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Sore arse from Ladbrokes Poker
I've definitely lost my touch!
The session that I just played was breakeven. I went bust on one table but made it all back on another. However, my entire profit was from one hand where my opponent went on a tilt and kept on raising when he had nothing.
Looking to the future, I'm not sure what I can do as my confidence has taken a severe beating. In my first week I seemed to be unbeatable whether or not I was playing on a discretionary basis or using Calculatem. Now I'm struggling to keep my head above the water!
I pre-calculated some odds to help me out. While these stats are available with Calculatem I feel that having them permenantly on display in a corner of my screen may be beneficial in drilling them into my head.
The session that I just played was breakeven. I went bust on one table but made it all back on another. However, my entire profit was from one hand where my opponent went on a tilt and kept on raising when he had nothing.
Looking to the future, I'm not sure what I can do as my confidence has taken a severe beating. In my first week I seemed to be unbeatable whether or not I was playing on a discretionary basis or using Calculatem. Now I'm struggling to keep my head above the water!
I pre-calculated some odds to help me out. While these stats are available with Calculatem I feel that having them permenantly on display in a corner of my screen may be beneficial in drilling them into my head.
Tough games
Ventured back onto some $0.50/$1.00 tables at Ladbrokes Poker and got destroyed by maniacs. I'm down $15.00 today.
Poker Web Stuff
I discovered the best Poker site every today! The stories in the website below had me pissing myself in the office.
http://72off.cjb.net/
Some of the links look interesting as well. Apparently Douchebag Poker exposes the worst online Poker players. I may have to read it later and compile my own list for your perusal here. First would be that Badaren who sits on micro-limit tables with $300. What a chump - he was there today as well!
http://72off.cjb.net/
Some of the links look interesting as well. Apparently Douchebag Poker exposes the worst online Poker players. I may have to read it later and compile my own list for your perusal here. First would be that Badaren who sits on micro-limit tables with $300. What a chump - he was there today as well!
Ladbrokes Poker loves me!
I made another $5 on Ladbrokes Poker. I am such a big whale and am going to blow it all on a shish kebab from the charcoal grill. I'm using the pre-flop advice from Calculatem and doing post-flop on my own. It's a pity Poker Office doesn't work with Ladbrokes Poker, but i'll keep it on hold as it was definitely useful for profiling the weaknesses of Calculatem.
The main negative point from today's session was my excessive chatting. I recon I would have played better if I wasn't constantly congratulating the others' on their outstanding plays. I mean - these guys will check all the way with straights and probably fold with them as well. How good can Ladbrokes Poker get?
The main negative point from today's session was my excessive chatting. I recon I would have played better if I wasn't constantly congratulating the others' on their outstanding plays. I mean - these guys will check all the way with straights and probably fold with them as well. How good can Ladbrokes Poker get?
The skills are returning, courtesy of Ladbrokes Poker
After a couple of days off due to illness I returned once more to the $0.25/$0.50 tables on Ladbrokes Poker. P&L's for the two tables were $0.19 and $14.88.
I didn't really follow Calculatem today, though many of my decisions would have been very similar. The majority of players still seem to be very weak and will rarely raise - this helped me today. But after a little tutorage from Mr Welsh (who plays the massie $25/$50 tables!) I'm going to improve my skills on these risk free tables before moving up the ladder slowly. Essentially there are some situations where you should always bet/raise. Such as if you have a half-decent top pair. I used to be too scared to bet/call if I didn't have 'the nuts' but Calculatem has given me confidence even though I use it less these days. The reduced bet size also helps. But I shall move back to $0.50/$1.00 if I hit $250.
The only negative with today's session was an unusual player with the alias of "Badaren". He was sitting on one of the tables with $300 (when everyone else had under $50) and was throwing his weight around a little. One of the other players attempted to taunt him in a vain attempt at causing a tilt but I'm not sure how successful he was. I should work out how to take on such players in the future.
I didn't really follow Calculatem today, though many of my decisions would have been very similar. The majority of players still seem to be very weak and will rarely raise - this helped me today. But after a little tutorage from Mr Welsh (who plays the massie $25/$50 tables!) I'm going to improve my skills on these risk free tables before moving up the ladder slowly. Essentially there are some situations where you should always bet/raise. Such as if you have a half-decent top pair. I used to be too scared to bet/call if I didn't have 'the nuts' but Calculatem has given me confidence even though I use it less these days. The reduced bet size also helps. But I shall move back to $0.50/$1.00 if I hit $250.
