The last day of the month ended with a whimper. In fact, I didn't do any gambling today. Before hitting the sack for the night, however, I thought it would be interesting to see how many people were logged into various poker networks. Here's a quick snapshot:
Party Poker: 75,195 players.
PokerStars: 70,908 players.
UltimateBet: 16,668 players.
PokerRoom: 16,328 players.
Paradise Poker: 12,372 players.
Absolute Poker: 11,117 players.
Noble Poker: 2,626 players.
These are the sites that were easy for me to get. There sure are a lot of people playing online poker at any particular time, ehh?
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $62.52
June 29, 2006: Omaha Hi/Lo Experiment
I wasn't overly eager to play Hold 'em tonight, so I decided to jump into the Omaha Hi/Lo world of Absolute Poker to see how I'd do. Here's how it went:
I started my night by opening a $3/$6 table. Since no one else was sitting at the table, I had to wait a few minutes before someone joined me. Unfortunately, the 1st guy that sat down (Mudasuka) is a regular Omaha player that I recognized. When he sat down with $100, I was a little worried. Omaha Hi/Lo isn't my best game, so I thought I might be staring down a loaded gun. Thankfully, we only played a hand or two before we were joined by another player (Clwman). I didn't recognize him, so I felt a bit better about things.
In less than 10 minutes, Clwman lost all $60 he brought to the table. Thankfully, I claimed $31.50 of that amount - with Mudasuka claiming the balance. After watching Clwman go bankrupt and leave the table in a fit of disgust, I decided to follow suit. After all, I wasn't in the mood to battle Mudasuka heads-up.
There was one open spot at Absolute's only functioning 6-man $2/$4 Omaha Hi/Lo table, so I joined in. Fifty minutes later, I had lost $76.84 at that stinking table and I left in a fit of disgust. On one particular hand, I was holding a pair of 8's and witnessed a flop of 8-5-5. I thought I was sitting good, but another 5 on the river gave one of my opponents a 4-of-a-kind. It was a giant pot, as two other players were holding A-2 and raises were following re-raises all around the table. I probably plunked $50 into the pot on that one hand alone. Ugh!!
I don't know why people play Omaha Hi/Lo. Every hand is determined on the last card. No one ever folds and everyone's fate hinges on the random river card. If you're chasing a flush, you wait to the river. If you're chasing a low hand, you wait to the river. If you flop 2-pair, you wait to the river.
Basically, everyone waits to the river and then the chips flow in the direction of the luckiest player. Needless to say, it's a frustrating game. I don't understand why anyone plays the game with any regularity.
In the end, my experiment at Absolute's Omaha Hi/Lo tables ended with a nightly loss of $45.34. I was tempted to visit some Hold 'em tables, but I didn't feel particularly good about my game. I think I'll simply chalk up tonight's Omaha Hi/Lo session as an experiment gone bad.
Daily Sketch: Down $45.34
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $62.52
I started my night by opening a $3/$6 table. Since no one else was sitting at the table, I had to wait a few minutes before someone joined me. Unfortunately, the 1st guy that sat down (Mudasuka) is a regular Omaha player that I recognized. When he sat down with $100, I was a little worried. Omaha Hi/Lo isn't my best game, so I thought I might be staring down a loaded gun. Thankfully, we only played a hand or two before we were joined by another player (Clwman). I didn't recognize him, so I felt a bit better about things.
In less than 10 minutes, Clwman lost all $60 he brought to the table. Thankfully, I claimed $31.50 of that amount - with Mudasuka claiming the balance. After watching Clwman go bankrupt and leave the table in a fit of disgust, I decided to follow suit. After all, I wasn't in the mood to battle Mudasuka heads-up.
There was one open spot at Absolute's only functioning 6-man $2/$4 Omaha Hi/Lo table, so I joined in. Fifty minutes later, I had lost $76.84 at that stinking table and I left in a fit of disgust. On one particular hand, I was holding a pair of 8's and witnessed a flop of 8-5-5. I thought I was sitting good, but another 5 on the river gave one of my opponents a 4-of-a-kind. It was a giant pot, as two other players were holding A-2 and raises were following re-raises all around the table. I probably plunked $50 into the pot on that one hand alone. Ugh!!
I don't know why people play Omaha Hi/Lo. Every hand is determined on the last card. No one ever folds and everyone's fate hinges on the random river card. If you're chasing a flush, you wait to the river. If you're chasing a low hand, you wait to the river. If you flop 2-pair, you wait to the river.
Basically, everyone waits to the river and then the chips flow in the direction of the luckiest player. Needless to say, it's a frustrating game. I don't understand why anyone plays the game with any regularity.
In the end, my experiment at Absolute's Omaha Hi/Lo tables ended with a nightly loss of $45.34. I was tempted to visit some Hold 'em tables, but I didn't feel particularly good about my game. I think I'll simply chalk up tonight's Omaha Hi/Lo session as an experiment gone bad.
Daily Sketch: Down $45.34
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $62.52
June 28, 2006: A Growing Bankroll
I can't complain about my online poker performance during the past 3 weeks. I haven't had a losing session since June 7th and I've seen my Absolute Poker bankroll increase by over $300 in the past week alone. That's not bad!
I thought I was having a good week, but it's nice to peruse my recent Sketchbook entries and affirm my thoughts. I haven't had a hefty payday on any particular day, but winning consistently isn't hurting the balance in my account. Hopefully, this trend will continue!
Note: Can anyone hear me knocking on wood?
As a result of my recent success, I decided to increase my stakes - albeit slightly - and I sat down at a 6-man $3/$6 table for 75 minutes this evening. More often than not, raising my stakes is usually a recipe for disaster!
Generally speaking, the results were mixed. Similar to last night, I fell into a $60 hole rather quickly and spent most of my session chasing those losses. Very early in the night, I lost a big pot to a player who hit a 4-of-a-kind on the river. I had earned a straight after the turn card, so the river was tough to stomach. That hand contributed greatly to my $60 deficit.
Still, I battled back from the early losses and eventually retired with a nightly profit of $19.50. Once again, it's meager winnings - but I'm not going to complain. It's certainly better than losing!
After leaving the $3/$6 table, I joined Absolute's weekly VIP Freeroll Tournament. Beginning at 8:30pm, exactly 1,000 people signed up to play (the maximum allowed), and $1,000 was scheduled to be paid over the Top 5 players. Admittedly, the chances of finishing in the Top 5 is pretty slim, but you can't beat the price for admission - free!!
All told, I played for 2 hours, but I was eventually eliminated in 78th place. Holding AK, I lost most of my chips when another player holding A4 flopped a straight. Whoops!!
Daily Sketch: Up $19.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $107.86
I thought I was having a good week, but it's nice to peruse my recent Sketchbook entries and affirm my thoughts. I haven't had a hefty payday on any particular day, but winning consistently isn't hurting the balance in my account. Hopefully, this trend will continue!
Note: Can anyone hear me knocking on wood?
As a result of my recent success, I decided to increase my stakes - albeit slightly - and I sat down at a 6-man $3/$6 table for 75 minutes this evening. More often than not, raising my stakes is usually a recipe for disaster!
Generally speaking, the results were mixed. Similar to last night, I fell into a $60 hole rather quickly and spent most of my session chasing those losses. Very early in the night, I lost a big pot to a player who hit a 4-of-a-kind on the river. I had earned a straight after the turn card, so the river was tough to stomach. That hand contributed greatly to my $60 deficit.
Still, I battled back from the early losses and eventually retired with a nightly profit of $19.50. Once again, it's meager winnings - but I'm not going to complain. It's certainly better than losing!
After leaving the $3/$6 table, I joined Absolute's weekly VIP Freeroll Tournament. Beginning at 8:30pm, exactly 1,000 people signed up to play (the maximum allowed), and $1,000 was scheduled to be paid over the Top 5 players. Admittedly, the chances of finishing in the Top 5 is pretty slim, but you can't beat the price for admission - free!!
All told, I played for 2 hours, but I was eventually eliminated in 78th place. Holding AK, I lost most of my chips when another player holding A4 flopped a straight. Whoops!!
Daily Sketch: Up $19.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $107.86
June 27, 2006: 6-man $2/$4 Action
I played poker for 90 minutes on Absolute this evening. If nothing else, I was interested to see how I'd perform during an extended period of time on a 6-man $2/$4 table. It's been a while since I spent some quality time on a raked table, and I was curious to see how I'd do.
Unfortunately, the session started poorly. After 45 minutes, I was struggling and down $50. In a nutshell, I was having great difficulty flopping a pair. In fact, I was dealt Big Slick an unusual number of times - but I couldn't seem to flop an Ace or King. As a result, my opponents started to call my bets - no matter what they had. In the world of poker, you pounce on someone who isn't catching a break.
For the next 10 minutes, my opponents' strategy worked well - and I continued to lose. Before I knew it, I was down exactly $89.50 and things were looking bleak. Needless to say, my experiment wasn't working.
Then, out-of-the-blue, things turned around. Thank goodness!
I started flopping some nice hands and was subsequently rewarded. My opponents continued to assume that I was bluffing at pots - and they paid me off. In fact, during the last 25 minutes that I played, I recouped all my losses and netted a small profit.
When I found myself looking at profits of $25.86 this evening, I was relatively happy. I was down for most of my session, so I was content to see a final net profit. In the end, my 90-minute time investment didn't net much cash, but it was a positive session nonetheless.
I think I'll stick to the $2/$4 tables - for now - and see if I can build up a bit of a bankroll over the next couple weeks.
Daily Sketch: Up $25.86
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $88.36
Unfortunately, the session started poorly. After 45 minutes, I was struggling and down $50. In a nutshell, I was having great difficulty flopping a pair. In fact, I was dealt Big Slick an unusual number of times - but I couldn't seem to flop an Ace or King. As a result, my opponents started to call my bets - no matter what they had. In the world of poker, you pounce on someone who isn't catching a break.
For the next 10 minutes, my opponents' strategy worked well - and I continued to lose. Before I knew it, I was down exactly $89.50 and things were looking bleak. Needless to say, my experiment wasn't working.
Then, out-of-the-blue, things turned around. Thank goodness!
I started flopping some nice hands and was subsequently rewarded. My opponents continued to assume that I was bluffing at pots - and they paid me off. In fact, during the last 25 minutes that I played, I recouped all my losses and netted a small profit.
When I found myself looking at profits of $25.86 this evening, I was relatively happy. I was down for most of my session, so I was content to see a final net profit. In the end, my 90-minute time investment didn't net much cash, but it was a positive session nonetheless.
I think I'll stick to the $2/$4 tables - for now - and see if I can build up a bit of a bankroll over the next couple weeks.
Daily Sketch: Up $25.86
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $88.36
June 26, 2006: $14k Guaranteed Tournament
After posting yesterday's entry to the Sketchbook, I played a bit more poker. I didn't get a chance to write about it, since the night went kinda late. Here's what happened:
Starting at 7:00pm, Absolute Poker was hosting a $14k Guaranteed Hold 'em Tournament. Since the Sketchbook had shown a profit during the day and because I had nothing better to do, I decided to join the fun. After all, first place was scheduled to win $3,800. Not bad for a $10 investment, ehh?
It may have only cost $10 to play, but the tournament had rebuys. In other words, if you were eliminated anytime during the first hour, you could rebuy into the tournament (for another $10) and start "all over" with 1,500 chips. As a result, very few people were eliminated during the 1st hour, because most people simply paid another $10 if they went bankrupt during those first 60 minutes. You could rebuy multiple times.
