I spent a good amount of time on Party Poker today. The final results of my play are pretty boring, however.
I started my day by sitting at a 6-man $1/$2 for 32 minutes and lost $12. Bored by the results, I joined a 10-man $30(3) Tournament and finished 5th. I don't know what's going on, but I seem to be in love with 5th place. Holding pocket 7's, I went "all in" and eventually lost to another player holding A-8. Why he called my "all in" bet with such a marginal hand is beyond me, but an 8 came out on the board and I was left to lament my luck.
Down $45 for the day, I went back to the $1/$2 tables and lost another $17. At this point, I had been playing poker for over 90 minutes and I was down exactly $62. Things weren't looking particularly good!
Frustrated by my lack of success, I jumped onto a 6-man $3/$6 table and caught some immediate good fortune on the very first hand I played:
$3/$6 Texas Hold'em - Sunday, April 30
Table Euphrosyne (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 5
Seat 1: TheMagpie ( $58 )
Seat 2: cyweski ( $138.87 )
Seat 4: Azn_Pride ( $137.50 )
Seat 5: xregulatex ( $88 )
Seat 6: Stv_1313 ( $100)
xregulatex posts small blind [$1].
Stv_1313 posts big blind [$3].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ 5◊ 3♣ ]
TheMagpie folds.
cyweski folds.
Azn_Pride folds.
xregulatex raises [$5].
Stv_1313 calls [$3].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4◊, 6♣, 2◊ ]
xregulatex bets [$3].
Stv_1313 raises [$6].
xregulatex raises [$6].
Stv_1313 raises [$6].
xregulatex calls [$3].
** Dealing Turn ** [ K♥ ]
xregulatex bets [$6].
Stv_1313 raises [$12].
xregulatex raises [$12].
Stv_1313 raises [$12].
xregulatex calls [$6].
** Dealing River ** [ 4♥ ]
xregulatex bets [$6].
Stv_1313 raises [$12].
xregulatex calls [$6].
Stv_1313 shows [ 5◊, 3♣ ] a straight, two to six.
xregulatex doesn't show [ 2♠, A♣ ] two pairs, fours and twos.
Stv_1313 wins $106 from the main pot with a straight, two to six.
Whew! Just like that, I had won back $49. I suppose that my opponent thought I was bluffing on my first hand at this table, but he certainly overbet his pair of 2's, didn't he?
I didn't spend much more time at that table and eventually left with a profit of $45. Happy to only be down $17 for the day, I went back to the $1/$2 tables and won $23 in about 30 minutes.
I took my $6 profits and joined the Mini-Step program. I played three different Mini-Step #1 Tournaments and won a rebuy each time. I finished 5th, 3rd, and 2nd. You gotta win this tournament to advance, so I was really spinning my wheels.
Then, in my 4th try, I won a Mini Step #1 Tournament. Woo hoo! For my efforts, I've earned a free entry into a Mini Step #2 Tournament. All I need to do is win 4 more of these tournaments and I'll be in the big bucks. Ha ha!!
After all was said and done, I broke exactly even today - despite the fact that I spent a lot of time on Party Poker. Yawn! At least I can play a free Mini-Step #2 Tourney the next time I log intothe software.
A new month (finally!) starts tomorrow!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $467.62
April 29, 2006: A Little Poker
Today's gambling adventure started on a 10-man $30(3) Tournament. Similar to the other night, I couldn't catch any cards and eventually found myself as the low stack when we had gotten down to five players. Dealt K♠ T♥, I made a significant preflop raise. I was called by one player and flop came 9♣ K◊ Q♠. I went "all in" with the last of my chips and was disgusted when my only opponent flipped over J◊ 10◊. Ugh! He had flopped the straight and I was done.
It would certainly be nice to catch a break once in a while. Maybe Party Poker might consider letting me win a hand or two in these tournaments? With seemingly zero luck, I still manage to finish in 5th place - which gives me a shred of hope.
I didn't play a lot of poker the rest of the day. I dabbled on some 6-m,an $1/$2 tables, and I ended up losing exactly $7. So, when the day ended, I was down exactly $40 for the day.
Daily Sketch: Down $40
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $467.62
It would certainly be nice to catch a break once in a while. Maybe Party Poker might consider letting me win a hand or two in these tournaments? With seemingly zero luck, I still manage to finish in 5th place - which gives me a shred of hope.
I didn't play a lot of poker the rest of the day. I dabbled on some 6-m,an $1/$2 tables, and I ended up losing exactly $7. So, when the day ended, I was down exactly $40 for the day.
Daily Sketch: Down $40
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $467.62
April 27, 2006: A Step Back
My dreams of breaking even this month were probably dashed tonight. Wouldn't you know it? I write an entry about my recent winning streak, and then I lose. Ooops!
I started my night of poker by joining a 10-man $30(3) Tournament. Unfortunately, I caught ZERO cards in this tournament and became a folding machine. Eventually, we got down to five players and I was the low stack with 1,520 chips. The blinds were 200/400 and I needed to make a move soon. Dealt A♥ 9◊, I figured I'd better go "all in" with my stack. The big blind was holding Q♣ T◊ and he called my bet. The flop came 4♠ Q♥ J◊ and I got no help on the turn or river. I was eliminated in 5th place.
Down $33 for the night, I ventured to a 6-man $2/$4 table. I caught some early success and found myself up a quick $25. After that, however, I couldn't catch anything. Slowly yet surely, I lost a healthy $87 on that ugly table. I felt like I could have lost more if I hadn't been playing relatively well. Flopping four-to-a-flush and getting no help with the last two cards can be mighty frustrating. Especially when it happens repeatedly. Still, I think I played relatively well and kept from going on tilt - despite the healthy loss.
So, after all was said and done, I lost $120 tonight. My chances of getting back to even this month were all but dashed this evening.
Daily Sketch: Down $120
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $427.62
I started my night of poker by joining a 10-man $30(3) Tournament. Unfortunately, I caught ZERO cards in this tournament and became a folding machine. Eventually, we got down to five players and I was the low stack with 1,520 chips. The blinds were 200/400 and I needed to make a move soon. Dealt A♥ 9◊, I figured I'd better go "all in" with my stack. The big blind was holding Q♣ T◊ and he called my bet. The flop came 4♠ Q♥ J◊ and I got no help on the turn or river. I was eliminated in 5th place.
