I've taken the past two days off from on-line poker. It's actually felt pretty good staying away from the world of cyberspace cards, so I may take another couple days off. This weekend, Theresa and I are heading to Chicago to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary, so I wouldn't be surprised if I don't play poker again until sometime next week. I know that's kinda boring, but so be it.
This evening, I visited the Bradley Center with Joe (his treat!) and watched the Milwaukee Bucks play the Phoenix Suns. At halftime, the Suns were winning by a score of 62-58. Despite the high score, the game was kinda boring. So, to spice things up a bit, I made a $5 wager with the stranger seated next to me. He firmly believed that the Suns were going to blow the Bucks away in the 3rd quarter, but I didn't have the same feeling. So, I bet that the Bucks would, at a minimum, be within 8 points when the 3rd quarter ended.
To say that Bucks had a good 3rd quarter would be a gross understatement. In fact, when the quarter ended, the Bucks were winning by a score of 104-88, effectively covering the spread by a whopping 24 points. They made eleven 3-pointers (an NBA record!) during that magical 12 minutes and scored an amazing 46 points. Yikes!!! I don't believe I've ever witnessed anything like that before. It was raining three's in the Bradley Center!
So, I won the $5 from the stranger sitting next to me (he later instroduced himself as "Bob") and the Sketchbook saw a profit this evening. At the same time, the Bucks had no problems in the 4th quarter and they won going away. Woo hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Up $5
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $537.92
March 25, 2006: A Crowning Achievement
Entering the day, I needed to earn 350 "crowns" from Noble Poker to officially earn the $20 that they added to my account last weekend. My quest today was simple: to earn those 350 crowns and cash out any money I earned along the way.
Taking it relatively easy, I played on a 6-man $2/$4 table for most of the afternoon. Eventually, I earned my full complement of crowns and - as planned - I cashed out all the money in my account. In the end, that figure came to $171.14. Considering the fact that this was completely free money, I feel good to have an extra $171.14 to my name that I otherwise didn't expect.
When the day started, the balance in my Noble Poker account was $130.65. So,using simple mathematics, the Sketchbook saw a profit of $40.49 this afternoon. It would have been nice to make up the money I lost yesterday, but beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.
Perhaps Noble Poker will give me another free $20 in a couple months. When that happens, I'll come back to their site!
Daily Sketch: Up $40.49
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $532.92
Taking it relatively easy, I played on a 6-man $2/$4 table for most of the afternoon. Eventually, I earned my full complement of crowns and - as planned - I cashed out all the money in my account. In the end, that figure came to $171.14. Considering the fact that this was completely free money, I feel good to have an extra $171.14 to my name that I otherwise didn't expect.
When the day started, the balance in my Noble Poker account was $130.65. So,using simple mathematics, the Sketchbook saw a profit of $40.49 this afternoon. It would have been nice to make up the money I lost yesterday, but beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.
Perhaps Noble Poker will give me another free $20 in a couple months. When that happens, I'll come back to their site!
Daily Sketch: Up $40.49
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $532.92
March 24, 2006: It was Bound to Happen
For the first time in nearly 3 weeks, I had a losing session tonight. I guess that you can't win every time, right? Otherwise, poker would be too easy.
Sitting at a $3/$6 table for a couple hours on Absolute Poker, I ended up losing exactly $160. Ugh!! Three separate times, I lost while holding pocket Kings. It would have been easy to fold these losing hands, except for the fact that an ace didn't appear on the board during any of these hands. I lost to pocket Aces once, and two-pair the other two times. Doh!
So, the winning streak has ended. Time to start a new one tomorrow!
Daily Sketch: Down $160
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $492.43
Sitting at a $3/$6 table for a couple hours on Absolute Poker, I ended up losing exactly $160. Ugh!! Three separate times, I lost while holding pocket Kings. It would have been easy to fold these losing hands, except for the fact that an ace didn't appear on the board during any of these hands. I lost to pocket Aces once, and two-pair the other two times. Doh!
So, the winning streak has ended. Time to start a new one tomorrow!
Daily Sketch: Down $160
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $492.43
March 23, 2006: Accumulating Crowns
Theresa stopped working relatively early this evening, so I had the opportunity to use the laptop. As a result, I bonded with Noble Poker for 90 minutes while chasing the 500 crowns that I need to earn to claim my $20 bonus - all while watching NCAA Tournament basketball games.
Ahhhhh . . . poker and college basketball . . . Life is grand!
Since I started the night with barely $60 in my Noble Poker account (after winning $40 the other night), I was hesitant to join a table with stakes greater than $1/$2. There weren't any open tables at that level, however, so I was forced to jump on a 6-man $2/$4 table. I guess that's the price you pay for playing at a site that's significantly smaller than Party Poker. You can't always play at the stakes that you want.
Fifteen minutes into my session, things were looking bleak. My $60 had dipped below $20 and I feared that I was about to lose my free $20. My dreams of turning this $20 bonus into millions of dollars was in serious jeopardy.
Thankfully, things turned around.
I flopped a set while holding pocket 6's and scooped a nice pot after going "all-in" with the last of my cash. From that point on, I slowly and surely saw my stack of chips increase. In fact, after 90 minutes, my account had over $120 in it and I had earned exactly 100 crowns this evening. Woo hoo!! The dream of winning millions is still alive!
Coupled with the 50 crowns I earned the other day, I've now played 30% of the hands I need to play to earn my free $20. Of course, I've earned over $100 chasing the $20 bonus, so my pursuit of this bonus probably isn't relevant anymore. Despite that, I plan on playing at Noble Poker until I accumulate 500 crowns and earn my bonus.
Daily Sketch: Up $69.40
Month-to-Date Sketch: $652.43
Ahhhhh . . . poker and college basketball . . . Life is grand!
Since I started the night with barely $60 in my Noble Poker account (after winning $40 the other night), I was hesitant to join a table with stakes greater than $1/$2. There weren't any open tables at that level, however, so I was forced to jump on a 6-man $2/$4 table. I guess that's the price you pay for playing at a site that's significantly smaller than Party Poker. You can't always play at the stakes that you want.
Fifteen minutes into my session, things were looking bleak. My $60 had dipped below $20 and I feared that I was about to lose my free $20. My dreams of turning this $20 bonus into millions of dollars was in serious jeopardy.
Thankfully, things turned around.
I flopped a set while holding pocket 6's and scooped a nice pot after going "all-in" with the last of my cash. From that point on, I slowly and surely saw my stack of chips increase. In fact, after 90 minutes, my account had over $120 in it and I had earned exactly 100 crowns this evening. Woo hoo!! The dream of winning millions is still alive!
Coupled with the 50 crowns I earned the other day, I've now played 30% of the hands I need to play to earn my free $20. Of course, I've earned over $100 chasing the $20 bonus, so my pursuit of this bonus probably isn't relevant anymore. Despite that, I plan on playing at Noble Poker until I accumulate 500 crowns and earn my bonus.
