Oh my...

Been playing some more Rush poker on FTP...30 hands in I had AQ and flop was AQx. All the money got in and he had QQ....lovely.

Bought in again and made about 10BBs over 300 hands. Was playing okay I guess but I could have played better. Bit weak tight in certain spots. I'm trying to avoid trouble in spots like TPTK on a 3 flush board...that kind of stuff.

However, I do have some good news. I got offered a bonus of $100 and apparently Rush poker can be used to generate the FTPs required. So I've been playing for about an hour each evening to generate what I need.

Good to have bonus and rakeback. Seems like I'm using that money to play since I haven't gained much traction in my actual play. Win a bit, lose it back, win it again. Rinse and repeat.

Fortunately, I follow proper bankroll management so I'm treading water as bonus money and rakeback cover the losses. However, I seem to be accepting bad luck/beats a lot better so that is good.

A Poem...an ode to a poker player

Making mountains of money,
Is this player's wish;
When he sits at the felt
With a plethura of fish.

The opponents are not crafty,
They are playing much too loose;
They are beating pocket pairs
With the lowly seven-deuce.

This player smiles a little bit,
He sees making many a buck;
But the gods have other ideas
And he runs into bad luck.

His pocket pairs get beaten,
His queens can't beat rivered Jacks and Eights;
His lovely set of kings
Are beaten by a runner runner straight.

Still this player is determined,
He knows his luck will turn around;
He now knows how his opponents play
And that riches will soon be found.

He starts to win some hands,
And he hits a major rush;
He wins back his chips and then some
With his lovely red royal flush.

His reads become like laser beams,
His raises get respect,
His suspicions of players hands
Are usually correct.

He starts to get the best of it,
His stack is getting buff;
His opponents fold their hands
When he only has a bluff.

As his opponents shake their heads,
This player goes for the kill;
Which is why playing poker
is clearly a game of skill.


The end.

My "run good"...it has started.

I had been running bad in these Rush poker games for awhile and seemed to be off to another lousy start in my session. Got all the money in pocket pair over pocket pair (can't get it in any better than that)....and he flopped his set.

I was pissed off needless to say and, after a few moments, tried again. A while later, I got my money in....but this time I was the underpair. And I was pissed at myself.....

....and then the run-good period began.

It started with hitting my trips for once on the flop and things have taken off from there over the last few sessions. I ended up finishing that session with triple my buy-in (making back the money I lost over the previous 2). My next session was a brief one but I made about 25bb's for some short work.

My last session was another double up. It would have been a triple up but a hand I had didn't end well. Had top pair on flop and guy had the overpair.

However, sets have been coming in. I won a big pot when a guy decided to go all in when I made quads on the turn....pretty good run.

Hope it continues.

God I suck...

...at least on one hand last night.

When I'm playing, I try to play around 200 hands per session. This has become easier to do with Rush poker as you can get in a lot of hands/hr. I was doing okay...was down for a while but a double up brought me back. Had AK and raised...was reraised. With the amount I had I would be looking for top pair on the flop and had about the right stack to do it. So I decided to reshove. Guy called with A8 and I doubled up...nice.

Then AK comes back to kill me. Folds to LP who raises and I have AK in the blinds. I reraise and he repops. Here is where I'm an idiot. He is basically telling me he has a decent hand. Given my AK, it is unlikely he has AA or KK. Given the big pocket pairs left, it leaves QQ-JJ or he has a similar hand like AK. I decide to shove. He calls with QQ and I don't improve...stack is gone....again.

Just based on that, I was about a 60-40 underdog regardless of the pocket pair. I could have just called the initial raise...saw the flop and made a decision from there. Nope, I decided to play a big pot when there was no reason too.....crap.

I've been trying to get out of my tighter style of play but I have to keep the fundamentals in mind. I didn't have a hand yet to play a big pot with. If an ace or king comes on the flop, I can shove at that point as my relative SPR would have dictated that it was the correct play. I'm a moron.

I reviewed my current results. It if wasn't for rakeback, I would have lost almost 50% of my original deposit....yikes, that is pause for thought. However, I still have enough to play. I let a session of making reasonably good decisions get ruined by one hand. I'll learn...

I think I might start playing some more tournaments...been missing that kind of action. However, I still have money to play. In fact, Pacific Poker is offering a promotion of a free $8...but I think I have enough sites currently.

Rush poker...finally winning a bit.

My fortunes are turning around and am starting to gain some money back. Some of it was from a bad suckout I must admit (had lower kicker when the money went in...but made two pair on turn). However, that has to happen once in a while.

The great thing about Rush is that I can get more hands in the same length of time....or I can play a certain number of hands in a shorter period of time depending on what time I have to play. So I'm going to stick with it for now.

It's play money for God sake........

I swear you can't make this up...

Party Poker changes Play Money policy

It's Rush poker alright....

....because it is rushing through my bankroll.

I'm definately running below expectations after dropping a few buyins. My losses have come down to 6 big pots where stacks where on the line. Of those 6:

I was behind and won - 1 (AQ vs KK...hit Ace on flop)
I was behind and lost - 1 (bad luck here...2 jacks on board, I had one jack...other guy had the case jack with the better kicker)
I was ahead and won - 1
I was ahead and lost - 3

These 3 were not something like coinflips or such. One was pair over pair...hits a two outer. The second was him calling my all in with just BDFD...hit a pair on turn...and a second pair on river. The third one was him calling my all-in on the turn with a gutshot straight draw....and spiking it on the river.

That really sucks. On the surface, it seems that I'm running behind and am just earning my "run good". However, I'm suspecting that I may need to tighten up more in these rush games. I'm still well bankrolled on FTP...but I'm starting to get pissed off with beats like that. Based on those hands, I'm getting the money in good for the most part...but getting sucked out on. Just breathe and accept it.