Down $33 for the night, I ventured to a 6-man $2/$4 table. I caught some early success and found myself up a quick $25. After that, however, I couldn't catch anything. Slowly yet surely, I lost a healthy $87 on that ugly table. I felt like I could have lost more if I hadn't been playing relatively well. Flopping four-to-a-flush and getting no help with the last two cards can be mighty frustrating. Especially when it happens repeatedly. Still, I think I played relatively well and kept from going on tilt - despite the healthy loss.
So, after all was said and done, I lost $120 tonight. My chances of getting back to even this month were all but dashed this evening.
Daily Sketch: Down $120
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $427.62
April 26, 2006: A Funny Game
During the first couple weeks of April, I couldn't win A THING on Party Poker. No matter what I did, the cards never seemed to fall in my favor. Needless to say, those first couple weeks were rather frustrating - which helps to explain my mini-break from the internet world earlier this month.
For the past 5 days, however, it's been completely different. Someone at Party Poker must've flipped the magical switch, 'cuz I keep winning. Poker can sure be a funny game!
This evening, I started my night by playing on a 6-man $1/$2 table. After 40 minutes, I was up $25.50 and feeling relatively good about things. I was a little bored, however, so I decided to join a 10-man $20(2) Tournament. If nothing else, I rationalized that I was simply letting my $25.50 profits ride.
Thankfully, things went well. In fact, I won the tournament and took home the first place prize of $100. I got relatively lucky early in the tournament when I went "all in" with pocket 10's. Lucky for me, an opponent with pocket 9's called my bet and I quickly found myself with a nice stack of chips. From there, I don't recall being in much trouble and coasted to the title. I stole A LOT of blinds in this tourney.
Up $103.50 for the night, I went back to the $1/$2 tables, but didn't catch anything. In fact, I lost $40 and left in a bit of a huff after witnessing a particularly bad river. Chasing those losses, I ventured to a $2/$4 table and quickly won back $22. Realizing that I was a bit on tilt, I thought I'd retire for the night before I lost back the money I had just won. Besides, Theresa needed to use the computer . . .
So, after all was said and done, the Sketchbook saw a profit of $85.50 tonight. I played poker for exactly 100 minutes - which means that I almost made a buck-a-minute. Unofficially, that's become my goal. It's a rather lofty goal, but it may be my only chance of turning this ugly Month-to-Date Sketchbook upside down by the end of the upcoming weekend.
Daily Sketch: Up $85.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $307.62
For the past 5 days, however, it's been completely different. Someone at Party Poker must've flipped the magical switch, 'cuz I keep winning. Poker can sure be a funny game!
This evening, I started my night by playing on a 6-man $1/$2 table. After 40 minutes, I was up $25.50 and feeling relatively good about things. I was a little bored, however, so I decided to join a 10-man $20(2) Tournament. If nothing else, I rationalized that I was simply letting my $25.50 profits ride.
Thankfully, things went well. In fact, I won the tournament and took home the first place prize of $100. I got relatively lucky early in the tournament when I went "all in" with pocket 10's. Lucky for me, an opponent with pocket 9's called my bet and I quickly found myself with a nice stack of chips. From there, I don't recall being in much trouble and coasted to the title. I stole A LOT of blinds in this tourney.
Up $103.50 for the night, I went back to the $1/$2 tables, but didn't catch anything. In fact, I lost $40 and left in a bit of a huff after witnessing a particularly bad river. Chasing those losses, I ventured to a $2/$4 table and quickly won back $22. Realizing that I was a bit on tilt, I thought I'd retire for the night before I lost back the money I had just won. Besides, Theresa needed to use the computer . . .
So, after all was said and done, the Sketchbook saw a profit of $85.50 tonight. I played poker for exactly 100 minutes - which means that I almost made a buck-a-minute. Unofficially, that's become my goal. It's a rather lofty goal, but it may be my only chance of turning this ugly Month-to-Date Sketchbook upside down by the end of the upcoming weekend.
Daily Sketch: Up $85.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $307.62
April 25, 2006: A Quick Session
Late last week, we were forced to mail our laptop to Acer for maintenance. We're having problems with the power source, and the only way to get it repaired was by mailing the entire unit to Acer's headquarters. The laptop is still under warranty, so it shouldn't cost us anything. However, with the laptop temporarily out of commission, it means that we've only got one computer in the apartment. Since Theresa's job is more important than my poker, her nightly work takes precedence over my visits to Party Poker. Unfortunately, that means limited activity for the Sketchbook. :-(
Tonight, I was logged into the network for exactly 46 minutes. Starting my session at a 6-man $1/$2 table, I won a whopping $6 during the first 12 minutes I played. There was one particularly slow player sitting at the table, and his play was very annoying - especially when I knew that I didn't have much time to play.
Realizing that my time was short, I decided to play a 10-man $30(3) Tournament. I did pretty well and took home the $60 3rd place prize. I never really caught any great cards, so I was happy to claim a $27 profit. The tourney went quick - which I greatly appreciated.
At that point, Theresa was almost home with dinner, so I decided to spend my last few minutes at another 6-man $1/$2 table. I only played for 8 minutes, but I won another $21.30 as I flopped top pair several times. When Theresa got home, I ate dinner and handed off the computer to her. My night of poker was done.
I've got five more days to make this month look respectable . . .
Daily Sketch: Up $54.30
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $393.12
Tonight, I was logged into the network for exactly 46 minutes. Starting my session at a 6-man $1/$2 table, I won a whopping $6 during the first 12 minutes I played. There was one particularly slow player sitting at the table, and his play was very annoying - especially when I knew that I didn't have much time to play.
Realizing that my time was short, I decided to play a 10-man $30(3) Tournament. I did pretty well and took home the $60 3rd place prize. I never really caught any great cards, so I was happy to claim a $27 profit. The tourney went quick - which I greatly appreciated.
At that point, Theresa was almost home with dinner, so I decided to spend my last few minutes at another 6-man $1/$2 table. I only played for 8 minutes, but I won another $21.30 as I flopped top pair several times. When Theresa got home, I ate dinner and handed off the computer to her. My night of poker was done.
I've got five more days to make this month look respectable . . .
Daily Sketch: Up $54.30
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $393.12
April 23, 2006: Reds 11, Brewers 0.