Daily Sketch: Up $69.40
Month-to-Date Sketch: $652.43
March 22, 2006: Absolute Madness
I transferred some funds from my Party Poker account into my Absolute Poker account this evening. I wanted to raise my stakes a bit, and I wasn't comfortable making that upgrade with only $70 sitting in my Absolute Poker account. As it turns out, the transfer was a necessity.
Thirty minutes after sitting down at my computer, I was down $140 while sitting at a 6-man $3/$6 table. I don't think I was playing poorly. Instead, I simply ran up against two particularly good hands.
In the first instance, I found myself holding A-10 and saw a flop of 10-10-2. I bet aggressively against my only opponent, and I lost a monster pot when he eventually flipped over 2-2. I didn't improve my hand after the flop, and my set of 10's wasn't good enough to beat his full house. Ugh!!
Shortly thereafter, I found myself holding A♥-4♥ and witnessed a flop of 6♥-9♥-10♥. Again, the betting got aggressive. I managed to lose this pot, however, when a 7♥ appeared on the river. I didn't recognize the danger in that card, and I lost another monster pot when my opponent flipped over 7♠-8♥. He had hit the straight flush on the river. Ugh!!
Without doubt, this was Absolute madness!!
After one hour, I was down $160 and completely frustrated. I just couldn't seem to win any good hands. Time after time, I'd scoop several small pots, only to lose one big pot that knocked me back down. It was the classic case of two small steps forward, only to take one big step backward. Too many times to count, I'd flop 4-to-a-flush, only to see no help the rest of the way.
Realizing that my chances of getting back to even were slim if I stayed on the $3/$6 table, I jumped up to a $5/$10 table to chase my losses. The Sketchbook had a serious chance of taking a beating tonight!
My luck, however, turned around immediately. I won the first 3 hands I played at the new table and quickly recouped half my losses. For the next 25 minutes, I battled my way towards respectability and eventually found myself "in the black" for the first time all night after hitting two pair while holding J-K. I quickly logged out of the software and took a break - 90 minutes after starting this madness.
I never went back into the software. I was up exactly $4 - which seemed like a fair amount when you consider that I was down $160 at one point. Content that I had experienced another profitable night, I quit while I was ahead.
For those of you not keeping track, I haven't written a negative Sketchbook entry since March 5th. That's pretty good!
Daily Sketch: Up $4
Month-to-Date Sketch: $583.03
Thirty minutes after sitting down at my computer, I was down $140 while sitting at a 6-man $3/$6 table. I don't think I was playing poorly. Instead, I simply ran up against two particularly good hands.
In the first instance, I found myself holding A-10 and saw a flop of 10-10-2. I bet aggressively against my only opponent, and I lost a monster pot when he eventually flipped over 2-2. I didn't improve my hand after the flop, and my set of 10's wasn't good enough to beat his full house. Ugh!!
Shortly thereafter, I found myself holding A♥-4♥ and witnessed a flop of 6♥-9♥-10♥. Again, the betting got aggressive. I managed to lose this pot, however, when a 7♥ appeared on the river. I didn't recognize the danger in that card, and I lost another monster pot when my opponent flipped over 7♠-8♥. He had hit the straight flush on the river. Ugh!!
Without doubt, this was Absolute madness!!
After one hour, I was down $160 and completely frustrated. I just couldn't seem to win any good hands. Time after time, I'd scoop several small pots, only to lose one big pot that knocked me back down. It was the classic case of two small steps forward, only to take one big step backward. Too many times to count, I'd flop 4-to-a-flush, only to see no help the rest of the way.
Realizing that my chances of getting back to even were slim if I stayed on the $3/$6 table, I jumped up to a $5/$10 table to chase my losses. The Sketchbook had a serious chance of taking a beating tonight!
My luck, however, turned around immediately. I won the first 3 hands I played at the new table and quickly recouped half my losses. For the next 25 minutes, I battled my way towards respectability and eventually found myself "in the black" for the first time all night after hitting two pair while holding J-K. I quickly logged out of the software and took a break - 90 minutes after starting this madness.
I never went back into the software. I was up exactly $4 - which seemed like a fair amount when you consider that I was down $160 at one point. Content that I had experienced another profitable night, I quit while I was ahead.
For those of you not keeping track, I haven't written a negative Sketchbook entry since March 5th. That's pretty good!
Daily Sketch: Up $4
Month-to-Date Sketch: $583.03
March 21, 2006: My Home Computers
For those of you unaware, I have two computers in my apartment. My main computer was purchased in the Spring of 2000 when I first moved into Juneau Village. Even when I bought it, this computer wasn't very good. I paid less than $500 for the thing and - to be honest - I probably overpaid for it. As I gaze at my computer right now, I don't think it has a pentium processor and probably operates on some processor that's long since gone extinct.
Despite its obvious limitations, the computer continues to function. I've known this computer longer than I've known my wife, so I have a special attachment to it. In fact, it will be an especially sad day when I'm finally forced to throw it away.
When I play on Party Poker, in particular, I cannot open any other windows on the main computer. Otherwise, the blue screen of death appears and I'm forced to reboot. That, my friends, is not a good thing for a man who spends 75% of his computer time playing on-line poker.
My second computer, meanwhile, was purchased less than 12 months ago. It's a respectable laptop, but it's primary function is to serve as my wife's work-at-home computer. As such, whenever Theresa needs to use a computer, I cannot use the laptop. Since she works rather frequently in the evening, I'm usually forced to use the older computer to play online poker.
Why am I bothering to write all this? Because I had planned on playing another 50 hands on Noble Poker tonight, but I couldn't because Theresa needed to use the laptop.
As it happens, Noble Poker is an extremely memory-intensive poker software. It's so bad, in fact, that my original computer won't run it. Whenever I try to load Noble Poker, the computer freezes. I searched around the internet and found that this is relatively common for people with older computers who can't take the extra memory that's required. So, my quest to earn 500 crowns will hafta wait until another night. Considering the fact that I have 30 days to earn the 500 crowns, I'm not too worried about it.
Eager to explore something a bit different tonight, I decided to visit Absolute Poker. Entering the night, I had a little under $30 sitting in my account, and I decided to visit a $2/$4 Hold 'em table with that loot. Ninety minutes after sitting down at the table, my account had $70 in it and I was feeling pretty good about things.
I was tempted to up my stakes and thought about moving to another table, but considered the consequences of losing all my winnings at a $5/$10 table in a few minutes. If nothing else, it doesn't feel particularly good to win $40.50 in 90 minutes - only to lose it back in 5 minutes at a higher stakes table.
Maybe I'll visit a higher stakes table tomorrow night and lose it then! :-)
Daily Sketch: Up $40.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $579.03
Despite its obvious limitations, the computer continues to function. I've known this computer longer than I've known my wife, so I have a special attachment to it. In fact, it will be an especially sad day when I'm finally forced to throw it away.
When I play on Party Poker, in particular, I cannot open any other windows on the main computer. Otherwise, the blue screen of death appears and I'm forced to reboot. That, my friends, is not a good thing for a man who spends 75% of his computer time playing on-line poker.
