Time once again for my monthly (give or take a few days) update. So how have things been going for this sporadic micro-limit donkey since my last post? Let's take a look...
Bodog - 3 tourneys and 2 SNGs; 2 first place finishes; small profits in cash and in T$.
PokerStars - only one tournament, the PokerWorks Family 8-Game tourney last Sunday, where I finished 9th out of 10 runners. Stellar.
FullTilt - 9 SNGs plus last night's Friday Night Donkament. Didn't cash in a single one.
Cash games, various sites - a few sessions of different games, for a modest loss.
Over the past several months, I have done most of my playing at FullTilt in the hopes of building my roll there, and using my winnings to play in the some of the BBT4 events. Unfortunately, my run there has gone in the opposite direction, and my FT bankroll is now under $100, making playing in any BBT tourneys an exercise in bad money management. So why do I keep playing there, I ask myself? I haven't come up with a good answer yet. Because I don't play in the BBT, I very seldom play with the bloggers that I know. I do enjoy some of the games FT offers, notably the $3 + 0.30 Deep Stack KO turbo SNGs. But I haven't had any real success in them lately, so either my game is worse than usual or I'm on a bad streak which should eventually end.
I suppose I should play more at Stars and Bodog. Stars offers plenty of games, so selection shouldn't be a problem. Bodog doesn't have as many tourneys, and the SNGs can take a long time to fill up. But I have a healthy roll at Bodog, and I probably should take advantage of that. I'm in decent shape at PokerStars as well, so maybe I will give them some more of my action.
I bought Harrington on Cash Games, Vol. 1, a while back and have been reading that a bit here and there. Some of the concepts I had read before, some I had picked up here and there, but the book has plenty of useful information that I plan to study and put to use, because my NLHE skills are sorely lacking. I think there are others like me who prefer no-limit for tournaments and limit for cash games, but I know that improving my NLHE game will do me a world of good. In the few micro-stakes NLHE cash games that I have played lately, I have seen some plays that look, even to me, like big mistakes, and I want to be better equipped to take advantage of those mistakes. I don't want to look around the table only to find that I can't spot the sucker until I get back to myself.
Over at Pokerati.com, I have been following the news about the progress, or lack of it, of the poker legalization bill here in Texas. Although things don't look so good at the moment, apparently it isn't dead, so I will hold out some hope that it has a chance to pass. If it doesn't get through, the poker rooms in Oklahoma and Louisiana will be happy to take the money of Texas poker players. It's a shame that we can't have card rooms for Texas Hold 'Em in Texas, but that's politics for you. I sent e-mails via the Poker Players Alliance to my state reps; I hope it helps in some small way.
Non-poker content: I saw the new Star Trek movie Thursday night. Go see it, right now. It is spectacular, funny, thrilling, and a great ride, whether or not you are a Trek fan.
My son graduates from high school in four weeks. He starts college at the University of Oklahoma in 3.5 months. It is quite a time in our lives.
In June, my wife, son and I will go to Italy and Greece for a cruise of the eastern Mediterranean. It is partly a graduation celebration, but mostly a vacation that all of us have wanted to go on for some time. We are all excited about the trip. And yes, the casino on the cruise ship should have Hold 'Em available. I will probably play a few hands when we aren't enjoying the sights.
Maybe I will post again before another month goes by. I do plan to write something before the big trip. I hope it will be about a big win or some other good news. Wish me luck.
