Under the Weather. Over the Moon

Despite waking up this morning with a horrid sore throat and having it gradually morph into the lastest cold that's doing the round, today has been the best poker day I've had for quite a while; since before Christams probably...


Since Christmas I'd been playing like a proper mong, which probably goes all the way to explaining why I've been slowing flushing my roll down the electronic toilet.

I had that 3rd place finish in the two-table Steps Tournaments on Party for a tasty $3600 way back in december. I then took my winnings to the $15/30 tables and proceeded to drop $1000 in just under a week. I decided to buck my ideas up and dropped back down to the $5/10 tables.

Next came Christmas and overall I dropped about £400 at the Gutshot (-£600 in the cash games and +£200 in a tourney).

I cut my losses and cashed out most of my roll from Party - after all it has to pay for the honeymoon and I can't let crapness and tilt get in the way of that or it might just be the shortest marriage ever. Well, maybe not as short as Britney Spears'.

That left me with about $2000 as on online bankroll. Not TOO bad and just about enough to carry on playing $5/10. No bankroll, however, is big enough when you've totally forgotten how to play and you figure that betting out middle pair into a field of 6 is a good move.

Truth is I wasn't really thinking about what a good or a bad move was and the concept of expected value might as well have been a nice little idea thought up to fill another few chapters of each and every 2+2 book.

I flitted around playing a mixture of $5/10 holdem, $10/20 Omaha Hi/Lo and $200 NL taking the odd step forward but mostly back.

My bankroll hit as low as $700 before I decided that it was high time I pulled my socks up and started playing the way I knew I could - patiently and intelligently.

I started 2-tabling at the $50 NL tables on Party. I gave it my entire attention and with the help of a re-deposit bonus I was soon back over $1000. I moved up to the $100 tables and my bankroll hit the $2000 mark yesterday. Since then I've been back on the $200 NL tables and things have contiuned to go very smoothly. I've cut out virtually all of the silly mistakes and I feel like I'm getting a pretty good read on people, making well-timed bluffs, intuitive call-downs and sensible folds.

The hard work paid off and I picked up my biggest pot so far:

[hand format courtesy of bisonbison]

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (10 handed)

CO ($383.1)
Button ($392.1)
SB ($180)
BB ($202.35)
The Mighty Pinkster ($549.6)
UTG+1 ($257.3)
UTG+2 ($617.7)
MP1 ($108.4)
MP2 ($601)
MP3 ($905.25)

Preflop: The Mighty Pinkster is UTG with Ad, As.
The Mighty Pinkster raises to $14, 2 folds, MP1 calls $14, 1 fold, MP3 calls $14, CO calls $14, Button calls $14, 2 folds.

eek - no respect at this table - gonna need to hit my set to feel comfortable

Flop: ($76) Qc, 8d, Ac (5 players)
The Mighty Pinkster bets $50, MP1 folds, MP3 calls $50, CO folds, Button folds.

bingo!

Turn: ($176) 4h (2 players)
The Mighty Pinkster bets $150, MP3 raises to $841.25 (All-In), The Mighty Pinkster calls $335.60 (All-In).

does it get any better? "please dont suck out, please dont suck out"!

River: ($1147.20) Jc (2 players, 2 all-in)

no dirty flush buiness, please...

Final Pot: $1147.20

Results below:
The Mighty Pinkster has Ad As (three of a kind, aces).
MP3 has Ks Ah (one pair, aces).
Outcome: The Mighty Pinkster wins $1147.20.

$1147.20 - OMFG

Bring on the $10/20 NL tables!

I had to take a slight break after that, but I was soon back at the tables and signing up for a $30 MTT. 200 people registered and the top 30 places got paid. $45 to 30th all the way up to $1600 for 1st place.

Things went pretty well and I spent almost the whole tourney with average chips. Around the bubble the cards started to go a little dry and by the time we were down to the last two tables I was pretty short stacked. Somehow I managed to survive untill the final table with the odd theft of some blinds. I made the final table as a seriously small stack. The blinds were 400/800. Average chip count was 20,000 and I had a measly 4000. Somehow I managed to survive two more levels despit not being doubled up once. I squeezed into in 6th place before finally busting out thanks to some of the big stacks who decided to tangle with each other.

I took around $350 for my troubles. Certainly not to be sniffed at.

All-in-all it's been a pretty good day. The honeymoon fund is looking healthy and there's a reasonable chance that I'll be able to take a decent roll to Atlantic CIty with me. I'm looking forward to that almost as much as I am to spending two weeks in Barbados with MissPink (although she'll be MrsPink then!).

You may have noticed that I haven't written anything recently about how the write up of my research project is going. Hmm, I wonder why that is...

So I'll catch you later then.