My second computer, meanwhile, was purchased less than 12 months ago. It's a respectable laptop, but it's primary function is to serve as my wife's work-at-home computer. As such, whenever Theresa needs to use a computer, I cannot use the laptop. Since she works rather frequently in the evening, I'm usually forced to use the older computer to play online poker.
Why am I bothering to write all this? Because I had planned on playing another 50 hands on Noble Poker tonight, but I couldn't because Theresa needed to use the laptop.
As it happens, Noble Poker is an extremely memory-intensive poker software. It's so bad, in fact, that my original computer won't run it. Whenever I try to load Noble Poker, the computer freezes. I searched around the internet and found that this is relatively common for people with older computers who can't take the extra memory that's required. So, my quest to earn 500 crowns will hafta wait until another night. Considering the fact that I have 30 days to earn the 500 crowns, I'm not too worried about it.
Eager to explore something a bit different tonight, I decided to visit Absolute Poker. Entering the night, I had a little under $30 sitting in my account, and I decided to visit a $2/$4 Hold 'em table with that loot. Ninety minutes after sitting down at the table, my account had $70 in it and I was feeling pretty good about things.
I was tempted to up my stakes and thought about moving to another table, but considered the consequences of losing all my winnings at a $5/$10 table in a few minutes. If nothing else, it doesn't feel particularly good to win $40.50 in 90 minutes - only to lose it back in 5 minutes at a higher stakes table.
Maybe I'll visit a higher stakes table tomorrow night and lose it then! :-)
Daily Sketch: Up $40.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $579.03
March 20, 2006: A Message from Noble Poker
When I checked my e-mail today, I found the following message:
Dear Steve,
You have been awarded a bonus amount of $20.00! The money has been added to your account. You are free to use this bonus amount to play at Noble Poker. However, if you wish to cashout the bonus, you will need to play 500 crowns within 30 days starting today.
The bonus has no restriction and is available NOW in your account.
See you at the tables,
Edward Spencer
Manager
Noble Poker
It's been quite some time since I played at Noble Poker, so I decided to visit the site this evening. If nothing else, I wasn't going to ignore this free $20 - even if I hafta earn 500 "crowns" to claim the loot.
Jumping on a $1/$2 Hold 'em table, I decided to take my chances with my new bankroll. As best I can tell, I earn a crown for every raked hand of poker that I play. So, I'm going to need to play 500 raked hands of poker to claim my free money. That's A LOT of hands for $20, but I'm hoping to turn this $20 into something significant.
All told, I played for nearly an hour and earned exactly 50 crowns tonight - or 10% of the total that I need to earn to claim my bonus. During my hour of play, I found decent success and won exactly $41.25 on the $1/$2 table. I might be able to cashout the $40+ profits (without touching the original $20), but I'm not sure. Regardless, my goal is to see how much I can make from this original bonus, so I won't be cashing out until I earn the full 500 crowns.
Daily Sketch: Up $41.25
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $538.53
Dear Steve,
You have been awarded a bonus amount of $20.00! The money has been added to your account. You are free to use this bonus amount to play at Noble Poker. However, if you wish to cashout the bonus, you will need to play 500 crowns within 30 days starting today.
The bonus has no restriction and is available NOW in your account.
See you at the tables,
Edward Spencer
Manager
Noble Poker
It's been quite some time since I played at Noble Poker, so I decided to visit the site this evening. If nothing else, I wasn't going to ignore this free $20 - even if I hafta earn 500 "crowns" to claim the loot.
Jumping on a $1/$2 Hold 'em table, I decided to take my chances with my new bankroll. As best I can tell, I earn a crown for every raked hand of poker that I play. So, I'm going to need to play 500 raked hands of poker to claim my free money. That's A LOT of hands for $20, but I'm hoping to turn this $20 into something significant.
All told, I played for nearly an hour and earned exactly 50 crowns tonight - or 10% of the total that I need to earn to claim my bonus. During my hour of play, I found decent success and won exactly $41.25 on the $1/$2 table. I might be able to cashout the $40+ profits (without touching the original $20), but I'm not sure. Regardless, my goal is to see how much I can make from this original bonus, so I won't be cashing out until I earn the full 500 crowns.
Daily Sketch: Up $41.25
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $538.53
March 19, 2006: Sunday Morning Poker
With today's NCAA baskeball games slated to begin around noon, I had a good part of the morning available to play poker. Despite that, I only played for about 45 minutes. Here's why:
Sitting down at a 6-man $3/$6 table with $100, here's a recap of the 2nd hand that I played:
Table: ALEXANDRIA (Real Money) Seat #6 is the dealer
Seat 6 - FATHED ($160.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - KRST12 ($129.55 in chips)
Seat 3 - STV_1313 ($95 in chips)
KRST12 - Posts small blind $2
STV_1313 - Posts big blind $3
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to STV1313 [A◊ 8◊]
FATHED - Raises $6 to $6
KRST12 - Calls $4
STV_1313 - Calls $3
Editor's Note: I'm not excited by the preflop raise, but I'm holding an ace and there are only 3 people sitting at this table.
*** FLOP *** [A♥ 6♣ 8♠]
KRST12 - Bets $3
STV_1313 - Calls $3
FATHED - Calls $3
Editor's Note: Woo Hoo! I've flopped 2-pair.
*** TURN *** [A♥ 6♣ 8♠] [10♣]
KRST12 - Bets $6
STV_1313 - Raises $12 to $12
FATHED - Folds
KRST12 - Calls $6
*** RIVER *** [A♥ 6c 8♠ 10♣] [7♠]
KRST12 - Checks
STV1313 - Bets $6
KRST12 - Raises $12 to $12
STV_1313 - Calls $6
Editor's Note: Hmmm . . . I'm holding 2-pair and I'm getting raised?
*** SHOW DOWN ***
KRST12 - Shows [5◊ 4♥] (Straight, four to eight)
STV1313 - Mucks
KRST12 Collects $73 from main pot
Editor's Note: Are you kidding me? What a horrible play from KRST12, and it pays off when he hits his gut-shot straight. When this hand was over, KRST12 had $170 at the table. I was down to $62. Ugh!
As it turned out, this type of play was not unusual for KRST12. In fact, he was a terrible player. He chased every hand to the river and bet on incredible draws. If he happened to flop bottom pair (a bad hand), he'd bet aggressively. This action continued for the full 45 minutes that I sat at this table. Once in a great while, KRST12 hit his miracle card but, more often than not, he didn't. To put it mildly, it was very interesting to watch.
Thirty minutes after winning the hand described above, KRST12 had lost back all of his $170. Then, he bought in for another $60 and lost that in the next 15 minutes. Finally, he left the table, having lost $230 since hitting the miracle straight against me. Losing that kind of loot on a $3/$6 table in 45 minutes is rather difficult.