A total of 414 people signed up to play. Generally speaking, the first 71 minutes of the tournament were rather unexciting for me. As a result, I think I'll tell the story of another player (Biscotti). His first 71 minutes were much more interesting than mine:
Immediately after joining the tournament, Biscotti invested an extra $10 and purchased an additional 1,500 chips. As a result, instead of starting with the usual stack of 1,500 chips, Biscotti began the tournament with 3,000 chips. He was already ahead of the chump (Stv1313) sitting directly across from him at Table #32.
Thirty minutes into the tourney, Biscotti is down to 1,990 chips and is dealt Q♥ T♥. He calls a significant preflop raise and watches as the flop shows 6♠ 3♥ Q◊. Two other players go "all in" ahead of Biscotti, and he matches the bet. After all, he's flopped top pair! He's barely got each player covered, and Biscotti proceeds to lose all but 165 of his chips when BOTH of his opponents flip over pocket kings. Ooops! What are the odds of that happening?
Thankfully, it's a rebuy event, so Biscotti invests another $10 and rebuys for another 1,500 chips. Just like that, he's back up to 1,665 chips. Whew!
Forty-two minutes into the tourney, Biscotti is up to 2,385 chips and is dealt 8♣ 10♣. One player makes a significant preflop raise and Biscotti matches him. The flop comes 5♥ 8♥ 2♠ and the other player immediately goes "all in". He has more chips than Biscotti, but you can't fold when you've flopped top pair, right? Biscotti matches the bet and is dismayed to see his opponent flip over pocket Aces. Ooops! What are the odds of that happening?
Thankfully, we're still playing in the first hour, so Biscotti invests another $10 and rebuys another 1,500 chips. Just like that, he's back up to 1,500 chips. Whew!
Hmmmm . . . Biscotti recalls that you can rebuy for another 1,500 chips whenever you're holding less than 1,501 chips. So, he rebuys for another $10. Just like that, he's back up to 3,000 chips and ready to make some hay!!
For the next 15 minutes, Biscotti hits some cards. He gets all the way up to 4,940 chips when we hit the 1-hour mark. During the 5-minute break everyone is afforded the opportunity to rebuy 1,500 chips for another $10, and Biscotti takes advantage of the offer. He rebuys and starts the 2nd hour with exactly 6,440 chips. Although Biscotti has invested $60 in this tournament, he's got a healthy pile of chips and is ready to make his move!
Eleven minutes into the 2nd hour, Biscotti is dealt 9♠ 9♣. A player immediately to his right goes "all in" with a stack a bit bigger than his own, but Biscotti can't lay down the pocket 9's. So, he matches the bet and crosses his fingers. His opponent flips over A♠ K♠. It's a race!
The flop comes J♥ 2♣ 5♠. The turn is a Q♠. The river is a K◊.
So, Biscotti's tournament ended, and he was $60 poorer. Ooops! He finished in 344th place.
So ends Biscotti's story . . .
At the same time this was happening, I was limping along. I originally bought in for $10 and refused to invest anything else in the tournament. When Biscotti was eliminated from the tournament, I had a paltry 1,260 chips. I hadn't gone bankrupt in the 1st hour and I hadn't bought another 1,500 chips at the 1-hour break. I was, needless to say, playing it cheap! Things didn't look promising, but the most I was going to lose was $10.
As you might guess, I wasn't involved in any of the hands that helped bankrupt Biscotti. During those first 71 minutes, I was a folding machine! If nothing else, Biscotti's antics were enough to keep me entertained.
Twenty-three minutes into the 2nd hour, I got very lucky when my 7♣ 7◊ went up against another player holding J◊ J♣ and another player holding A♥ K♣. After going "all in" preflop, I got very lucky when a 7♥ appeared on the turn. After that hand, I was up to 4,485 chips and breathing a deep sigh of relief.
Just before the 2-hour break, I hit another lucky hand. Holding A◊ Q◊, the flop came 6◊ 9♠ 5◊ and my only opponent went "all in". He had more chips than I, but I decided to take a chance and chased the nut flush. As luck would have it, a 10◊ appeared on the turn and I was suddenly up to 9,920 chips. My opponent was holding 8♥ 7♥ and cursed his fate when the diamond appeared.
Immediately after the 2-hour break, I hit another two nice hands while holding K◊ Q♥ and A♠ K♠. Just like that, I had over 20,000 chips and we were down to 200 players. Only the top 45 players would get paid, but I held an average stack and things were looking much more promising.
When we hit the 3-hour mark, I had 22,000 chips after reverting back to being a folding machine. I was below average, but there were only 70 players remaining. The past 60 minutes had been rather uneventful, but I felt fortunate to still be alive.
I continued to limp along, and I never really caught anything during the final 75 minutes that I played. However, the tournament paralleled my adventure on Party Poker last month. Despite the fact that I wasn't catching cards, people were dropping like flies and I continued to move up the standings. Eventually, however, my run ended and I was eliminated in 23rd place while holding A♣ 5♣. I was called by an opponent holding K♠ K♥ and I couldn't catch up. When I went "all in", I had the lowest stack in the tournament and needed to make a move before being blinded away.
For my efforts, I claimed a prize of $106.50. Since the buy-in was only $10, the payout wasn't exhorborant. I really needed to make the Final 10 players to hit a big payday, but the cards didn't want to cooperate during the last hour.
Oh, well. I hadn't planned on playing, and the $96.50 profit puts the Month-to-Date Sketchbook back in the black. Woo hoo!!
P.S. -> I had planned on playing a good amount of poker Monday night. However, after taking the time to type this entry, I got "the look" from my wife when I logged into Absolute Poker this evening. After thinking about it, I decided that it would be a good night to abstain from gambling and bond with the wife, instead. Aren't I sweet?
Hmmmmm . . . I did play poker for 7 hours yesterday. I could probably use a night off.
Daily Sketch: Up $96.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $62.50
Starting at 7:00pm, Absolute Poker was hosting a $14k Guaranteed Hold 'em Tournament. Since the Sketchbook had shown a profit during the day and because I had nothing better to do, I decided to join the fun. After all, first place was scheduled to win $3,800. Not bad for a $10 investment, ehh?
It may have only cost $10 to play, but the tournament had rebuys. In other words, if you were eliminated anytime during the first hour, you could rebuy into the tournament (for another $10) and start "all over" with 1,500 chips. As a result, very few people were eliminated during the 1st hour, because most people simply paid another $10 if they went bankrupt during those first 60 minutes. You could rebuy multiple times.
A total of 414 people signed up to play. Generally speaking, the first 71 minutes of the tournament were rather unexciting for me. As a result, I think I'll tell the story of another player (Biscotti). His first 71 minutes were much more interesting than mine:
Immediately after joining the tournament, Biscotti invested an extra $10 and purchased an additional 1,500 chips. As a result, instead of starting with the usual stack of 1,500 chips, Biscotti began the tournament with 3,000 chips. He was already ahead of the chump (Stv1313) sitting directly across from him at Table #32.
Thirty minutes into the tourney, Biscotti is down to 1,990 chips and is dealt Q♥ T♥. He calls a significant preflop raise and watches as the flop shows 6♠ 3♥ Q◊. Two other players go "all in" ahead of Biscotti, and he matches the bet. After all, he's flopped top pair! He's barely got each player covered, and Biscotti proceeds to lose all but 165 of his chips when BOTH of his opponents flip over pocket kings. Ooops! What are the odds of that happening?
Thankfully, it's a rebuy event, so Biscotti invests another $10 and rebuys for another 1,500 chips. Just like that, he's back up to 1,665 chips. Whew!
Forty-two minutes into the tourney, Biscotti is up to 2,385 chips and is dealt 8♣ 10♣. One player makes a significant preflop raise and Biscotti matches him. The flop comes 5♥ 8♥ 2♠ and the other player immediately goes "all in". He has more chips than Biscotti, but you can't fold when you've flopped top pair, right? Biscotti matches the bet and is dismayed to see his opponent flip over pocket Aces. Ooops! What are the odds of that happening?
Thankfully, we're still playing in the first hour, so Biscotti invests another $10 and rebuys another 1,500 chips. Just like that, he's back up to 1,500 chips. Whew!
Hmmmm . . . Biscotti recalls that you can rebuy for another 1,500 chips whenever you're holding less than 1,501 chips. So, he rebuys for another $10. Just like that, he's back up to 3,000 chips and ready to make some hay!!
For the next 15 minutes, Biscotti hits some cards. He gets all the way up to 4,940 chips when we hit the 1-hour mark. During the 5-minute break everyone is afforded the opportunity to rebuy 1,500 chips for another $10, and Biscotti takes advantage of the offer. He rebuys and starts the 2nd hour with exactly 6,440 chips. Although Biscotti has invested $60 in this tournament, he's got a healthy pile of chips and is ready to make his move!
Eleven minutes into the 2nd hour, Biscotti is dealt 9♠ 9♣. A player immediately to his right goes "all in" with a stack a bit bigger than his own, but Biscotti can't lay down the pocket 9's. So, he matches the bet and crosses his fingers. His opponent flips over A♠ K♠. It's a race!
The flop comes J♥ 2♣ 5♠. The turn is a Q♠. The river is a K◊.
So, Biscotti's tournament ended, and he was $60 poorer. Ooops! He finished in 344th place.
So ends Biscotti's story . . .
At the same time this was happening, I was limping along. I originally bought in for $10 and refused to invest anything else in the tournament. When Biscotti was eliminated from the tournament, I had a paltry 1,260 chips. I hadn't gone bankrupt in the 1st hour and I hadn't bought another 1,500 chips at the 1-hour break. I was, needless to say, playing it cheap! Things didn't look promising, but the most I was going to lose was $10.
As you might guess, I wasn't involved in any of the hands that helped bankrupt Biscotti. During those first 71 minutes, I was a folding machine! If nothing else, Biscotti's antics were enough to keep me entertained.
Twenty-three minutes into the 2nd hour, I got very lucky when my 7♣ 7◊ went up against another player holding J◊ J♣ and another player holding A♥ K♣. After going "all in" preflop, I got very lucky when a 7♥ appeared on the turn. After that hand, I was up to 4,485 chips and breathing a deep sigh of relief.
Just before the 2-hour break, I hit another lucky hand. Holding A◊ Q◊, the flop came 6◊ 9♠ 5◊ and my only opponent went "all in". He had more chips than I, but I decided to take a chance and chased the nut flush. As luck would have it, a 10◊ appeared on the turn and I was suddenly up to 9,920 chips. My opponent was holding 8♥ 7♥ and cursed his fate when the diamond appeared.
Immediately after the 2-hour break, I hit another two nice hands while holding K◊ Q♥ and A♠ K♠. Just like that, I had over 20,000 chips and we were down to 200 players. Only the top 45 players would get paid, but I held an average stack and things were looking much more promising.
When we hit the 3-hour mark, I had 22,000 chips after reverting back to being a folding machine. I was below average, but there were only 70 players remaining. The past 60 minutes had been rather uneventful, but I felt fortunate to still be alive.
I continued to limp along, and I never really caught anything during the final 75 minutes that I played. However, the tournament paralleled my adventure on Party Poker last month. Despite the fact that I wasn't catching cards, people were dropping like flies and I continued to move up the standings. Eventually, however, my run ended and I was eliminated in 23rd place while holding A♣ 5♣. I was called by an opponent holding K♠ K♥ and I couldn't catch up. When I went "all in", I had the lowest stack in the tournament and needed to make a move before being blinded away.
