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!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, March 7, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Quads!
Tower Poker are running a promotion where the first person each day (US e.s.t.) to make quads (10s or higher) in Texas Holdem wins a $50 bonus. The catch is that it is not automatic - you have to report your quads to support.
On Saturday I made quad Jacks at about 9:00am. I thought myself no chance, but submitted them anyway. Was astonished to find myself winning the $50! Then on Wednesday, I played a brief session at 12:30am, and made quad Aces. On top of picking up a tidy pot, I won myself another $50 for the trouble. Not bad going. Three other players have won the quad bonus twice (in about 20 days), so I can only assume that not many people are submitting their quads. So playing 6 tables short handed at midnight looks like a pretty profitable strategy right now!
Thanks to these bonuses, I have hit the $180 mark, and will soon add a $93 deposit bonus to that.
On Saturday I made quad Jacks at about 9:00am. I thought myself no chance, but submitted them anyway. Was astonished to find myself winning the $50! Then on Wednesday, I played a brief session at 12:30am, and made quad Aces. On top of picking up a tidy pot, I won myself another $50 for the trouble. Not bad going. Three other players have won the quad bonus twice (in about 20 days), so I can only assume that not many people are submitting their quads. So playing 6 tables short handed at midnight looks like a pretty profitable strategy right now!
Thanks to these bonuses, I have hit the $180 mark, and will soon add a $93 deposit bonus to that.
A change of tack
A few weeks ago I switched to playing poker at Tower Gaming (a member of OnGame, another chain of linked poker rooms). I was attracted by the twin 100% signup bonuses that appeared to cash out quickly.
When I started playing, I found that the going was pretty slow. One reason is that you only earn points when you contribute money to a pot, the other was that you only earn points for pots over $2. This latter only became an issue because I blew my stack down to $20 (twice) and had to limp back at low limits.
I switched strategy when I got back to around $40, and started playing short stacked at NL and PL tables (mostly holdem, a little Omaha). The initial aim was to find tables with small blinds (.10/.15 or .15/.25) but large average pots (say over $8) , buyin for the minimum and then to play loose for one bet preflop and tight otherwise - I expected this might be a slightly negative e.v (expected value) strategy, but positive when the bonus is factored in.
The strategy made a big improvement in earning points towards cashing out my bonus, but surprisingly also turned out to be remarkably profitable. I found myself not playing as tightly as I planned (bluffing, semibluffing when prudent) , but turning a better profit on average than when I was playing limit. I am now on track to cash out a $93 bonus soon, and have a very healthy stack.
When I started playing, I found that the going was pretty slow. One reason is that you only earn points when you contribute money to a pot, the other was that you only earn points for pots over $2. This latter only became an issue because I blew my stack down to $20 (twice) and had to limp back at low limits.
I switched strategy when I got back to around $40, and started playing short stacked at NL and PL tables (mostly holdem, a little Omaha). The initial aim was to find tables with small blinds (.10/.15 or .15/.25) but large average pots (say over $8) , buyin for the minimum and then to play loose for one bet preflop and tight otherwise - I expected this might be a slightly negative e.v (expected value) strategy, but positive when the bonus is factored in.
The strategy made a big improvement in earning points towards cashing out my bonus, but surprisingly also turned out to be remarkably profitable. I found myself not playing as tightly as I planned (bluffing, semibluffing when prudent) , but turning a better profit on average than when I was playing limit. I am now on track to cash out a $93 bonus soon, and have a very healthy stack.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Ups and Downs
Boy, poker can be a rough ride.
My hard earned $100 swung down to $30, back up to $100, down to $17, up to $50, down to $20. And some of those downswings can happen so fast - maybe I went on tilt, maybe I played the wrong games. But it seemed at the time that I was being hit in the guts time after time by runner-runner straights, gutshots, backdoor flushed. My good hands were being chased down. I played some poker at a loose limit Omaha table, and burned pretty badly - I'll talk more about Omaha another day.
Today, for a change I experienced a rapid upswing - 50 big bets in less than half an hour. I don't even think I was playing particularly well, or my opponents particularly badly. I just caught a lot of cards. And I mean a *lot*.
Here are some highlights:
Hand 1(BB): 99, held up
Hand 2(SB): 83, called and flopped two pair
Hand 4: AJs, made J high straight
Hand 6(BB): A4s, flopped fours full of aces
Hand 10: 22, flopped a set
Hand 24: KQs, flopped two pair
Hand 25: JJ, flopped a set and paired the board for a full house
Hand 28: 99, flopped a full house
Hand 37(BB): K10s, flopped top pair, turned a 10
Hand 55: A8s, flopped top pair (eights) and made a runner-runner nut flush
In all of that time, I only got sucked out on once (to a runner-runner straight).
My hard earned $100 swung down to $30, back up to $100, down to $17, up to $50, down to $20. And some of those downswings can happen so fast - maybe I went on tilt, maybe I played the wrong games. But it seemed at the time that I was being hit in the guts time after time by runner-runner straights, gutshots, backdoor flushed. My good hands were being chased down. I played some poker at a loose limit Omaha table, and burned pretty badly - I'll talk more about Omaha another day.