At the same time KRST12 was losing, I started to hit some hands. Of course, it felt especially good to take some money back from KRST12, but he deserved it. In the end, it became a race between me and the other players at the table to see who could take KRST12's money before he went bankrupt. Thankfully, I won that race. After all was said and done, I was up exactly $117.50 when KRST12 finally left the table. Considering the fact that I was down $38 after losing that big hand to KRST12, I felt pretty good. That meant that I won $155.50 of the $230 that KRST12 lost.
I wasn't overly inspired to play poker after KRST12 left the table. It's not often that I see such a terrible player, and winning $117.50 in 45 minutes made me plenty happy. If I was going to win any more money this morning, I knew that I'd hafta work for it, and it was simply too easy to win the $117.50. So, despite the fact that I had plenty of free time still available to me before the basketball games began today, I retired for the day with my tidy profits.
Daily Sketch: Up $117.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $497.28
Sitting down at a 6-man $3/$6 table with $100, here's a recap of the 2nd hand that I played:
Table: ALEXANDRIA (Real Money) Seat #6 is the dealer
Seat 6 - FATHED ($160.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - KRST12 ($129.55 in chips)
Seat 3 - STV_1313 ($95 in chips)
KRST12 - Posts small blind $2
STV_1313 - Posts big blind $3
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to STV1313 [A◊ 8◊]
FATHED - Raises $6 to $6
KRST12 - Calls $4
STV_1313 - Calls $3
Editor's Note: I'm not excited by the preflop raise, but I'm holding an ace and there are only 3 people sitting at this table.
*** FLOP *** [A♥ 6♣ 8♠]
KRST12 - Bets $3
STV_1313 - Calls $3
FATHED - Calls $3
Editor's Note: Woo Hoo! I've flopped 2-pair.
*** TURN *** [A♥ 6♣ 8♠] [10♣]
KRST12 - Bets $6
STV_1313 - Raises $12 to $12
FATHED - Folds
KRST12 - Calls $6
*** RIVER *** [A♥ 6c 8♠ 10♣] [7♠]
KRST12 - Checks
STV1313 - Bets $6
KRST12 - Raises $12 to $12
STV_1313 - Calls $6
Editor's Note: Hmmm . . . I'm holding 2-pair and I'm getting raised?
*** SHOW DOWN ***
KRST12 - Shows [5◊ 4♥] (Straight, four to eight)
STV1313 - Mucks
KRST12 Collects $73 from main pot
Editor's Note: Are you kidding me? What a horrible play from KRST12, and it pays off when he hits his gut-shot straight. When this hand was over, KRST12 had $170 at the table. I was down to $62. Ugh!
As it turned out, this type of play was not unusual for KRST12. In fact, he was a terrible player. He chased every hand to the river and bet on incredible draws. If he happened to flop bottom pair (a bad hand), he'd bet aggressively. This action continued for the full 45 minutes that I sat at this table. Once in a great while, KRST12 hit his miracle card but, more often than not, he didn't. To put it mildly, it was very interesting to watch.
Thirty minutes after winning the hand described above, KRST12 had lost back all of his $170. Then, he bought in for another $60 and lost that in the next 15 minutes. Finally, he left the table, having lost $230 since hitting the miracle straight against me. Losing that kind of loot on a $3/$6 table in 45 minutes is rather difficult.
At the same time KRST12 was losing, I started to hit some hands. Of course, it felt especially good to take some money back from KRST12, but he deserved it. In the end, it became a race between me and the other players at the table to see who could take KRST12's money before he went bankrupt. Thankfully, I won that race. After all was said and done, I was up exactly $117.50 when KRST12 finally left the table. Considering the fact that I was down $38 after losing that big hand to KRST12, I felt pretty good. That meant that I won $155.50 of the $230 that KRST12 lost.
I wasn't overly inspired to play poker after KRST12 left the table. It's not often that I see such a terrible player, and winning $117.50 in 45 minutes made me plenty happy. If I was going to win any more money this morning, I knew that I'd hafta work for it, and it was simply too easy to win the $117.50. So, despite the fact that I had plenty of free time still available to me before the basketball games began today, I retired for the day with my tidy profits.
Daily Sketch: Up $117.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $497.28
March 18, 2006: Lo Stakes No Limit
While watching NCAA basketball games this afternoon, I decided to play some No Limit Hold 'em Poker. Joining low-stakes tables that didn't allow buy-ins of more than $25, I played for several hours. The antes were $.10/$.25, so the betting was rather tame. However, after all was said and done, I claimed a modest profit of $37.40. That's not bad when you consider the stakes.
At the same time, my hopes of winning money for my NCAA brackets probably crumbled last night when Michigan State was upset by George Mason. I had the Spartans going all the way to the Final Four. Ooops!
Daily Sketch: Up $37.40
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $379.78
At the same time, my hopes of winning money for my NCAA brackets probably crumbled last night when Michigan State was upset by George Mason. I had the Spartans going all the way to the Final Four. Ooops!
Daily Sketch: Up $37.40
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $379.78
March 17, 2006: Happy St. Patty's Day
I took a day of vacation from work today in order to watch all the NCAA basketball action. After all, I love March Madness!! Entering the day, I was in 2nd place in each pool I had entered, so I felt pretty good about things. Of course, it's VERY early, so anything can still happen.
After running a few errands this morning, I had about 45 minutes of free time before the first basketball games started shortly after 11:00am. Quite naturally, I used that time by getting in some poker action. :-)
I joined a 6-man $5/$10 table on Party Poker and found success - again. It's been awhile since I had a losing session, so I'm feeling pretty good about things. Interestingly, I lost two big pots in the time I played today, but I won a lot of other pots that easily offset those losses. All told, I finished my short session with a tidy profit of $127.50. More than half that amount, however, was won on the last hand when the flop came 3-3-6 while I was holding pocket 6's. As it turned out, my opponent was holding A-3. Sorry for him!
Daily Sketch: Up $127.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $342.38
After running a few errands this morning, I had about 45 minutes of free time before the first basketball games started shortly after 11:00am. Quite naturally, I used that time by getting in some poker action. :-)
I joined a 6-man $5/$10 table on Party Poker and found success - again. It's been awhile since I had a losing session, so I'm feeling pretty good about things. Interestingly, I lost two big pots in the time I played today, but I won a lot of other pots that easily offset those losses. All told, I finished my short session with a tidy profit of $127.50. More than half that amount, however, was won on the last hand when the flop came 3-3-6 while I was holding pocket 6's. As it turned out, my opponent was holding A-3. Sorry for him!
Daily Sketch: Up $127.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $342.38
March 16, 2006: March Madness
As most everyone knows, I help to run an annual pool for the NCAA basketball tournament. Today the fun began! It's my favorite time of year.
I entered two pools. My own ($5) and Jim's ($10). I submitted the exact same bracket into each pool - primarily for ease of tracking my own performance. I won't go into great detail, but my Final Four teams are Villanova, Gonzaga, Duke, and Michigan State. I've predicted a national championship for Villanova.