The only negative with today's session was an unusual player with the alias of "Badaren". He was sitting on one of the tables with $300 (when everyone else had under $50) and was throwing his weight around a little. One of the other players attempted to taunt him in a vain attempt at causing a tilt but I'm not sure how successful he was. I should work out how to take on such players in the future.
Some breakeven play at Ladbrokes Poker
Had a couple of breakeven sessions on $0.25/$1.00 at Ladbrokes Poker. I should have been up but kept on re-raising when I had a weak pair of Aces. My opponent had three of a kind 3's and I raised with no abandon due to Calculatem's re-raise signal. It should have been obvious and I may have to overide a few of Calculatem's signals in the future.
Good session on Ladbrokes Poker $0.25/$0.50
I'm off work today due to illness. I woke with a headache, runny nose, and sore throat. What fun.
Now that it's the afternoon I'm slightly better and decided to have another Poker session. I played at Ladbrokes Poker and tried the $0.25/$0.50 tables as my usual $0.50/$1.00 tables were empty. I played about 45 minutes on two separate tables (the players all disappeared from my first table after 30 minutes!) and made just under $10. That isn't bad considering the reduced stake.
From what I've observed so far it looks like a lot of the Ladbrokes Poker players could be very weak. The "seeing the flop percentage" / "average flop percentage" or whatever you want to call that figure is usually well over 50% - it should be around 20% for sensible play. Also, many of the players just limped along as I bet/raised.
Despite my observations, however, I have yet to play enough hands at Ladbrokes Poker to draw any significant conclusions from my results. Readers will have to watch this space to see where my P&L heads off to!
Now that it's the afternoon I'm slightly better and decided to have another Poker session. I played at Ladbrokes Poker and tried the $0.25/$0.50 tables as my usual $0.50/$1.00 tables were empty. I played about 45 minutes on two separate tables (the players all disappeared from my first table after 30 minutes!) and made just under $10. That isn't bad considering the reduced stake.
From what I've observed so far it looks like a lot of the Ladbrokes Poker players could be very weak. The "seeing the flop percentage" / "average flop percentage" or whatever you want to call that figure is usually well over 50% - it should be around 20% for sensible play. Also, many of the players just limped along as I bet/raised.
Despite my observations, however, I have yet to play enough hands at Ladbrokes Poker to draw any significant conclusions from my results. Readers will have to watch this space to see where my P&L heads off to!
Future Poker Plans
The last few days have been psychologically testing. My confidence has taken a severe kicking as I've been consistently losing - though bonuses and rake breaks have helped me stay level on a net basis.
One big irony I'm finding is that these mentally draining and miniscule Poker losses are nothing compared to my trading profits. Every contract I trade probably costs me over $0.50 in commissions and I think nothing of it. Also, I calculated the notional value of my bets and it appears that I'm throwing around well over £7.5m of index futures on a daily basis. However, this never phases me and I don't bat an eyelid if I lose £10k in a day. I just come back the next day and take it back from the market.
Anyway, I'm rambling and moving away from the purpose of this post.
A breakdown of my P&L shows that I've lost $1.17 from playing at Empire Poker and Coral Poker (both are Party Poker skins).
I made $36.65 from playing 6 player tables at Ladbrokes Poker (only 4 sessions though).
I made $6.25 from playing 10 player tables at Ladbrokes Poker (only 3 sessions).
I made $20.38 from discretionary play at Noble Poker.
It therefore appears that I've had the most luck at the 6 player tables on Ladbrokes Poker and at Noble Poker.
I shall therefore be playing my next few sessions at Ladbrokes Poker to see if my luck hold up there. I have a feeling that the short handednes of the tables may be more suited to Calculatem. I may also give Noble Poker a whirl seeing as they've been so kind to me.
One big irony I'm finding is that these mentally draining and miniscule Poker losses are nothing compared to my trading profits. Every contract I trade probably costs me over $0.50 in commissions and I think nothing of it. Also, I calculated the notional value of my bets and it appears that I'm throwing around well over £7.5m of index futures on a daily basis. However, this never phases me and I don't bat an eyelid if I lose £10k in a day. I just come back the next day and take it back from the market.
