyone who knows me, that sentence shouldn't come as any surprise. While it's impossible to determine my rate of success through the years, I'm definitely ahead - thanks in large part to one particularly successful trip to Las Vegas a few years ago. I'd be foolish to try and estimate my lifetime profits, however, since I seem to gamble on a lot of things and it would be impossible to try and quantify all of the results through the years.
Having said that, I've decided to take on the monumental task of attempting to track all my gambling exploits - BEGINNING TOMORROW. For the foreseeable future, I am going to track EVERY monetary bet I make and record the results on this website. I can't wait to learn if I'm a successful gambler! If nothing else, the next time one of my friends asks how my gambling is going, I'll simply point them to this website. Hopefully, I'll have some happy stories on this site, although I'm confident that there will be plenty of not-so-happy stories that litter this page.
Off the top of my head, I'd say that these are the Top 5 things that I regularly bet on:
(1) On-Line Poker. I love it!
(2) Monthly poker games with my buddies. I currently play in two regular games.
(3) Casinos. I venture to Las Vegas (at least) once a year, but Potawatomi Bingo & Casino is only a mile from my apartment. That's dangerous! :-)
(4) Sports. I'm in numerous Fantasy Leagues. Right now, I'm participating in a NASCAR League and a Baseball Pool called Dingers & Doubles.
(5) Dog Tracks. I probably go to Kenosha's Dairyland Greyhound Park once every couple months.
As you'll read, I find myself wagering on NUMEROUS other things - too numerous to rattle off right now.
Without further ado, it's time to start sketching . . .
Having said that, I've decided to take on the monumental task of attempting to track all my gambling exploits - BEGINNING TOMORROW. For the foreseeable future, I am going to track EVERY monetary bet I make and record the results on this website. I can't wait to learn if I'm a successful gambler! If nothing else, the next time one of my friends asks how my gambling is going, I'll simply point them to this website. Hopefully, I'll have some happy stories on this site, although I'm confident that there will be plenty of not-so-happy stories that litter this page.
Off the top of my head, I'd say that these are the Top 5 things that I regularly bet on:
(1) On-Line Poker. I love it!
(2) Monthly poker games with my buddies. I currently play in two regular games.
(3) Casinos. I venture to Las Vegas (at least) once a year, but Potawatomi Bingo & Casino is only a mile from my apartment. That's dangerous! :-)
(4) Sports. I'm in numerous Fantasy Leagues. Right now, I'm participating in a NASCAR League and a Baseball Pool called Dingers & Doubles.
(5) Dog Tracks. I probably go to Kenosha's Dairyland Greyhound Park once every couple months.
As you'll read, I find myself wagering on NUMEROUS other things - too numerous to rattle off right now.
Without further ado, it's time to start sketching . . .
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