Bertie Bassetts ( allsorts of content)

Played an hour of break even poker last night at .25nl. Nothing major to report.Made one sweet move where I raised with a flush draw,hit it on the turn and checked before raising the original raisers river bet and winning when he called.One of those "he never saw that coming moments" that can feel so sweet at the table.

http://www.financialcharting.com/poker/blog/ ( The Edge) asked in my comments section about how I jump between sites and limits so I thought I'd answer it here rather than go with the broken bonnet catch update I know your all desparate to read.

As I've mentioned before on this blog I'm a creature of habit and routine ( with a bit of impulsiveness thrown in ) and I'd stuck with Pokerroom exclusively from my play money days until around June time when I decided I was tired of being loyal to site with a poor frequent player/reload bonus structure and tried Interpoker.

I love Interpokers players and reload bonuses.The only problem is that I signed up via Pokerlistings and the $200 sign up bonus is very tough to clear.It requires 4000 player points.I'm 56% done but I've got a $100 reload bonus that only needs 500 points to clear just waiting and I'm going to have another October one on the go soon too.

I've done really well so far at Interpokers 6 max $1nl or £1nl but I play poker for pleasure and entertainment aswell as the winnings and while I thoroughly enjoy my heart pounding sweaty hand inducing sessions where I have several hundred $$$ sometimes on the go at 2 tables I don't feel like playing at that level all the time.

Maybe its partly down to tiredness.Last night for example I knew I was up $$ for the weekend and didn't feel like playing at that level of intensity.Means I need to be careful to keep my focus at lower levels but I enjoyed my 2 tabling at .25nl as I feel really comfortable there and can well afford to lose a few buy ins if I hit a bad patch.

I do love the way Pokerrooms "prev hand history" will usually tell you what someone went to showdown with.For someone still learning the game its invaluable and I really miss it at Interpoker.

Maybe I'll ease my way into playing exclusively at 6 max nl at IP. I've done quite well there in the last couple of months but it can be quite a tough and draining experience and I don't know if I'm ready for that on a daily basis.Can't imagine theres as many drunk fish around during the week either!

I have to add that I write a lot about table selection and have to say again just how important it is. Last night one of my .25nl tables had an average pot of $15 and 60% flops seen.
Why play at $1nl with a $12 pot ave,30% flop seen and better players?

I do need to be careful that a combination of lower stakes and 6 max play doesn't leave me playing too many hands at the full ring.I need to remember its playing the opposite way to the table that usually makes money.Not being sucked in by all the calling stations.

Maybe I'm just aware that I'm one of those people that really needs to concentrate hard to be on my A game.This time last year I was playing for play chips and could come home and get straight into a game.Now I need to be in the right frame of mind and If I'm not then I surf blogs,forums and football stuff until I feel ready to play.

The other big maybe is that maybe the truth is I'm a bit afraid of where constant 6 max nl will take me.Fear of failure and all that.Weekends are fine with lots of drunk loose players but would I be able to consistently make money there playing a couple of hours a night or would I sink?

I don't know is the answer.

I'm not in any great hurry to progress at Poker.I have no real ambition to be an online pro ( as if thats a likely prospect!) but if I can make a few $$$ per month and buy myself and family a few extra treats/holidays etc then I'll be happy.I'm obviously not adverse to growing into a mighty oak and spanking the top levels with my eyes shut but I'm hopefully realistic aswell as ambitious.

Hell I read 15 books on holiday.Ok loads of spare time lying by the pool in the sun but even if I read one every 3 days at £8 each thats almost a £1k a year hobby!

Just paid £7 for two cheap books.Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and another Dave Courtney book.Still got 2 more ( Striptease and Native Tongue) Carl Hiassen books to go but they are so good I don't want to have read them all and be left with nothing new of his to explore.Still I hear he also does kids books....

Congrats to the USA for qualifying for the World cup next year even though most of you don't care about football.( soccer) Scotland haven't qualified for the last 3 tournaments so I'll probably cheer on the US ( your captain Reyna played for Rangers) or Croatia.( our current number 9 Dado Prso plays for them).

So thats the USA,Croatia and whoever England ( the auld enemy) are playing.

Ok thanks for stopping by and please feel to agree/disagree/request a blog link etc at my new wavy comments page. No shower curtain sales though.The Edge has promised me a deal on them......