Down $15 for the day, I played poker for one hour between the morning and evening basketball sessions. Sitting at a 6-man $5/$10 table, I was able to win $57.13. Happy to have easily offset my pool expentures, I retired for the day.
Go Wildcats!
Daily Sketch: Up $42.13
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $214.88
I entered two pools. My own ($5) and Jim's ($10). I submitted the exact same bracket into each pool - primarily for ease of tracking my own performance. I won't go into great detail, but my Final Four teams are Villanova, Gonzaga, Duke, and Michigan State. I've predicted a national championship for Villanova.
Down $15 for the day, I played poker for one hour between the morning and evening basketball sessions. Sitting at a 6-man $5/$10 table, I was able to win $57.13. Happy to have easily offset my pool expentures, I retired for the day.
Go Wildcats!
Daily Sketch: Up $42.13
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $214.88
March 13, 2006: Bucks 88, Hawks 87
Relatively speaking, it was a pretty uneventful night for the Sketchbook.
I visited the Bradley Center this evening and watched the Milwaukee Bucks play the Atlanta Hawks. With a couple minutes left in the first half, the Bucks were leading by 6 points and Chris proclaimed that the game was going to be a rout. Believing that the Bucks couldn't rout anyone at this point (they stink!), I bet $5 that the Bucks wouldn't win by more than 9.5 points. I thought it was easy money.
Near the end of the third quarter, things weren't looking good. The Bucks were winning 75-58 and I was ready to kiss my $5 goodbye. However, the Hawks proceeded to mount a nice rally and eventually lost the game by a single point - easily covering the 9.5 point spread Chris had created. Just like that, I had won $5 and the Sketchbook saw a small nightly profit. Woo hoo!!!
FYI . . . Based on what I saw tonight, the Bucks are going NO WHERE in the playoffs.
Daily Sketch: Up $5
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $172.75
I visited the Bradley Center this evening and watched the Milwaukee Bucks play the Atlanta Hawks. With a couple minutes left in the first half, the Bucks were leading by 6 points and Chris proclaimed that the game was going to be a rout. Believing that the Bucks couldn't rout anyone at this point (they stink!), I bet $5 that the Bucks wouldn't win by more than 9.5 points. I thought it was easy money.
Near the end of the third quarter, things weren't looking good. The Bucks were winning 75-58 and I was ready to kiss my $5 goodbye. However, the Hawks proceeded to mount a nice rally and eventually lost the game by a single point - easily covering the 9.5 point spread Chris had created. Just like that, I had won $5 and the Sketchbook saw a small nightly profit. Woo hoo!!!
FYI . . . Based on what I saw tonight, the Bucks are going NO WHERE in the playoffs.
Daily Sketch: Up $5
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $172.75
March 12, 2006: Another Decent Night
Every once in a while, I get on a little roll where the cards seem to fall nicely. Thankfully, I seem to be going through such a streak right now. For a 3rd consecutive night of gambling, I had a decent run and finished with a profit of $50.75. The Sketchbook's month-to-date figure is steadily improving.
Playing for 90 minutes after organizing the NCAA Tournament Pool, I found success on a 6-man $3/$6 table this evening. For whatever reason, I'm raising pots at the right time and, more importantly, I'm folding at the right times.
Hopefully, this modest winning streak continues. I wouldn't mind seeing an increase in my online poker funds.
Daily Sketch: Up $50.75
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $167.75
Playing for 90 minutes after organizing the NCAA Tournament Pool, I found success on a 6-man $3/$6 table this evening. For whatever reason, I'm raising pots at the right time and, more importantly, I'm folding at the right times.
Hopefully, this modest winning streak continues. I wouldn't mind seeing an increase in my online poker funds.
Daily Sketch: Up $50.75
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $167.75
March 9, 2006: Another Respectable Night
I didn't play poker for a very long time tonight, but I played long enough to claim a profit of $61.
Joining a $5/$10 table after getting home from work, I hit a few nice hands and was up over $100 before I knew it. However, after losing a few decent pots, I decided to retire before I lost all my winnings. All told, I played for about 35 minutes. If I can make $61 for every 35 minutes that I'd play, I'd be a very happy man. I spent the rest of the night watching college basketball.
The next few days may be a bit boring for the loyal readers of this Sketchbook. My birthday is on Sunday, and I've got several related activities planned this weekend. I won't have much time to sit at my computer in the coming days, so don't expect much.
Daily Sketch: Up $61
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $117
Joining a $5/$10 table after getting home from work, I hit a few nice hands and was up over $100 before I knew it. However, after losing a few decent pots, I decided to retire before I lost all my winnings. All told, I played for about 35 minutes. If I can make $61 for every 35 minutes that I'd play, I'd be a very happy man. I spent the rest of the night watching college basketball.
The next few days may be a bit boring for the loyal readers of this Sketchbook. My birthday is on Sunday, and I've got several related activities planned this weekend. I won't have much time to sit at my computer in the coming days, so don't expect much.
Daily Sketch: Up $61
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $117
March 8, 2006: A Buck a Minute
I wasn't overly inspired to play poker this evening, so I lowered my stakes and joined a 6-man $2/$4 hold 'em table. If nothing else, I knew I wouldn't be facing any $200 hands tonight.
Ahhhh . . . a stress-free night of cards!
After ten minutes, I was up $10. After twenty minutes, I was up $20. When I reached forty minutes, I was up $40. At that point, I told Theresa that I'd quit once I stopped making a buck-a-minute. If I was lucky, I'd be playing non-stop poker for the next two weeks!
After 1 hour, I was up exactly $61. The next ten minutes didn't go as well, and I found myself up "only" $67 after seventy minutes. Drat!
Determined to keep my promise to Theresa, I retired for the night. I might have been able to keep up the pace, but I wasn't overly excited to find out. Oh, well.
I'll take the modest profits and call it a day. The Sketchbook is back-in-the-black for the month. Woo hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Up $67
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $56
Ahhhh . . . a stress-free night of cards!
After ten minutes, I was up $10. After twenty minutes, I was up $20. When I reached forty minutes, I was up $40. At that point, I told Theresa that I'd quit once I stopped making a buck-a-minute. If I was lucky, I'd be playing non-stop poker for the next two weeks!
After 1 hour, I was up exactly $61. The next ten minutes didn't go as well, and I found myself up "only" $67 after seventy minutes. Drat!
Determined to keep my promise to Theresa, I retired for the night. I might have been able to keep up the pace, but I wasn't overly excited to find out. Oh, well.
