Pokerstars

Online Poker

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.

Registration code: XXXXXX 101962

Monday, December 8, 2008

Pokertracker Blues

I finally got my desktop back - yeaaa!!! That is the good news. The bad news is that my hard drive had to be replaced so I lost everything - boooo. My emails, my music, my pics, my spreadsheets. Oh well - now I don't have my poker earnings anymore lol. And I don't think I will track that anymore since I have lost it. It seems I play better when I am not keeping up with every win and loss. When I do that I hate to lose so much - without it I feel a lot less pressure to win.

But oh no - have to start all over with Pokertracker again....

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

December Poker Goals and Plans

Well as you can see above I have registered to play in the WBCOOP at Pokerstars this month. The tournaments look good and I should be able to make most of them. Maybe I will end up with a nice prize.

Since this is Christmas month and my mother-in-law will be arriving on Dec 14th to stay for over a month - I will be very busy at home. So I think I will focus on playing mostly Cardschat tournaments, the WBCOOP tournaments at Pokerstars and some occasional other tournaments and a few cash tables here and there.

I tried 4 tabling cash tables Monday night to see how much I might need to play to try to get silver status at Pokerstars - and it would be more than I could try to do, at least in December. It looks like March before I can attempt that so I will work on improving my game until then. I might even drop to $10NL for a bit until then.

So my goal for December is just to try to have a small profit overall. Sounds simple lol.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

December - what will it bring?

Well November was not great. Hopefully December will be better. I will post more in the next few days when I decide what I want to focus on.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy thanksgiving to everyone! We will have 17 people here today to feed and I am doing all of the cooking. I made cookies, a sweet potato casserole, tea, pumpkin pie and the turkey yesterday. Well - Joe cooked the turkey. I just put on the beans. Now all that is left is banana pudding, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, dressing, gravy and a pineapple casserole. I think that is all lol. Lunch is at noon this year. The good news is all the family will be gone by around 4 so I was hoping to play poker after that. But now we have invited the neighbors and they might still be here so I will have to wait and see.

Tomorrow - big shopping day for me! This is the first year in ages that I have not had to work after Thanksgiving. The sales start at 4am - not sure I will get out quite that early - but probably will by 5:30 or 6.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Discouraging Month

November has not been pretty. I seem to lose no matter what I do.

I tried to get Pokertracker working again today and it was a nightmare. I ended up with a twisted ankle - and pokertracker killed my computer. Luckily I have 6 days left on the warranty.

But now I am stuck playing on the laptop for at least a week. I hate playing poker on a laptop. I can never get my bets made fast enough and end up timing out or being forced to make a quick minimum raise just to get a raise in. I like using a mouse. I have tried using one with the laptop but laptops don't like mice much lol.

And as much as I love this laptop - the delete button is the same as the period. So when I try to delete it just types periods most of the time. So I have to backspace instead of delete. Don't know why HP did that - you would think they would be smarter. Or maybe there is some secret to the delete button. I can't figure it out.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Travels All Done!

I made it through the jetlag study in France. It was tough!!!! I was sleep deprived and starved -but today when I received my check for $2710 it was all worth it.

I have no more trips planned for this year so hopefully I can play more poker now. I am back to waffling between ring and tournaments. I am not doing great at either.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Making progress and making money

I finished September down -$60.64. Tournaments were not good - that was -$87.86. I did a bit better at the cash tables, playing mostly $25NL I ended up ahead $27.22.

For October I have cutback on tournament play - limiting it mostly to Cardschat games. I have slightly increased my cash play, but not to where I want to be. I am down -$4.30 in tournaments and up $34.90 in cash. So it is looking better. I have had 2 first place finishes in a 2 week period in the Cardschat Fulltilt freerolls. (one was the last day of Sept though)

It is amazing to me now that I am not working how little time I seem to be able to find to dedicate to serious poker. I go to the gym, walk the dogs, do some shopping and a little work around the house and the next thing I know the day is gone. Tough life, I know lol.

I am finding every way possible to earn money without having a job. There is really no pressure on me and that helps. I am still paid a full income until February and after that I can get unemployment wages for up to 39 weeks.

I have found some ways to make small amounts of money online - doing some surveys and things like that. Then I ran across a nice one - I am particpating in a jetlag study and will get paid $2500 for that if I make it through the entire study. I have earned $75 of it already - getting a physical and psychological evaluation. I will earn $350 next week for an overnight study of my sleep patterns. Then if that goes well I will go to Paris on Nov 2nd for the rest of it - and will earn a total of $2075 for those 4 days. Will keep you posted!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Finding my poker game

I have played a lot of different games in the past few weeks trying to decide what I should concentrate on. I think I need a little bit more time.

I am still just playing a little on the cash tables - I have stuck to $25NL, one table at a time. I won't be reading my book until after I have finished HOH vol 1 - so I will take it slow for now. The good news is I am up almost $40 - so at least I am not losing lol.