Anyway, I'm rambling and moving away from the purpose of this post.
A breakdown of my P&L shows that I've lost $1.17 from playing at Empire Poker and Coral Poker (both are Party Poker skins).
I made $36.65 from playing 6 player tables at Ladbrokes Poker (only 4 sessions though).
I made $6.25 from playing 10 player tables at Ladbrokes Poker (only 3 sessions).
I made $20.38 from discretionary play at Noble Poker.
It therefore appears that I've had the most luck at the 6 player tables on Ladbrokes Poker and at Noble Poker.
I shall therefore be playing my next few sessions at Ladbrokes Poker to see if my luck hold up there. I have a feeling that the short handednes of the tables may be more suited to Calculatem. I may also give Noble Poker a whirl seeing as they've been so kind to me.
Farewell Coral Poker
My luck has definitely turned and I feel that I may have to desert my nice Coral Poker account which has an excellent 23% rake back.
After over 250 hands of $0.50/$1.00 play I lost $47.50.
I've received a $50 bonus.
I should get over $9.00 in rake rebates.
So, while my profit is going to be positive $10.00, this will only be due to my bonus whoring which is definitely an excellent form of risk management!
Also, a closer examination of my P&L shows that I've made $100 from bonus whoring and $60 from play. This is not a good record!
After over 250 hands of $0.50/$1.00 play I lost $47.50.
I've received a $50 bonus.
I should get over $9.00 in rake rebates.
So, while my profit is going to be positive $10.00, this will only be due to my bonus whoring which is definitely an excellent form of risk management!
Also, a closer examination of my P&L shows that I've made $100 from bonus whoring and $60 from play. This is not a good record!
Things are getting worse and worse!
I tried discretionary play on Coral Poker and was doing OK until I approached the end of my session...
I was on the big blind with 10,3 off suit and flopped two pair 10's over 3's on the flop. I tried playing aggressively to push out the other players but the lucky git who beat me caught a Jack on the river to form two pair Jacks over 5's.
Arrrggghhhhh!!!!
The only consolations I have are that I'll get a $50 bonus from Coral if I survive another 55 hands. I've played 195/250 hand required but lost $33. I should also get a few dollars from Rake Break, though I'm not sure whether or not there's a $50 minimum rake threshold.
Here's my current P&L:
I was on the big blind with 10,3 off suit and flopped two pair 10's over 3's on the flop. I tried playing aggressively to push out the other players but the lucky git who beat me caught a Jack on the river to form two pair Jacks over 5's.
Arrrggghhhhh!!!!
The only consolations I have are that I'll get a $50 bonus from Coral if I survive another 55 hands. I've played 195/250 hand required but lost $33. I should also get a few dollars from Rake Break, though I'm not sure whether or not there's a $50 minimum rake threshold.
Here's my current P&L:
Change of Plan
I had a go at a single table on Coral Poker following the rules outlined below. However, Calculatem's signals were still getting me totally raped during post-flop raising.
Despite being determined to stick to the rules below I became convinced that Calculatem has serious deficiencies in post-flop play. It's pre-flop is fine as it gives a nice tight aggressive profile. However, the weak/passive post-flop recommendations just weren't paying the bills.
Therefore, going forwards, I shall just use Calculatem as a recommendation tool post-flop and perform raises as I see fit.
Wish me luck!
Despite being determined to stick to the rules below I became convinced that Calculatem has serious deficiencies in post-flop play. It's pre-flop is fine as it gives a nice tight aggressive profile. However, the weak/passive post-flop recommendations just weren't paying the bills.
Therefore, going forwards, I shall just use Calculatem as a recommendation tool post-flop and perform raises as I see fit.
Wish me luck!
P&L for 17th Feb 2005
Improving Calculatem's Poker Game
I got roasted in my last session for a variety of reasons. I shall outline some stuff that I'll do to try and give me better future returns.
Problem 1: Bad Cards.
Solution: Keep on grinding away and let the long term odds do their stuff!
Problem 2: Folding to aggressive players.
Solution: Select passive tables. Coral Poker do not provide table stats, so to do this I shall begin a session by openning 4 tables 30 minutes prior to play and using Poker Office's Live Tracker to monitor the tables. Based on the stats collected I can select tables tables with a low pre-flop raise statistic. What this benchmark will be I don't know so I'll have to experiment...
