Well, I put in some 2/4nl games today because no one on 2+2 would respond to how many vpps they get per hour at that level. It's only slightly more than the 1/2nl games because the way the vpp system is, you get 1 point for hands raked $1 at 2/4nl, and 1 point for hands raked .40 at 1/2nl. So the difference between levels is negligible. Meaning that someone who wanted to achieve Supernova Elite at 1/2nl or 2/4nl would have to play roughly 1.8 million hands (150k hands per month.)

I think I could do this, but I don't think I would be living a very healthy happy lifestyle. I'd be putting in 5,000 hands a day, every day. Which would get old pretty quick. The only saving grace would be that I could pile on the tables and play all fast 6max tables. The fast 6max tables get in about 120 hands per hour, maybe even more. While the 6max tables on AP get 85 hands per hour. So if I could 8table on Stars, I could probably play the same amount of hours to clear the requisite number of hands. But I think I'll grow to loath the game. Seeing 950+ hands an hour would force me to play a very simple game. I'm sure I'd still win, but it would be such a grind.

Unless I can move up 3/6nl, I don't think I'll be playing on Stars just yet. RB and bonuses and ARP's on Absolute are still too lucrative. Those things alone will probably get me $60k+ over the next year, and I won't have to play an insane number of hands.

The funny thing is, I'd really like to stick it to AP and leave em. Those bastards skipped over the Elite Freeroll again this month. Too stingy to put up a $3k freeroll that they've been advertising for months. Plus the bonuses going to the crapper. Stars almost got me...but 1mil vpps is just too many.

Stars put up their new VIP stuff for 2007. There is another tier added "Supernova Elite." And there are plenty of new perks. So it's time to do some evaluation.

First off, Supernova Elite requires 1,000,000 vpps to hit. That is A LOT, to say the least. But it can be done.

So how to get there?

If I decide to try and do this, I will obviously do it through cash games. So how many hands will it require? I don't think I could even try to be one of the first ones to hit it. Some high stakes player will surely hit it before everyone else. Probably sickly fast. But I think I can do it in 1 year. That would be 83,333 vpps a month, every month. At 1/2nl, I believe that would take 122,000 hands per month. So that's a no go. I'll never be able to stick to that. At 2/4nl, it will take around 90,000 hands per month I think, but I'm still waiting on someone from 2+2 to post up how many vpps are earned per hand at those stakes. If it's around where I think it is, then this is a viable route.

I would probably switch back to full ring so I could play tighter, and put up more tables. On 9 tables of full ring, I could hit 90,000 hands a month pretty easily. I'll update this later when I get more numbers.

So now the question is...is it worth it?

Well, there are some huge perks.

Along the way, there are milestone bonuses. By 750,000 hands, you will have hit all 5 of them ($2,000 :: $3,000 :: $4,000 :: $5,000 :: $7,500.) Each one costs 50k FPPs. That is $21,500 in straight cash. Not bad.

Plus you will still have FPP's to turn in. Once you hit the regular Supernova level, and 3.5x FPP bonus, you would get roughly 300,000fpp's per month. If you can still turn in 100k for $1500, that is an added $4500 per month. Or $54,000 a year. But we have to subtract about $4,000 from that since we are going to use 50,000fpps to purchase the milestone bonuses. So let's say, $50,000.

Now when you finally hit Supernova Elite you get entry into the WCOOP main event, $2600. And entry into 2 other live high buy in tournies, WSOP Main Event, EPT Monte Carlo or PS Caribbean Adventure. Those range from $12,000 to $16,750 in value. Let's say you too the highest and lowest valued ones...that is another $28,750. On top of the $2600 WCOOP buy in, that totals $31,350.

So if you hit Supernova Elite, all in all, you're looking at roughly $100,250 in value. And that doesn't include the freerolls you get to play in. In a years time, it probably would be reasonable to win $10k in those. But I won't add that to the numbers, because I'm often too lazy to play in freerolls.

Also, when you finally hit Supernova Elite, you get fpps at 5x. Now that is a pretty nice perk. That is like getting 40% rakeback at Stars. 40% rakeback against a sea of fish is icing on the cake.

I still can't decide if I'm willing to go through with this though. Even with the diminished bonuses, at AP, with RB and ARP's, I'm getting roughly 50% rakeback. Plus on Stars I won't see the main bulk of the perks until the middle of the year (and then subsequently at the beginning of the following year for the $10k buy in events.) But Stars has superior software and more fish...plus a little bit of peace of mind. I don't think Stars will bail out of the US market.