For my efforts, I claimed a prize of $106.50. Since the buy-in was only $10, the payout wasn't exhorborant. I really needed to make the Final 10 players to hit a big payday, but the cards didn't want to cooperate during the last hour.
Oh, well. I hadn't planned on playing, and the $96.50 profit puts the Month-to-Date Sketchbook back in the black. Woo hoo!!
P.S. -> I had planned on playing a good amount of poker Monday night. However, after taking the time to type this entry, I got "the look" from my wife when I logged into Absolute Poker this evening. After thinking about it, I decided that it would be a good night to abstain from gambling and bond with the wife, instead. Aren't I sweet?
Hmmmmm . . . I did play poker for 7 hours yesterday. I could probably use a night off.
Daily Sketch: Up $96.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $62.50
June 25, 2006: WannaTalkPoker Freerollin'
My day of poker started at 9am. WannaTalkPoker was hosting a freeroll on Absolute that had a $200 total prize pool. In addition to the regular prize pool, three separate $25 bounties were put on players in this tournament, so an actual total of $275 was up-for-grabs.
This was an invitation-only tournament. As a result, a relatively paltry 18 people were registered to play - so I figured that my chances of winning cash were pretty good. First place was scheduled to win $60. Second place would get $40, and third place would win $24. The rest of the prize money was being distributed thru the top 9 spots - which meant that 50% of the players would win something.
I didn't catch many cards during the first hour. In fact, when we hit the 60-minute mark, 10 players were still alive and I had 1,510 chips. Considering the fact that we started the tournament with 1,500 chips, I hadn't exactly made a ton of progress, ehh?
Ninety minutes into the tourney, I was sitting with 2,060 chips and we were down to 5 players. I was the low stack. Dealt A♠ K◊, I found myself going "all in" against the tournament leader (Jack_Benny). He flipped over Q♠ Q◊ and my hopes of taking home a nice pot diminished when the flop came A♣ 10♠ Q♥. However, a miracle J♠ on the river gave me a straight and kept me alive.
A few minutes later, I found myself holding 8♣ 8♠. Jack_Benny had caught some bad luck and was suddenly the low stack at the table. He went "all in" with the last of his 1,200 chips. A player right behind him also went "all in" with his last 1,700 chips. At this point, I had 4,995 chips and decided to call the bet. For one, I had each player easily covered. Second, Jack_Benny had a $25 bounty on his head, so I thought this was a good chance to claim that cash.
As it turned out, my decision to call the bet netted me a profit of exactly $49. My opponents flipped over A♥ Q♥ and K◊ J◊. The flop saw an 8♥ appear and I proceeded to scoop the entire pot with the set of 8's - effectively knocking both of my opponents out of the tournament. At the same time, I claimed the $25 bounty and assured that I'd finish in (at least) the top 3 - which was worth an additional $24.
Unfortunately, my cards dried up and I limped to the 3rd place finish. However, I felt very fortunate to claim $49 (the $25 bounty plus the $24 prize for 3rd place). I played with a short stack for most of the tournament and got lucky when the miracle J♠ gave me the straight earlier in the tourney. Without that card, my winnings would have been somewhere around $10.
Later in the day, WannaTalkPoker hosted its regular Sunday afternoon freeroll on DV8 Poker with a total prize pool of $50. This tournament was open to all members of the poker forum, so the turnout was better than the morning's tourney. Still, only 43 people signed up to play and the top 5 players were scheduled to win cash. It wasn't a huge prize pool, but the price for entering (free) was perfect!
Editor's Note: If anyone wants to play poker and doesn't want to risk any cash, I'd definitely recommend WannaTalkPoker. The site offers A LOT of freerolls! I don't know how they do it, but I ain't complaining!
My afternoon session didn't go as well as the morning session. I played relatively well and caught just enough cards to finish 11th. Dealt pocket Q's, I ended up going "all in" against pocket K's. As luck would have it, another king appeared on the board, so I finished 6 spots out of the money.
Oh, well. At least I made money in the morning tournament. In fact, I made nearly $100 the past two days, so I can't complain too much. It was a respectable weekend of freerollin' poker.
Daily Sketch: Up $49
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $34
This was an invitation-only tournament. As a result, a relatively paltry 18 people were registered to play - so I figured that my chances of winning cash were pretty good. First place was scheduled to win $60. Second place would get $40, and third place would win $24. The rest of the prize money was being distributed thru the top 9 spots - which meant that 50% of the players would win something.
I didn't catch many cards during the first hour. In fact, when we hit the 60-minute mark, 10 players were still alive and I had 1,510 chips. Considering the fact that we started the tournament with 1,500 chips, I hadn't exactly made a ton of progress, ehh?
Ninety minutes into the tourney, I was sitting with 2,060 chips and we were down to 5 players. I was the low stack. Dealt A♠ K◊, I found myself going "all in" against the tournament leader (Jack_Benny). He flipped over Q♠ Q◊ and my hopes of taking home a nice pot diminished when the flop came A♣ 10♠ Q♥. However, a miracle J♠ on the river gave me a straight and kept me alive.
A few minutes later, I found myself holding 8♣ 8♠. Jack_Benny had caught some bad luck and was suddenly the low stack at the table. He went "all in" with the last of his 1,200 chips. A player right behind him also went "all in" with his last 1,700 chips. At this point, I had 4,995 chips and decided to call the bet. For one, I had each player easily covered. Second, Jack_Benny had a $25 bounty on his head, so I thought this was a good chance to claim that cash.
As it turned out, my decision to call the bet netted me a profit of exactly $49. My opponents flipped over A♥ Q♥ and K◊ J◊. The flop saw an 8♥ appear and I proceeded to scoop the entire pot with the set of 8's - effectively knocking both of my opponents out of the tournament. At the same time, I claimed the $25 bounty and assured that I'd finish in (at least) the top 3 - which was worth an additional $24.
Unfortunately, my cards dried up and I limped to the 3rd place finish. However, I felt very fortunate to claim $49 (the $25 bounty plus the $24 prize for 3rd place). I played with a short stack for most of the tournament and got lucky when the miracle J♠ gave me the straight earlier in the tourney. Without that card, my winnings would have been somewhere around $10.
Later in the day, WannaTalkPoker hosted its regular Sunday afternoon freeroll on DV8 Poker with a total prize pool of $50. This tournament was open to all members of the poker forum, so the turnout was better than the morning's tourney. Still, only 43 people signed up to play and the top 5 players were scheduled to win cash. It wasn't a huge prize pool, but the price for entering (free) was perfect!
Editor's Note: If anyone wants to play poker and doesn't want to risk any cash, I'd definitely recommend WannaTalkPoker. The site offers A LOT of freerolls! I don't know how they do it, but I ain't complaining!
My afternoon session didn't go as well as the morning session. I played relatively well and caught just enough cards to finish 11th. Dealt pocket Q's, I ended up going "all in" against pocket K's. As luck would have it, another king appeared on the board, so I finished 6 spots out of the money.
Oh, well. At least I made money in the morning tournament. In fact, I made nearly $100 the past two days, so I can't complain too much. It was a respectable weekend of freerollin' poker.
Daily Sketch: Up $49
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $34
June 24, 2006: Absolute's $250k Guaranteed Tournament
I've been waiting two weeks, but today's Absolute Poker Guaranteed $250k Tournament finally arrived. I'm glad that the tournament started later in the day, 'cuz I was a bit woozy after helping Theresa celebrate her birthday last night.
Here's how the tournament went:
4:00pm -> The tourney starts. A total of 1,236 people are competing for the $50,000 first place prize. 500th place gets $50 and everyone starts with 2,500 chips.
4:10pm -> Everyone who didn't show up is taken out of the tournament. It looks like approximately 150 people fit that criteria. Just like that, we're down to 1,000 participants. My chances of making the money just improved!
4:37pm -> I am catching ZERO cards. I've only scooped one tiny pot and I'm sitting on 2,250 chips. We're down to 928 players and the average person has 3,340 chips. Are there facecards in this deck?
5:00pm -> It's been a pretty dreadful hour. I've won exactly 2 hands - and neither pot that I scooped was significant. I've got 1,610 chips and I'm sitting in 651st place. There are 789 players still alive as we hit our first 5-minute break.
5:37pm -> Down to 1,145 chips, I'm dealt Q♥ Q◊. I go "all in" and I'm called by another player holding A♥ K◊. Miraculously, my Queens hold up and I'm back up to 2,590 chips. We've got 629 players alive.
5:43pm -> Dealt A♠ Q♠, a player two seats to my right makes a significant preflop raise. I call his raise and the two of us see a flop of 4♠ A◊ 9◊. My opponent makes another bet and I raise "all in." He folds and I'm up to 3,890 chips.
5:59pm -> It's a few minutes before the 2-hour break and our 501st player is eliminated. I'm assured of winning $50. That's a good thing, 'cuz the last 15 minutes have been pretty ugly. I'm down to 1,840 chips after limping into a few pots and seeing nothing on the flop.
6:05pm -> I'm down to 1,590 chips and I'm dealt 4♠ 4◊. I go "all in" with my diminished pile and I'm called by one player. It just so happens that he's the overall tournament chip leader and he's got over 33,000 chips - so my meager raise is nothing for him. He flips over K♣ 5♥. As luck would have it, a 5◊ appears on the flop and I'm eliminated in 427th place. For my efforts, I win $50.
After all was said and done, I played poker for nearly 2 hours and won 5 whopping hands in today's tournament. I should probably feel fortunate to have won $50, but I was hoping for better.
Daily Sketch: Up $50
Month-t0-Date Sketch: Down $83
Here's how the tournament went:
4:00pm -> The tourney starts. A total of 1,236 people are competing for the $50,000 first place prize. 500th place gets $50 and everyone starts with 2,500 chips.
4:10pm -> Everyone who didn't show up is taken out of the tournament. It looks like approximately 150 people fit that criteria. Just like that, we're down to 1,000 participants. My chances of making the money just improved!
4:37pm -> I am catching ZERO cards. I've only scooped one tiny pot and I'm sitting on 2,250 chips. We're down to 928 players and the average person has 3,340 chips. Are there facecards in this deck?
5:00pm -> It's been a pretty dreadful hour. I've won exactly 2 hands - and neither pot that I scooped was significant. I've got 1,610 chips and I'm sitting in 651st place. There are 789 players still alive as we hit our first 5-minute break.
5:37pm -> Down to 1,145 chips, I'm dealt Q♥ Q◊. I go "all in" and I'm called by another player holding A♥ K◊. Miraculously, my Queens hold up and I'm back up to 2,590 chips. We've got 629 players alive.
5:43pm -> Dealt A♠ Q♠, a player two seats to my right makes a significant preflop raise. I call his raise and the two of us see a flop of 4♠ A◊ 9◊. My opponent makes another bet and I raise "all in." He folds and I'm up to 3,890 chips.
5:59pm -> It's a few minutes before the 2-hour break and our 501st player is eliminated. I'm assured of winning $50. That's a good thing, 'cuz the last 15 minutes have been pretty ugly. I'm down to 1,840 chips after limping into a few pots and seeing nothing on the flop.
6:05pm -> I'm down to 1,590 chips and I'm dealt 4♠ 4◊. I go "all in" with my diminished pile and I'm called by one player. It just so happens that he's the overall tournament chip leader and he's got over 33,000 chips - so my meager raise is nothing for him. He flips over K♣ 5♥. As luck would have it, a 5◊ appears on the flop and I'm eliminated in 427th place. For my efforts, I win $50.