I'll take the modest profits and call it a day. The Sketchbook is back-in-the-black for the month. Woo hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Up $67
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $56
March 7, 2006: Climbing out of a Hole
This evening, I played $5/$10 hold 'em while watching UWM beat Butler on ESPN. After 20 minutes, I was down exactly $74 and things weren't looking good. Then came this hand:
Table: OMAR AVE (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 3 - RAWDON ($981 in chips)
Seat 4 - MASHERX ($354 in chips)
Seat 5 - STV_1313 ($76 in chips)
Seat 9 - OLYMPCZERO ($100 in chips)
Seat 1 - SHOTPIECE ($44.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - RECERCL ($367.50 in chips)
MASHERX - Posts small blind $3
STV_1313 - Posts big blind $5
OLYMPCZERO - sitout (wait for BB)
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to STV_1313 [6d Qc]
SHOTPIECE - Raises $10 to $10
RECERCL - Calls $10
RAWDON - Folds
MASHERX - Folds
STV_1313 - Calls $5
*** FLOP *** [6s 5d 6c]
Editor's Note: Cool! I've flopped a set! I was a bit tentative to call the $5 raise, but since I was already sitting in the big blind, I threw in the $5. Now I'm very happy that I threw the $5 into the pot.
STV_1313 - Checks
SHOTPIECE - Bets $5
RECERCL - Calls $5
STV_1313 - Calls $5
Editor's Note: I didn't want to scare anyone off, so I simply called Shotpiece's bet.
*** TURN *** [6s 5d 6c] [5h]
Editor's Note: Cool! I've just hit the full house. Things are looking sweeeeet!!
STV_1313 - Checks
SHOTPIECE - Bets $10
RECERCL - Raises $20 to $20
STV_1313 - Calls $20
SHOTPIECE - All-In(Raise) $19.50 to $29.50
RECERCL - Calls $9.50
STV_1313 - Calls $9.50
Editor's Note: Wow! Someone raised after the turn. Considering the fact that I've got a full house, I still feel pretty good about things. However, I begin to worry that I may be splitting this pot with someone. That's going to be a bummer.
*** RIVER *** [6s 5d 6c 5h] [7c]
STV_1313 - Checks
RECERCL - Bets $10
STV_1313 - Raises $20 to $20
RECERCL - Raises $20 to $30
STV_1313 - All-In(Raise) $11.50 to $31.50
RECERCL - Calls $1.50
Editor's Note: I'm fairly certain that I'm going to split this pot. Who knows, though? Maybe I'll get lucky . . .
*** SHOW DOWN ***
STV_1313 - Shows [6d Qc] (Full house, sixes full of fives)
SHOTPIECE - Mucks
RECERCL - Shows [7s 7h] (Full house, sevens full of sixes)
RECERCL Collects $62.10 from side pot-1
RECERCL Collects $134.40 from main pot
Are you kidding me? My opponent hits a 7 on the river and scoops the monster pot with the bigger full house. Just like that I'm down exactly $150 and cursing my luck. Luckily, I wasn't playing on the laptop, 'cuz that computer may have flown out my 12th story window. Ugh ugh ugh!!!
For the next hour, I tried to dig myself out of the hole I had created. After losing that last hand, I did my best to avoid going on tilt and tried to forget about my misfortune. Unfortunately, those kinds of things happen in poker. It's a shame that they rarely happen in my favor, however.
Thankfully, the cards started to turn around. I didn't scoop any pots that were anywhere near the $200 I lost when that 7 hit the board, but I won my fair share nonetheless. In fact, after buying-in for another $150, I saw that stack of chips steadily climb all the way to $321. When the UWM game finished, I had recovered all my losses and decided that I'd had enough. After losing that monster pot, I was happy to simply claim a small profit this evening.
So, in the end, the Sketchbook shows a modest profit of $21. Had I only won that big hand . . .
Daily Sketch: Up $21
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $11
Table: OMAR AVE (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 3 - RAWDON ($981 in chips)
Seat 4 - MASHERX ($354 in chips)
Seat 5 - STV_1313 ($76 in chips)
Seat 9 - OLYMPCZERO ($100 in chips)
Seat 1 - SHOTPIECE ($44.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - RECERCL ($367.50 in chips)
MASHERX - Posts small blind $3
STV_1313 - Posts big blind $5
OLYMPCZERO - sitout (wait for BB)
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to STV_1313 [6d Qc]
SHOTPIECE - Raises $10 to $10
RECERCL - Calls $10
RAWDON - Folds
MASHERX - Folds
STV_1313 - Calls $5
*** FLOP *** [6s 5d 6c]
Editor's Note: Cool! I've flopped a set! I was a bit tentative to call the $5 raise, but since I was already sitting in the big blind, I threw in the $5. Now I'm very happy that I threw the $5 into the pot.
STV_1313 - Checks
SHOTPIECE - Bets $5
RECERCL - Calls $5
STV_1313 - Calls $5
Editor's Note: I didn't want to scare anyone off, so I simply called Shotpiece's bet.
*** TURN *** [6s 5d 6c] [5h]
Editor's Note: Cool! I've just hit the full house. Things are looking sweeeeet!!
STV_1313 - Checks
SHOTPIECE - Bets $10
RECERCL - Raises $20 to $20
STV_1313 - Calls $20
SHOTPIECE - All-In(Raise) $19.50 to $29.50
RECERCL - Calls $9.50
STV_1313 - Calls $9.50
Editor's Note: Wow! Someone raised after the turn. Considering the fact that I've got a full house, I still feel pretty good about things. However, I begin to worry that I may be splitting this pot with someone. That's going to be a bummer.
*** RIVER *** [6s 5d 6c 5h] [7c]
STV_1313 - Checks
RECERCL - Bets $10
STV_1313 - Raises $20 to $20
RECERCL - Raises $20 to $30
STV_1313 - All-In(Raise) $11.50 to $31.50
RECERCL - Calls $1.50
Editor's Note: I'm fairly certain that I'm going to split this pot. Who knows, though? Maybe I'll get lucky . . .
*** SHOW DOWN ***
STV_1313 - Shows [6d Qc] (Full house, sixes full of fives)
SHOTPIECE - Mucks
RECERCL - Shows [7s 7h] (Full house, sevens full of sixes)
RECERCL Collects $62.10 from side pot-1
RECERCL Collects $134.40 from main pot
Are you kidding me? My opponent hits a 7 on the river and scoops the monster pot with the bigger full house. Just like that I'm down exactly $150 and cursing my luck. Luckily, I wasn't playing on the laptop, 'cuz that computer may have flown out my 12th story window. Ugh ugh ugh!!!
For the next hour, I tried to dig myself out of the hole I had created. After losing that last hand, I did my best to avoid going on tilt and tried to forget about my misfortune. Unfortunately, those kinds of things happen in poker. It's a shame that they rarely happen in my favor, however.
Thankfully, the cards started to turn around. I didn't scoop any pots that were anywhere near the $200 I lost when that 7 hit the board, but I won my fair share nonetheless. In fact, after buying-in for another $150, I saw that stack of chips steadily climb all the way to $321. When the UWM game finished, I had recovered all my losses and decided that I'd had enough. After losing that monster pot, I was happy to simply claim a small profit this evening.
So, in the end, the Sketchbook shows a modest profit of $21. Had I only won that big hand . . .