Today, for a change I experienced a rapid upswing - 50 big bets in less than half an hour. I don't even think I was playing particularly well, or my opponents particularly badly. I just caught a lot of cards. And I mean a *lot*.
Here are some highlights:
Hand 1(BB): 99, held up
Hand 2(SB): 83, called and flopped two pair
Hand 4: AJs, made J high straight
Hand 6(BB): A4s, flopped fours full of aces
Hand 10: 22, flopped a set
Hand 24: KQs, flopped two pair
Hand 25: JJ, flopped a set and paired the board for a full house
Hand 28: 99, flopped a full house
Hand 37(BB): K10s, flopped top pair, turned a 10
Hand 55: A8s, flopped top pair (eights) and made a runner-runner nut flush
In all of that time, I only got sucked out on once (to a runner-runner straight).
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A taxonomy of fish
In my first two weeks of online poker, I have become convinced that table selection is the most important factor in whether you win or lose. It is critically important that you play better poker than the average at the table, and because of the rake, you need to be better by a margin.
But the best outcome seems to be when there is at least one really bad player at the table. One bad player can dump chips in your direction much faster than a whole table full of mediocre players. The fish come in a few different varieties:
The calling station is the player that calls many bets with a bad hand. They will often draw to bad odds, for example calling with a small pair in the face of overcards hoping to hit trips or drawing to a gutshot straight. Making money out of the calling station is a simple matter of betting when you think you're in front - this can include second pair or even ace high depending on the situation.
The weak player is always afraid of losing to a better hand. If they have a pair of kings they will worry about a pair of aces. If they have top pair, they will fear two pair. The weak player will often fail to bet/raise with the best hand, allowing free cards to drawing players. A raise (from good position) on the flop may scare them away from betting out their winning hand on the turn and river. The weak player can also be persuaded to fold a good hand sometimes. Be careful of bluffing too much however, as you will look foolish if your bluffs are called down.
The obvious player only ever bets/raises with a good hand. This allows you to fold with confidence with mediocre hands and even decent hands that you might otherwise lose money with if they turn out to be second best. When the obvious player is also a calling station, you are onto a winner all around, as they will pay your winning hands and allow your losing hands out cheaply. The obvious player will never slow play a big hand.
The loose cannon is that crazy player who bets/raises at almost every opportunity. They love to bluff, and probably think they are a terribly tricky player. If you want to challenge the loose cannon you need a decent stack, as they will sometimes actually land a good hand which could cost you a lot. Sit to the right of the loose cannon if you can. This will allow you to reraise behind them, which will get you heads up against them as much as possible. You want play a bit tighter than the loose cannon, but still pretty loose - you will want to call them down with your second pair. I find that many players seem to tighten up against the loose cannon, playing only high cards and pairs - this is great for me, as I can get heads up against a pair of random cards with a decent hand. Just watch out for when those tight players hit their hands and be prepared to fold in multi-way pots. I have seen a loose cannon turn up at a table and dump 20 times the big bet in the space of about 15 minutes - this kind of play will increase your expected winnings considerably!
But the best outcome seems to be when there is at least one really bad player at the table. One bad player can dump chips in your direction much faster than a whole table full of mediocre players. The fish come in a few different varieties:
The calling station is the player that calls many bets with a bad hand. They will often draw to bad odds, for example calling with a small pair in the face of overcards hoping to hit trips or drawing to a gutshot straight. Making money out of the calling station is a simple matter of betting when you think you're in front - this can include second pair or even ace high depending on the situation.
The weak player is always afraid of losing to a better hand. If they have a pair of kings they will worry about a pair of aces. If they have top pair, they will fear two pair. The weak player will often fail to bet/raise with the best hand, allowing free cards to drawing players. A raise (from good position) on the flop may scare them away from betting out their winning hand on the turn and river. The weak player can also be persuaded to fold a good hand sometimes. Be careful of bluffing too much however, as you will look foolish if your bluffs are called down.
The obvious player only ever bets/raises with a good hand. This allows you to fold with confidence with mediocre hands and even decent hands that you might otherwise lose money with if they turn out to be second best. When the obvious player is also a calling station, you are onto a winner all around, as they will pay your winning hands and allow your losing hands out cheaply. The obvious player will never slow play a big hand.
The loose cannon is that crazy player who bets/raises at almost every opportunity. They love to bluff, and probably think they are a terribly tricky player. If you want to challenge the loose cannon you need a decent stack, as they will sometimes actually land a good hand which could cost you a lot. Sit to the right of the loose cannon if you can. This will allow you to reraise behind them, which will get you heads up against them as much as possible. You want play a bit tighter than the loose cannon, but still pretty loose - you will want to call them down with your second pair. I find that many players seem to tighten up against the loose cannon, playing only high cards and pairs - this is great for me, as I can get heads up against a pair of random cards with a decent hand. Just watch out for when those tight players hit their hands and be prepared to fold in multi-way pots. I have seen a loose cannon turn up at a table and dump 20 times the big bet in the space of about 15 minutes - this kind of play will increase your expected winnings considerably!
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