After all was said and done, I played poker for nearly 2 hours and won 5 whopping hands in today's tournament. I should probably feel fortunate to have won $50, but I was hoping for better.
Daily Sketch: Up $50
Month-t0-Date Sketch: Down $83
June 22, 2006: Big Daddy invitational IX
Today I participated in the 9th annual Big Daddy Invitational. Per usual, it was a glorious event.
I claimed two separate $25 prizes by winning the "Closest to the Pin" competition and the "Longest Putt on the 18th Green" competition, but since these weren't really wagers, I won't count them on the Sketchbook. Nonetheless, I was happy to take home $50 - which nearly paid for my round of golf.
After the round was over, I joined Jared and Rusty at the Steve's on Bluemound drinking emporium. I claimed a $3 wager when I beat Jared by a few strokes at Golden Tee. Shortly thereafter, I gave back $2 while playing pool, so the Sketchbook sees a net profit of $1 today.
Woo hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Up $1
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $133
I claimed two separate $25 prizes by winning the "Closest to the Pin" competition and the "Longest Putt on the 18th Green" competition, but since these weren't really wagers, I won't count them on the Sketchbook. Nonetheless, I was happy to take home $50 - which nearly paid for my round of golf.
After the round was over, I joined Jared and Rusty at the Steve's on Bluemound drinking emporium. I claimed a $3 wager when I beat Jared by a few strokes at Golden Tee. Shortly thereafter, I gave back $2 while playing pool, so the Sketchbook sees a net profit of $1 today.
Woo hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Up $1
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $133
June 21, 2006: 15 Minutes
I'm beginning to appreciate the $2/$4 tables at Absolute Poker. Simply put, the players at these tables don't seem very good. Yay for me!
I only sat at a 6-man table for 15 minutes tonight, but I won $29.75 during that short time. It continues to amaze me at the number of times I see guys betting aggressively after flopping bottom pair.
Meanwhile, 1,154 people have qualified for Saturday's Quarter Million Dollar Freeroll Challenge.
Daily Sketch: Up $29.75
Monh-to-Date Sketch: Down $134
I only sat at a 6-man table for 15 minutes tonight, but I won $29.75 during that short time. It continues to amaze me at the number of times I see guys betting aggressively after flopping bottom pair.
Meanwhile, 1,154 people have qualified for Saturday's Quarter Million Dollar Freeroll Challenge.
Daily Sketch: Up $29.75
Monh-to-Date Sketch: Down $134
June 20, 2006: Absolutely Nothing
I joined a $20 multi-table tournament on Absolute Poker tonight and found zero success. A total of 91 players signed up to play, and first place was scheduled to win $491.40. I survived thru the 1-hour break, but I didn't scoop more than a handful of small pots and found myself in 50th place (out of 51 remaining players) after 60 minutes.
Shortly after the break, I was dealt Q♠ K♠. I made a modest raise and was called by two players. The flop saw three clubs, and an opponent holding A♣ 8♣ ended up knocking me out of the tournament with his flush. I hit a straight on the river and that sealed my fate when I went "all in" with the last of my paltry pile of chips. I finished in a dismal 47h place. Ugh!
Down $20 for the night, I ventured to a 6-man $2/$4 table to see if I could repeat last night's success. However, after playing for 20 minutes, I was down $45 and things weren't looking particularly promising. I was catching bad cards and chasing too many hands.
Thankfully, things turned around over the next half-hour and I recouped all my losses. In fact, shortly after scooping a nice pot after flopping the nut flush, I found that I was up exactly $20 at the $2/$4 table. Realizing that I was dead even for the night, I quit. All told, I spent 50 minutes at the $2/$4 table.
So, after all was said and done, absolutely nothing happened to the Skechbook tonight. In fact, I played poker for 2 hours this evening and broke exactly even. How boring!
Daily Sketch: $0
Monh-to-Date Sketch: Down $153.75
Shortly after the break, I was dealt Q♠ K♠. I made a modest raise and was called by two players. The flop saw three clubs, and an opponent holding A♣ 8♣ ended up knocking me out of the tournament with his flush. I hit a straight on the river and that sealed my fate when I went "all in" with the last of my paltry pile of chips. I finished in a dismal 47h place. Ugh!
Down $20 for the night, I ventured to a 6-man $2/$4 table to see if I could repeat last night's success. However, after playing for 20 minutes, I was down $45 and things weren't looking particularly promising. I was catching bad cards and chasing too many hands.
Thankfully, things turned around over the next half-hour and I recouped all my losses. In fact, shortly after scooping a nice pot after flopping the nut flush, I found that I was up exactly $20 at the $2/$4 table. Realizing that I was dead even for the night, I quit. All told, I spent 50 minutes at the $2/$4 table.
So, after all was said and done, absolutely nothing happened to the Skechbook tonight. In fact, I played poker for 2 hours this evening and broke exactly even. How boring!
Daily Sketch: $0
Monh-to-Date Sketch: Down $153.75
June 19, 2006: 50 Minutes
For whatever reason, I didn't really feel like playing poker tonight. So, when I logged into Absolute Poker, I wasn't overly inspired to put in a long night's work.
For 35 minutes, I sat a 6-man $1/$2 table and grinded out a profit of $8. Realizing that I didn't have the patience to grind out another $8 over the next 35 minutes, I jumped up to a $2/$4 table in hopes of winning some quick cash.
I sat at that table for 15 minutes and caught some cards. In fact, I won exactly $49.50 during those 15 minutes. I don't know my exact winning percentage, but I would guess that I scooped 25% of the pots during my short stay at the $2/$4 table. I kept flopping top pair, and my opponents couldn't catch up.
So, after playing poker for 50 minutes, I was up $57.50. Considering the fact that I wasn't in the mood to play poker tonight, I thought it was a good time to retire for the evening - while I was ahead a respectable amount.
Daily Sketch: Up $57.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $153.75
For 35 minutes, I sat a 6-man $1/$2 table and grinded out a profit of $8. Realizing that I didn't have the patience to grind out another $8 over the next 35 minutes, I jumped up to a $2/$4 table in hopes of winning some quick cash.
I sat at that table for 15 minutes and caught some cards. In fact, I won exactly $49.50 during those 15 minutes. I don't know my exact winning percentage, but I would guess that I scooped 25% of the pots during my short stay at the $2/$4 table. I kept flopping top pair, and my opponents couldn't catch up.
So, after playing poker for 50 minutes, I was up $57.50. Considering the fact that I wasn't in the mood to play poker tonight, I thought it was a good time to retire for the evening - while I was ahead a respectable amount.
Daily Sketch: Up $57.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $153.75
June 17, 2006: Golf at Silver Spring
I joined Jared, Tom, and Sean at Silver Spring Country Club this morning. It was a very warm day. When we walked off the course around 1:00pm, it was 91 degrees outside.
Per usual, I wagered $1/hole against Jared. He gave me a stroke on the 15 hardest holes, so you'd think I'd be able to win money, don't you? At the same time, Sean gave me 9 strokes over the entire round and we bet $5 on that outcome.
For the first time in quite some time, I was able to claim a profit while playing golf. I shot a 49-45=94 and cracked the century mark for the first time this season. Considering the fact that we were playing from the Black Championship tees, I felt pretty good about my score. In fact, I scored 5 pars and had a birdie. I probably should have shot better than 94, but (per usual) I blew up in a few holes. I finished the round with consecutive triple bogeys.
All told, I won $5 from Jared and I won the $5 wager with Sean. I think Sean shot 100, so I effectively covered the "spread" by 15 strokes against him.
Along the way, I also won a buck from Tom. He was feeling pretty good about his game on the back nine, but he lost $1 to me when I parred the 15th hole (he got a bogey).
Even after today's round, my handicap sits at an ugly 23. However, I did win $11 today, so all is not lost.
Daily Sketch: Up $11
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $211.25
Per usual, I wagered $1/hole against Jared. He gave me a stroke on the 15 hardest holes, so you'd think I'd be able to win money, don't you? At the same time, Sean gave me 9 strokes over the entire round and we bet $5 on that outcome.
For the first time in quite some time, I was able to claim a profit while playing golf. I shot a 49-45=94 and cracked the century mark for the first time this season. Considering the fact that we were playing from the Black Championship tees, I felt pretty good about my score. In fact, I scored 5 pars and had a birdie. I probably should have shot better than 94, but (per usual) I blew up in a few holes. I finished the round with consecutive triple bogeys.
All told, I won $5 from Jared and I won the $5 wager with Sean. I think Sean shot 100, so I effectively covered the "spread" by 15 strokes against him.
Along the way, I also won a buck from Tom. He was feeling pretty good about his game on the back nine, but he lost $1 to me when I parred the 15th hole (he got a bogey).
Even after today's round, my handicap sits at an ugly 23. However, I did win $11 today, so all is not lost.
Daily Sketch: Up $11
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $211.25
June 16, 2006: An Invitation to Play
I took the day off from gambling. I know - that's sad news for Sketchbook readers, but that's life. Every once in a while, I actually find something to do on a Friday night that doesn't involve gambling. Amazing, ehh?
I did, however, find the following e-mail in my inbox this morning:
Hello, WannaTalkers! You are Invited to the Private Holiday Makeup Tournament.
Many of you may remember how I promised to make up the botched holiday tournament to you, and I finally have it taken care of! It took a while, but I finally found a way to squeeze it in, everyone, so thanks for your patience in this! Here it is:
Date of tournament: 25 June 2006
Time: 10AM EST Tourney
Title: WannaTalkPoker Holiday Hoopla Redux
Prize Pool $200, $25 Bounties on Jack Benny, Humphrind, and Captain Milktoast.
The tournament is in Absolute's tourney screen now, so start registering at your leisure, and don't forget to show up! This is a BY INVITATION ONLY event, so I have posted the password in the forums, under a section that only invitees can see.
Please do not share that password with ANYONE, as this is a special thank you for YOU, for all that you've done for WannaTalkPoker! I'll see you all there!
So, I guess I'll be getting up early next Sunday morning. I don't know how many people will play, but I'm going to guess that it won't be more than 30.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $222.25
I did, however, find the following e-mail in my inbox this morning:
Hello, WannaTalkers! You are Invited to the Private Holiday Makeup Tournament.
Many of you may remember how I promised to make up the botched holiday tournament to you, and I finally have it taken care of! It took a while, but I finally found a way to squeeze it in, everyone, so thanks for your patience in this! Here it is:
Date of tournament: 25 June 2006
Time: 10AM EST Tourney
Title: WannaTalkPoker Holiday Hoopla Redux
Prize Pool $200, $25 Bounties on Jack Benny, Humphrind, and Captain Milktoast.
The tournament is in Absolute's tourney screen now, so start registering at your leisure, and don't forget to show up! This is a BY INVITATION ONLY event, so I have posted the password in the forums, under a section that only invitees can see.
Please do not share that password with ANYONE, as this is a special thank you for YOU, for all that you've done for WannaTalkPoker! I'll see you all there!
So, I guess I'll be getting up early next Sunday morning. I don't know how many people will play, but I'm going to guess that it won't be more than 30.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $222.25
June 15, 2006: The US Open
The US Open Golf Tournament begins today. Per usual, I joined two different pools.
I spent $10 to submit two entries into Jim's pool. Basically, you're given a salary cap and can pick no more than 8 golfers. For anyone who cares, here are my teams:
Team #1: Mickelson, Singh, Scott, Z. Johnson, Pernice Jr., Quigley, & Sluman.
Team #2: Mickelson, Singh, Donald, Woods, Z. Johnson, & Cook.