This afternoon, I visited Miller Park for the first time this season and watched the Brewers get humbled by the Reds. Sitting 5 rows right behind home plate, the seats were stellar. Too bad Milwaukee played like garbage.
Before the game began, I played three $5 hold 'em tournaments with Joe and Tom while drinking beer and grilling brats. I won one of the tourneys, so I broke even in the parking lot. Inside the stadium, I lost a buck to Joe when the Bratwurst won the sausage race during the 7th inning stretch.
Down $1 for the day, I visited the $1/$2 tables on Party Poker after getting home. Playing for exactly 42 minutes, I was able to claim a profit of $38.88. So, the Sketchbook sees a profit for the day.
Daily Sketch: Up $37.88
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $447.42
Before the game began, I played three $5 hold 'em tournaments with Joe and Tom while drinking beer and grilling brats. I won one of the tourneys, so I broke even in the parking lot. Inside the stadium, I lost a buck to Joe when the Bratwurst won the sausage race during the 7th inning stretch.
Down $1 for the day, I visited the $1/$2 tables on Party Poker after getting home. Playing for exactly 42 minutes, I was able to claim a profit of $38.88. So, the Sketchbook sees a profit for the day.
Daily Sketch: Up $37.88
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $447.42
April 22, 2006: BetFred Poker
At 2:00 this afternoon, WannatalkPoker.com hosted an almost-freeroll at Bet Fred Poker. Originating from Great Britain (I think), Bet Fred Poker is a relatively small site, and they're eager to get people into their network. As a result, they've gone into poker forums (like WannatalkPoker.com) and offered tournaments that have small buy-ins and healthy payouts.
Several tournaments had already been played on this site through WannatalkPoker, but I hadn't gotten a chance to play. Having never heard of Bet Fred Poker, I wasn't overly eager to explore a new site anyway. Today, however, I had some free time. I downloaded the software on my computer and got ready to play. Then, I transferred a whopping $21 into this new poker site.
The tournament cost $1.10 to play and had a guaranteed prize pool of $250. I fully expected 100 people to sign up, but I was surprised to see only 18 registered contestants when the festivities began. Considering the fact that first place was going to win $125, I felt pretty good about my tiny investment. Had Bet Fred known that only 18 people were going to sign up to play, they may have thought twice about offering a guaranteed $250 prize pool.
It was a rebuy event - which meant that you could "start over" if you were eliminated during the first 30 minutes. About 25 minutes into the tourney, I went bankrupt, so I invested another $1.10 and was awarded a new stack of 1,500 chips. Then, at the 30-minute mark, I spent another $1.10 for the one-time chance to buy another 1,500 chips.
So, 30 minutes into the tournament, the "real" tournament began. I had officially invested $3.30 and I had 2,960 chips. The chip leader, meanwhile, had 6,900 chips. I had some work to do!
Unlike most other poker sites, Bet Fred does not offer a hand history. Party Poker, in particular, stores the information regarding every hand I play on my computer's hard drive. So, I can always go back and check things out - which comes in very handy when I'm typing this Sketchbook. Since Bet Fred doesn't offer that feature, my recollection of events is a bit fuzzy . . .
About 45 minutes into the tournament, I won a monster pot. Holding pocket queens, two different players went "all in" ahead of me and I was forced to call. Each player had more chips than I, so my tourney life was on the line. As it turned out, my opponents were holding AK and 44, and my queens (miraculously) held up. After tripling up, I became the tournament's overall chip leader.
Before you knew it, I made it to the final table of 8. Of course, when you recall that only 18 people signed up to play, making the final 8 wasn't overly impressive. There were probably several key hands that got me this far, but since I don't have a hand history from this tournament, I can't describe them.
I continued to catch decent cards and eventually found myself in the final 3 with nearly 20,000 chips. Third place was guaranteed to win $50, so I felt pretty good. I specifically remember "stealing" a big pot from a guy holding pocket Aces. I had been dealt 6♣ 7♣ and a flop containing two more 7's proved enough to crack the aces. If you're going to win money in a larger tournament, you need to occassionally get lucky, I guess.
Unfortunately, my run of luck really deteriorated at that point. After reaching the final 3, I don't recall winning a single hand. Luckily, another player was severely short-stacked, and he went out before me. Two hands after his dismissal, I followed suit, but I still took home the 2nd place prize of $75. Considering the fact that I only paid $3.30 to play, it was well worth the 90 minutes that I played.
Shortly after the tournament ended, I took all my winnings out of the Bet Fred website. If they offer another cheap tourney, I'll probably play. Otherwise, I've got enough other sites that will accept my sweet action, so I'll probably stay away from Bet Fred.
If nothing else, the Month-to-Date Sketchbook looks a bit more reasonable after these past two days of success.
Daily Sketch: Up $71.70
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $485.30
Several tournaments had already been played on this site through WannatalkPoker, but I hadn't gotten a chance to play. Having never heard of Bet Fred Poker, I wasn't overly eager to explore a new site anyway. Today, however, I had some free time. I downloaded the software on my computer and got ready to play. Then, I transferred a whopping $21 into this new poker site.
The tournament cost $1.10 to play and had a guaranteed prize pool of $250. I fully expected 100 people to sign up, but I was surprised to see only 18 registered contestants when the festivities began. Considering the fact that first place was going to win $125, I felt pretty good about my tiny investment. Had Bet Fred known that only 18 people were going to sign up to play, they may have thought twice about offering a guaranteed $250 prize pool.
It was a rebuy event - which meant that you could "start over" if you were eliminated during the first 30 minutes. About 25 minutes into the tourney, I went bankrupt, so I invested another $1.10 and was awarded a new stack of 1,500 chips. Then, at the 30-minute mark, I spent another $1.10 for the one-time chance to buy another 1,500 chips.
So, 30 minutes into the tournament, the "real" tournament began. I had officially invested $3.30 and I had 2,960 chips. The chip leader, meanwhile, had 6,900 chips. I had some work to do!
Unlike most other poker sites, Bet Fred does not offer a hand history. Party Poker, in particular, stores the information regarding every hand I play on my computer's hard drive. So, I can always go back and check things out - which comes in very handy when I'm typing this Sketchbook. Since Bet Fred doesn't offer that feature, my recollection of events is a bit fuzzy . . .
