The downs again.

Managed to blow my VCpoker roll on one of those bad days that just keeps getting worse. Still have $220 sitting in neteller and about $20 in Tower.

My short term goal is to a) get up to $300 to maximize the Pacific Poker bonus, and then b) work up to $600 in order to withdraw $200 for a session at a local casino with a mate. After that, we try to crack the $1k barrier!

Back to VC

Deposited $40 back at VC to pick up a $10 monthly reload bonus. It's not much, but just marking time for the next port of call. Turned the $40 into $90 pretty quick, playing half stacked NL20. Not as many loose tables at VC compared to Tower.

The next stop after this is probably Pacific Poker. They have a 50% up to $150 bonus via PokerListings. This is a great bonus, as you can play it straight away, and just need to wager it 20x before cashing it out - this works out as essentially 100% rakeback for the duration of the bonus, and is twice as quick as e.g the VC bonus.

Cracked the Tower bonus

Finally managed to finish my first deposit bonus ($93) at Tower, just 2 days before the deadline. The shortstacking at NL25 and NL50 tables worked very nicely right up to the last day, where in one session I won $20 in about 15 minutes, and then in another I lost $50 in pretty quick time.

I know many will say that shortstacking at too high a level can be suicidal, but in view of the way the bonuses work at Tower, I believe it was a reasonable strategy for me. Hopefully I can start to play with a bit fuller stacks at NLH now.

All in all it's worked out for me, and my balance is now $285. Now I pop back to VCpoker for a small reload bonus, and then it's time to find some value on a deposit of a few hundred.