Bob's pool is more expensive. For $25 a team, you pick 4 golfers. Again, you have a salary cap. Here are my teams in his pool:
Team #1: Singh, Garcia, Els, & Scott.
Team #2: Mickelson, Scott, Singh, & Z. Johnson.
I like Zach Johnson to be the unknown dark horse that excels in the tourney. He's made the cut in 10 of the 14 tourneys he's played this year. He's been in the Top 10 in four tournaments. He finished 2nd this past weekend and 5th the weekend before that. He's only ranked 35th in the world, but he's climbing steadily. You heard it here first!
Having said that, Zach Johnson will probably miss the cut this weekend.
Daily Sketch: Down $60
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $222.25
June 14, 2006: I'm a VIP!
While surfing around Absolute Poker last evening, I found a freeroll that was scheduled for tonight. Interestingly, however, it was restricted to Absolute Poker's VIP Players. Most of the freerolls that Absolute Poker runs are open to everyone.
I don't know what it takes to be a VIP, but I decided to see if I could register for the freeroll tournament. Surprisingly, I got in! So, I surfed around the software a little more and - sure enough - Stv1313 is a VIP. Aren't I special?
To date, I've accumulated 11,000 Absolute Rewards points, which is (apparently) enough to qualify as a VIP. However, along with being a VIP, I've accumulated enough Rewards Points to earn free merchandise. Such as . . .
some IPOD speakers . . .
or some travel poker chips . . .
or an "I've got the nuts" T-shirt . . .
I'll probably wait a while before I cash in some of my Rewards Points for these free goodies. If I hold out long enough, maybe Absolute Poker will start offering better prizes. After all, I could use a new car! Ha ha!!!
Tonight's Freeroll Tournament had 854 people that signed up to play. First place was scheduled to win $400. Unfortunately, I didn't come close to making the money.
On the 5th hand of the tournament, I was dealt A♣ A♥. I made an initial raise to 100 chips (the big blind was 20 chips) and another player reraised to 400 chips. I subsequenly reraised to 700 chips - and I half expected him to fold. Instead, my opponent reraised to "all in" and I quickly called his bet. My opponent flipped over 10♠ 10♥.
Woo hoo! At this point, I had an 80.56% chance of scooping the big pot. Unfortunately, the flop came 10♣ 6♠ 4♥.
Just like that, I was losing to the set and my chances of winning had shrunk to 8.59%. The turn (8♣) and river (6♥) were no help and I was rudely eliminated in 820th place.
Wow!! Well . . . at least it was a freeroll, right? Better to lose this type of hand tonight - rather than June 24th.
At least I'm still a VIP!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $162.25
I don't know what it takes to be a VIP, but I decided to see if I could register for the freeroll tournament. Surprisingly, I got in! So, I surfed around the software a little more and - sure enough - Stv1313 is a VIP. Aren't I special?
To date, I've accumulated 11,000 Absolute Rewards points, which is (apparently) enough to qualify as a VIP. However, along with being a VIP, I've accumulated enough Rewards Points to earn free merchandise. Such as . . .
some IPOD speakers . . .
or some travel poker chips . . .
or an "I've got the nuts" T-shirt . . .
I'll probably wait a while before I cash in some of my Rewards Points for these free goodies. If I hold out long enough, maybe Absolute Poker will start offering better prizes. After all, I could use a new car! Ha ha!!!
Tonight's Freeroll Tournament had 854 people that signed up to play. First place was scheduled to win $400. Unfortunately, I didn't come close to making the money.
On the 5th hand of the tournament, I was dealt A♣ A♥. I made an initial raise to 100 chips (the big blind was 20 chips) and another player reraised to 400 chips. I subsequenly reraised to 700 chips - and I half expected him to fold. Instead, my opponent reraised to "all in" and I quickly called his bet. My opponent flipped over 10♠ 10♥.
Woo hoo! At this point, I had an 80.56% chance of scooping the big pot. Unfortunately, the flop came 10♣ 6♠ 4♥.
Just like that, I was losing to the set and my chances of winning had shrunk to 8.59%. The turn (8♣) and river (6♥) were no help and I was rudely eliminated in 820th place.
Wow!! Well . . . at least it was a freeroll, right? Better to lose this type of hand tonight - rather than June 24th.
At least I'm still a VIP!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $162.25
June 13, 2006: $20 Omaha Hi/Lo Tourney
When I got home from work tonight, I was in the mood to play in a multi-table tournament. Unfortunately, the only tourney that was available on Absoulte was a $20 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament. Reluctantly, I decided to play - knowing that Omaha Hi/Lo is not my best game and it often turns into a crapshoot.
A grand total of 57 people signed up to play. I actually played pretty well in the first hour, although only 11 people were eliminated at the first break. Without doubt, it felt like a real grind. To only see 11 people eliminated in the first 60 minutes was a bit disheartening. I was in 14th place at the 1-hour break.
The 2nd hour didn't go nearly as well. In fact, I don't believe that I scooped any part of any pot for the last 20 minutes I played. In the end, I finished in 24th place - or a healthy 15 spots from the money.
In case you're wondering, 1st place was awarded $450.
After being eliminated, I decided to lick my wounds at a regular 6-man $1/$2 table. My goal was to simply win back the $20 I had just given away while playing in the Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament and retire for the night.
It took exactly 41 minutes, but my mission was accomplished. After sitting down with $20, I was able to build my stack to exactly $40. I immediately logged out of the software, exactly even for the night.
After all was said and done, I essentially played a freeroll tournament tonight.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $162.25
A grand total of 57 people signed up to play. I actually played pretty well in the first hour, although only 11 people were eliminated at the first break. Without doubt, it felt like a real grind. To only see 11 people eliminated in the first 60 minutes was a bit disheartening. I was in 14th place at the 1-hour break.
The 2nd hour didn't go nearly as well. In fact, I don't believe that I scooped any part of any pot for the last 20 minutes I played. In the end, I finished in 24th place - or a healthy 15 spots from the money.
In case you're wondering, 1st place was awarded $450.
After being eliminated, I decided to lick my wounds at a regular 6-man $1/$2 table. My goal was to simply win back the $20 I had just given away while playing in the Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament and retire for the night.
It took exactly 41 minutes, but my mission was accomplished. After sitting down with $20, I was able to build my stack to exactly $40. I immediately logged out of the software, exactly even for the night.
After all was said and done, I essentially played a freeroll tournament tonight.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $162.25
June 12, 2006: A New Plan
A week ago, my short-term online poker plans were rather simple. I planned on playing (at least) 50 raked hands at the 6-man $1/$2 tables on Absolute Poker every night. Then, I planned on playing in the nightly 9pm Freeroll Qualifier to chase the dream of playing in the $250k tournament on June 24th.
Now that I've qualified for the big tournament (yay!), I need to adjust my plans. Originally, I was going to stick to the general plan and earn an entry for Theresa, but I've decided that it's too risky to have us both play on the same day in a "real" tournament. Knowing my luck, I'll win the tourney on June 24th and Absolute Poker will take back my winnings when they see that two computers from the same IP address played in the same tournament.
So, I've decided to go with a new plan. For the short term, I'm going to try my luck playing some 1-on-1 tournaments on Absolute Poker. I may get bored in a couple days, but we'll see how things go.
I started my new "plan" by playing STR8UPNOBS in a $20(1) Hold 'em Tourney. I caught some nice cards and won 16 of the 26 hands we played. On the final hand of the tourney, I was dealt 4♠ 3♥. The flop came K♠ 3♠ 3◊ and I was looking good. STR8UPNOBS was holding Q♣ 7♥ and he went "all in" with his short stack when a 7♣ appeared on the turn. I scooped the pot and was awarded $40 - netting me a quick profit of $19.
Next, I played BOSIG in a $10(.50) Omaha Hi/Lo tourney that lasted 31 hands. After 30 hands, I was barely behind - although I had won 16 hands (to his 14 hands). Then, holding two aces, I saw another ace appear on the flop. I went "all in" and BOSIG called me. As it turned out, he had flopped the nut low. He hit a miracle card on the turn to hit nut low straight and I couldn't improve on my 3-of-a-kind. So, I lost $10.50 and my nightly profits shrunk to $8.50. Ugh!
Next, I played JMILL22 in a $20(1) Omaha Tournament. This tournament took 40 hands to play - and then I lost. JMILL22 should have been beaten, but he hit a flush on the 38th hand's river card that decimated me. I had turned a straight, but I lost a huge pot with that darn river. Just like that, I was down $12.50 for the night.
After seeing that ugly river card, I felt that I was ready to go on tilt, so I decided to retire from the exciting world of 1-on-1 tourneys for the night. Instead, I decide to join an inexpensive $2(.40) 27-man tournament. If nothing else, I thought it would eat up cheap time while Theresa and I watched Hell's Kitchen on television. First place in the tournament would win a whopping $21.60!
When we consolidated down to the final table (just before the 1 hour break), I was the tournament's leader with 8,915 chips. 2nd place had 7,165 chips and the average person had 4,500 chips. Since the buy-in was so cheap, I was playing very aggressively, and people were folding to my aggression. Despite the low stakes, I was thoroughly enjoying my role as table bully!
Eventually, I made it to the final two players. I'd write more about how I made it that far, but this was a $2 tournament and it really isn't that interesting considering the limited cash I proceeded to collect. With that being said, here's how the final hand went down:
Tourney ID 1146524 - No Limit Holdem
2006-06-12 23:23:48 (ET)
Table: 2 (Real Money) Seat #7 is the dealer
Seat 6 - LONDON_G ($18565 in chips)
Seat 7 - STV1313 ($21935 in chips)
LONDON_G - Ante $50
STV1313 - Ante $50
STV1313 - Posts small blind $400
LONDON_G - Posts big blind $800
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to STV1313 [2♠ 3♠]
STV1313 - Calls $400
LONDON_G - Checks
Note: I seriously considered folding, but since we were down to two players, I thought "what the heck, let's see a flop."
*** FLOP *** [7♠ A♠ 5♠]
LONDON_G - Bets $900
STV1313 - Calls $900
Note: Woo hoo! I just flopped a flush and he's betting into me. Hopefully, we don't see any more spades!
*** TURN *** [7♠ A♠ 5♠] [5♣]
LONDON_G - Bets $2000
STV1313 - Calls $2000
Note: Ok. That turn card may have hurt, but I'm probably still in the lead, right?
*** RIVER *** [7♠ A♠ 5♠ 5♣] [4♠]
LONDON_G - Bets $5000
Note: The river has just given me a straight flush. I can't remember the last time I've hit a straight flush. With that in mind, I decide to have some fun, since I know the tournament is about to end. To bet 5000 chips, my opponent must have a high spade.
STV1313: "Have you got the nuts?"
LONDON_G: "yep"
Note: I hope my opponent has the K♠, 'cuz he's about to get broadsided!
STV1313 - Raises $14800 to $14800
LONDON_G - All-In(Raise) $9815 to $14815
STV1313 - Calls $15
*** SHOW DOWN ***
LONDON_G - Shows [4◊ K♠] (Flush, ace high)
STV1313 - Shows [2♠ 3♠] (Straight flush, five)
*** SUMMARY ***
STV1313 Collects $37130 from main pot
Note: Ha ha. I guess he didn't really have the nuts, ehhh?
And with that, I took the $21.60 1st place prize
I know - it's not a lot of money. Nonetheless, it's always fun to win a tournament. With my recent success in the freerolls, I'm on a roll in multi-table tournaments.