About 45 minutes into the tournament, I won a monster pot. Holding pocket queens, two different players went "all in" ahead of me and I was forced to call. Each player had more chips than I, so my tourney life was on the line. As it turned out, my opponents were holding AK and 44, and my queens (miraculously) held up. After tripling up, I became the tournament's overall chip leader.
Before you knew it, I made it to the final table of 8. Of course, when you recall that only 18 people signed up to play, making the final 8 wasn't overly impressive. There were probably several key hands that got me this far, but since I don't have a hand history from this tournament, I can't describe them.
I continued to catch decent cards and eventually found myself in the final 3 with nearly 20,000 chips. Third place was guaranteed to win $50, so I felt pretty good. I specifically remember "stealing" a big pot from a guy holding pocket Aces. I had been dealt 6♣ 7♣ and a flop containing two more 7's proved enough to crack the aces. If you're going to win money in a larger tournament, you need to occassionally get lucky, I guess.
Unfortunately, my run of luck really deteriorated at that point. After reaching the final 3, I don't recall winning a single hand. Luckily, another player was severely short-stacked, and he went out before me. Two hands after his dismissal, I followed suit, but I still took home the 2nd place prize of $75. Considering the fact that I only paid $3.30 to play, it was well worth the 90 minutes that I played.
Shortly after the tournament ended, I took all my winnings out of the Bet Fred website. If they offer another cheap tourney, I'll probably play. Otherwise, I've got enough other sites that will accept my sweet action, so I'll probably stay away from Bet Fred.
If nothing else, the Month-to-Date Sketchbook looks a bit more reasonable after these past two days of success.
Daily Sketch: Up $71.70
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $485.30
April 21, 2006: To the Basics
I withdrew another $50 from my checking account (sigh) and explored Party Poker this evening.
I started my night by joining a Speed $30(3) 10-man Tournament. As has been the trend lately, I couldn't catch ANY cards. Despite that, I played conservatively and I managed to last to the final six players - despite the fact that I didn't win a single hand. My starting stack of 2,000 chips was down to 1,160. Then came this hand:
Table Speed Western Sahara (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 4: BLClements ( $3362 )
Seat 5: rooneysheeb ( $2375 )
Seat 3: Poison_X ( $1560 )
Seat 9: NewWay2Win ( $9062 )
Seat 2: Stv_1313 ( $1160 )
Seat 10: gpm123 ( $2481 )
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ K◊ K♠ ]
rooneysheeb folds.
NewWay2Win calls [200].
gpm123 folds.
Stv_1313 is all-In [1160]
Poison_X folds.
BLClements calls [960].
NewWay2Win calls [960].
** Dealing Flop ** [ J♣, 2♥, 4◊ ]
BLClements bets [200].
NewWay2Win is all-In [7902]
BLClements is all-In [2002]
** Dealing Turn ** [ J♥ ]
** Dealing River ** [ 3♣ ]
BLClements shows [ 4♠, 4♥ ] a full house, Fours full of jacks.
NewWay2Win shows [ 7♠, 7♥ ] two pairs, jacks and sevens.
Stv_1313 shows [ K◊, K♠ ] two pairs, kings and jacks.
NewWay2Win wins 5700 chips from side pot #2 with two pairs, jacks and sevens.
BLClements wins 4404 chips from side pot #1 with a full house, Fours full of jacks.
BLClements wins 3580 chips from the main pot with a full house, Fours full of jacks.
Stv_1313 finished in sixth place
That figures. I get all my chips into the pot with pocket cowboys. I'm the overwhelming favorite to beat 4's and 7's, but the guy with 4's hits his set and I'm done. Ugh!!
With only $17 left in my account, I decided to visit the Blackjack tables. Miraculously, I found some luck and built my account back up to $56 after 10 minutes of play. Suddenly up $6 for the night, I decided to visit the Mini-Steps. It's been quite some time since I did that.
Again, I got down to the final six players. I had won exactly one hand when this hand occurred:
Table Mini Step 1 Spoiled Rotten (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 6: Stv_1313 ( $2274 )
Seat 10: sasnas52 ( $2526 )
Seat 9: jbozzie ( $1286 )
Seat 5: TomsBestAce ( $3680 )
Seat 1: uriowi01 ( $4711 )
Seat 2: rockfesters ( $5523 )
Trny:22458455 Level:4
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ Q♣ Q◊ ]
sasnas52 folds.
uriowi01 folds.
rockfesters calls [200].
TomsBestAce raises [400].
Stv_1313 raises [650].
jbozzie folds.
rockfesters folds.
TomsBestAce raises [700].
Stv_1313 calls [350].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2◊, 8♥, 3♣ ]
Stv_1313 checks.
TomsBestAce bets [200].
Stv_1313 is all-In [1174].
TomsBestAce calls [974].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4♣ ]
** Dealing River ** [ J♣ ]
TomsBestAce shows [ A♥, A♠ ] a pair of aces.
Stv_1313 shows [ Q♣, Q◊ ] a pair of queens.
TomsBestAce wins 4948 chips from the main pot with a pair of aces.
Stv_1313 finished in sixth place and won $4.
That was a bad time to run up against pocket aces, ehhh? At least I won $4 of my $6 back.
Frustrated by my lack of success, I decided to go back to the basics and joined a $1/$2 6-man table. Since I can't win anywhere else, I thought I'd try my luck at some lower stakes.
Amazingly, I finally found success. Playing for 90 minutes, I caught a nice rush of cards. This hand typified my run:
Table Wallington (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 4: Stv_1313
Seat 1: jpill
Seat 6: kowgurl4580
Seat 3: captdjn
Seat 2: mushycowfeet
Seat 5: kelly10000
captdjn posts small blind [$0.50].
Stv_1313 posts big blind [$1].
kelly10000 posts big blind [$1].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ K◊ K♠ ]
kelly10000 checks.
kowgurl4580 calls [$1].
jpill folds.
mushycowfeet raises [$2].
captdjn folds.
Stv_1313 raises [$2].
kelly10000 folds.
kowgurl4580 folds.
mushycowfeet calls [$1].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8♠, 8♣, 9♥ ]
Stv_1313 bets [$1].
mushycowfeet calls [$1].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3♣ ]
Stv_1313 bets [$2].
mushycowfeet calls [$2].
** Dealing River ** [ K♣ ]
Stv_1313 bets [$2].
mushycowfeet calls [$2].