Daily Sketch: Up $21
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $11
March 6, 2006: One Jack Saved my Night
I only played online poker for 45 minutes tonight, but it was an interesting ride. Playing on a $5/$10 table, I got particularly lucky in the first few minutes when my JQ beat another player holding KK and another player holding AQ. The flop came 2-4-Q and the betting got crazy. A miracle Jack on the river gave me two pair and I scooped a very large pot. After that hand, I was up nearly $150 and very happy that I had hit that river card. I don't think that I saw such a glorious card this entire past weekend.
For the next 40 minutes, however, I couldn't seem to catch anything. Slowly yet surely, I gave back my profits. I won a few small pots, but I couldn't win anything significant. It was very frustrating to keep folding hands like J-4 to preflop raises. It was a very aggressive table, and they wouldn't let me limp into any pots.
Eventually, I saw my profits dwindle all the way to $11. At that point, I couldn't stomach the prospects of having a losing session, so I retired early. If not for that miracle Jack, it would have been an ugly evening for the Sketchbook. Whew!
Daily Sketch: Up $11
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $32
For the next 40 minutes, however, I couldn't seem to catch anything. Slowly yet surely, I gave back my profits. I won a few small pots, but I couldn't win anything significant. It was very frustrating to keep folding hands like J-4 to preflop raises. It was a very aggressive table, and they wouldn't let me limp into any pots.
Eventually, I saw my profits dwindle all the way to $11. At that point, I couldn't stomach the prospects of having a losing session, so I retired early. If not for that miracle Jack, it would have been an ugly evening for the Sketchbook. Whew!
Daily Sketch: Up $11
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $32
March 5, 2006: Weekend Recap
I played a decent amount at Party Poker this weekend. Here's a quick recap:
The weekend started well enough. Before heading out to Leff's Friday night, I played on a $5/$10 table for 30 minutes and won a quick $110. Things were going well! I probably bought a few too many drinks as a result of my success at poker. Oh, well.
Getting home later in the evening (midnight-ish), I decided to explore Party's new Let it Ride tables before hitting the sack. That was a mistake, 'cuz I proceeded to lose the $110 right back. When the night officially came to an end, I was exactly even. Oops!
Saturday afternoon, I personally witnessed Marquette's victory over Providence at the Bradley Center. I believe that I'm 5-0 when attending games. That's not bad. Hmmmm . . . maybe I should visit Madison Square Garden this week to root on the Warriors at the Big East Conference Tournament.
Anyway, I played $5/$10 before the Marquette game and lost exactly $38. After the basketball game, I joined two different $30(3) Tournaments and didn't place in either of them. Frustrated, I retired for the day, down $104. That night, I visited the Milwaukee Car Show, so that helped steer me away from the poker tables.
Get it? The Milwaukee Car Show steered me away from the tables. Ok, maybe that's not very funny . . .
After all was said and done, Sunday turned out to be a dud. Beginning on a $3/$6 Omaha Hi/Lo table, I lost a quick $125. I won't get into specifics, but I lost two particularly huge pots on terrible rivers. I was sitting on full houses each time, but the river gave my opponents bigger boats. Ugh!! For the rest of the day, I was fighting an uphill battle.
I went back to the $5/$10 table and won some of my money back - $68 to be exact - but it took nearly 2 hours. I finished Sunday with a frustrating deficit of $57. Coupled with yesterday's losses, it wasn't a particularly good weekend for the Sketchbook.
Oh, well. The NCAA Tournament is right around the corner. Woo hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Down $161
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $43
The weekend started well enough. Before heading out to Leff's Friday night, I played on a $5/$10 table for 30 minutes and won a quick $110. Things were going well! I probably bought a few too many drinks as a result of my success at poker. Oh, well.
Getting home later in the evening (midnight-ish), I decided to explore Party's new Let it Ride tables before hitting the sack. That was a mistake, 'cuz I proceeded to lose the $110 right back. When the night officially came to an end, I was exactly even. Oops!
Saturday afternoon, I personally witnessed Marquette's victory over Providence at the Bradley Center. I believe that I'm 5-0 when attending games. That's not bad. Hmmmm . . . maybe I should visit Madison Square Garden this week to root on the Warriors at the Big East Conference Tournament.
Anyway, I played $5/$10 before the Marquette game and lost exactly $38. After the basketball game, I joined two different $30(3) Tournaments and didn't place in either of them. Frustrated, I retired for the day, down $104. That night, I visited the Milwaukee Car Show, so that helped steer me away from the poker tables.
Get it? The Milwaukee Car Show steered me away from the tables. Ok, maybe that's not very funny . . .
After all was said and done, Sunday turned out to be a dud. Beginning on a $3/$6 Omaha Hi/Lo table, I lost a quick $125. I won't get into specifics, but I lost two particularly huge pots on terrible rivers. I was sitting on full houses each time, but the river gave my opponents bigger boats. Ugh!! For the rest of the day, I was fighting an uphill battle.
I went back to the $5/$10 table and won some of my money back - $68 to be exact - but it took nearly 2 hours. I finished Sunday with a frustrating deficit of $57. Coupled with yesterday's losses, it wasn't a particularly good weekend for the Sketchbook.
Oh, well. The NCAA Tournament is right around the corner. Woo hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Down $161
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $43
March 2, 2006: Playing as a Proxy
After running some errands with Theresa this evening, I discovered that Party Poker is now offering 6-man Sit 'n' Go Tournaments. Deciding to experiment, I joined a $33(3) Tournament to see how I'd do. In such a small tourney, 1st place gets $108 and 2nd place is awarded $72. I'm not sure if this is a good format for my skills, but we'll find out soon enough.
If nothing else, the early results were positive, as I proceeded to win this tourney. I caught some nice cards and was continually amazed to see how many times my opponents called my bets through the river with mediocre hands. Time after time, I'd flop top pair and bet all the way to the end and be amazed to see someone with 3rd pair call me all the way down. After all was said and done, I had little problem winning the $108 and was never threatened. Woo hoo!!
To illustrate the "strangeness" of this tournament, I found myself with 75% of the chips when we got down to two players. On the very first hand of heads up play, I was dealt pocket 6's and went "all in". My opponent called, and he was holding 4-6 (offsuit). Huh? Interestingly, the 4th six came out on the board, and my set of 6's had no problem winning.
So, I was up exactly $75 for the night and I subsequently logged out of Party Poker. It was time to log into Absolute Poker to play as a proxy.
Despite the fact that he qualified for the finals of the ESPN 1510 Tournmanent a few weeks back, Chris wasn't aware that he already had plans for tonight. So, we agreed that I'd play in tonight's final tournament in his place. In return, I'd receive 50% of any winnings I might collect. So, despite the fact that I wasn't able to qualify for the finals myself, I still got to play tonight.
A total of 165 people registered to play. The winner got $1,000. Everyone else got nada.
Here's a quick recap:
I didn't win a single hand for the first 30 minutes. Then holding Ad 10d, I hit a flush on the river and got up to 2,075 chips. During the next 25 minutes, I was dealt AK twice and 99 once and couldn't win any of those hands. As it turned out, the 2,075 chip count was my high water mark.