I will also give preference to tables with a high percentage of players who see the flop. These loose players should theoretically be more profitable as they'll be playing weaker openning hands.
Problem 3: Too passive post-flop - very susceptible to aggressive players.
Solution: Not sure how to do this other than with discretionary play. Though a possibility could be to loosen up the settings on Calculatem. The post-flop play is currently set too tightly.
In order to reduce the affect of Problem 2 I shall have to select passive tables.
Problem 1: Bad Cards.
Solution: Keep on grinding away and let the long term odds do their stuff!
Problem 2: Folding to aggressive players.
Solution: Select passive tables. Coral Poker do not provide table stats, so to do this I shall begin a session by openning 4 tables 30 minutes prior to play and using Poker Office's Live Tracker to monitor the tables. Based on the stats collected I can select tables tables with a low pre-flop raise statistic. What this benchmark will be I don't know so I'll have to experiment...
I will also give preference to tables with a high percentage of players who see the flop. These loose players should theoretically be more profitable as they'll be playing weaker openning hands.
Problem 3: Too passive post-flop - very susceptible to aggressive players.
Solution: Not sure how to do this other than with discretionary play. Though a possibility could be to loosen up the settings on Calculatem. The post-flop play is currently set too tightly.
In order to reduce the affect of Problem 2 I shall have to select passive tables.
Lost Big Time!
Lost $26.00 playing two $0.50/$1.00 tables at Coral Poker. This has got to be my worst day ever!
I followed the rules set out earlier and will try to do a brief analysis of the problems...
- I was initially a bit confused and had the two Calculatem windows the wrong way round. That lead me to raise a poor hand. It probably cost me $4.
- Using Poker Office I analysed the performance of Calculatem. I appears that Calculatem plays a tight-aggressive game pre-flop, but a passive game post flop. I lost a hand when I had a strong QQ over pair due to aggressive raisers. Perhaps Calculatem doesn't perform well against such players though I probably would have folded against such aggressive raisers myself.
- I didn't get any good hands. So I wouldn't have won anyway.
I followed the rules set out earlier and will try to do a brief analysis of the problems...
- I was initially a bit confused and had the two Calculatem windows the wrong way round. That lead me to raise a poor hand. It probably cost me $4.
- Using Poker Office I analysed the performance of Calculatem. I appears that Calculatem plays a tight-aggressive game pre-flop, but a passive game post flop. I lost a hand when I had a strong QQ over pair due to aggressive raisers. Perhaps Calculatem doesn't perform well against such players though I probably would have folded against such aggressive raisers myself.
- I didn't get any good hands. So I wouldn't have won anyway.
Back to basics
After a week of Poker I decided to flick through Carson's book again and realised how much I'd missed on earlier readings. There is so much to learn in this game!
However, I'm more interested in beating the system rather than learning the skills, as my skills have severely let me down recently.
What I'm going to have to do is tighten up my play with Calculatem and practice discretionary on a separate P&L account. I'm not sure if I'll have the time or motivation to do that and will work primarily with Calculatem for the time being.
Unfortunately some of the signals from Calculatem are a little weak. Here are some additional rules that I shall add to my Calculatem play:
- Always raise if it recommends a raise. I often only call if it recommends a raise but I’m too scared. This rule will make me more aggressive in strong positions.
- Only call “call unraised only” from the button or blinds. This signal is often generated when I’m UTG and is a bit silly in these situations. Following this rule will make my game tighter.
- Call if Calculatem recommends a fold on the river but the pot odds are favourable. This will make me less vulnerable to bluffing and the pot odds should make this profitable in the long run.
However, I'm more interested in beating the system rather than learning the skills, as my skills have severely let me down recently.
What I'm going to have to do is tighten up my play with Calculatem and practice discretionary on a separate P&L account. I'm not sure if I'll have the time or motivation to do that and will work primarily with Calculatem for the time being.
Unfortunately some of the signals from Calculatem are a little weak. Here are some additional rules that I shall add to my Calculatem play:
- Always raise if it recommends a raise. I often only call if it recommends a raise but I’m too scared. This rule will make me more aggressive in strong positions.
- Only call “call unraised only” from the button or blinds. This signal is often generated when I’m UTG and is a bit silly in these situations. Following this rule will make my game tighter.
- Call if Calculatem recommends a fold on the river but the pot odds are favourable. This will make me less vulnerable to bluffing and the pot odds should make this profitable in the long run.
