No, you're not imagining things, I really am posting more than once in a week. I'm trying to make a concerted effort to post more, and I have one huge reason behind it. I enjoy writing and definitely want to become better. It's a pride thing with me, because I really don't think I'd ever do this for a living, but becoming a better writer makes me feel like I'm not just wasting my life. If you were to meet me in real-life, I defintely wouldn't come across as a person that figuratively gets off on writing. You'd probably think that I'm just a punk that likes to chase tail and drink all day long, but you'd only be partially right.

I just recently started writing about poker, but have been blogging for close to three years. Looking back to when I started, I'm even embarrassed to admit that I wrote like that. I'd probably still be embarrassed to have some of the poker bloggers read my new, real-life "stuff", not because I think it's all that bad, but because I'm definitely not the most politically correct person you've ever met. Come to think of it, I'm sure that Iggy and Pauly would laugh, but that's neither here, nor there. I guess I'm just saying that the "poker blogger community" contains some damn good writers, and getting feedback from them makes me strive to be better. It's weird, really. I'm a poker player. I blog. I still feel weird being having some of big guns(not to be mistaken with "big 'uns") of this community reading and commenting on things that I write. I honestly don't know how they find the time to A)post as much as they do, and B)read every little blog out there in pokerjournaland. Astounding, really.

With that being said, I am so looking forward to playing in the Poker Blogger/Reader Tourney on the 22nd. I downloaded the software a few days ago, and it seems downright clunky, and reminds me of Wilson Turbo Poker Software in the way it moves and sounds. It'll take some getting used to, but I think I'll be ok. I'm not sure how I'll fare, as I've never played at the same table as another blogger, or had them sweat me. Hopefully I'm the kind of dead money that wins the tournament, and not the dead money that is, well, dead. Now to get that email sent to Iggy.

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I'm not a big fan of posting my hand history, but I thought this hand last night was funny. The other guy involved in the pot had accumulated a fairly large stack for this level, and I'm not quite sure how. Looking back, I left money on the table only calling his raise on the river but if I'd taken the time to look at the board to see why he'd been a calling station until that ace came, it was blatantly obvious that he hit his straight. That's another $10-$20 that I should've taken from him, but I was tired and not paying as much attention as I should've been. This was my last hand of the night, and I'm not a fan of the hit and run, but it's easier to take when you're the one running.

Party Poker Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (3 handed)


SB ($27.90)
Hero ($43.90)
Button ($103.34)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Th, 3d.
Button calls $0.50, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: ($1.50) Ts, Jh, 3s (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.5, Button calls $1.50, SB folds.

Turn: ($4.50) 3c (2 players)
Hero bets $3, Button calls $3.

River: ($10.50) Ad (2 players)
Hero bets $10, Button raises to $20, Hero calls $10.

Final Pot: $50.50

Hero shows Th 3d (full house, threes full of tens).
Button shows Ks Qc (straight, ace high).
Outcome: Hero wins $50.50.

What a great way to end the night.

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So, that's how I ended my night. I started out by playing in the 7pm $5+.50 MTT NLHE on Stars. For whatever reason, their servers were bogged, and it started 15 minutes late. While they were getting things figured out on their end, I fired up a $25 PLHE game on Party. I'm not sure why I like Pot Limit more than I do NL, but I do. I like the fact that you need to build a pot when you have a monster, or when you're holding a decent hand, someone can't come over the top of you for $50 pre-flop right away. The game would be much tougher live, though, what with having to keep in mind how much has been thrown into the pot already. Hey, I'm a lazy poker player, what can I say?

My PL experience last night, outside of that last hand, was nothing to brag about. I was only up by a little bit, never really moving below my buy-in, but also never really having that one hand that makes me feel like I'm moving up at something other than snails pace. I can honestly say that, a few months ago, my ring game was less than spectacular. Without a doubt the weakest part of my game. I've improved, though, and judging by my recently refreshed PokerTracker data, I think I'm on the correct path to reverse my minute losses. I wish I had all of my data here at work so that I could post it and get some feedback, but I think I'll wait until I get a bigger, more comprehesive sample. In the past week, I've played 20 hours of Pot Limit on Party, and that's about 4 times over what I had been playing. Last night was my longest session in quite some time, just a tick above 4 hours. To feel like you're actually improving is a great thing, especially considering the games on Party seem so soft right now. So, so soft. Soft and squishy like my *ex-girlfriend.

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With all the time I've spent improving my ring game, my tournament game has suffered. So much so, that I completely busted out at Stars after a bad SNG run, and I had to fund it with winnings from Party. That's the poker player equivalent of a credit card addict using one credit card to pay off the balance of another. God bless Neteller. I feel like I've come back a little in tourney play, though, as I've placed in 3 of the last 4 SNG's I've played. Poker homeostasis would be grand right about now.

Oh yeah, about the Stars $5 tourney; I doubled up early to well above the average stack, only two bust out late in the 2nd hour after moving in severely short stacked, finishing approximately 400/1600. Sure, I outlasted 1200 people, but that means relatively little because I didn't accumulate a big enough stack to even be a threat. At all. I need to tweak my aggression level so that I'm not blinded away in the blogger tourney like I was last night.

Eh, 'm'out.
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*This is a lie.My last girlfriend was really quite fit. Being the unimaginitive little bitch that I am, I couldn't think of anything else quite as soft as the tables are on Party right now. 50,000 players? Are you kidding me?