Stv_1313 shows [ K◊ K♠ ] a full house, Kings full of eights.
mushycowfeet mushycowfeet shows [ A♠, A♣ ] two pairs, aces and eights.
Stv_1313 wins $17.75 from the main pot.
Whew! That was lucky. I was losing until the river!
After all was said and done, I won exactly $96 during the 90 minutes that I sat at the $1/$2 table. Considering the low stakes, that's a sizeable chunk of change. I wish that the hot streak of cards had come at some higher stakes, but I probably shouldn't complain. It was nice to finally win some money.
I think I'll keep playing at $1/$2 for a while and see if I can whittle down the ugly figure in the Sketchbook during the next week.
Daily Sketch: Up $100
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $557
I started my night by joining a Speed $30(3) 10-man Tournament. As has been the trend lately, I couldn't catch ANY cards. Despite that, I played conservatively and I managed to last to the final six players - despite the fact that I didn't win a single hand. My starting stack of 2,000 chips was down to 1,160. Then came this hand:
Table Speed Western Sahara (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 4: BLClements ( $3362 )
Seat 5: rooneysheeb ( $2375 )
Seat 3: Poison_X ( $1560 )
Seat 9: NewWay2Win ( $9062 )
Seat 2: Stv_1313 ( $1160 )
Seat 10: gpm123 ( $2481 )
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ K◊ K♠ ]
rooneysheeb folds.
NewWay2Win calls [200].
gpm123 folds.
Stv_1313 is all-In [1160]
Poison_X folds.
BLClements calls [960].
NewWay2Win calls [960].
** Dealing Flop ** [ J♣, 2♥, 4◊ ]
BLClements bets [200].
NewWay2Win is all-In [7902]
BLClements is all-In [2002]
** Dealing Turn ** [ J♥ ]
** Dealing River ** [ 3♣ ]
BLClements shows [ 4♠, 4♥ ] a full house, Fours full of jacks.
NewWay2Win shows [ 7♠, 7♥ ] two pairs, jacks and sevens.
Stv_1313 shows [ K◊, K♠ ] two pairs, kings and jacks.
NewWay2Win wins 5700 chips from side pot #2 with two pairs, jacks and sevens.
BLClements wins 4404 chips from side pot #1 with a full house, Fours full of jacks.
BLClements wins 3580 chips from the main pot with a full house, Fours full of jacks.
Stv_1313 finished in sixth place
That figures. I get all my chips into the pot with pocket cowboys. I'm the overwhelming favorite to beat 4's and 7's, but the guy with 4's hits his set and I'm done. Ugh!!
With only $17 left in my account, I decided to visit the Blackjack tables. Miraculously, I found some luck and built my account back up to $56 after 10 minutes of play. Suddenly up $6 for the night, I decided to visit the Mini-Steps. It's been quite some time since I did that.
Again, I got down to the final six players. I had won exactly one hand when this hand occurred:
Table Mini Step 1 Spoiled Rotten (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 6: Stv_1313 ( $2274 )
Seat 10: sasnas52 ( $2526 )
Seat 9: jbozzie ( $1286 )
Seat 5: TomsBestAce ( $3680 )
Seat 1: uriowi01 ( $4711 )
Seat 2: rockfesters ( $5523 )
Trny:22458455 Level:4
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ Q♣ Q◊ ]
sasnas52 folds.
uriowi01 folds.
rockfesters calls [200].
TomsBestAce raises [400].
Stv_1313 raises [650].
jbozzie folds.
rockfesters folds.
TomsBestAce raises [700].
Stv_1313 calls [350].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2◊, 8♥, 3♣ ]
Stv_1313 checks.
TomsBestAce bets [200].
Stv_1313 is all-In [1174].
TomsBestAce calls [974].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4♣ ]
** Dealing River ** [ J♣ ]
TomsBestAce shows [ A♥, A♠ ] a pair of aces.
Stv_1313 shows [ Q♣, Q◊ ] a pair of queens.
TomsBestAce wins 4948 chips from the main pot with a pair of aces.
Stv_1313 finished in sixth place and won $4.
That was a bad time to run up against pocket aces, ehhh? At least I won $4 of my $6 back.
Frustrated by my lack of success, I decided to go back to the basics and joined a $1/$2 6-man table. Since I can't win anywhere else, I thought I'd try my luck at some lower stakes.
Amazingly, I finally found success. Playing for 90 minutes, I caught a nice rush of cards. This hand typified my run:
Table Wallington (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 4: Stv_1313
Seat 1: jpill
Seat 6: kowgurl4580
Seat 3: captdjn
Seat 2: mushycowfeet
Seat 5: kelly10000
captdjn posts small blind [$0.50].
Stv_1313 posts big blind [$1].
kelly10000 posts big blind [$1].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ K◊ K♠ ]
kelly10000 checks.
kowgurl4580 calls [$1].
jpill folds.
mushycowfeet raises [$2].
captdjn folds.
Stv_1313 raises [$2].
kelly10000 folds.
kowgurl4580 folds.
mushycowfeet calls [$1].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8♠, 8♣, 9♥ ]
Stv_1313 bets [$1].
mushycowfeet calls [$1].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3♣ ]
Stv_1313 bets [$2].
mushycowfeet calls [$2].
** Dealing River ** [ K♣ ]
Stv_1313 bets [$2].
mushycowfeet calls [$2].
Stv_1313 shows [ K◊ K♠ ] a full house, Kings full of eights.
mushycowfeet mushycowfeet shows [ A♠, A♣ ] two pairs, aces and eights.
Stv_1313 wins $17.75 from the main pot.
Whew! That was lucky. I was losing until the river!
After all was said and done, I won exactly $96 during the 90 minutes that I sat at the $1/$2 table. Considering the low stakes, that's a sizeable chunk of change. I wish that the hot streak of cards had come at some higher stakes, but I probably shouldn't complain. It was nice to finally win some money.
I think I'll keep playing at $1/$2 for a while and see if I can whittle down the ugly figure in the Sketchbook during the next week.
Daily Sketch: Up $100
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $557
April 19, 2006: One Sit 'n' Go
I jumped back into the world of online poker this evening, although I gotta admit that it was a pretty tiny jump. With the Sketchbook severely in the red this month, I still don't have "the itch" to play a lot of poker right now.