Patient Poker
I'm going to have to take a day off today as due to annoying complexities I must wait a day or two to move my funds from Empire Poker to Coral Poker
.
In the meantime I've taken the opportunity to let Poker Office monitor a few tables. If anyone has any advice on how best to use Poker Office then please leave a comment below.
In the meantime I've taken the opportunity to let Poker Office monitor a few tables. If anyone has any advice on how best to use Poker Office then please leave a comment below.
Another £5 from Noble Poker
Noble Poker have just processed my final £5.00 withdrawal. So in effect, they let me deposit £20 and withdraw £25. Very bizarre, but I didn't request it and even asked them to take away the bonus, so they don't really have any grounds for complaint.
I still have £0.87 in my account as they only allow integer ammounts to be withdrawn. I may use it for micro limit NL if I get desperate.
I still have £0.87 in my account as they only allow integer ammounts to be withdrawn. I may use it for micro limit NL if I get desperate.
New Account with Coral Poker
I got a Coral Poker account from Rakebreak.com today. They offered to give me 23% rakeback and Coral Poker is a Party Poker skin, so it has a lot of players against whom I can practise. I'll move my funds to Coral Poker and try to settle in here while I learn the skills.
Took a kicking
Took a bit of a kicking and was down $12.42 today.
Reason:
- I was too cocky and raised on some marginal hands.
- Had a couple of bad draws, but this is to be expected as I've been lucky in the last week
- Some players just don't fold no matter their hands.
Areas for improvement:
- I need to learn how to use Poker Office effectively. I might try a couple of single table sessions to make things easier.
Reason:
- I was too cocky and raised on some marginal hands.
- Had a couple of bad draws, but this is to be expected as I've been lucky in the last week
- Some players just don't fold no matter their hands.
Areas for improvement:
- I need to learn how to use Poker Office effectively. I might try a couple of single table sessions to make things easier.
Future Poker Goal - rake rebates
After an initial investment of £30, I now have a good suite of Poker software and over $100 of profits to play with while I learn the skills. These are hardly stellar returns, but I feel that I now have a solid base from which to continue my Poker campaign.
As well as the above, my next task will be to find an excellent Poker Room with a good rake rebate scheme. If things go well I'll be putting through high volumes, so any rebates I get will be very welcome.
As well as the above, my next task will be to find an excellent Poker Room with a good rake rebate scheme. If things go well I'll be putting through high volumes, so any rebates I get will be very welcome.
Poker Office
I've just given Poker Office a spin and am relatively impressed.
What this program does is gather information from online Poker games and store it in a database. This data can then be processed into reports on the performance of both yourself and other players.
For example, you can find out how often certain players sees the flop. If you're up against loose pre-flop players, then it may be worth calling more marginal hands, as your opponents will be unlikely to be holding premium hands.
I also made $5.75 in my test session playing a single $0.50/$1.00 table.
What this program does is gather information from online Poker games and store it in a database. This data can then be processed into reports on the performance of both yourself and other players.
For example, you can find out how often certain players sees the flop. If you're up against loose pre-flop players, then it may be worth calling more marginal hands, as your opponents will be unlikely to be holding premium hands.
I also made $5.75 in my test session playing a single $0.50/$1.00 table.
Noble Poker Paid Up, Exciting Poker Office Software
Noble Poker paid out and I have the money in my Neteller account now. Their support guys emailed me and said that there was no restriction on the 25% deposit that they'd given me so I guess I must have completed the rake requirements while working my way through the free £16. I've attempted another withdrawal for the 25% bonus they gave me as I'd like to stick to playing at a small number of Poker rooms for the time being.
Received a full version of Poker Office for taking advantage of their Empire Poker Offer. I'm very excited by this software but need to get it installed and work out how to use it. For some reason it doesn't like my mySQL database.
Received a full version of Poker Office for taking advantage of their Empire Poker Offer. I'm very excited by this software but need to get it installed and work out how to use it. For some reason it doesn't like my mySQL database.
Another $9.00 from Empire Poker
The software may be a little poor, but the cards from Empire Poker have continued to favour my goodself. My only other critisms of Empire Poker have to be the lack of online support (it's been unavailable since I joined) and the lack of stats. But on the whole I'm a happy custommer and hope to take my game to the next level in the near future.
