Updates

Ok, so its been a little while since my last post,....

well was hoping for a few more comments but hopefully that will come with time! i do sometimes check my previous posts so pls do read my older posts and leave a comment or leave a comment on my latest post referring to an older post. Pls as i need your feedback to improve!!

Well, some non-poker news if anyone is interested, I got some exam results recently and alas i failed, so either i need to start trying harder for these exams (must admit the revision time off work was abused to play some poker!) or start improving very quickly so i can stop with all these exams......... i can dream!

So back to poker, well as you can see from the blog links on the left, i have been whoring myself around trying to get as many people as possible to my blog, hopefully its working!! its shameless i know but once i start getting some more feedback i can cut down the spamming, maybe?....
also i cant help it, all these poker blogs are just so damn addictive!!

CHECK OUT donkeytest, it is a quality poker test, and in case your wondering my score was average!! i think i will even go through the questions on here reasoning with you my answers and hopefully hearing from you.

Back to my poker basics, well after reading through the numerous comments regarding which poker site to play on, well all one of them ;) this is what i have decided to do:

I have downloaded Full Tilt through rakebrain to get my 27% back, after checking out the site and the tour i decided that the software looked good, seems to offer a good range of games and player numbers, although it is american i believe after chatting with mark from pokerpains that due to my early morning sessions this could be a good thing with the usa players being tired/drunk.... we shall see.. i haven't deposited any money yet, but i plan to put in $50 soon, i must say sorry to mark, i couldnt see anywhere to mention he referred me and i had to put in rakebrain as the bonus code to get my rake back, unless anyone else knows what to do??

I will keep my stars and 888 accounts and prob put $50 in each, stars has just the biggest range of tournys and players to ignore, and 888 has decent software and player numbers and we shall see if there are more fish there, lets hope so!! also both are usa time so again hoping the tired/drunk factor may help me!

as for an english site..... still unsure though i did look at william hill's tour and it looked pretty good so may put $50 there.

so thats all for now

pk69

Poker Sites

Ok, first lets begin with where to play online:
i myself have played on 3 sites, Pokerstars, Betfair and Pacific poker/888.com
so here are my views on these sites

Pokerstars: i believe this is known as the daddy of all sites, and honestly i can't really disagree, anytime day or night you wont have any trouble finding a tourny or game, tourny selection is vast, cash games start from micro limits right up to the high rolers. Now i may be one of the few people not on broadband yet, but even on dial up, the speed of the game is fine, no pauses or anything like that. Plus the all in protection is quite handy if you do get cutt off the clock gets stoppped, the software looks fine and is easy to use, all in all a very good site.

Betafir: oh dear! well i first used betfair a while ago before there new software, at that time it looked ok, speed was alright, easy to use, and games were ok. HOWEVER, since their new software came out, unless it is because i don't have broadband, i found it impossible to use!! Constant pausing, and my hands being folded before i even had a chanc e to press a button!! definately one to avoid in my experience

Pacific/888: this is a well known site they advertise a fair bit so i think the level of traffic is good most of the time, the is a decent range of games, the software looks ok and is easy enough to use, speed also is good. Now i have heard a lot of people saying that this site is full of fish, probably being one of them i don' t know, however i have seen some horrendous players on there, so that said... anyone for fishing?

Now the main draw backs of the american sites as in stars and 888 is the time, they run on usa time which can be like 4-5 hrs behind uk, so the big tounry's usual start late and finish even later!!!

not that i play in them yet, but one day... so does anyone know of any decent uk sites? with big tournys at decent times and not finishing after breakfast the next morning??

i would welcome any views on any other poker site

i.e
Full Tilt- i had a look and seems ok, might check it out, however usa time again

Partypoker- another big advertiser with a big fish%
Virgin? anyone got any comment
William Hill?
Ladbrokes?
Bodog?
Absolute Poker?
Ultimate Bet?
any others?

pk69

Back to basics!!

Ok, i am going to start writing some posts regarding what i believe are the basic of online poker, this is mostly going to comprise me covering things i have read and offering my views on them and hopefully you can add you comments and thus we all learn and improve

pk69

Links

Wow, its like a snowball effect, i start with 1 comment and now they keep coming!! this is great people and i must say a big thank you to all of you who read my blog or have posted comments, pls check out the links to some other blogs on the right, Edog is a similar low stakes player like myself who wants to improve, i would have commented on his blog but you need an msn sign in which i don't have.

pk69

Comments

Wow, i had my first comments, hopefully many more to come!!

i must mention Mark for his comment, very good, just what i am after!! i have put a link to his blog pokerpains on the right, pls check it out as it a good read!!

also i hope to chat to mark and anyone else bout fulltilt and other sites, i have read a few places that the players on FT are all rocks, and that the only real way to play is to grind it out, does anyone else have any experience of FT and the standard of players?

cry for help

well that about sums up my fall from grace so far, just remebered how i lost the very last hand i played, i had 88 utg, so i thought i wood raise a little folds to the button who calls, now i hadn't raised much,... flop comes ace 8 something, i check he checks, turn another blank i check again he bets bout half pot i reraise all in for my last $3.50 or something like that he thinks then calls, he shows....... aces!!!! virtually the only hand i could lose to! damn didn't see that one coming!!

anyway, so now i have decisions to make, i have stumbled across many interesting blogs of late that i am currently trying to catch up on and enjoy your journeys to date, and having left messages with many of you i hope to start getting some feedback shortly

Oh my god part 2!!