Still, I joined a 10-man $30(3) Tournament and decided to take my chances. I caught a couple good hands early in the tournament and by the time we got down to 5 players, I was the chip leader. Things were looking pretty good!
As has been the case WAY too much lately, however, the cards dried up. I couldn't catch any cards and folded time-after-time. Eventually, I was eliminated in 4th place - one spot from the money. On my last hand, I was holding K-10 and saw a flop of 3-5-10. I lost all my chips after going "all in" and watching my opponent flip over KK that he had slow played. That figures.
Daily Sketch: Down $33
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $657
Still, I joined a 10-man $30(3) Tournament and decided to take my chances. I caught a couple good hands early in the tournament and by the time we got down to 5 players, I was the chip leader. Things were looking pretty good!
As has been the case WAY too much lately, however, the cards dried up. I couldn't catch any cards and folded time-after-time. Eventually, I was eliminated in 4th place - one spot from the money. On my last hand, I was holding K-10 and saw a flop of 3-5-10. I lost all my chips after going "all in" and watching my opponent flip over KK that he had slow played. That figures.
Daily Sketch: Down $33
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $657
April 14, 2006: Blackjack at the Union Station
Once a month, a sizeable group of us head out to LaFuente's. This evening, nine of us ate Mexican food and drank margaritas to our hearts' content. Afterward, we headed to a local watering hole.
The watering hole is named the Union Station. They've got a video blackjack machine in the bar, so I decided to plunk $5 into the machine and see what happens. Quite naturally, I eventually lost the $5, but I was able to get it up to $15 at one point. Oh well.
Daily Sketch: Down $5
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $624
The watering hole is named the Union Station. They've got a video blackjack machine in the bar, so I decided to plunk $5 into the machine and see what happens. Quite naturally, I eventually lost the $5, but I was able to get it up to $15 at one point. Oh well.
Daily Sketch: Down $5
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $624
April 13, 2006: Running Bad
I hadn't planned on playing poker tonight, but Theresa made plans with her girlfriends this evening, so I had the apartment to myself. What better way to occupy my time than logging into Party Poker?
With my Party Poker cash account completely depleted, I had to raid my personal checking account for funds. I hate doing that!! Regardless, I withdrew $150 and decided to take my chances on a 6-man $5/$10 table.
About an hour-and-a-half after sitting down, I had lost the $150. With that being said, it's official: My cards are running bad. Time after time, I made the wrong decisions. If I folded to a raise, I would have won the pot. If I called a raise, I was way behind and lost the pot. I played relatively conservatively, but it's hard to win when you can't seem to catch any cards.
Tonight's losses were hard to stomach - primarily 'cuz they directly hit my checkbook - which is something that hasn't happened in quite some time. So, it's time to take a break. The month-to-date Sketchbook looks ugly, and playing poker isn't particularly fun right now.
Daily Sketch: Down $150
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $619
With my Party Poker cash account completely depleted, I had to raid my personal checking account for funds. I hate doing that!! Regardless, I withdrew $150 and decided to take my chances on a 6-man $5/$10 table.
About an hour-and-a-half after sitting down, I had lost the $150. With that being said, it's official: My cards are running bad. Time after time, I made the wrong decisions. If I folded to a raise, I would have won the pot. If I called a raise, I was way behind and lost the pot. I played relatively conservatively, but it's hard to win when you can't seem to catch any cards.
Tonight's losses were hard to stomach - primarily 'cuz they directly hit my checkbook - which is something that hasn't happened in quite some time. So, it's time to take a break. The month-to-date Sketchbook looks ugly, and playing poker isn't particularly fun right now.
Daily Sketch: Down $150
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $619
April 11, 2006: MLB Over/Under Confidence Pool
I've organized a pool that asks you to pick the over/under on the number of wins any ten Major League Baseball team will have this season. Ranking your picks from 1-10, you assign a confidence level to each pick. If you're absolutely certain that a particular pick will come to fruition, you assign a point value of 10 to that prediction. Then, if you're right, you get 10 points. On the other hand, if you're wrong, you get 0 points. Whoever totals the most points at season's end wins the pool.
I've put a link to the right that will allow everyone to see how I'm doing throughout the season. Nineteen of us have signed up to play - with an entry fee of $20. I've put my greatest confidence in the Cubs winning less than 85.5 games. If that doesn't happen, I won't win any money in this pool.
If nothing else, I'm hoping that this pool will give me incentive to pay attention to games outside the arena of the Milwaukee Brewers. For $20, it's relatively cheap entertainment that will last until the Autumn.
Daily Sketch: Down $20
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $469
I've put a link to the right that will allow everyone to see how I'm doing throughout the season. Nineteen of us have signed up to play - with an entry fee of $20. I've put my greatest confidence in the Cubs winning less than 85.5 games. If that doesn't happen, I won't win any money in this pool.
If nothing else, I'm hoping that this pool will give me incentive to pay attention to games outside the arena of the Milwaukee Brewers. For $20, it's relatively cheap entertainment that will last until the Autumn.
Daily Sketch: Down $20
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $469
April 10, 2006: Masters Recap
I did pretty well in my Masters' pools this weekend. Unfortunately, I did just well enough to narrowly miss winning any money. It was a disappointing Sunday afternoon.
A total of 194 entries were submitted into Jim's pool. One of my teams tied for 3rd place. My other team tied for 26th place. Those are much better finishes than I'm accustomed to, so I was happy to be in the running on the final day. As fate would have it, however, nine other guys finished in a tie for 3rd place and I lost the tiebreaker to most of them. In fact, after sorting out the tiebreakers, I actually finished in 10th place. The 3rd place finisher was awarded $194. I won $0. Ugh!
At the same time, a total of 21 people entered Bob's pricier pool. The top 4 people won money, and one of my teams finished in 5th place. Ugh!!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $449
A total of 194 entries were submitted into Jim's pool. One of my teams tied for 3rd place. My other team tied for 26th place. Those are much better finishes than I'm accustomed to, so I was happy to be in the running on the final day. As fate would have it, however, nine other guys finished in a tie for 3rd place and I lost the tiebreaker to most of them. In fact, after sorting out the tiebreakers, I actually finished in 10th place. The 3rd place finisher was awarded $194. I won $0. Ugh!