What a dilemna! I have a day to decide. But I have to make up my mind by January 1st. No delay if I'm going to push hard to get 1,000,000 vpps.

Too much stuff went down in December to make it a good month to play a ton of poker. My computer broke down, not to mention the holidays. But January is the ideal month to play a lot. It's a cold boring month, and not much goes on. Plus it's the start of the new year, and I can resolve to play as much poker as possible. I know I can get in 60,000 hands, but I kinda wanna do something more absurd (atleast for me.) Something along the lines of 100,000 hands. Now that would be much easier on Stars. They get more hands per hour dealt, and I can put all the tables on one monitor since they allow resizing. (Why isn't this standard everywhere?)

If I'm on Stars, I'm sure I can get in 100,000 hands in January. But if their VIP program stays about the same, then AP will still be the best bet for now, and I'll probably play about 75,000 if I try real hard. That's the goal atleast. If I put in that many hands, I shouldn't have a problem pulling $15k off the tables in January.

Think I'm gonna take it easy for the rest of December and get ready for the new year.

I noticed through StatCounter that someone found my blog by doing a search for how big a bankroll you should have for 1/2nl. So I thought I'd be nice and put a post up about that.

There are several factors to consider. Are you a pro or amateur? And how much do you typically buy in for? The reason why it matters if you are a pro or not is because your bankroll should be larger than otherwise, since you have to take money out for food and rent. If you're playing as an amateur (to make side money) you are plenty safe with 12-15 buyins. But you must be willing to drop down if things go bad. If you are too stubborn, and know you won't drop down, then keep 15-20 buy ins minimum. If you are a pro, you should probably hold on to even more. 30 buyins is a pretty healthy roll for any limit.

Also, how much you are buying in for matters. If you are buying in for the minimum each time, 20 buyins isnt as much as if you were buying in for full. For 1/2nl, I'd try and have atleast $3,500 if you were buying in full each time.

On AP they allow you to buy in for 200bb, so these numbers would be even further inflated if you were on that site (or any other site that allows 200bb's.) I don't play 1/2nl without $7,500. It's not that hard to drop 3k when you are buying in for $400. I've gone through several cycles of 3k swings on the AP 1/2nl tables.

So to summarize...on most sites, for most people, $2,400-$3,000 is plenty. For pros and deep stack players, multiply by 1.5 - 2.5.

I've been looking into other sites the past few days. I might head back to Stars for the fourth time in my career. At Supernova, it's roughly equivalent to getting 31% of your rakeback...give or take, plus all the VIP freerolls. I'm seriously thinking about moving over there again. Their software is the best, and there's tons of donks. And I hear that the VIP program is about to get even better in 2007. I suppose I'll wait and see just what changes are made. But it's highly possible that I'll switch. I really hate AP right now.

::

Oh, and 12edaces wanted me to post up that he was looking for someone to stake him. He's a talented player who hit a bad run. Wouldn't be a bad investment.

There are lots of dumb things written on poker forums. And often I feel compelled to respond, especially when they are responding to me. But then I realize that what I'm saying boils down to an insult, and that it adds nothing to the forum, so I just let it go.

Sometimes I'm smart enough to remember that I have a poker blog! muahaha. And I can write any insulting thing I want in it. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. You can hate it (and or me) but I don't give a fuck. That's what this blog is for.

Now I mentioned before how AP changed their bonus structure. It's hard as fuck to get bonus $ now. I did a comparison between some sites to see just how bad it is.

Stars :: 90 hands for $10 (Assuming 7x...when they do the 15x bonuses it's more.)
UB :: 280 hands for $10
FullTilt :: 165 hands for $10
AP :: 470 hands for $10

That is at $1/$2 NL 6max tables.

So AP is far and away the worst. I posted this on the AP forum. Then the resident know-it-all (or one of them, there are atleast 6 of them) responded with a bunch of jibberish written like a 9 year old. Pretty much boiling down to "don't chase bonuses it makes you play worse."

No moron, it doesn't. I don't even think about the bonuses while I play. It's just $ that is added to my bottom line at the end of the month. Before I made a certain amount at the end of the month, and now I make less. A lot less!

How much less is worthy of being upset by? That's a personal opinion. But here is how much this change will effect me. In months that I play 35,000 hands, I would clear about $1400 in bonuses. Now I will make about $750. That is $650 less a month. Or $7800 annually. Now does it seem worth bitching about. Their change will cost me atleast $7800 over the next year, and probably more, since I'm playing more than 35,000 hands a month these days.

