High On Poker

After running my online bankroll from~172 to over 300, I felt like I was moving in the right direction for the Summer Bankroll Challenge – Southern Hemisphere edition. I had been playing the $16 PLO H/L SNGs almost exclusively, alternating between the 18-person version and the 9-person version. I would generally start with one or two games and once I made headway, would start up a third and then a fourth. I tended to notice a pattern emerging. I started off with a couple of losers (usually, they were shaping up to be winners, but a late bad hand would set me on a different course), consider giving up, and then win whatever games I had left or had just started up.

As far as patterns go, it wasn’t a bad one to have. Literally, it felt like I was making my nut last minute, but at least I was making it.

Sometime this weekend, that scenario fell apart. My worst online poker days seem to be the days when I have the most free time. If I’m home with hours to kill, I’m playing online poker. And unfortunately, I am not playing particularly well. The result. I went form $300+ to a little over $120. Not good.

While that sucked, I kept slugging away. Thanks to a couple of wins last night, I’m back in the black, hovering around $190. I’ve begun to add more PLO Hi Double or Nothing games into my rotation. These things are easier, insofar as the real strategy is to play very tight; they are harder, insofar as I hate playing tight and the payouts are low, so if you win one and lose one, you are a net loser (thanks to rake). In comparison, if you win one (1st or 2nd) and lose one of the PLO H/L SNGs, you are in the black and potentially very profitable. Regardless, I think bringing in the other game (Double or Nothing) will hopefully keep me from playing on auto-pilot.

I have an opportunity to play in a live game tonight at the Comedy Club, thanks to an invite from Alceste. I had considered playing, but I’m on the fence now. The game starts at 8pm, which leaves me an awkward amount of time between work and play. I can stay at the office late, but I’m not particularly in the mood for that, and regardless, I left my poker cash at home. If I head home, though, I’ll be home for maybe 30-45 minutes before I have to head out for poker. To make matters more complicated, I don’t like playing too late on weeknights (11pm cutoff, usually) and there is a facility fee that may cut into profitability. Woe is me! I’m glad I have access to another game, since that was my goal in the new year (play more poker), but now I need to get out of this lackadaisical funk and actually play.

On a somewhat related note, I am incredibly excited for the LOE tournament at the Borgara Winter Open. It’ll be my highest buy-in event ever at $400, just slightly higher than the WSOP Circuit Events I played in AC in the past. The game, though, is the key. Maybe I can even get the Tuna Club to host an OE tournament for warmup.

The plan right now is to head to AC with Davey Roose. Roose is riding on my dime, since I pretty much just want the company. Naturally, Roose is also recruiting amongst his poker-playing pack, since Roose always rolls deep.

The room rates in AC are actually pretty reasonable, so it isn’t so bad. The tournament starts at noon on Saturday, so the plan is to take the bus out there Friday night to allow me a decent amount of rest. I’m not talking a full 8 hours here. I’ll be lucky if I can squeeze in a solid 6 hours. But its all for the poker.

Damn! Do I need to go to the Borg on Friday night to register? Anyone have any advice/tips? I’ve gone to register the day-of before and it can be a madhouse.

If all goes well, I’ll be playing the tournament for all of Saturday, stumbling back to our hotel that night and then picking up again at 2pm on Sunday.

The tournament is first and foremost in my mind. If I can actually have a good showing, it will put my year on the right path. If not, I’m likely starting in the hole. But poker is a looooooooooooong term game.

Until next time, make mine poker!