At the same time, a total of 21 people entered Bob's pricier pool. The top 4 people won money, and one of my teams finished in 5th place. Ugh!!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $449
April 9, 2006: Party isn't a Party Right Now
I played on Party Poker for 90 minutes this morning. To put it mildly, the sight is not being especially kind to me.
Sitting at a 6-man $3/$6 table, I lost $120 in 75 minutes. I kept tossing money at people who kept hitting monsters. For some reason, I kept thinking that top pair was good, until my opponents kept flipping over sets and two-pairs. It was VERY frustrating!
Frustrated by my losses, I took $80 to the Blackjack tables and lost that money astoundingly fast. The last three hands I played, the dealer drew to 21. That was a quick $30 down the toilet.
I think I need to take a short break from online poker/blackjack. The Sketchbook looks pretty ugly this month - and it's still early.
Daily Sketch: Down $200
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $449
Sitting at a 6-man $3/$6 table, I lost $120 in 75 minutes. I kept tossing money at people who kept hitting monsters. For some reason, I kept thinking that top pair was good, until my opponents kept flipping over sets and two-pairs. It was VERY frustrating!
Frustrated by my losses, I took $80 to the Blackjack tables and lost that money astoundingly fast. The last three hands I played, the dealer drew to 21. That was a quick $30 down the toilet.
I think I need to take a short break from online poker/blackjack. The Sketchbook looks pretty ugly this month - and it's still early.
Daily Sketch: Down $200
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $449
April 8, 2006: Al's Birthday Party
Al celebrated his 40th birthday today, and a large group of friends surprised him at Ron's Cozy Corner this evening. During the course of the night, Theresa spent $8 on an assortment of lottery tickets and pulls of the video machines, so the Sketchbook saw a small hit.
At the same time, I gave Joe $1 when he was able to successfully identify the Brewers and Tigers as the only two remaining undefeated teams in Major League Baseball.
Daily Sketch: Down $9
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $249
At the same time, I gave Joe $1 when he was able to successfully identify the Brewers and Tigers as the only two remaining undefeated teams in Major League Baseball.
Daily Sketch: Down $9
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $249
April 7, 2006: Blackjack
With my recent success at the Blackjack tables, I decided to forgo the poker tables on Party Poker and played 21 for a short time this evening. After all, I used Blackjack as a crutch to get back to even the last time I played. Why not use it tonight to actually make some money?
Playing one-on-one versus the computer, the hands really fly by. After 15 minutes, I was up $75 playing $10/hand. I was feeling pretty good about things, but then the hit the fan.
Suddenly, the dealer couldn't lose a hand. Time after time, he'd hit 15 and draw a 6. If he had 13, he'd hit an 8. If I was dealt 20, he'd be dealt Blackjack. I'm guessing that I lost 25 of the next 30 hands I played. After seeing him get dealt 4 (yes 4!) consecutive 21's, I figured that my luck was bound to change. It didn't happen, however.
All told, I played for about 25 minutes and lost exactly $200. Ugh! I guess that my dabbling into Blackjack has ended.
Daily Sketch: Down $200
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $240
Playing one-on-one versus the computer, the hands really fly by. After 15 minutes, I was up $75 playing $10/hand. I was feeling pretty good about things, but then the
Suddenly, the dealer couldn't lose a hand. Time after time, he'd hit 15 and draw a 6. If he had 13, he'd hit an 8. If I was dealt 20, he'd be dealt Blackjack. I'm guessing that I lost 25 of the next 30 hands I played. After seeing him get dealt 4 (yes 4!) consecutive 21's, I figured that my luck was bound to change. It didn't happen, however.
All told, I played for about 25 minutes and lost exactly $200. Ugh! I guess that my dabbling into Blackjack has ended.
Daily Sketch: Down $200
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $240
April 6, 2006: Poker at Steve's
I hosted a poker game tonight. This is the game that's usually held at Joe's place on Monday nights, but I got to host this time around.
Playing moderate stakes for nearly 4 hours, I claimed a profit of $20 for the evening. It was nice to play some low-stress cards with the boys.
Daily Sketch: Up $20
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $40
Playing moderate stakes for nearly 4 hours, I claimed a profit of $20 for the evening. It was nice to play some low-stress cards with the boys.
Daily Sketch: Up $20
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $40
April 5, 2006: Golf Pools
The Masters golf tournament kicks off tomorrow in Augusta, Georgia. Per usual, it's time to assemble my fantasy teams for this event. The Masters is my favorite golf tournament and the one that I pay the most attention to.There are two different pools that I enter rather regularly. One pool is run by Bob and the other by Jim. In Bob's tournament, you assemble a team of four golfers. Your salary cap is dictated by the current world rankings and your final score is determined by the total winnings your team earns. If you take Tiger Woods, you're extremely restricted in who else you can take. Otherwise, you can take almost anyone you want, primarily because Bob's salary cap is pretty high.
I submitted two teams into Bob's pool. Each team costs $25 - so the Sketchbook takes a $50 hit today. Here are my two teams:
Team #1: Tiger, R. Pampling, S. Appleby, & F. Funk.
Note: I don't have much confidence in Funk, although I feel pretty good about Pampling and Appleby.
Team #2: Goosen, Mickelson, Els, and S. Ames
Note: Without Tiger on this team, it allowed me to pick three studs and a guy who just won on the PGA tour a couple weeks ago. I like this team, too.
First place wins $210 in this pool and gets a head start in the YTD standings, so we'll see what happens. I'm praying that Pampling wins and Ames finishes 2nd. Ha ha!
Jim's pool is cheaper ($5) and allows you to pick up to 8 players. Similar to Bob's pool, I've entered two times. Here are my teams in Jim's pool:
Team #1: Woods, Goosen, Mickelson, Olazabal, Ames, Johnson, Oberholser & Hensby.
Team #2: Woods, Mickelson, Olazabal, Pampling, Verplank, Ames, Oberholser & Johnson.
I need five guys to make the cut on each team, so that's what I'll be tracking during the first two rounds.
Daily Sketch: Down $60
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $60
April 4, 2006: It has been . . .
. . . six days since I last gambled. Wow! I've been writing this Sketchbook for nearly two years, and that's probably the longest time I've gone without making any wagers. I mentioned this fact to a couple friends of mine on Monday, and I felt like a member of Alcoholics Anonymous admitting that they hadn't drank in six days. Thankfully, I don't have a gambling problem!