Does anybody on earth enjoy walking into work one day and hearing "oh, by the way, you're getting an 8 grand paycut. Happy Holidays!" Obviously no, so if I wanna bitch, I'll bitch.

Of course I realize it is entirely within AP's rights to do this. They run a business, and their goal is to maximize profits. I'm sure they decided that this would achieve that goal. I don't feel entitled to anything, I don't think AP owes me anything. I'm just pissed that I got a paycut.

So go to hell.

I'm only 2 tabling now, so I have time to write an interesting post out. Well, it's interesting to me. I did this during the WCOOP. I call it "create your own satellite."

I had around $20 in my Stars account. And I wanted to play a $215 event. Rather than toss that into a satellite tournament, I decided to do a satellite through the cash tables. Here's what I did.

I sat at the highest table I could with my $20. And when I had enough money to buy in for the minimum at the next highest stakes...I moved up. Now in order to make this timely and profitable, I realized I wasn't just gonna play my normal game and hope I won. In fact, I wasn't gonna play poker at all. I was gonna move in a few times at each level and hope I wasn't called. Say everyone limps for $1...there's $6 in the pot, give or take. So I move my $20 in, and it's rare that anyone will limp and then call that. I only have to get away with that play a few times at each level in order to be successful. And that's precisely what I did. I ended up at the 3/6nl tables with $450. And I didn't even play any poker.

A few side notes...1) people will laugh at your play. 2) it's high risk. I didn't bust on my first try, but eventually someone is gonna look you up and bust you if you do it long enough. Which is why I walked away once I was up $400.

But it's fun. So the next time you're looking for a satellite, maybe give this a try.

What. The. Fuck.

Stage #525009338: Holdem No Limit $2 - 2006-12-23 19:23:09 (ET)
Table: AGUSTA AVE (Real Money) Seat #6 is the dealer
Seat 6 - KMODE ($94.80 in chips)
Seat 1 - FRANKYBONES ($396 in chips)
Seat 2 - THEPLAYA13 ($622.35 in chips)
Seat 3 - XXXKORMEXXX ($258.10 in chips)
Seat 4 - LEMBERG1981 ($62 in chips)
Seat 5 - SYNODIC ($364.45 in chips)
FRANKYBONES - Posts small blind $1
THEPLAYA13 - Posts big blind $2
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SYNODIC [Kd Kc]
XXXKORMEXXX - Raises $6 to $6
LEMBERG1981 - Raises $12 to $12
SYNODIC - Raises $36 to $36
KMODE - Calls $36
FRANKYBONES - Folds
THEPLAYA13 - Folds
XXXKORMEXXX - Folds
LEMBERG1981 - All-In(Raise) $50 to $62
SYNODIC - Calls $26
KMODE - Calls $26
*** FLOP *** [2s Jd 9c]
SYNODIC - Bets $124
KMODE - All-In $32.80
SYNODIC - returned ($91.20) : not called
*** TURN *** [2s Jd 9c] [3c]
*** RIVER *** [2s Jd 9c 3c] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
LEMBERG1981 - Shows [Qc Qs] (One pair, queens)
SYNODIC - Shows [Kd Kc] (One pair, kings)
KMODE - Shows [10c Ac] (Flush, ace high)
KMODE Collects $64.85 from side pot-1
KMODE Collects $192.75 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($260.60:$195,$65.60) Rake ($3:$2.25,$0.75)
Board [2s Jd 9c 3c 7c]
Seat 1: FRANKYBONES (small blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: THEPLAYA13 (big blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: XXXKORMEXXX Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: LEMBERG1981 HI:lost with One pair, queens [Qc Qs - P:Qs,P:Qc,B:Jd,B:9c,B:7c]
Seat 5: SYNODIC HI:lost with One pair, kings [Kd Kc - P:Kd,P:Kc,B:Jd,B:9c,B:7c]
Seat 6: KMODE (dealer) won Total ($257.60) All-In HI:($257.60) with Flush, ace high [10c Ac - P:Ac,P:10c,B:9c,B:7c,B:3c]

God this month sucks.

I'm sick of bad news. Anyways, Palomino told me that the bonus requirements at AP have been changed (again.) A long while back it used to be hella easy to rack up the bonus dollars, but they changed the rake requirements from 25c to 50c. Which a lot of people were outraged by. I actually left AP at that time.

And now they're making the bonuses even harder.

"for each raked hand (minimum rake of $0.50) you play (you must see the flop) you will receive 1 point"

"At 75 points $10 will be transferred from your Pending Bonus account to your cash account."

