Remember that $300 gain we mentioned taking at Yahoo poker Thursday afternoon?
We went back Thursday night -- and found our earlier total. Yahoo never registered it.
That's twice Yahoo has missed a gain on our part in a month. Maybe Microsoft DOES need to merge with it. :-->
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Poker Night #43: When Not to Race
I wondered if I would be rusty tonight, after five weeks away from Lil Kim's Cove. Then I took the first hand of the evening, with two pair.
But it was all downhill from there -- as I was the second player to crash out at my table of eight.
I think I bet a bit too aggressively on a few nice-starting hands, hoping the flop would fall my way. In the Yahoo pretend-money cash games, that doesn't cost you much. In a tournament format with no limits, that can whittle away at your chip stack.
There was big-time drama when I held K-J and three queens showed up on the board. The river card was a K, and I went all in -- but a woman across from me had a king as well, so we split the pot. (An older woman also had a full house, but with Q's and 6's. Yet she survived longer than I did.)
It came down at the end to an all-in bet I couldn't refuse, but almost did:
BLINDS: 200/400.
IN THE POCKET: Jh-Jc.
I smooth call as the wave comes around -- but a ponytailed man two seats to my right raises 800. A couple of us go in with him.
ON THE FLOP: Kh -- plus two small cards I forget now, one a heart.
"I'm all in," the ponytailed man says.
I've played this man before, and know he hardly ever bluffs. He probably hit something, and I think I K-now what it was. I have a longshot flush chance, and give it some thought.
"Let's have a race," I say -- and in goes my 2,350. (He has me covered with ease.)
Sure enough, my opponent paired a K. No hearts or jacks come on the turn and river, and I lose the race by two cards.
Because no one mentioned this blog, I give the man who eliminated me the prize I brought -- two movie passes to Carmike Cinemas. He seems to like them. "I can go to a movie this weekend," he says. Now all he needs is a date -- as he said something during the game about splitting from his wife a few hours before.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "Turn, turn, turn," the man to my immediate right said as he was dealing.
"As in the book of Ecclesiastes?" I say. He seems to get it -- the 1960's rock song based on Ecc. 3:1-8.
The Moffatt translation has for verse 6: "A time to seek, a time to lose, a time to keep, a time to throw away...." In poker, it's all about the timing. Tonight mine was bad.
UPDATED SCOREBOARD: 20 final tables in 43 nights (46.5%) - six cashes.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $7444 (Up $189, +221 with blackjack ruled out) -- a RECORD high. It was fueled by a $306 gain in a hot streak Thursday afternoon. But things cooled considerably down the street.
But it was all downhill from there -- as I was the second player to crash out at my table of eight.
I think I bet a bit too aggressively on a few nice-starting hands, hoping the flop would fall my way. In the Yahoo pretend-money cash games, that doesn't cost you much. In a tournament format with no limits, that can whittle away at your chip stack.
There was big-time drama when I held K-J and three queens showed up on the board. The river card was a K, and I went all in -- but a woman across from me had a king as well, so we split the pot. (An older woman also had a full house, but with Q's and 6's. Yet she survived longer than I did.)
It came down at the end to an all-in bet I couldn't refuse, but almost did:
BLINDS: 200/400.
IN THE POCKET: Jh-Jc.
I smooth call as the wave comes around -- but a ponytailed man two seats to my right raises 800. A couple of us go in with him.
ON THE FLOP: Kh -- plus two small cards I forget now, one a heart.
"I'm all in," the ponytailed man says.
I've played this man before, and know he hardly ever bluffs. He probably hit something, and I think I K-now what it was. I have a longshot flush chance, and give it some thought.
"Let's have a race," I say -- and in goes my 2,350. (He has me covered with ease.)
Sure enough, my opponent paired a K. No hearts or jacks come on the turn and river, and I lose the race by two cards.
Because no one mentioned this blog, I give the man who eliminated me the prize I brought -- two movie passes to Carmike Cinemas. He seems to like them. "I can go to a movie this weekend," he says. Now all he needs is a date -- as he said something during the game about splitting from his wife a few hours before.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "Turn, turn, turn," the man to my immediate right said as he was dealing.
"As in the book of Ecclesiastes?" I say. He seems to get it -- the 1960's rock song based on Ecc. 3:1-8.
The Moffatt translation has for verse 6: "A time to seek, a time to lose, a time to keep, a time to throw away...." In poker, it's all about the timing. Tonight mine was bad.
UPDATED SCOREBOARD: 20 final tables in 43 nights (46.5%) - six cashes.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $7444 (Up $189, +221 with blackjack ruled out) -- a RECORD high. It was fueled by a $306 gain in a hot streak Thursday afternoon. But things cooled considerably down the street.
Back tonight at last!
It appears all is well for our return to Lil Kim's Cove for Thursday night poker. We're assuming game time hasn't changed, at 8:30 p.m. ET
And to hype things up a bit, the first player to mention this blog tonight in our earshot wins a prize!
And to hype things up a bit, the first player to mention this blog tonight in our earshot wins a prize!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
12's are Wild
Boo-hoo -- just lost about $150 pretend dollars at a Yahoo table, where someone completely threw me off my game.
This person claimed in a chat message to be 12 years old -- and he acted like it at times. He'd bet on almost every hand, whether he HAD a hand or not.