Ok so.... with my account under $100 i was getting pretty nervous to say the least, i had been nursing this account along for like a yr and a half, so what to do next???

well i tried a few turbo tourny's as not enough time to fit a proper one in before work, so i start doing 2 at once, one $3 and one $6, but no joy with the cards, i am just running plain bad!! maybe a third place here or there but mostly just throwing away more money, and i can feel it coming...... TILT!!! i try to stop myself but sometimes i cant so i just play bad cards, raise with nothing and you know what??? i get what i deserve, bend over and take it like a man, hell i virtually dropped my pants for them!!

account now at like $15....... this is bad!!!

so now i go on to the 5c-10c tables with $5 on each, woohoo i make like $2 one day, then the red mist decends.... i am all in with 2 pairs turn blank my opponent has a pair just need to avoid trips.... river of course gives him trips!!! shit! what now... i load up my last $10 on 2 tables make some bad calls, play shockingly and before i know it i've lost it all!!!!!!!!

$300 down to $0!!!!! and for the most part i can't see what i did wrong, i know once i had the few bad beats i may have tilted a little, but even then it was mostly the coin flips or when i was ahead and just needed to dodge a miracle card, and everytime it hit me!!

so what now?? well i have £30 on betfair, but since they have there new software it just sucks!!! i have tried it twice and both times it just jerks along, before i can even see my cards i am asked to click, and when i do nothing happens then my hand is folded!! this happened 3 times, 2 tourny's where i couldnt play one hand, i came 3rd in both! but luckily i got my fees refunded!! so i gave it one more try, same again, so i decided betfair is not for me so i withdrew my £24

so now my decision is where to go from here??

what sites should i play on? where is good for games at 7:30-8:30 am??

i have my account with pokerstars which i will keep, but i gonna have to deposit say $50 in there which i hope to build up again, but should i play elsewhere? fulltilt? partypoker? i have an account with 888.com which i could deposit say $50 into,

What games should i play? cash or tourny? what level?

plus of course i clearly still need to improve my game!! any advice on calculating pot odds etc quickly for online play? plus reading players what things should i pay particular attention to?

student looking for a teacher right here

oh well, maybe some responses will help me decide

oh my god!!

Well its been a while since my last post, mostly due to the time i have taken off to recover!!

Just a few weeks ago i was sitting on a nice $300 account on pokerstars, now........ NIL, ZIP !!!!
christ!!!!

so how did it all go wrong you may ask, well i sure did!!! for one thing i was playing with my entire bankroll (puney as it was) i know a mistake, but just how r u supposed to build it up when u dont have much in the first place? anyway here goes

every time i was playing well it only one bad hand that did me, some luck and some i know just crap play from myself!!

i think it started going wrong with this.. i was on the 50c$1 tables on stars, started with bout $60 been playing a while doing ok, up to about 70-80$ ish, i get aces in the sb, couple of limpers and then the button raises to something like $2.50 or so, now i know in hindsight i should have reraised but at the time i was thinking aces great i can call and trap him, boy was i wrong!! so one other mid position guy calls, flop comes 10&9 spades and a 4, not bad i check setting the trap, mid guy bets $2 button calls, ok so i wanna get rid of one of them and not let them draw to flush so i raise to something like $8, mid guy folds, one down! the button raises to like $30ish, now i thought for a while.... could have a draw.... maybe ace 10?? now i know the warning signs were there but i was blinded by the aces, i felt invincible, so i thought i would jam it back to him, so my $70 goes in and the secong i do it i am praying pls dont have 10's, of course he called with.... the 10's no ace or flush on turn or river and i had just spunked nearly a third of my roll!!!

so on to another session...

decided to play the 25c-50c tables given my last error.. start 2 tables with about $40 on each, again going good up to $60 on one and $55 on other, cant remember exactly positions or anything here but here goes.... on table with $60... i call with something like q9, just a speculative call maybe there was a small raise but not much... flop comes 8,10,j i've got the nuts!!! no flush draw, so how can i milk this pot i check, one guy raises another reraises for about $15ish so back to me after my previous beat i wood be happy just to take the pot so i re-reraise all in one fold the reraises call with 8,10 2 pair, looking good, turn a blank river a 10!!!! full house! jesus!! again, then a few hands later on other table same thing i call, hit the nut str8 all in get call by a set so as long as the board doesnt pair i'm good!! the river??? pairs of course!!!

what could i have done??? could i have played them any differently? i dont know?? so now i was down to bout $70 ish

will tell u how i did the rest shortly.....