So how much will this actually effect everyone on AP? Well it's hard to say. Unfortunately, I'm still setting up my new computer, and I don't have PT on here, so I can't do comparisons. But I sat down at 4 $2nl tables for a few hours to see how it would go.

Normally, on $2nl tables, you get $10 for every 250 hands. That is to say, about 40% of the hands dealt at $2nl are raked high enough under the old structure. (At $4nl its about 62%.) These numbers of course vary depending on how loose or tight everyone is playing.

But now you can only get a bonus point if you see the flop. (Excuse to play super laggy? Hehe.)

Before it was $10 for 100 points, making a bonus point worth 10 cents.
Now it is $10 for 75 points, making a bonus point worth 13.3 cents.

So the bonus points are now worth slightly more, but they are harder to get.

It took me 349 hands to clear 75 points and $10 at $2nl under the new structure. I dunno how accurate this number will prove to be though, in terms of long term averages. But it's clear that the average will end up somewhere between 300-400 hands. Whereas before it was 250.

Doing a little math, and using 349 as the benchmark for what it will now take to clear $10, if you made $1200 in bonuses previously, you will now make $860. Hopefully, my 349 is too high, rather than too low. Only time will tell on that one. But still, its a few hundred dollars out of the pockets of the high volume players every month. And no one likes that.

Also, I can't imagine anyone being able to clear a bonus at $1nl and below now. Probably take around 700 hands for $10? That's insane. I used to clear the Party bonuses at $1nl. 700 hands would usually get the entire $100. So AP is really making a stingy move here it looks like.

::

The point system for ARP's is now also effected. But I have no way to crunch numbers on whether or not we're getting less or more. (Although I think we can safely assume they aren't going to be giving us more!) Hopefully once I get everything set up on my new computer, I'll be able to do some comparisons and I'll post them for the AP players who are interested.

Sigh, why is it always bad news?

I've been putting in a few hands each day on an old crummy computer (while I wait for my new one to get here.) And since I don't have a good monitor setup I've only been playing a few tables at a time. Which always makes me very lagtastic. But it's been fun. I jumped up to the $10nl tables a few times following some fish and sat with a full $2k buyin. I hit some rough hands though and dropped $800 pretty quick. I didn't mind too much though. That's how I can tell I'm ready for the bigger tables. God help me if I'm not playing the $10nl tables fulltime by summer.

Not much to report aside from that. My bankroll is still hovering around 16k. I've been playing mostly $4nl, but when the tables are loose (45% seeing the flop) I'll hit the $2nl tables. Just depends where the best action is.

I keep taking really odd beats which is keeping my br stagnant. One hand I play QTs from the SB and the flop comes TT9. I bet it out like I always do and get called. Turn is a J and I bet again and get raised. I see no way I can drop trips/oesd there so I call. Turn is an 8, giving me a Q high straight, so I bet out the river and just get called. I was kinda stunned when he turned over KQ. I dunno how people get it in their heads to chase gutters on paired boards...but these kinds of plays have been much more frequent post-Party shutdown.

In another odd hand I raise it in EP with 64s. Flop comes J44. I bet, get called. Turn 9, I c/r 3x his $30 bet, he calls. River blank, I bet out $55, a sort of please call me value bet. And he minraises...ugh. I can't get away from my hand and he turns over 99. That isn't so bad, I'd probably call the flop with 99 too. Just in case my opponent was on high cards. But does the 2 outer really have to peel off on the very next card? This float into a 2out winner has happened to me quite a bit lately. Which leads me to another related topic...

What's with all the floating? There must be a new book out or some WPT episode must have talked about it, because suddenly everyone is floating these days, in spots that make very little sense. Some boards lend themselves well to floating. And if you're playing deepstacked, it's not a bad strategy. But I'll get shortstack tards floating on me, then they'll push the turn and wonder why I called with tp/bad kicker. Floating doesn't work very well without $ to back it up moron!

It's been annoying, but if you adjust your play, it can be very lucrative. My new betting line against most floaters (who aren't skilled) when I flop well is bet/call , check/raise, bet/call or raise, depending. The best thing about taking this line is that after your opponents see it once you often get a free river card if you're checking the turn. People tend to remember check raises. However if the player is so absentminded as to be completely unwilling to adjust, I'll keep the same line with my good hands, and semi bluff my draws with bet amounts which are likely to be smaller than what my opponent would bet at me if I checked. This way I retain some folding equity, and still get to see if I hit my draw somewhat cheaply. (Mind you, this is how I play against your typical donks.)

