Well, almost. Old posts are silly. New posts will be silly too. I'm playing cards online again (as of 5 days ago). Informations forthcoming? Perhaps.

So I got an email inviting me to the Austin WPBT Invitational thing, which apparently means people read this, so it's time for me to start posting again. Even if I haven't been playing poker (which I haven't).

So yeah, just posting to say that I'm still here, I guess. Now that people are filtering back into town and I'm getting a job, I'll have some disposable income to throw at the tables, which should lead to more stuff to report.

Hello internets. How've you been? Yeah? Glad to hear it.

I'll tell you how I've been, and how the whoring has been going. I finished my stint at paradise a while back, then decided to move to UltimateBet for their 40% (I think)up to $200. Played there for a while, but then I heard that FullTilt's 100% to 600 was expiring at the end of March. That won't do at all! So I packed up my things, got my roll, and deposited $595 there. Got that much in bonus, just had to clear it. However...

FullTilt bonus clears slowly. I mean, not just slowly. I'm talking frozen molasses slowly. I'm talking paint drying slowly. That site achieves new landspeed records for slowest fucking speed of anything ever.

So I'm plugging along there, making a bit of cash, run the balance up to a little shy of 700, then hit a 2 week long cold snap. I've never been on such a downswing...I got dropped all the way down to $300, had to drop limits, it was nasty. I pulled out of it though, and started working my way back. Worked the tables, made progress, worked the roll up to a little over 400.

At this point, let me talk to you about FullTilt. Let me be honest with you...I don't like playing there. The games are all really tight, with a much higher average skill level than anywhere else I've played, including UB (which is to be avoided if you want a fishtank). However, I think FullTilt has the potential to be the best site out there, hands down bar none. The interface is clean, if cartoony, the software is pretty fast, the connection is pretty stable, and, best of all, the tournament structures are awesome. You start with more chips than most places, and the blind schedule is, much like the bonus clearing, slow. You can play poker in tourneys. I love them.

So anywho, my stack's just above 400, and an ad pops up for a 10+1 limit hold 'em tourney with a bounty on Andy Bloch. So Danny and I decide to play. I like my chances to make it deep, since I think I'm a little better at limit than no limit, and most people don't know their asses from their elbows when it comes to limit.

Turns out I was right.

I did indeed make it deep in the tourney. All the way to 3rd place, in fact. Cashed in a nice $200 there. Then, a couple days later, I played in a 20+2 NL Hold 'em tourney and got 3rd again for another $250. So, with some more building in the cash games, I sit a bit above 700, and still on the rise. Hopefully I'll be able to build enough of a stack to move up limits and clear this damn bonus before I die of old age. Once that's done, I'll be moving back to UB to finish up my bonus there. After that, who knows?

Well, the first leg of my bonus whoring journey is over. Just finished grinding out the last couple hundred raked hands from paradise. The results:

1/2 LHE, 5 max
Deposit: $200
Cash out: $424
Net: +$224
Profit via bonus: $100
Profit via play: $124
BB/100: about 5

I'm very satisfied with the result. Played probably 2500ish hands total to get my 1000 raked, which gives me a very respectable BB/100 figure. Actually, I probably overestimated the number of hands I played, so that number might be higher...I dunno. 2500 hands isn't really enough to say for sure, but it looks like I'm crushing the 1/2 over at paradise pretty well. It's a shame that the software sucks.

Now, for my next whoring destination...I dunno. Maybe UB for their 40% to $200, maybe stars for the 20% to $100, maybe the Party 20% reload bonus. I'll keep the internet updated.

That's correct, I've started my bonus whoring campaign. For those of you who don't know about bonus whoring, let me fill you in.

As I'm sure you know, poker sites often offer new players deposit bonuses of varying sizes. A bonus whore (e.g., me) is a person who makes the initial deposit at each and every site he can to get all the free money he can. For example, I'm currently working on clearing a 50% up to $100 bonus (I got the full $100, naturally) on Paradise. Once I finish my 1000 hands, I should have about $400 or so from an initial deposit of 200; $200 initial deposit, $100 bonus, $100 in gifts from fish. After that, I'll hit up Stars for their 20% to $100, then Poker Mountain for 100% to $500, then Full Tilt for the 100% to $600. Assuming break even or slightly winning play (I'm talking 1 or 2 BB/100 playing 1/2 limit), I should end up with a roll of over $2000, for free. At that point, my options open up as far as what to play, but for the next couple months, expect to see updates on how my bonus clearing is going.

Logged my first losing session last night. That's what I get for playing tired.

Start: 608ish
End: 573ish
Net: Down 35ish
Time: Dunno

Start: $515ish
End: $562ish
Net: +$47ish
Playtime: An hour? I dunno, not more than 150 hands.

One more winning session should see me move up to $50 NL.

Start: 562ish
End: 608ish
Net: Profit 46ish
Time: Dunno.

Got in some hold'em hands, then decided to play PL omaha hi/lo for a little change of pace. Nothing really remarkable at either table...I'm tired. Talking with Danny, I've decided not to move up until 15 buy-ins ($750, in this case). It'll be a bit longer, but I should have it done by the end of this weekend at the latest. You should be seeing my first .5/1 post by monday.

So, since Mike has put a hand up and the subsequent discussion might label me weak-tight, let me provide a bit more info.

The villain in question took him out earlier by rivering a junk 2 pair. In that hand, there was no aggression until he had the winner. The fact that this villain will call down with random hands, coupled with how passive party games normally are, gave me the feeling that the aggressive all in move might indicate a flopped set. I'm not saying it would be an easy laydown, or that it's more than a fraction more +EV either way, but I think it would be doable in this situation.

rush1 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rsh)
v. rushed, rush·ing, rush·es
v. intr.

1. To move or act swiftly; hurry.
2. To make a sudden or swift attack or charge.
3. To flow or surge rapidly, often with noise: Tons of water rushed over the falls.
4. To increase one's bankroll from $85 to $515 in 5 days (including taking a weekend off).

I guess I'm on a rush.