Here is my P&L chart:
Here is my P&L chart:
Empire Poker deals some nice cards
Played more Poker at Empire Poker. Calculatem made some good calls and I had some lucky hands.
My profit for this session was $22.00.
My profit for this session was $22.00.
More Tricks and Games
Noble Poker decided to give me a 25% deposit bonus for the £20 that I deposited yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't want it and their website explicitly states that players need to email support in order to claim it. I'm concerned they may be trying to trap me with a wager requirement and emailed them with a request to withdraw the bonus from my account.
Cashing out from Noble Poker
I played a bit more Noble Poker.
First off I tried a 10 player $0.50/$1.00 table. Due to my previous success I was too aggressive and paid for it, losing $8.62. The red mist hits hard and I need to control it!
I then played more sensibly on a 6 player $0.50/$1.00 table and made back $8.25. While I don't like the way big blinds come round so frequently, I seem to have more luck on the 6 player tables. This might be because there's less waiting time for me to get bored in.
Anyway, I estimated that I'd completed the 75 hand wager requirement and attempted a cashout to Neteller. Unfortunately a deposit is required before you can withdraw to Neteller, so I deposited the £20 minimum and then tried to withdraw £46.87. Let's hope it goes through!
N.B. If my withdrawal goes through then my profit from Noble Poker will be £26.87.
First off I tried a 10 player $0.50/$1.00 table. Due to my previous success I was too aggressive and paid for it, losing $8.62. The red mist hits hard and I need to control it!
I then played more sensibly on a 6 player $0.50/$1.00 table and made back $8.25. While I don't like the way big blinds come round so frequently, I seem to have more luck on the 6 player tables. This might be because there's less waiting time for me to get bored in.
Anyway, I estimated that I'd completed the 75 hand wager requirement and attempted a cashout to Neteller. Unfortunately a deposit is required before you can withdraw to Neteller, so I deposited the £20 minimum and then tried to withdraw £46.87. Let's hope it goes through!
N.B. If my withdrawal goes through then my profit from Noble Poker will be £26.87.
Poker Profits So Far
Poor Luck at Empire Poker
Just got a bit whipped at Empire Poker. Despite being determined follow Calculatem more closely I played an early hand too aggressively and paid for it. I therefore lost $9.75 over a half hour period.
Noble Poker was a bit kinder to me. I played using my own skills and took $6.75 from the table.
My initial poor play at Empire Poker can be partially attributed to the confusion I had when I was setting up the two tables. I must stay more focused in the future.
Noble Poker was a bit kinder to me. I played using my own skills and took $6.75 from the table.
My initial poor play at Empire Poker can be partially attributed to the confusion I had when I was setting up the two tables. I must stay more focused in the future.
A quick win at Noble Poker
I had a quick go on Noble Poker with the free £16 that they gave me.
I put down $20 on the table and had $34 after an hour of play on a single table. Not a bad start!
I put down $20 on the table and had $34 after an hour of play on a single table. Not a bad start!
Noble Poker are forgiven!
Noble Poker responded to my email and awarded me the £16 bonus. What kind chaps!
Conquest of the Empire!
I played for another hour on Empire Poker and won a total of £29.00 on Fixed Limit $0.50/$1.00 tables (two simutaneous games as usual). I was also awarded a $15.00 deposit bonus from Empire Poker as I'd completed 105 raked hands during my hour of play.
Surprisingly I didn't always pay that much attention to Calculatem . Whether or not this was optimal is hard to say. There were some situations where it said bet but I folded and missed a good opportunity. However, the opposite case occured as well.
Also, I attempted to play more aggressive. This worked on some occasions (raising all the way with a full house) but failed on others (raising all the way with a pair of Kings).
The inspiration for this differing style has to be my astounding colleague, Mr Welsh, who I frequently observe playing online Poker at the office (the joys of being a trader!). I frequently discuss various poker scenarios with Mr Welsh and he constantly reminds me that you must play aggressively if the odds are in your favour (though this is something that you can only guess at!). This can be difficult to do, as raising on a pair of Kings can be psychologically draining, but I found that I was able to overcome this barrier today as
a - I'm starting to build up faith in Calculatem
b - I have previous winnings to cushion any losses
c - I started on a winning streak
Anyway, I've had a good run and feel that I'm improving as a player, so it's time to go to sleep.
