Rinse and repeat...

The ex ended up staying at her Dads last night ( I even offered to go over and sleep on her couch for a couple of nights to help her feel more settled) and I was able to pick my lad ( Nacho) up after I'd visited my old folks.I played a wee $6 turbo with my Mum and helped her run 88 into Aces!

I took Nacho for a good run and then came home and surfed the net for a while before playing two $16 turbo's and coming 3rd in both.I made $72 profit, but I'm trying to tell myself I only won $4 because that is my average profit per game.The idea is that even if I lose 4-5 games I should still condition myself to believe I won $2 each time.Hopefully this will help keep me on an even keel rather than going to bed cheesed off at going 0/5 ( for example) without cashing or feeling too happy with a $72 win.

I had arrived home at 8-ish and had already eaten so why did I only play two games of poker? ( I also won $10 in a quick 15 min cash session at 365).Most nights I tell myself I will come home from work the next day,eat dinner etc and then either fire up a couple of cash tables or starting multi ( ok, just the two but it's still multi-tabling!) turbo's sngs.In reality I arrive home done in after another day of listening to people ranting/shouting/crying on the phone and usually feel too tired to start playing my best game right away.

Perhaps my lack of playing hours is my inbuilt way of dealing with variance and staving off the tilt monster.I'm certainly not immune to tilt, but my last serious tilty episode was back in May, and although I may make the occasional tilty call/play,it's not something which affects me too badly.

As with most people, repeated bad beats and folding monsters tend to push my tilt button.If I'm only playing a few tourneys ,or a small cash session, then even if I run badly, I can deal with it and bounce back,whereas if I started multi-tabling at 7pm and my luck was out,I don't know if I could continue to play my best game all night.

I'm also a lazy git and although I enjoy playing poker, I sometimes feel as if I'm caught between simply playing for fun/social reasons and trying to push on and double last years $5k profit.Of course the fact that money is a little tighter staying myself and I may need my poker profits for things like car insurance,Rangers season ticket etc ,also weighs on my mind and it can feel more like a chore to play than a pleasurable hobby.

It's strange because my tightass nature means I hate losing money and this helps me to play better and not tilt, but it can also stop me just sitting down and getting on with it I reckon.I watch poker training videos where the players don't care about the fact they had a bad start to a session for example and simply reload quickly if they lose a big pot and keep playing well.I'd know exactly how much I was down and it would prey on my mind to some extent that I was wasn't winning and that my roll had taken a hit.

Ok,as ever I've managed to turn a quick idea for a post into a long rambling load of guff which I've probably posted before in one form other another anyway.

Ok,back soon with more witterings...

Lets get ready to rumble!

Maybe it was one of those "you had to be there" moments but just as the big fight was about to start and the words "and this is it,the moment the whole world has been waiting for" had just left the ring announcers lips, this happened....


It wasn't even a big pot but the timing was spot on!
Big thanks to Hoyazo for the tip left on the lowlimit grinders blog recommending screenhunter.


I had warmed up with a couple of 18 player $15 turbos and managed 3rd in one of them before moving to th cash tables and making a poor start.I wasn't losing big pots but a few $20 ones got away from me and it felt like I was in leaky bankroll mode.I was also very tired after a late night on Friday night and at that point my plan was to play just a wee bit more before hitting the sack.

I took a wee break,read a few blogs and followed a few links.I found The Surly poker gnome via a link on fellow britbloggerment player Stephens blog and really enjoyed the articles on continuation bets and blind stealing in particular.I like the bet big philosophy at the low levels, however I used the info from the first article to slow down a little and take the occasional free card ( when drawing)after betting into the initial aggressor post flop.Here is one example.( note the overbet for value after I hit on the river!)

Here's the hand which I think formed the basis for a solid nights work at the tables.I know I post so many "awfuckit calls" that anyone reading must wonder if I ever lay down a hand at all, but on occasion it has been known!I was two tabling and actually checked the flop by mistake which allowed the villain to catch his flush.I did almost let the clock run out on me but thankfully folded in the end.

I then went on a wee bit of a tear at $50nl and left one table ( after the fish had gone) after reaching $241 ,thanks mostly to a couple of sets paying off against high pocket pairs.It wasn't one way traffic all night but that cash table run means the week has been a profitable one and I'm edging my bankroll closer to the $5k mark.

Table selection was key again last night and if a table toughened up or didn't have at least a couple of donators then I was soon on the move looking for those juicy high average pot games.It is frustrating to sit down at a cash table,spend 1/2 hour getting to know the villains and then have to move and start all over because nobody is getting out of line, but it's worth the effort.Sure I may miss out on a load of bonus opportunities however I gain by not restricting myself to one site and being free to scan the lobbies of Stars,Ladbrokes,Party and Full Tilt and choosing the very best table available.

Feeling very tired again today after staying up to watch Floyd Mayweather win a split decision over De La Hoya after a hig quailty fight.No clinching or spoiling tactics made it a fascinating encounter and although for a while it looked like De la Hoya had the power to do the damage, I thought Pretty boy Floyd did just enough to win overall.I just hope there's a rematch.

Ok, now that I can do screenshots I promise not to go overboard with gratuitous shots just for the hell of it...but err here's a nice flop!



Righty that's all for today.Don't forget to register and play in....