I can't say the same for my tournament games - I am down about $80. It really isn't bad considering how much I have played. I have played everything from $1 games to a $30 game. I do okay in the smaller Cardschat games. The big tournaments I struggle getting to the money. I am asking for tips from friends at Cardschat. It is way too soon to give up lol. I will be starting on part 2 of HOH next week - I still have a lot to learn.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Back from Aspen trip

I took a break and went to visit a friend in Aspen, Co. It is beautiful out there! The houses are incredible - and cost a small fortune to say the least. I took a picture of Jack Nicholson's house. It was one of the smaller ones by Aspen standards lol. I would love to know who lives in the $30 million mansions on the mountainsides.

I will do a poker update later today or tomorrow. Things are going okay so far - no huge wins but no huge losses either.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Deciding What to Play

My "career" has officially begun. I won some money since I was tracking it last month and got my bankroll up over $1400. Now I have to do some experimenting to determine which games I will be the most successful at and enjoy playing as well.

I use the term career very loosely lol. I will not be working for at least a year - and if by then I am earning part-time money of a sufficient amount playing poker I will not have to return to a regular job. So I am fortunate that I can view this as a potential career without a lot of risk or pressure to make a killing at it. I am willing to back that $1400 with a near equal amount but if I were to lose all of that I would have to return to playing poker recreationally.

My immediate plans are to dabble in some different types of tournaments and play some $25NL as well. I started on last Monday. So far I am down $3.70 in tournaments and up $28.92 in cash games. So I ended the first week up $25.22. I am liking the cash games - not just because I am winning at that but I feel I have more control over what happens. I am also fortunate enough to have some great players at Cardschat willing to review my hands and give me advice.

I say dabble because there are some things I need to do before I get serious and play a lot. I have a lot of reading to do. For tournament play I am starting with HOH vol 1. We will even be doing a book discussion on that at Cardschat which will be fun. For cash I have ordered Slanskey/Miller's NLHE Theory and Practice.

I also need to get my Pokertracker and Hud back up and running. I hope to do that within a few days.

So wish me luck!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Almost Ready for some Poker

I am almost back! I need a little more time to get things organized at home then I can start my poker career....

I am going to be digging into HOH volume 1 within the next 2 weeks as well. And pulling out some strategy guides at Cardschat. I need to get my Pokertracker and Hud working again. I have a lot to do to get ready.

Stay tuned - it is about to get exciting in here lol.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

I will update soon!

I know it appears that I have abandoned my blog - but I will be updating it frequently soon. Wednesday is my last day of work - after that I plan on concentrating more on my poker.

So stay tuned!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Poker at a Profit??

Wow - I am really getting stoked lol. It is so cool to be a winning player for a change. It helps a lot to be tracking it here. I find my desire to win - even a few cents sometimes - is much stronger. I am forcing myself to play a different game - I find myself being much more aggressive.

What is really interesting to me is the impact that playing freerolls and FPP's is having on my game. I have always hated those kinds of games because they seem such a waste of time for such little reward. But they are teaching me patience. I always knew I struggled with patience in MTT's - but never realized what an issue it was in smaller games like the Cardschat buy-ins.

Anyway the Cardschat buy-ins at UltimateBet have been my big cash cow recently. I have placed 1st in the last 2 games and have had a couple of other cashes in them recently. It only pays out 3 places so the payouts are great.

I realize I am on an upswing - but I don't mind basking in it for a few days. Reality will come knocking soon enough lol.

I need to find a better way to track my winnings. Jotting it down on a piece of paper isn't working. I will sort through it and update it on Friday - but I estimate that my bankroll is close to $1400 and I am now up approximately $224!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Another win for Dakota!

I am a bit behind on updating here. I have played a few games in the past few days. I hope I have it all correct.

$1221.45
+ .30 (pokerstars $10NL)
- 5.50 (buy-in for CC Fulltilt game, did not finish itm)
- 5.50 (same as above)
- 5.50 (again but at Pokerstars)
+ .30 (10fpp entry at Pokerstars)
+ 82.00 (profit after taking 1st in CC UltimateBet buy-in!!)
$1287.55 new bankroll

Now I am up $113.84!! This is starting to be fun. I always thought I was a loser lol. (well, at poker anyway)

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Bankroll update

$1218.25
- 11.00 Cardschat Carbon buy-in (did not place itm)
+ 14.20 10NL at Pokerstars
$1221.45 new bankroll

I am now up $47.74 - working my way to $50!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Back from Reno - time to build bankroll some more

The trip to Reno was fantastic! We met up with some of our Cardschat friends and all had a great time. We drank, played poker, talked and hung out for a few days. It was very nice. And I managed to break even on my gambling.

Here is my bankroll update for the past 2 days:

$1211.55 (don't ask me where the other $9.45 went???)
- 11.00 (Bodog buy-in)
+ .79 (won at $10NL at Absolute)
+ 16.71 (won at $5NL and $10NL at Pokerstars)
+ .20 (won in a 10FPP tournie at Pokerstars - he he)
$1218.25 new bankroll

So I am up $44.54 now.

And fancy that - me winning almost $17 playing cash tables. Not bad! I know I am rolled to play higher than $10NL, but I need to learn how to beat it first.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Trip to Reno

Finally - we leave for Reno today. I am very excited to meet more of my friends from Cardschat and to see some of the ones I met last year again. This year Joe is going with me and I know he will have a blast.

