Posted By: hdouble

"Luck affects everything; let your hook always be cast. In the stream where you least expect it, there will be fish."
--Ovid

When you start your session off with a Royal Flush, you know it's going to be a good day. I just didn't realize how good... but after an hour and a half on 3 $3-6 tables, I walked away $453 richer. So was it the cards, was it me, or was it the other players? Of course it was a mix of all three, but I think the heaviest weighted of the three factors was the terrible play of the other players. I think Sunday is officially "Calling Station Day" on Party, and if you hit a few big hands, you'll be paid off nicely. Yes, I was rivered by two out runner-runner hands a few times, but the Poker gods stuck to the probabilities most of the time. I've had to pinch myself the last few Sundays when I see what these people are calling me down with in PokerTracker. Repetition for effect: Sunday afternoon-evening is the most profitable time to play at PartyPoker.

Unlike Otis at Up For Poker, I wasn't able to catch the actual screen shot of the Royal. So here's how it looks on PokerTracker's "replay" screen:

If you haven't downloaded the newest Patch for PokerTracker you are missing out. It has a new function which automatically generates player notes for every player (based on the recorded data for that player) and automatically exports them to Party. Now when you're looking to choose a table, you can see if you have notes on the players. If any of them are maniacal, then you can pull up a chair right next to them. Pat at PokerTracker rules.

After today's insane session, my bankroll is very healthy, and I now have more than enough bankroll to move up to $5-10. The $3-6 games I play pretty much on autopilot, and I sit down expecting to win every session. I know I've been on a good run lately, but I feel confident I can beat the hell out of these games. To give you an indication of how soft these games are, I'm up to 4.8 BB/100 hands after 11K hands of $3-6. I'm a good player, but not that good. Good cards and terrible players have been very lucrative.

One of the things I was happiest about today was my ability to keep playing my normal game even after I'd gone up big. In the past I've been somewhat of a bad winner. When I've gone up 20 Big bets or so at the beginning of a session, I'veo often left the table or tightened up in an effort to hang on to my winnings. Of course this is nonsense, since one of the reasons you're winning is usually because the other players at the table are worse than you. Today I was able to keep pushing my edges and playing my usual poker, rather than allowing the winning to affect my play.

Movin' on up?
So what's next? Take a shot at getting into the WSOP? Move up to $5-10? The poker-playingest blogger I know asked me if I was going to move up to $5-10, and it got me thinking. I have played 5K hands at $5-10, and done quite well, but the games are extremely tight and filled with tricky players. In my limited experience at $15-30, the games seemed much looser than the average $5-10 table. What's worse, the wait for the $5-10 full ring games is always a joke, with 10 players on the waiting list for each table.

I told Grubs that I think there is a big gap between $3-6 and $5-10 on Party. It seems that the lowest limit players work their way up to the $3-6 games, but never seem to graduate to the $5-10 games. You'll find a wide variety of skill levels at $3-6, but at $5-10, tight-aggressive is pretty much the rule. This makes the $3-6 tables a lot softer, and of course the variance is much less.

The Intrepid Card Player offers an excellent summary of the types of fish you can find in the $3-6 aquarium:

"3/6 is where things start the change. Here, you'll find the Gamb000ler. The Gamb000ler wants action at decent stakes, so he's got no time for anything below 3/6. The Gamb000ler will play any two cards, for any price, and is often ultra-aggressive. Here also, you'll start to see the "money farmers". There are some career poker players here who are more then happy to take the Gamb000lers money. Intermixed are the more "well to do" Gee-Whiz types who just got through watching WPT and want to play some poker, but since they're rich, they don't see the point in playing for nickel/dime antes. Most of these guys are playing the Sit-and-Goes, but occasionally you'll see one pop in to the limit game."

So I guess I'll keep being a "money farmer" for now, until I've harvested this season's abundant crops on PartyPoker. But how long can I keep up the grind for? I guess we'll find out. Maybe I'd be better off taking my place in line in the big tourneys and trying to get that one big finish that you can live off for the rest of your life. I'm not a longshot kind of a guy, but how good is Moneymaker's life these days? Or maybe I should just take a piece of Iggy in the WSOP.

I'm travelling to San Francisco this week, so I'm constrained to playing a single table on a tiny laptop screen. Maybe it's a good time to try out some of those WSOP Dreams tourneys on Empire. Speaking of Empire...

Shilling out
So I finally joined the affiliate bandwagon and am attempting to make a couple measly bucks off this blog. You've heard it before... if you like reading this blog, and haven't yet signed up for Empire, sign up using this link. The Bonus Code "EP0686" will get you a 20% bonus, as well as a big hearty thank you from yours truly. If any of you Party addicts want to get the bonus money by moving over to Empire, email me (remove the "nospam") and I'll let you know what to do.

I feel dirty now. Time to hit the shower and then join Grubby in the Choice freeroll. If you have ever, at any time, played 50 hands at Choice, you're automatically registered. Grubs pointed out that I was registered, so I might as well see if I can push my luck to its limit and win the $300 first prize.

New poker blog: go check out Bill's Blog, and make sure to see his pic with Shana Hiatt. Bill and I have a lot in common, if this quote is any indication:
"First off, I have what I refer to as 'intellectual obsessive-compulsive disorder.' I tend to take on hobbies and become obsessive about them. Not unhealthy obsessive but I like to learn all there is to learn on a topic."

Also check out Part II of "Canterbury Tales" at Halverson 3K's place. They don't call him "Three Kings" for nothin.

I leave you with one more quote, which I just couldn't pass up. Apparently Steinbeck wasn't a big fan of the grind:
"Luck or tragedy, some people get runs. Then of course there are those who divide it even, good and bad, but we never hear of them. Such a life doesn't demand attention. Only the people who get the good or bad runs." --John Steinbeck

Posted by hdouble at March 14, 2004 05:33 PM | TrackBack

Maximize your profits: learn how to use the most powerful tool in online poker.