So, it was time to get back on the wagon tonight. I hope I haven't lost too many loyal readers as a result of the inactivity. I had seriously thought about visiting the riverboats in Indiana on Sunday with Theresa, but we were pretty pooped after spending the weekend in Chicago. We also spent plenty of $$ in Chicago, and I thought I'd cut the weekend's losses to a minimum without giving more away in Gary. So, I waited until tonight to get back to gambling.
I inherited an old computer from work late last week. Immensely better than my own home computer, my project the last two days has been to get this new computer up-and-running. Starting from scratch, I've built a workable machine that puts my old machine to shame. I even splurged and bought a wireless keyboard and mouse, so I'm able to play poker from across the room. Woo hoo!!
Around 8:30pm tonight, I finally downloaded the important software - Party Poker! Unfortunately, ninety minutes after logging in, I was down a healthy $300. Ouch! I had jumped on a 6-man $2/$4 no-limit table and (obviously) didn't find much success. These no limit tables get crazy and the phrase "$2/$4" does not give justice to how big the pots can get.
In particular, I got hammered on two particular hands:
In the first hand, I found myself holding A♠ 9♠ and two of us witnessed a flop of Q♥ 9♥ 9♣. I made a significant bet and my opponent went "all in". There were very few hands that could beat me, so I called the bet. I lost over $100 when my opponent flipped over Q♠ Q◊. Ugh!!
Later, I lost another giant pot while holding A♣ A♥. Playing on a 6-man table, you'd think that pocket Aces could hold up. I made a decent preflop raise, but a monkey holding 5◊ 6◊ called my bet. The flop came 10♣ 5♥ 6♥ and I was well on my way to losing nearly another $100 on that hand.
While playing poker, I was watching the Brewers play the Pirates on TV. When I lost the last of my $300, the game was in the latter stages of the 8th inning. I didn't want to hit the sack until the game had concluded, so I decided to chase my losses at the Blackjack table. What was I thinking?
I took $100 to the table and decided to bet $25/hand. If nothing else, I figured that it would be relatively painless to lose the $100 in four hands and then I'd officially retire for the night. Great strategy, ehh?
Miraculously, I won the first three hands (including one double-down) and I had quickly recouped one-third of my nightly losses. I continued playing $25/hand and felt pretty good when my starting stack of $100 stabilized at $225.
At that point, I decided to lower my stakes to $15/hand and my good fortune continued. I continued to see my stack of chips increase and felt very fortunate when I hit $300. Up $200 at the Blackjack table, I lowered my stakes to $10. If nothing else, I was determined to not lose the $200 in 2 minutes.
As the Brewer game entered the ninth inning, I continued to find good fortune. When I got to $365, I lowered my stakes down to $5/hand. In a matter of ten minutes (at the most), I had won $265 at this crazy Blackjack table. Woo hoo!!
As Derrick Turnbow mowed down the Pirates, I won another $35. When the Brewer game ended, I had exactly $400 in my account. Eagerly, I logged out of the software - exactly even for the night.
In the end, I played poker for a good 90 minutes and lost $300. Then, I played Blackjack for (maybe) 15 minutes and won it all back. Crazy!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sktech: $0
So, it was time to get back on the wagon tonight. I hope I haven't lost too many loyal readers as a result of the inactivity. I had seriously thought about visiting the riverboats in Indiana on Sunday with Theresa, but we were pretty pooped after spending the weekend in Chicago. We also spent plenty of $$ in Chicago, and I thought I'd cut the weekend's losses to a minimum without giving more away in Gary. So, I waited until tonight to get back to gambling.
I inherited an old computer from work late last week. Immensely better than my own home computer, my project the last two days has been to get this new computer up-and-running. Starting from scratch, I've built a workable machine that puts my old machine to shame. I even splurged and bought a wireless keyboard and mouse, so I'm able to play poker from across the room. Woo hoo!!
Around 8:30pm tonight, I finally downloaded the important software - Party Poker! Unfortunately, ninety minutes after logging in, I was down a healthy $300. Ouch! I had jumped on a 6-man $2/$4 no-limit table and (obviously) didn't find much success. These no limit tables get crazy and the phrase "$2/$4" does not give justice to how big the pots can get.
In particular, I got hammered on two particular hands:
In the first hand, I found myself holding A♠ 9♠ and two of us witnessed a flop of Q♥ 9♥ 9♣. I made a significant bet and my opponent went "all in". There were very few hands that could beat me, so I called the bet. I lost over $100 when my opponent flipped over Q♠ Q◊. Ugh!!
Later, I lost another giant pot while holding A♣ A♥. Playing on a 6-man table, you'd think that pocket Aces could hold up. I made a decent preflop raise, but a monkey holding 5◊ 6◊ called my bet. The flop came 10♣ 5♥ 6♥ and I was well on my way to losing nearly another $100 on that hand.
While playing poker, I was watching the Brewers play the Pirates on TV. When I lost the last of my $300, the game was in the latter stages of the 8th inning. I didn't want to hit the sack until the game had concluded, so I decided to chase my losses at the Blackjack table. What was I thinking?
I took $100 to the table and decided to bet $25/hand. If nothing else, I figured that it would be relatively painless to lose the $100 in four hands and then I'd officially retire for the night. Great strategy, ehh?
Miraculously, I won the first three hands (including one double-down) and I had quickly recouped one-third of my nightly losses. I continued playing $25/hand and felt pretty good when my starting stack of $100 stabilized at $225.
At that point, I decided to lower my stakes to $15/hand and my good fortune continued. I continued to see my stack of chips increase and felt very fortunate when I hit $300. Up $200 at the Blackjack table, I lowered my stakes to $10. If nothing else, I was determined to not lose the $200 in 2 minutes.
As the Brewer game entered the ninth inning, I continued to find good fortune. When I got to $365, I lowered my stakes down to $5/hand. In a matter of ten minutes (at the most), I had won $265 at this crazy Blackjack table. Woo hoo!!
As Derrick Turnbow mowed down the Pirates, I won another $35. When the Brewer game ended, I had exactly $400 in my account. Eagerly, I logged out of the software - exactly even for the night.
In the end, I played poker for a good 90 minutes and lost $300. Then, I played Blackjack for (maybe) 15 minutes and won it all back. Crazy!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sktech: $0
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