Here's a screen shot when the tourney ended. If you click on the pic, you'll get a little better view of what a champion sees at the end. Admittedly, it's not very exciting, but I don't get to post this type of screen shot very often.
Daily Sketch: Up $6.70
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $162.25
Now that I've qualified for the big tournament (yay!), I need to adjust my plans. Originally, I was going to stick to the general plan and earn an entry for Theresa, but I've decided that it's too risky to have us both play on the same day in a "real" tournament. Knowing my luck, I'll win the tourney on June 24th and Absolute Poker will take back my winnings when they see that two computers from the same IP address played in the same tournament.
So, I've decided to go with a new plan. For the short term, I'm going to try my luck playing some 1-on-1 tournaments on Absolute Poker. I may get bored in a couple days, but we'll see how things go.
I started my new "plan" by playing STR8UPNOBS in a $20(1) Hold 'em Tourney. I caught some nice cards and won 16 of the 26 hands we played. On the final hand of the tourney, I was dealt 4♠ 3♥. The flop came K♠ 3♠ 3◊ and I was looking good. STR8UPNOBS was holding Q♣ 7♥ and he went "all in" with his short stack when a 7♣ appeared on the turn. I scooped the pot and was awarded $40 - netting me a quick profit of $19.
Next, I played BOSIG in a $10(.50) Omaha Hi/Lo tourney that lasted 31 hands. After 30 hands, I was barely behind - although I had won 16 hands (to his 14 hands). Then, holding two aces, I saw another ace appear on the flop. I went "all in" and BOSIG called me. As it turned out, he had flopped the nut low. He hit a miracle card on the turn to hit nut low straight and I couldn't improve on my 3-of-a-kind. So, I lost $10.50 and my nightly profits shrunk to $8.50. Ugh!
Next, I played JMILL22 in a $20(1) Omaha Tournament. This tournament took 40 hands to play - and then I lost. JMILL22 should have been beaten, but he hit a flush on the 38th hand's river card that decimated me. I had turned a straight, but I lost a huge pot with that darn river. Just like that, I was down $12.50 for the night.
After seeing that ugly river card, I felt that I was ready to go on tilt, so I decided to retire from the exciting world of 1-on-1 tourneys for the night. Instead, I decide to join an inexpensive $2(.40) 27-man tournament. If nothing else, I thought it would eat up cheap time while Theresa and I watched Hell's Kitchen on television. First place in the tournament would win a whopping $21.60!
When we consolidated down to the final table (just before the 1 hour break), I was the tournament's leader with 8,915 chips. 2nd place had 7,165 chips and the average person had 4,500 chips. Since the buy-in was so cheap, I was playing very aggressively, and people were folding to my aggression. Despite the low stakes, I was thoroughly enjoying my role as table bully!
Eventually, I made it to the final two players. I'd write more about how I made it that far, but this was a $2 tournament and it really isn't that interesting considering the limited cash I proceeded to collect. With that being said, here's how the final hand went down:
Tourney ID 1146524 - No Limit Holdem
2006-06-12 23:23:48 (ET)
Table: 2 (Real Money) Seat #7 is the dealer
Seat 6 - LONDON_G ($18565 in chips)
Seat 7 - STV1313 ($21935 in chips)
LONDON_G - Ante $50
STV1313 - Ante $50
STV1313 - Posts small blind $400
LONDON_G - Posts big blind $800
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to STV1313 [2♠ 3♠]
STV1313 - Calls $400
LONDON_G - Checks
Note: I seriously considered folding, but since we were down to two players, I thought "what the heck, let's see a flop."
*** FLOP *** [7♠ A♠ 5♠]
LONDON_G - Bets $900
STV1313 - Calls $900
Note: Woo hoo! I just flopped a flush and he's betting into me. Hopefully, we don't see any more spades!
*** TURN *** [7♠ A♠ 5♠] [5♣]
LONDON_G - Bets $2000
STV1313 - Calls $2000
Note: Ok. That turn card may have hurt, but I'm probably still in the lead, right?
*** RIVER *** [7♠ A♠ 5♠ 5♣] [4♠]
LONDON_G - Bets $5000
Note: The river has just given me a straight flush. I can't remember the last time I've hit a straight flush. With that in mind, I decide to have some fun, since I know the tournament is about to end. To bet 5000 chips, my opponent must have a high spade.
STV1313: "Have you got the nuts?"
LONDON_G: "yep"
Note: I hope my opponent has the K♠, 'cuz he's about to get broadsided!
STV1313 - Raises $14800 to $14800
LONDON_G - All-In(Raise) $9815 to $14815
STV1313 - Calls $15
*** SHOW DOWN ***
LONDON_G - Shows [4◊ K♠] (Flush, ace high)
STV1313 - Shows [2♠ 3♠] (Straight flush, five)
*** SUMMARY ***
STV1313 Collects $37130 from main pot
Note: Ha ha. I guess he didn't really have the nuts, ehhh?
And with that, I took the $21.60 1st place prize
I know - it's not a lot of money. Nonetheless, it's always fun to win a tournament. With my recent success in the freerolls, I'm on a roll in multi-table tournaments.
Here's a screen shot when the tourney ended. If you click on the pic, you'll get a little better view of what a champion sees at the end. Admittedly, it's not very exciting, but I don't get to post this type of screen shot very often.
Daily Sketch: Up $6.70
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $162.25
June 10, 2006: Spotted Cow XII
I had a relatively uneventful experience at Spotted Cow XII. In fact, for the first time since Spotted Cow VII, I wasn't able to place in any of the four tournaments that were played.
Generally speaking, I didn't really experience any "exciting" hands. When I was ahead in a hand, I won. When I was behind, I lost. I don't believe I suffered any bad beats, and I don't recall sucking out on anyone. Like I said, it was a relatively uneventful experience.
All told, I finished 9th, 5th, 22nd, and 9th in the four tournaments - which means that I lost $120. I was "bubble boy" in the 2nd tournament - so that was (obviously) my best shot at winning cash.
Our big winner was David - who set an all-time record for winnings in one day. Here's a quick snapshot of the happy winner:
Oh, well. Spotted Cow XIII will occur later this summer. Hopefully, my cards will be better that day!
Daily Sketch: Down $120
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $168.95
June 9, 2006: A Night Off
After playing late into the night last evening, I wasn't in the mood to play poker tonight. In fact, with a long day of poker ahead of me tomorrow (Spotted Cow XII), it's probably in my best interests to rest tonight. So, that's what I did!
I did, however, check the Absolute Poker site. Upon review, I am officially registered to play in the June 24th Quarter Million Dollar FreeRoll Challenge Final Tournament. I can't wait!
As of the time I'm typing this (Friday night), there are 797 people already registered to play on June 24th. With 27 more people scheduled to qualify each of the next 14 days, there should be just under 1,200 people who play that day. First place gets $50k and the top 500 people are guaranteed to win at least $50. Personally, I'd be plenty happy to take 5th place ($11,000).
I'm not sure why the number of registered players is so high, but it is increasing by 27 each day. Perhaps this promotion started at the start of May and I simply missed the initial announcement. Regardless, it's not costing me any money to chase the big prize, so I'm not going to complain!
Time to hit the sack. I wanted to be well-rested for tomorrow!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $48.95
I did, however, check the Absolute Poker site. Upon review, I am officially registered to play in the June 24th Quarter Million Dollar FreeRoll Challenge Final Tournament. I can't wait!
As of the time I'm typing this (Friday night), there are 797 people already registered to play on June 24th. With 27 more people scheduled to qualify each of the next 14 days, there should be just under 1,200 people who play that day. First place gets $50k and the top 500 people are guaranteed to win at least $50. Personally, I'd be plenty happy to take 5th place ($11,000).
I'm not sure why the number of registered players is so high, but it is increasing by 27 each day. Perhaps this promotion started at the start of May and I simply missed the initial announcement. Regardless, it's not costing me any money to chase the big prize, so I'm not going to complain!
Time to hit the sack. I wanted to be well-rested for tomorrow!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $48.95
June 8, 2006: Dual FreeRoll Action
Today was my mother-in-law's birthday. To help her "celebrate" her special day, Theresa and I took her out for dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. Afterwards, we ran some errands and I picked up some supplies for Saturday's Spotted Cow Tournament.
After all was said and done, I got back to the apartment at 8:45pm - which was just in time to join the 9pm Freeroll Qualifier on Absolute Poker. After losing $90 last night, I wasn't overly excited to play regular cash games, anyway.
A total of 714 signed up to play in tonight's Freeroll. Among them, Theresa decided to play under her own screen name on our 2nd computer.
Unlike my past two efforts, I was able to make it to the 1-hour break. To illustrate how loose these tournaments are, we were down to 167 players at our first break. In other words, 77% of the field was eliminated in the 1st hour. I guess that happens when you're playing a freeroll that only rewards the final 9 players. A LOT of people go "all in" with marginal hands and, since it's free to play, there isn't a lot of motivation to protect your chips. Unfortunately, I wasn't really doing well when we hit the first break. I was in 137th place with 1,625 chips.
Another interesting tidbit: Besides Theresa and myself, the only other person I recognized in this tournament was Rob. Wouldn't you know it? Rob and I were placed at the same table to begin the tournament. The odds of that happening were about 70-to-1. Unfortunately, Rob didn't make it to the 1st hour break and was among the 77% that were eliminated. :-(
I won a few hands during the next hour and somehow stayed alive. At the same time, people started to play a bit more conservatively. In fact, after watching 547 people get eliminated in the 1st hour, only 112 were eliminated in the 2nd hour. At the 2-hour break, I had accumulated 6,205 chips - which put me in 41st place of the remaining 55 players.
Interestingly, Theresa was doing better than me! She had 14,140 chips and was sitting in 29th place. If nothing else, we were making a good dual run at the Top 9.
The most important hour was about to begin . . .
Shortly after the break, Theresa hit a nice hand and suddenly found herself with 30,000 chips. I didn't see the hand get played out, but she let out a "whoop" of joy when she scooped the pot. Just like that, Theresa was suddenly in 10th place and seemed to hold our best chance of advancing to the June 24th tournament.
At the same time, I started to hit some cards. I doubled-up two different times, and I was up to 19,000 chips when we got down to 34 players. Theresa, meanwhile, hung steadily in 10th place. We were DEFINITELY making a dual run at the Top 9.
When we arrived at the 3-hour break (a little after midnight), we were down to the final 18 players and the tournament was consolidated to two tables. I had won a couple decent pots and felt pretty good about my chances. In fact, for the first time, I realized that Theresa and I BOTH had a respectable shot of qualifying in the Top 9. She was sitting at one table with 25,680 chips and I was at the other table holding 28,320 chips. We were sitting in 13th and 14th places.
Do you believe in miracles?
As the tournament progressed, Theresa could not catch ANYTHING. For the last 90 minutes she played, she never saw good cards. Despite that, she hung in nicely. In fact, she eventually finished in 10th place – or just ONE SPOT from making the finals. Needless to say, I was VERY impressed with her performance. I gotta say, however, that she was extremely disappointed to finish on the bubble. She was eliminated while holding 10-10 and lost when another player holding JQ hit another Queen on the turn. At the time, she was the lowest stack in the tournament and she was about to get blinded out, so her play was fine. She simply caught some bad luck at the end. I felt bad for her.
At the same time, I caught some cards during that final hour. I didn’t accumulate a monster pile of chips, but I accumulated enough to finish in the Top 9. Woo hoo!! As a result of my own performance, I've made the finals on June 24th!!
