Cards

What's this? Poker content? Shocking!

I actually found myself with a couple hours to kill last night. After the killing, I had some time available. *rimshot*

Actually, I fell asleep during the debacle of a Leafs game, woke up at 10 and realized I'd been asleep for 2 1/2 hours. Well, can't go to bed now, can I? So I wandered over to my computer (I'm debating getting a laptop, should I? I mean, it would probably never leave my place, and I don't know WHY I'd need one, but I kinda want one. I also really want to upgrade my system, but can't quite justify the expense just so I can play a few games that would be prettier. Oh who am I kidding? I'll be dropping a grand on new components before the month is out if I know me... wow, long parenthetical tangent) to play some poker. I sat there and DIDN'T play for and hour or so, because I decided to download The Orange Box (Half Life: Episode 2, Portal, and a bunch of stuff I already have), and play Peggle (which I do all the time.. damn you PopCap!). I finally fired up a $6.50 turbo and got to work.. and came in 2nd. So I fired up another, and came in 2nd. Yay! $20 profit!

Yah, no big shakes, but I do enjoy seeing my measly Full Tilt bankroll move upwards. Why, I'm nearly at $100 now! Sweet jeebus do I have a ways to go before I'm close to breaking even.

Anyway, it felt good. I had some strong cards that occasionally got paid off, some weak cards that got paid off more frequently, and the only time I went to showdown (that wasn't heads-up) was against uber-donks who would call down my straight with middle pair, top kicker. I do love SnG's and the increasing value of starting hands as people get knocked out.

Most importantly though, I've been shaking the strange brand of scared poker I've been playing of late. I have two pair on a 4-straight board and am facing a middling bet from the BB, and instead of walking away, I put him on crap and play to the river. Lucky me I got my full boat, but he ran away to MY middling bet anyway. No way he had that king.

I think my problem of late has been that I've played my cards too much. My real strength was in reading my opponents, but I'd stopped doing that as the cards in front of me got prettier. Granted, it's hard to play with 52o in MP, but sometimes you have to make that look like aces or convince the table you flopped the nuts. I've got to stop assuming that the RNG has fed the calling donkey to my left the stone cold nuts every time.

So in pursuit of that, I think I may play live tonight. Sure, I've got laundry that needs doing and errands that refuse to run themselves, but I also have a point standing at my club to uphold so I can play in the Tournament of Champions in November and win that 42" plasma. Live play is good for the soul after all.

Chances are that I'll be out before the first break, because I suck like a prom date, so I'll see you at The Mookie!