I think that last paragraph is more strat than I've written in months.

::

Anyways, I was at Burger King eating breakfast earlier this week, and I saw this news program on. The newslady was talking to a high ranking military officer in charge of rescuing some lost mountain climbers I think.

She asks the guy, "At this point, do you think there is a good chance of rescuing them?" [paraphrasing]

To which he responds, "Oh, defintely. I've been a [some military position] for 16 years. And I've seen many surprises." [paraphrasing]

LOL!

Sorry for lack of posts. My computer that I built last year has now died, so I'm taking a small hiatus until my new one arrives in the mail sometime later this week.

God I run well.

My month continues with me utterly incapable of fading any draw whatsoever.

All month (last month too.) I just don't get it.

I'm so sick of reading about people calling poker a sport. There is absolutely nothing sporty about poker. You sit there. That is all. It's a game. It's competition, but that doesn't make it a sport. Any game where 70 year olds, amputees, and the otherwise handicapped people can compete on equal footing with 20 year olds can in no way be called a sport.

Now this isn't just a trivial topic. I'm not bitching for no reason at all. In fact, there is a very good reason not to call poker a sport. It makes poker players look like idiots! I was reading an article about the PPA and WPA and they kept mentioning poker as a sport. And then went on to talk about how the current legislation isn't fair, etc. How can you possibly expect to be taken seriously when you don't even know what kind of a game you're trying to get legalized and standardized.

Some smug senator may think we're equally silly in calling it a game of skill...afterall, we're dumb enough to call it a sport, he may ruminate.

Quit calling poker a fucking sport.

Played my free 100k for the month today. Bubbled it again, 55th (54 pay.) Was all in preflop with KQs against T9s, board KxxQ, river flush. I coulda cashed if I wanted to, and just sat back. But I'd rather have a shot at 1st than get $350 with almost no chance for more. So I'm not mad at my decision to get it in preflop with KQ. I just wish I could fade a draw. Last few months it hasn't been easy.

Even though I'm very tired (and very drunk) I should write this now, or sleep will make a lot of it hazy.

Tonight was a very interesting night. I went out to shoot pool with a friend of mine for a bit. I had to leave due to prior obligations and when I came back I couldn't get a hold of him, so I went to Bentos. It's about 15 degrees outside, and Bentos is one of the only places I know that serve warm alcohol (sake) so I decided that that would be a good place to go.

On my way out a couple stopped me and asked me for money. I'm used to this, I live in Columbus afterall. And usually I just shrug them off. But they didn't really want money. They just asked me to buy them some food. Since I knew the money wasn't going towards drugs or alcohol, how could I refuse? I have the money, and no good reason not to give these poor folks a little bit of food. So I took them to Apollos to get whatever they wanted. The cashier was kind of a jerk about it. They each wanted a beer, and they were OBVIOUSLY plenty old, but didn't have ID. I was like "cmon, they're old. Give them a break."

But he was resolute. He said "I could get in trouble." I just responded "I don't see how you could get in trouble for serving some 40+ adults some booze."

So he gave them the alcohol and somehow they racked up a nice $30 bill. I didn't mind in the least. The man was incredibly grateful. And he said he was set to marry the woman. "Aren't we a nice couple?" he asked me.

"You sure are," I said. "The best of luck to both of you."

And I was off.

On my way to another bar I was stopped by a woman. She couldn't see straight, and said she suffered from seizures and was paranoid schizophrenic. I believed her. She couldn't stop from looking over her should every few seconds. I talked with her for about 20 minutes. (In the bitter cold mind you.) I was drunk, but kind of absorbed by what she had to say. Her parents died, her family had died. She had recently been released from a hospital and had no where to stay. I felt very sorry for her. It's frighteningly cold outside. I gave her $20, and hoped she could find some food and shelter.

I then went back to Lucky's where I was earlier in the evening, had 2 Jack+Cokes, played some pool with some jerks, and here I am. Back home. I've never felt so fucking priviledged to sleep in warmth, and have food, and live how I want to, in all my life. It was worth whatever I spent. I'm grateful and fortunate.

Taking the day off. They seem the most beneficial after a bad day. After this post, I'm not even gonna be thinking about poker. Think I'll spend most of the day blasting Nazis. (That's playing COD3 on my Wii.) ^_^

Anatomy of a Bad Session

I hate these posts, but if I don't write it out, I'm going to fucking explode. Another sick day of every imaginable misfortune possible at the tables.

