Tilt-A-Way

Brian: Should we let it breathe?
Doug: It hasn't breathed for fifty years, it's dead. Let's just drink it.

”Cocktail”

Had a great weekend. Despite promising myself I wouldn’t play any poker, I did sit down for a very short time, but it wasn’t holdem and it wasn’t Omaha. It was Chinese Poker at Pokerroom.com.

For those unfamiliar with the game, it is for 2-4 players, and each player gets dealt 13 cards in order to make two five-card hands and a three card hand. It is basically a crap shoot with only a very small amount of strategy involved, but I am loving it as a “tilt remedy” which I used it as. Sure, I only made $5 out of it, and then I played it for an hour on the play money tables. It’s great fun – not very profitable methinks, but it will be my shoulder to cry on when ever the bad beat fairy pays me a visit from now on. For those familiar with the game, I even had quad 7’s beaten by not one but two Royal’s in one hand. Ouch. I even managed to teach the rest of the house this game, so more good times lay ahead.

So Poker Now has revoked their rake rebate through Poker Source Online. This is good and bad news in a way. I was only playing there because of the rake rebate, and that made me cautious to leave and go bonus whoring elsewhere. Now that the rake rebate is gone, I’m back on the whore trail. I hope my withdrawal from Poker Now will go through, because if it doesn’t then this little poker odyssey is all over folks!

I also tried the new players free roll at Poker Room, and finished 37th with the top 30 paying. Lost more than half my stack on a blind steal attempt the hand before, which was really stupid play and I should have either dropped it on the flop. The next hand I have KQ and forced to push. The UTG limper is the only caller, and he has AA. I felt shitty, because the person in the seat next to me had $600, 1.5BB. He looked like he may be able to limp into the money – even though he was not there for the entire tournament. That’s right – I was beaten by somebody who never played a hand. He posted and folded from the very first dealing, and finished higher than me (and 140 others). I even doubled him up when he was all in on the big blind. I had to call even though I had 23o, and he shows AQs. That let him survive another orbit which was enough to out last me.

Besides the final few moments, I felt I played very well in the tournament. There were a few times when I flopped top pair with ok kicker, somebody would open the betting for 3-4BB and I would instantly push, getting them to fold. I don’t mind that in a free roll tournament, because Poker Room seems to be very tight when compared to the Party skins (but then again, doesn’t all the sites?). It was a risk, but then again this was a free roll tournament so who knows? I would have really liked to finish in the money though, even if it was only a $5 win. I haven’t had a ITM finish in a MTT in quite a while, as I have ceased playing them mostly. Would have been nice, but what can you do?

I have gone through my monthly bout with tilt, and come out ok on the other side. The next few weeks poker should be very interesting. Stay tuned…