It's been a while since my last post. The holidays intervened and then I just got lazy.
I've been playing a lot of poker online and mostly on the weekends. I find I can play my best games when I can devote at least a 4 hour block of time for a decent session. Playing after work during the week tends to bleed the bankroll because I'm tired or don't have the time/stamina to put in a good session.
My free $15 at The Gaming Club grew to a whopping $304 by the time I decided to cash out due to rumors that had me concerned about the site's lifespan. It was a good place to play due to soft games and not many players in the ring games (at times you couldn't even find a 1/2 table open). The advantage was getting to know players and, therefore, my player notes became very helpful.
I played in 9 NL free-rolls - these tourneys had a cap of 680 on the number of people playing and started pay-outs at 230. I placed in the money in 7 of them with the highest place at 22 - one seat out of making it to the final 2 tables. The lowest money place was 229 (!).
The only downside to the site is that it has rampant server problems which causes frequent disconnects and verrry slow play - there were a few times I nearly fell asleep waiting for the action to get around the table - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
In the ring games I eventually found a comfort level at the 1/2 tables (lowest limit at the site was .25/.50). I took a stab at the 2/4 tables a couple of times and did ok, but did not feel comfortable there and certainly did not have the bankroll to make a stand. If I experienced a wide swing to the downside, I busted myself down to the lower limits to build back up again. This was part of my discipline regimen I instigated as my "free-rolling-from-now-on" resolve to get back on top again. It has worked, so far - taking away the option of dipping into my pocket for more cash has forced me to adhere to a game plan structured for my "A" game.
After pulling out of The Gaming Club, I went back to my nemesis - Ultimate Bet. It took just under 1/2 an hour for me to pull my money off the site. I got at a table that was hell bent to take me down - and if I didn't know better - I could have sworn the algorithm was written to recognize my return and deal a game that would insure I'd get bad beat one after another - it was insane!
The real problem, though, was that I sat down at a very loose/aggressive table and tried to play the same game I had been playing over at TGC at the semi-loose/mostly tight passive tables. Big mistake. But the damage was done - psychologically. I was steaming badly and I knew if I stayed at UB it would make me play scared - NEVER play scared.
I switched to Poker Stars and have been happy over there, even though I'm on a bit of a downswing at present - but I am confident that will change. I did return to UB to play in a UPF tourney - which, even though I was completely out-ranked and played horribly, it was a pleasure and edifying to play with solid talented players. I busted out in 19th place out of 27. I learned a lot from playing with them. As a side note - I managed to convert the $3 change left over from my UB deposit after the tourney buy-in and fee to $50 in pretty short order. I reverted to a strategy I used in my early play at UB by starting tables and playing heads-up and shorthanded and playing very aggressively. This works for me in the short-term and is NOT something I recommend as a rule - when the cards go cold or you run in to someone as or more aggressive your bankroll can dry up faster than a puddle in Phoenix in August.
If you play Poker Stars look for Maudie and if you sit at my table say hello and be gentle, ok?