In one hand, he bet big $$ all the way to the river. But someone kept calling him -- and he got caught holding a 3-2, which didn't match anything on the board. "Yuthful exuberance," he explained afterward. Absolutely. (By the way, he left the table with his "chip count" at more than $6,000. Yes, negative.)
That sort of ultra-aggression, "devil may care" approach admittedly can scare me out of a lot of pots -- especially if I have a small pair. I dumped a pair of 2's at one point before the river, which seemed promising.
When someone is that wild, it's not easy to stay calm and focused. The last time I placed second at Lil Kim's Cove, I quieted my enthusiastic opponent a bit by using the strategy of Proverbs 15:1, KJV: "A soft answer turns away wrath...." It also makes you look MUCH more civilized than the person across the table.
Now how do you do that online? I'm open to suggestions....
This person claimed in a chat message to be 12 years old -- and he acted like it at times. He'd bet on almost every hand, whether he HAD a hand or not.
In one hand, he bet big $$ all the way to the river. But someone kept calling him -- and he got caught holding a 3-2, which didn't match anything on the board. "Yuthful exuberance," he explained afterward. Absolutely. (By the way, he left the table with his "chip count" at more than $6,000. Yes, negative.)
That sort of ultra-aggression, "devil may care" approach admittedly can scare me out of a lot of pots -- especially if I have a small pair. I dumped a pair of 2's at one point before the river, which seemed promising.
When someone is that wild, it's not easy to stay calm and focused. The last time I placed second at Lil Kim's Cove, I quieted my enthusiastic opponent a bit by using the strategy of Proverbs 15:1, KJV: "A soft answer turns away wrath...." It also makes you look MUCH more civilized than the person across the table.
Now how do you do that online? I'm open to suggestions....
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Back to the action?!
If all goes well, we'll resume our Thursday night tournament tries at Lil Kim's Cove this week. (Wow, we've been away five weeks!)
After being bitten too many times by Yahoo blackjack, we only went there once this past week. We quickly lost $105 in pretend money, and gave it up for awhile. But online poker has been VERY good of late....
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $7255 (Up $233, up $338 if blackjack left out -- down from a RECORD high Sunday night of $7293)
After being bitten too many times by Yahoo blackjack, we only went there once this past week. We quickly lost $105 in pretend money, and gave it up for awhile. But online poker has been VERY good of late....
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $7255 (Up $233, up $338 if blackjack left out -- down from a RECORD high Sunday night of $7293)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
A lost edge?
In the last few weeks, my gains at Yahoo poker haven't been much. But I can explain it, really.
I'm sticking around a few hands too long after a big pot win. I'm lingering in marginal hands on the flop, hoping to hit a turn card. And Yahoo poker lets me try some approaches I probably wouldn't take at a real tournament.
Are those acceptable excuses?
By the way, another "all or nothing" dare night at Yahoo blackjack left me busting out again -- but then making another ridiculous comeback, to a record high of $6900. I haven't done that since. (I need to quit daring myself at bedtime this way.)
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $7024 (Up $833, but only +41 from poker)
I'm sticking around a few hands too long after a big pot win. I'm lingering in marginal hands on the flop, hoping to hit a turn card. And Yahoo poker lets me try some approaches I probably wouldn't take at a real tournament.
Are those acceptable excuses?
By the way, another "all or nothing" dare night at Yahoo blackjack left me busting out again -- but then making another ridiculous comeback, to a record high of $6900. I haven't done that since. (I need to quit daring myself at bedtime this way.)
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $7024 (Up $833, but only +41 from poker)
Monday, September 1, 2008
$500 overflow
Happy Labor Day -- and may you rest in some holiday action, which just unfolded in a Yahoo poker room.
IN THE POCKET: Q-10 off suit.
The maximum ten players are at this table, and they're in a betting mood. We go all the way before the flop, $12 a player.
ON THE FLOP: 8h Jh Ad.
A nice draw for a top straight. I keep betting, as do several others.
ON THE TURN: Kd.
The King is coming! The King is coming!! (Rev. 19:11-16)
But hold it -- flush chances abound on this board. I keep betting, as do about seven others to the $20 max. The pot climbs well above $350, which is huge for Yahoo's small cash games.
ON THE RIVER: Ah.
Uh-oh. Did someone hit the flush? I'm committed big-time to the pot, and so are several others -- so the betting goes to the max again.
We all turn 'em over -- and a player to my left has 8-8. He hits a FULL HOUSE on the river, and takes a $514 pot! The biggest I've seen at Yahoo.
I took another big pot minutes later, with 8's and 3's. It was worth $184. Nice.... but oh, what could have been.
IN THE POCKET: Q-10 off suit.
The maximum ten players are at this table, and they're in a betting mood. We go all the way before the flop, $12 a player.
ON THE FLOP: 8h Jh Ad.
A nice draw for a top straight. I keep betting, as do several others.
ON THE TURN: Kd.
The King is coming! The King is coming!! (Rev. 19:11-16)
But hold it -- flush chances abound on this board. I keep betting, as do about seven others to the $20 max. The pot climbs well above $350, which is huge for Yahoo's small cash games.
ON THE RIVER: Ah.
Uh-oh. Did someone hit the flush? I'm committed big-time to the pot, and so are several others -- so the betting goes to the max again.
We all turn 'em over -- and a player to my left has 8-8. He hits a FULL HOUSE on the river, and takes a $514 pot! The biggest I've seen at Yahoo.
I took another big pot minutes later, with 8's and 3's. It was worth $184. Nice.... but oh, what could have been.
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