After all was said and done, the tournament took 3 hours and 45 minutes to play. Phew! I’m tired!! It sure would have been nice to get two entries into that final tournament, but we sure came close, didn't we?
I guess I'll spend the next couple weeks trying to get Theresa qualified for the finals. Obviously, she's proven she can play poker, so it would be nice for her to play in a "real" tournament with "real" payouts. If I can do it once, I can do it again. Right?
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $48.95
After all was said and done, I got back to the apartment at 8:45pm - which was just in time to join the 9pm Freeroll Qualifier on Absolute Poker. After losing $90 last night, I wasn't overly excited to play regular cash games, anyway.
A total of 714 signed up to play in tonight's Freeroll. Among them, Theresa decided to play under her own screen name on our 2nd computer.
Unlike my past two efforts, I was able to make it to the 1-hour break. To illustrate how loose these tournaments are, we were down to 167 players at our first break. In other words, 77% of the field was eliminated in the 1st hour. I guess that happens when you're playing a freeroll that only rewards the final 9 players. A LOT of people go "all in" with marginal hands and, since it's free to play, there isn't a lot of motivation to protect your chips. Unfortunately, I wasn't really doing well when we hit the first break. I was in 137th place with 1,625 chips.
Another interesting tidbit: Besides Theresa and myself, the only other person I recognized in this tournament was Rob. Wouldn't you know it? Rob and I were placed at the same table to begin the tournament. The odds of that happening were about 70-to-1. Unfortunately, Rob didn't make it to the 1st hour break and was among the 77% that were eliminated. :-(
I won a few hands during the next hour and somehow stayed alive. At the same time, people started to play a bit more conservatively. In fact, after watching 547 people get eliminated in the 1st hour, only 112 were eliminated in the 2nd hour. At the 2-hour break, I had accumulated 6,205 chips - which put me in 41st place of the remaining 55 players.
Interestingly, Theresa was doing better than me! She had 14,140 chips and was sitting in 29th place. If nothing else, we were making a good dual run at the Top 9.
The most important hour was about to begin . . .
Shortly after the break, Theresa hit a nice hand and suddenly found herself with 30,000 chips. I didn't see the hand get played out, but she let out a "whoop" of joy when she scooped the pot. Just like that, Theresa was suddenly in 10th place and seemed to hold our best chance of advancing to the June 24th tournament.
At the same time, I started to hit some cards. I doubled-up two different times, and I was up to 19,000 chips when we got down to 34 players. Theresa, meanwhile, hung steadily in 10th place. We were DEFINITELY making a dual run at the Top 9.
When we arrived at the 3-hour break (a little after midnight), we were down to the final 18 players and the tournament was consolidated to two tables. I had won a couple decent pots and felt pretty good about my chances. In fact, for the first time, I realized that Theresa and I BOTH had a respectable shot of qualifying in the Top 9. She was sitting at one table with 25,680 chips and I was at the other table holding 28,320 chips. We were sitting in 13th and 14th places.
Do you believe in miracles?
As the tournament progressed, Theresa could not catch ANYTHING. For the last 90 minutes she played, she never saw good cards. Despite that, she hung in nicely. In fact, she eventually finished in 10th place – or just ONE SPOT from making the finals. Needless to say, I was VERY impressed with her performance. I gotta say, however, that she was extremely disappointed to finish on the bubble. She was eliminated while holding 10-10 and lost when another player holding JQ hit another Queen on the turn. At the time, she was the lowest stack in the tournament and she was about to get blinded out, so her play was fine. She simply caught some bad luck at the end. I felt bad for her.
At the same time, I caught some cards during that final hour. I didn’t accumulate a monster pile of chips, but I accumulated enough to finish in the Top 9. Woo hoo!! As a result of my own performance, I've made the finals on June 24th!!
After all was said and done, the tournament took 3 hours and 45 minutes to play. Phew! I’m tired!! It sure would have been nice to get two entries into that final tournament, but we sure came close, didn't we?
I guess I'll spend the next couple weeks trying to get Theresa qualified for the finals. Obviously, she's proven she can play poker, so it would be nice for her to play in a "real" tournament with "real" payouts. If I can do it once, I can do it again. Right?
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $48.95
June 7, 2006: Not Much Fun Tonight
Tonight I played 50 hands at a 6-man $1/$2 Hold 'em table at Absolute Poker in preparation for the 9pm Freeroll Qualifier. I lost $29.50 during that time, and I wasn't feeling particularly good about my game, so I decided to dabble in some $2/$4 and $3/$6 action. I was hoping to quickly recoup tonight's losses.
Unfortunatley, I didn't find any success at either of those tables, and I finished my night of "regular" poker play down exactly $90. Ugh!!
I just couldn't catch any cards tonight. I didn't keep my stats for the night, buy my winning percentage was very low. I couldn't seem to hit any flops and I did a lot of folding. I did catch pocket A's three different times tonight, but I could only scoop the pot one of those times.
Down for the night, I joined the 9pm Freeroll. Obviously, I wasn't overly confident about my game, but my pursuit of June 24th finale continues!
A total of 659 players joined in the fun. Per usual, the goal was to finish in the Top 9. I didn't come close, and I finished in 183rd place.
The last two hands of this tourney typified my night. On my 2nd-to-last hand, I was dealt AQ and eventually lost a decent pot when my opponent (who was holding 99) hit his 3rd 9 on the flop. On the very next hand, I found myself holding 99 and I was eliminated when an opponent holding AQ saw two Queens appear on the flop. Without doubt, that typified my night.
Daily Sketch: Down $90
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $48.95
Unfortunatley, I didn't find any success at either of those tables, and I finished my night of "regular" poker play down exactly $90. Ugh!!
I just couldn't catch any cards tonight. I didn't keep my stats for the night, buy my winning percentage was very low. I couldn't seem to hit any flops and I did a lot of folding. I did catch pocket A's three different times tonight, but I could only scoop the pot one of those times.
Down for the night, I joined the 9pm Freeroll. Obviously, I wasn't overly confident about my game, but my pursuit of June 24th finale continues!
A total of 659 players joined in the fun. Per usual, the goal was to finish in the Top 9. I didn't come close, and I finished in 183rd place.
The last two hands of this tourney typified my night. On my 2nd-to-last hand, I was dealt AQ and eventually lost a decent pot when my opponent (who was holding 99) hit his 3rd 9 on the flop. On the very next hand, I found myself holding 99 and I was eliminated when an opponent holding AQ saw two Queens appear on the flop. Without doubt, that typified my night.
Daily Sketch: Down $90
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $48.95
June 7, 2006: Site Stats
For those of you who haven't noticed, the very bottom of this page show's a counter that's tracking the number of times Steve's Gambling Sketchbook is loaded on a computer. The counter resets once-an-hour. So, if you log onto this website three times in one hour, the counter will only go up by 1. However, if you religiously checked this website once every 61 minutes, the counter would go up by 1 each time.
Anyway, the counter is reaching 4,000 - which seems like a big number. I usually ignore this counter, but I thought I'd explore the figure last night. Here's what I learned:
Anyway, the counter is reaching 4,000 - which seems like a big number. I usually ignore this counter, but I thought I'd explore the figure last night. Here's what I learned:
- Over the past 3 months, this website averages 14 unique visitors every day. My highest hit count occurred on May 8th, when 26 people visited the site. Coincidentally, that was the Monday after I won nearly $1k in Party Poker's Guaranteed $500k tourney.
- Saturdays and Sundays are slow days. In fact, on average, only 8 unique visitors come by on weekends. On Sunday, April 16th, only 4 people bothered to check the Sketchbook - which is the slowest day in the past 3 months. Of course, April 16th was Easter Sunday - so that might explain the low turnout.
- A grand total of 224 different computers have accessed the website since its inception on Blogger.com.
- Of the last 100 unique hits to the website (about 1 week), all of them came from the United States. Fifteen were from Illinois. Nine were from Georgia. Four were from Arizona. Two were from Virgina. Two were from California. One was from Nevada. The balance (67) were from Wisconsin.
- My biggest referral comes from my Spotted Cow Website. I don't know that I have this site linked anywhere else, so that's no big surprise.
- Finally, 46% of everyone who logs into Steve's Gambling Sketchbook clicks on the Guestbook tab. So, if you've got some extra time, feel free to jot something down in my Guestbook. Nearly half the people who are reading this entry are going to check the Guestbook next!
June 6, 2006: A Broken Record
I hope that my loyal readers don't get bored by the following statement. You're probably going to see it A LOT over the next couple weeks and it's going to seem like you're listening to a broken record:
Tonight I played 50 hands at a 6-man $1/$2 Hold 'em table at Absolute Poker. Then, I played in the 9pm Freeroll Qualifier.
For the next couple weeks, I'm going to attempt to make a bit of money at Absolute's $1/$2 tables. At the same time, I'm really targeting June 24th's $250k tourney. As long as I play 50 raked hands every night, I'll be able to join the nightly 9pm Freeroll Qualifier. The odds of making the big tournament are slim, but I'm going to chase the dream - for now.
On the weekends, I might be able to play a couple qualifiers each day. As best I can tell, I should be able to play in (at least) a dozen qualifying events before June 24th. Hopefully, I can get lucky one of those times. In fact, I'll be disappointed if my 11th place finish the other night proves to be my best performance in these Freeroll Qualifiers.
Playing on the $1/$2 table tonight, I made $27.50. It took a little less than 45 minutes to play 50 raked hands, so my hourly winning rate wasn't too bad. It would be nice to maintain that rate while chasing the big prize. Unfortunately, no one called me a "disease" this evening, so the $1/$2 session wasn't nearly as interesting as last night's festivities.
Shortly thereafter, the Freeroll Qualifier began. A total of 641 people signed up to play, which was lower than either of the first two times I played.
For the first 50 minutes I played, it was rather uneventful. I won a few small pots and was sitting on 2,300 chips when I was dealt a pair of 8's. I made a significant bet and was called by the big stack at the table - who was playing VERY loosely.
The flop came 4-10-K. I went "all in" and my opponent called. I thought I was ahead. As it turned out, I was correct and my opponent revealed AJ. Unfortunately, an Ace on the river ended my tourney.
Ugh! I finished in 208th place.
Daily Sketch: Up $27.50
Month-Date-Sketch: Up $41.05
Tonight I played 50 hands at a 6-man $1/$2 Hold 'em table at Absolute Poker. Then, I played in the 9pm Freeroll Qualifier.
For the next couple weeks, I'm going to attempt to make a bit of money at Absolute's $1/$2 tables. At the same time, I'm really targeting June 24th's $250k tourney. As long as I play 50 raked hands every night, I'll be able to join the nightly 9pm Freeroll Qualifier. The odds of making the big tournament are slim, but I'm going to chase the dream - for now.
On the weekends, I might be able to play a couple qualifiers each day. As best I can tell, I should be able to play in (at least) a dozen qualifying events before June 24th. Hopefully, I can get lucky one of those times. In fact, I'll be disappointed if my 11th place finish the other night proves to be my best performance in these Freeroll Qualifiers.
Playing on the $1/$2 table tonight, I made $27.50. It took a little less than 45 minutes to play 50 raked hands, so my hourly winning rate wasn't too bad. It would be nice to maintain that rate while chasing the big prize. Unfortunately, no one called me a "disease" this evening, so the $1/$2 session wasn't nearly as interesting as last night's festivities.
Shortly thereafter, the Freeroll Qualifier began. A total of 641 people signed up to play, which was lower than either of the first two times I played.