We will arrive late tonight and might hit the casino for a short while. Tomorrow morning we have rented a car and will drive up to Lake Tahoe for the day. I have heard it is beautiful and it is a place we both want to see.

We will get back to Reno in time to have dinner with MrSticker and his wife and JackDaniels and his wife. Both are friends from Cardschat. Maybe some gambling afterwards - or drinking.

Saturday is my birthday - not a good one. I will be very old. I still feel young lol. It is also the day of the beer festival. The main street in Reno will be shutdown and breweries from all over the world will set up tents up and down the street. There are blues bands playing, food and of course every beer you can think of. We (all from Friday night) will be joined by AmadorEd, Juiceeq, Freakakanus and his wife and SteveG and his wife. This will be a fun group - guaranteed!

Sunday we are getting a poker game together.

I will have my laptop so may update during the trip - if not I will when I return. And my bankroll is now +47.29 from when I started!

$1201.50
- 16.50 (2 buy-ins for tournaments)
+ 36.00 (money won)
$1221.00 new bankroll

Sunday, June 22, 2008

REM concert

Joe took me to see my favorite band in concert last night - REM. Unbelievably it was my first time to see them. They were fantastic!!!

I played in a Cardschat game today - did not place in the money. Made a couple of bad plays and deserved it when I lost - grrr.

$1207.00
- 5.50 entry
$1201.50 new bankroll

I am still up $23.79

Friday, June 20, 2008

Bankroll Update

I didn't win anything in the Fulltilt freeroll. I took Wednesday off from poker. Last night I joined some Cardschat members on a .02/.05 cash table at Pokerstars. I was down at first then made some of it back. I forgot to see exactly what I left with - but I think I lost a little over $1. Tonight I played in the Cardschat Carbon Poker freeroll. I placed 4th and won $7! I think that is my biggest ever freeroll cash. (Not that I have played many freerolls).

$1201.71
- 1.71 cash game
+ 7.00 freeroll
$1207.00 new bankroll

So I am up $29.29 so far!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

My Bankroll Building

Yesterday I went to all of the Poker sites I could remember that I have money at. My total bankroll was $1173.71. I couldn't even remember my login or password at Poker.com. They got back to me and I finally got in. I am glad I thought of them - I knew I had a little bit of money there but didn't know it was over $100.

I played 2 games last night. One of the Cardschat members put a last minute $5+.50 game up in Pokerstars. I played that but did not cash. I also played the Cardschat $5+.50 game at UltimateBet. This has money added and I placed 3rd and won $39. So I am up so far lol.

$1173.71
- 11.00 buy-ins
+ 39.00 won
$1201.71 new bankroll

Tonight I am playing the Cardschat freeroll at Fulltilt. I hate freerolls. But I am going to give them another chance since I am about to be unemployed.

Monday, June 16, 2008

WSOOF Main Event

I finished 36th out of 152, which is a bust financially. However I really enjoyed the team spirit so it was worth it. Almost half of my bankroll is at Fulltilt so that was the best place to lose it I guess lol.

The good news is some members of Cardschat did very well. Our own Irexes took 3rd place. We won enough points as a forum to win a $225 freeroll. This freeroll will be limited to members who participated in the event so it won't be a large field. Maybe I can win back some of that buy-in!

Then there was another interesting phenomenon. It seems that almost everyone who read my blog yesterday won money playing poker. Hmm....

Okay it is off to work for me. My first real day back at work since learning my job is ending by Sept 1st. It feels great to go to work with absolutely no stress! Though I feel a sick day coming on this week. I have 8 sick days that I will lose when I leave - and I intend to try to use a few of them before then.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Welcome to my blog!

I am very proud that I created this blog with minimal assistance from my husband. It is still in the construction phase so bear with me. I need to figure out how to add some links. I am sure there are some guys out there who will help me!

I have been thinking about starting a poker blog for quite some time but have been too busy to play much poker. I found out last week that I will be losing my job in about 2 months - so that means more time on my hands. I may not update this much at first but once I am no longer working I will be in here most days.

As soon as I have time I will visit all of the poker sites where I have money and figure out what my bankroll is. For now I will estimate it at approximately $1100. I am going to try to become a winning player for a change and will attempt to use good bankroll management for the most part. However you will need to forgive any transgressions because I have some rules of my own regarding that.

Rule #1 - I am allowed to play in any and all Cardschat associated games regardless of the buy-in. This includes joining Cardschat friends at cash tables that may be at higher stakes than I should play at. However this won't happen often. (I decide what too often means)

Rule#2 - If I get too low on cash at my favorite sites rather than drop to levels that are no fun at all I will allow myself to trade sex with my husband for online poker transfers. (don't worry Joe if you read this - it would be above and beyond the norm!)

Rule#3 - I can add more rules if I need or want to.

So today I have registered for the WSOOF Main Event. The entry was $50+5. If I remember correctly I can buy-in for up to 5% of my bankroll so that should be okay. There are only 135 people registered so far and the prize packages are nice. And - maybe I can get some points for Cardschat to win a freeroll.

Wish me luck!