Back down to exactly 1,515 chips, the Absolute Poker software went kaboom. Fifteen minutes later, I finally got back in and found my stack reduced to 1,200 chips. I don't know how that happened, especially when you consider that everyone else playing was knocked out, but so be it. Thankfully, I wasn't playing at a real money table, 'cuz I wouldn't have been happy to come back to a table with money mysteriously gone.
A few hands later, I'm dealt QQ in the big blind. The small blind goes "all in" ahead of me while holding As 10s and I quickly make the call. As has been the case with these freebies, I get no luck and an ace appears on the board. I'm eliminated in 61st place. Ugh!
At least I won $75 earlier in the tournament. It would have been nice to win money on Chris' behalf, but (at least) my chips went into the middle when I was the favorite.
Daily Sketch: Up $75
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $118
If nothing else, the early results were positive, as I proceeded to win this tourney. I caught some nice cards and was continually amazed to see how many times my opponents called my bets through the river with mediocre hands. Time after time, I'd flop top pair and bet all the way to the end and be amazed to see someone with 3rd pair call me all the way down. After all was said and done, I had little problem winning the $108 and was never threatened. Woo hoo!!
To illustrate the "strangeness" of this tournament, I found myself with 75% of the chips when we got down to two players. On the very first hand of heads up play, I was dealt pocket 6's and went "all in". My opponent called, and he was holding 4-6 (offsuit). Huh? Interestingly, the 4th six came out on the board, and my set of 6's had no problem winning.
So, I was up exactly $75 for the night and I subsequently logged out of Party Poker. It was time to log into Absolute Poker to play as a proxy.
Despite the fact that he qualified for the finals of the ESPN 1510 Tournmanent a few weeks back, Chris wasn't aware that he already had plans for tonight. So, we agreed that I'd play in tonight's final tournament in his place. In return, I'd receive 50% of any winnings I might collect. So, despite the fact that I wasn't able to qualify for the finals myself, I still got to play tonight.
A total of 165 people registered to play. The winner got $1,000. Everyone else got nada.
Here's a quick recap:
I didn't win a single hand for the first 30 minutes. Then holding Ad 10d, I hit a flush on the river and got up to 2,075 chips. During the next 25 minutes, I was dealt AK twice and 99 once and couldn't win any of those hands. As it turned out, the 2,075 chip count was my high water mark.
Back down to exactly 1,515 chips, the Absolute Poker software went kaboom. Fifteen minutes later, I finally got back in and found my stack reduced to 1,200 chips. I don't know how that happened, especially when you consider that everyone else playing was knocked out, but so be it. Thankfully, I wasn't playing at a real money table, 'cuz I wouldn't have been happy to come back to a table with money mysteriously gone.
A few hands later, I'm dealt QQ in the big blind. The small blind goes "all in" ahead of me while holding As 10s and I quickly make the call. As has been the case with these freebies, I get no luck and an ace appears on the board. I'm eliminated in 61st place. Ugh!
At least I won $75 earlier in the tournament. It would have been nice to win money on Chris' behalf, but (at least) my chips went into the middle when I was the favorite.
Daily Sketch: Up $75
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $118
March 1, 2006: Outdone by my Wife
ESPN Radio 1510 hosted their final multi-table Hold 'em Tournament Qualifier this evening on Absolute Poker. Considering the fact that I qualified for last month's final tournament a couple different times, I'm a bit disappointed that I hadn't yet qualified for this month's final tournament - despite the fact that I've tried the previous three Wednesday nights. Tonight was my final shot to play in tomorrow night's finale.
A total of 584 people signed up to play (a record turnout), and the top 58 advanced to the finals. I specifically created a new account for Theresa, so she also got to join the fun. Considering the fact that this ESPN tourney is free to play, I figured that it was a good chance to let my wife join in the exciting world of online poker. She played on the laptop while I played on the "hard" computer.
Unfortunately, I didn't do very well and eventually bowed out in 253rd place after 45 minutes of play. I had an average stack of chips and went "all in" while holding KK. Another player holding A♣ Q♣ called my bet and another ace appeared on the board. That was the nail in my coffin. Ugh!!
Interestingly, Theresa faired better than I. She went out in 100th place and was terribly bad beat when her AA lost to K♥ 3♥. Wouldn't you know it, three hearts appeared on the board and Theresa lost to the flush. It was a monster pot and Theresa had a great shot at finishing in the Top 58 if she had won that hand. Ugh!! As Theresa learned, losing with pocket Aces can be mighty frustrating. Still, she played very well. I've (obviously) done a good job training her!
After I bowed out in 253rd place, I joined a $5/$10 hold 'em game on Party Poker and played on that site until Theresa was eliminated from the Absolute Tournament. I caught a few decent cards in my own game and claimed a modest profit of $49 during the 40 minutes that I played. So, if nothing else, the Sketchbook is happy - even if my wife outperformed me in the big tournament.
After Theresa was eliminated, she had the "itch" to keep playing, so I let her join a $5(1) 10-man Tourney on Party Poker under my own name. She played relatively well, and came very close to finishing in the money. Without any help from me, she finished 5th - two spots from the money. So, the $6 she lost offsets the $49 I won earlier in the evening.
Daily Sketch: Up $43
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $43
A total of 584 people signed up to play (a record turnout), and the top 58 advanced to the finals. I specifically created a new account for Theresa, so she also got to join the fun. Considering the fact that this ESPN tourney is free to play, I figured that it was a good chance to let my wife join in the exciting world of online poker. She played on the laptop while I played on the "hard" computer.
Unfortunately, I didn't do very well and eventually bowed out in 253rd place after 45 minutes of play. I had an average stack of chips and went "all in" while holding KK. Another player holding A♣ Q♣ called my bet and another ace appeared on the board. That was the nail in my coffin. Ugh!!
Interestingly, Theresa faired better than I. She went out in 100th place and was terribly bad beat when her AA lost to K♥ 3♥. Wouldn't you know it, three hearts appeared on the board and Theresa lost to the flush. It was a monster pot and Theresa had a great shot at finishing in the Top 58 if she had won that hand. Ugh!! As Theresa learned, losing with pocket Aces can be mighty frustrating. Still, she played very well. I've (obviously) done a good job training her!
After I bowed out in 253rd place, I joined a $5/$10 hold 'em game on Party Poker and played on that site until Theresa was eliminated from the Absolute Tournament. I caught a few decent cards in my own game and claimed a modest profit of $49 during the 40 minutes that I played. So, if nothing else, the Sketchbook is happy - even if my wife outperformed me in the big tournament.
After Theresa was eliminated, she had the "itch" to keep playing, so I let her join a $5(1) 10-man Tourney on Party Poker under my own name. She played relatively well, and came very close to finishing in the money. Without any help from me, she finished 5th - two spots from the money. So, the $6 she lost offsets the $49 I won earlier in the evening.
Daily Sketch: Up $43
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $43
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