Surprisingly I didn't always pay that much attention to Calculatem . Whether or not this was optimal is hard to say. There were some situations where it said bet but I folded and missed a good opportunity. However, the opposite case occured as well.
Also, I attempted to play more aggressive. This worked on some occasions (raising all the way with a full house) but failed on others (raising all the way with a pair of Kings).
The inspiration for this differing style has to be my astounding colleague, Mr Welsh, who I frequently observe playing online Poker at the office (the joys of being a trader!). I frequently discuss various poker scenarios with Mr Welsh and he constantly reminds me that you must play aggressively if the odds are in your favour (though this is something that you can only guess at!). This can be difficult to do, as raising on a pair of Kings can be psychologically draining, but I found that I was able to overcome this barrier today as
a - I'm starting to build up faith in Calculatem
b - I have previous winnings to cushion any losses
c - I started on a winning streak
Anyway, I've had a good run and feel that I'm improving as a player, so it's time to go to sleep.
Not so noble!
Noble Poker still haven't credited me with the £16. I'm not too impressed and have sent them another mail. How can they expect players to trust them if they don't honour their advertised offers?
Noble Problem
I openned a new Noble Poker account but have yet to receive the promised £16 bonus.
I therefore sent an email off to both Inside Edge and Noble Poker requesting their assistance.
I therefore sent an email off to both Inside Edge and Noble Poker requesting their assistance.
TODO list for the next week
Just to remind myself, the following is what I must achieve in terms of online Poker by Feb 17th...
Important
- Empire Poker: Finish playing those 250 hands. I've done 77 so far.
- Noble Poker: Open an account and get the £16 free.
Ongoing
- Find more special offers to take.
Important
- Empire Poker: Finish playing those 250 hands. I've done 77 so far.
- Noble Poker: Open an account and get the £16 free.
Ongoing
- Find more special offers to take.
Free £16 from Inside Edge / Noble Poker
Noble Poker are offering new users £16 for signing up and registering a credit card. No deposit is required.
The catch is that 75 hands must be played before the money can be withdrawn. Based on my recent performance at Empire Poker I estimate that it will take just over an hour to play the 75 raked hands if two tables are played simultaneously.
The catch is that 75 hands must be played before the money can be withdrawn. Based on my recent performance at Empire Poker I estimate that it will take just over an hour to play the 75 raked hands if two tables are played simultaneously.
Success at Ladbrokes Poker
Here's how I've done so far in each of my 1 hour sessions on fixed limit $0.50/$1.00 tables:
$10.03
$6.40
$2.45
$22.65
-$2.40
Total P&L $39.13
The sessions above were played at
Ladbrokes Poker and Calculatem definitely seemed to give me a slight edge.
Calculatem seems to work better on 6 player tables than on 10 player tables. Occasionally, it also gives bizarre advice which appears non-optimal. I also used some of the pre-flop tables from The Complete Book of Hold 'em Poker: A Comprehensive Guide to Playing and Winning to assist in my decisions.
$10.03
$6.40
$2.45
$22.65
-$2.40
Total P&L $39.13
The sessions above were played at
Calculatem seems to work better on 6 player tables than on 10 player tables. Occasionally, it also gives bizarre advice which appears non-optimal. I also used some of the pre-flop tables from The Complete Book of Hold 'em Poker: A Comprehensive Guide to Playing and Winning to assist in my decisions.
Empire Poker
I signed up with Empire Poker to claim the 20% match bonus. They gave me $12 on top of my initial $60 deposit and I need to play a total of 115 hands before they'll let me withdraw.
So far I have completed 72 raked hands. This was from playing two 0.50/1.00 tables simultaneously for about an hour. My P&L from this endeavor was a small profit of 3 dollars.
Calculatem seemed to be playing too loose so I had to tighten up the settings a little.
So far I have completed 72 raked hands. This was from playing two 0.50/1.00 tables simultaneously for about an hour. My P&L from this endeavor was a small profit of 3 dollars.
Calculatem seemed to be playing too loose so I had to tighten up the settings a little.
Getting Started
Having read Carson's excellent Poker - Texas Hold 'em: A Complete Guide to Playing the Game numerous times, but failing to make proper profits, I decided that it's time to start taking Online Poker more seriously.
I deposited £30 intoLadbrokespoker.com to get started and used a trial of Calculatem to give me an edge.
I deposited £30 into