For the first 50 minutes I played, it was rather uneventful. I won a few small pots and was sitting on 2,300 chips when I was dealt a pair of 8's. I made a significant bet and was called by the big stack at the table - who was playing VERY loosely.
The flop came 4-10-K. I went "all in" and my opponent called. I thought I was ahead. As it turned out, I was correct and my opponent revealed AJ. Unfortunately, an Ace on the river ended my tourney.
Ugh! I finished in 208th place.
Daily Sketch: Up $27.50
Month-Date-Sketch: Up $41.05
June 5, 2006: Chasing More Freerolls
Upon getting home from work this evening, I jumped on a modest 6-man $1/$2 table on Absolute Poker. I had one simple goal in mind: I wanted to play 50 raked hands to see if I'd earn another freeroll into a $250k Qualifying Tournament. I had originally thought that you needed to play 100 raked hands to earn another entry, but it appeared that 50 hands was the actual requirement.
It took a little less than 45 minutes, but I played 50 raked hands. Along the way, I won exactly $24.55, so that was an added bonus. I also had fun chatting with another player who thought I was playing like an idiot. A player who wasn't even sitting at my table chimed into our conversation and said I was "a disease to the game of poker".
Huh?!? Meanwhile, the active player who criticized my own game eventually slinked away from the table after losing $40.
Anyway, after playing the 50 hands, I tried to register for the 9:00pm Freeroll Qualifier, and I was allowed to join! Great!!
I hadn't planning on playing in tonight's Qualifier, however, 'cuz I wasn't ready to devote 4 hours of my night to playing poker. However, after reading through the official rules, I found that you can't stockpile freeroll entries. Apparently, every time you play a freeroll, your count of raked hands is reset to '0'. In other words, I can't simply play 200 hands of poker in one night and expect to have four freerolls in my back pocket. You gotta earn (and use) each freeroll one-at-a-time. Too bad!!
So, whenever I play enough hands on Absolute Poker to earn a freeroll, I will quickly use it. With that objective in mind, I decided to join tonight's tourney. Who knows? Maybe I'd get lucky . . .
Ahhhhh . . . no!
A total of 744 people played tonight, and I finished in 338th place. I had a few maniacs at my table who insisted on going “all in” before the flop, so I decided to bide my time. Finally, I found myself holding KK about 25 minutes into the tourney when a maniac went “all in” ahead of me. I eagerly called his bet, and I proceeded to lose the pot when he hit a miracle straight on the river. I don’t even recall what he had, but I know that he wasn’t even holding a face card.
That hand didn’t eliminate me. It simply crippled me. Shortly thereafter, I was forced to go “all in” when I flopped top pair. Unfortunately, my opponent had flopped a straight, and my tourney ended.
Oh, well. It was a freebie and I played for about 30 minutes. I’ll get ‘em tomorrow night!
Daily Sketch: Up $24.55
Month-Date-Sketch: Up $13.55
It took a little less than 45 minutes, but I played 50 raked hands. Along the way, I won exactly $24.55, so that was an added bonus. I also had fun chatting with another player who thought I was playing like an idiot. A player who wasn't even sitting at my table chimed into our conversation and said I was "a disease to the game of poker".
Huh?!? Meanwhile, the active player who criticized my own game eventually slinked away from the table after losing $40.
Anyway, after playing the 50 hands, I tried to register for the 9:00pm Freeroll Qualifier, and I was allowed to join! Great!!
I hadn't planning on playing in tonight's Qualifier, however, 'cuz I wasn't ready to devote 4 hours of my night to playing poker. However, after reading through the official rules, I found that you can't stockpile freeroll entries. Apparently, every time you play a freeroll, your count of raked hands is reset to '0'. In other words, I can't simply play 200 hands of poker in one night and expect to have four freerolls in my back pocket. You gotta earn (and use) each freeroll one-at-a-time. Too bad!!
So, whenever I play enough hands on Absolute Poker to earn a freeroll, I will quickly use it. With that objective in mind, I decided to join tonight's tourney. Who knows? Maybe I'd get lucky . . .
Ahhhhh . . . no!
A total of 744 people played tonight, and I finished in 338th place. I had a few maniacs at my table who insisted on going “all in” before the flop, so I decided to bide my time. Finally, I found myself holding KK about 25 minutes into the tourney when a maniac went “all in” ahead of me. I eagerly called his bet, and I proceeded to lose the pot when he hit a miracle straight on the river. I don’t even recall what he had, but I know that he wasn’t even holding a face card.
That hand didn’t eliminate me. It simply crippled me. Shortly thereafter, I was forced to go “all in” when I flopped top pair. Unfortunately, my opponent had flopped a straight, and my tourney ended.
Oh, well. It was a freebie and I played for about 30 minutes. I’ll get ‘em tomorrow night!
Daily Sketch: Up $24.55
Month-Date-Sketch: Up $13.55
June 4, 2006: Sunday Freerolls
WannaTalkPoker hosted another freeroll this afternoon. These tournaments don't usually have large prize pools, but they effectively keep me busy while doing other things. Today, I simultaneously watched the NASCAR race and Brewer game while playing in this tourney.
Starting at 2:00pm, thirty people signed up to play Pot Limit Omaha on DV-8 Poker. First place got $25. Second place got $15. Third place got $10. Like I said, these aren't big payouts, but it's a free way to keep occupied on a Sunday afternoon.
I played relatively well, but I could only muster a 7th place finish. If nothing else, I learned that AA is not a particuarly stong hand when playing Omaha. It doesn't win a lot.
Shortly after completing that tournament, I visited Absolute Poker. That site is hosting a $250k FreeRoll Challenge this month and I wanted to check it out. Here's how it works:
On June 24th, the site is hosting a tournament that's guaranteed to pay out $250k - with first place winning $50k. The only way to enter June 24th's tournament, however, is to qualify through a freeroll tournament that's run three times-a-day on the Absolute Poker site.
Today at 4:00pm, I joined a Freeroll Qualifier. Every registered player on Absolute Poker gets one shot to qualify, so today was my day. Every time a Freeroll Qualifier is played, the top 9 players advance. No more - no less - no matter the number of people who play in the tourney.
A total of 893 people signed up to play this afternoon. Thankfully, I found decent success, so I got to play a good long while. I caught some good cards and I never seemed to lose a bad hand to a bad beat. About 2 hours into the tourney, I found myself holding QQ and I eventually saw two more queens appear on the board. That big pot certainly helped my cause.
Eventually, I made it to the final 30 players. I had over 50,000 chips, but the average stack had over 80,000 chips. Bearing in mind that only the final 9 players advance to June 24th's big tourney, I still had work to do. Still, I felt pretty good about my chances.
Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to catch any cards at the end. When we got down to 15 players, I was 12th in chips, but I kept hanging on. I stole a few blinds, and I never found myself having to go "all in". Meanwhile, players all around me kept going "all in" with stacks smaller than mine, but they kept winning. It was frustrating to watch.
Finally, after watching my stack of chips fall below 10,000, I was forced to go "all in" while holding pocket Jacks. A player with K 10 called my bet and he took me out when another King appeared on the board. I finished in 11th place - or just 2 spots away from advancing. Ugh!!
The tournament took over 4 hours to play, and I got nothing out of it. The most frustrating part of the tourney was watching so many people go "all in" with marginal hands and continue to win. One guy at my table must've gone "all in" a half-dozen times and he kept winning. I went "all in" exactly one time and lost the hand. As I just mentioned, that was the most frustrating part of today's tourney. About 650 will play for the $50k 1st place prize on June 24th, and I was soooooo close to playing in that tourney.
It's possible to earn more entries into these freeroll tourneys if you play regularly on Absolute Poker. So, I think I'll play some poker at Absolute Poker during the next few weeks and see if I can earn another entry into a FreeRoll Qualifer. In the meantime, I recommend that anyone who wants to play some free poker give this FreeRoll Qualifer a shot. After all, what have you got to lose? It's free to play and you just might find yourself playing for $50k.
Here's an ugly looking screenshot of today's tournament lobby. 893 people played, and I finished in 11th. Ugh!!!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $11
Starting at 2:00pm, thirty people signed up to play Pot Limit Omaha on DV-8 Poker. First place got $25. Second place got $15. Third place got $10. Like I said, these aren't big payouts, but it's a free way to keep occupied on a Sunday afternoon.
I played relatively well, but I could only muster a 7th place finish. If nothing else, I learned that AA is not a particuarly stong hand when playing Omaha. It doesn't win a lot.
Shortly after completing that tournament, I visited Absolute Poker. That site is hosting a $250k FreeRoll Challenge this month and I wanted to check it out. Here's how it works:
On June 24th, the site is hosting a tournament that's guaranteed to pay out $250k - with first place winning $50k. The only way to enter June 24th's tournament, however, is to qualify through a freeroll tournament that's run three times-a-day on the Absolute Poker site.
Today at 4:00pm, I joined a Freeroll Qualifier. Every registered player on Absolute Poker gets one shot to qualify, so today was my day. Every time a Freeroll Qualifier is played, the top 9 players advance. No more - no less - no matter the number of people who play in the tourney.
A total of 893 people signed up to play this afternoon. Thankfully, I found decent success, so I got to play a good long while. I caught some good cards and I never seemed to lose a bad hand to a bad beat. About 2 hours into the tourney, I found myself holding QQ and I eventually saw two more queens appear on the board. That big pot certainly helped my cause.
Eventually, I made it to the final 30 players. I had over 50,000 chips, but the average stack had over 80,000 chips. Bearing in mind that only the final 9 players advance to June 24th's big tourney, I still had work to do. Still, I felt pretty good about my chances.
Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to catch any cards at the end. When we got down to 15 players, I was 12th in chips, but I kept hanging on. I stole a few blinds, and I never found myself having to go "all in". Meanwhile, players all around me kept going "all in" with stacks smaller than mine, but they kept winning. It was frustrating to watch.
Finally, after watching my stack of chips fall below 10,000, I was forced to go "all in" while holding pocket Jacks. A player with K 10 called my bet and he took me out when another King appeared on the board. I finished in 11th place - or just 2 spots away from advancing. Ugh!!
The tournament took over 4 hours to play, and I got nothing out of it. The most frustrating part of the tourney was watching so many people go "all in" with marginal hands and continue to win. One guy at my table must've gone "all in" a half-dozen times and he kept winning. I went "all in" exactly one time and lost the hand. As I just mentioned, that was the most frustrating part of today's tourney. About 650 will play for the $50k 1st place prize on June 24th, and I was soooooo close to playing in that tourney.
It's possible to earn more entries into these freeroll tourneys if you play regularly on Absolute Poker. So, I think I'll play some poker at Absolute Poker during the next few weeks and see if I can earn another entry into a FreeRoll Qualifer. In the meantime, I recommend that anyone who wants to play some free poker give this FreeRoll Qualifer a shot. After all, what have you got to lose? It's free to play and you just might find yourself playing for $50k.
Here's an ugly looking screenshot of today's tournament lobby. 893 people played, and I finished in 11th. Ugh!!!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $11
June 4, 2006: My Golf Game is Horrible!
Very early this morning, I joined Jared, Ty, and Rusty at Ironwood Golf Course in Sussex. Per usual, I had another bad round (103) and lost $11 along the way. Even with a handicap nearing 25, I still couldn't use those strokes to parlay some winnings from today's golfing adventure.
Man, my golf game is horrible!
Daily Sketch: Down $11
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $11
Man, my golf game is horrible!
Daily Sketch: Down $11
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $11
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