First I have to deal with this ridiculous beat. Who the fuck calls a $30 reraise with KJ? Alright, fine, whatever. I wasn't even that tilted from it.

Then this hand happens. I really dunno why my opponent can't get off of JT. Calling the flop with a gutter, raising the turn with that same gutter. Of course that play pays off.

Now I'm starting to tilt. I'm getting sick of a lot of these 20% PFR's. They think every hand is a monster, play overly aggressive, and get away with it because most of the passive players around me don't bother to fight back. So lately I've been reraising a lot more than usual. Instead of this working in the least, I get cold decked hard in the big pots with them.

I even timed out in the last session. During a hand where I reraised huge preflop against one of these over aggressive morons with A2. Of course the board hits AK2xx, and he has KK. How could he not?

I then lose this lovely hand. This disgusting one! (I flopped broadway with a royal flush redraw.) This nice cold deck, which could have been much worse. And of course, the standard loss with pocket A's to a river two outer. Fantastic.

Rounding out the day nicely is this set under set under set. Where I manage to not lose too much with 2nd set. (Worthless.) This nice river beat. (Not expensive, but that's not the point.) And this stupid one.

Wow, that's a lot of beats...you might say to yourself.

No, it isn't. That's not even half of them. I'm just sick of this post. I could pull 10 beats like that for almost every day during the past month and a half. That's how well I've been running.

The shitty thing is hearing overconfident assholes at the tables talking about how well they are running. Although they don't word it like that of course. It's all skill when they are winning. And no matter what, there is always SOMEONE who is running well looming around the poker tables, who can't wait to tell you how much they've won (over some completely unsubstantial number of hands.) Hey, congratulations buddy. Every month it's someone new.

I was really hoping the jump up to $4nl would go a bit smoother. I'd be happy with breaking even, if that's what it came to. But instead I've run ice cold in just about every big pot, and find myself down a quick $1000.

I already mentioned how on my first day I had KK run into AA twice. Then i had set under set, several 2 outers to beat overpairs/tptk, I've missed all my draws in the large pots, meanwhile unable to fade any of my opponents draws. So, you're standard losing streak pretty much.

$1000 isn't really a lot at all at $4nl, but it's enough to piss me off, and move back down for a little while again. I'm gonna build my roll back up to 16k, and jump up again. Eventually I won't be so fucking card killed when I jump and I can reside permanently at the higher stakes. For now, fuck it. I don't wanna let my pride get in the way and lose several more thousand before dropping down. I'll be back up there shortly.

This is gonna be a short post, cause I'm mentally drained. But I hit up the 2/4nl tables today. I don't wanna say for sure that I'm gonna stay up there, but for now, that is the plan. I looked at my bankroll and realized i had about 17k, so I could no longer justify not moving.

So how did the day go? Kinda crummy. I had KK run into AA twice in a span of 5 minutes. And I lost a big hand with AK v QQ when the flop came AQx. But overall, for the stakes, it wasn't too bad. I refuse to look at my PT stats to know for sure. I'm trying to only look at the end of the month.

I'm pretty happy with my play, and I didn't feel outclassed at all. I'm also happy that I got acclimated to the stakes quickly and didn't go into a shell. That used to happen to me. But I was comfortable after an hour or so.

Hope I have good news after a few more days there.

Here's a fun one.

Well, I went over all the numbers for November. Ended up being a good month overall. I went on a $2600 upswing over the last 3 days. Kinda crazy. After breaking even for 27 days, I thought last month was shot. But I ended up making more per hour for November than October. (Although I didn't play as many hours.) I ended up playing more tables at a time on average, which helped.

I also noticed a funny stat when comparing the number of hands played this month compared to last. They were almost exactly the same, but I made more in bonuses. So what could cause that? My guess is that AP's recent influx of players is making higher average pots, so the bonuses are releasing slightly faster. Which also gives me a bit more in rakeback. A nice side benefit of being around worse competition.

::

I've been considering making December a "see how many hands I can play in a month" month. I think I could get in 75,000 if I really tried. I wanna make a strong push to get my br plenty healthy for the $4nl tables. I dunno though. Chugging along at 35k hands a month has been working pretty well...and I can keep my sanity. I'd like to get that up to 40k, and just leave it at that. If I started 5 tabling more often I could probably easily do that. But I don't want my winrate to suffer. Even if it does mean a lot more $ in bonuses and rakeback. I guess I'll see how I feel as the month goes on. I'm too hungover today to get a lot of hands in.

May everyone but my foes have good fortune in December.