Merry xmas...and the story of a small profit on Xmas Eve...

Hi all, merry christmas, boooooom, christmas = christmas dinner, i'm going to eat more meat than Tony has balancing on his neck, get in!! BUT, why the fuck am I up at 6am on xmas eve, what kind of sad, nooby, dweeby, nerdy (remember the sweets called nerds n dweebs...so good and should be brought back!) person would be up at this time...well, someone who runs like absolute AIDS at the start of the night and doesn't want to lose on a night that he thought might be full of drunk people/still awake late due to the weird sleep patterns as he has been working the night shift at poker for the last few days.

Well, it turns out that the standard was actually really good tonight, and seeing as I was getting more bad beats than Tina Turner I was pretty much $500 down for the night. Unfortunately for me, this was after 54 games :S

Before tonight is explained, a tiny tiny update about where I am at and why I was down so much after just 54 games.

In between now and the last post, I was pretty much break even for December, running at around 4% ROI or something shit like that and less than a $ a game! I finally decided that I was playing like a cock at the $23's, not caring enough about them and was so much of a pussy in terms of bankroll that I started growing vaginal lips. I therefore moved up to the $34.50's...delightfully I started fantastically, ran slightly above average, and was $400 up in two nights and only around 90games and all was great.

Then tonight hit...all profits were wiped and I'm probs down for the $34.50's now, despite playing averagely. I was getting beaten by all sorts, and didn't tilt, at least I didn't fast-play my big hands and other telltale signs of tilt that I usually portray. I was handling the massive swing in a mature way, and though I did move up to 4 from 2 tables, I hadn't lost my head which was very unlike me. I was still $400 down though, and was ready to call it a night, safe in the knowledge that I can win when I run average and hit profitable upswings when I run well...happy enough that this was just a blip.

But...at this point I had a brainwave...I keep playing good opponents, but the $34.50's and the $57.50's take a while to load, which would give me time to scope any potential opponents and I could table select, making sure I play the complete fish. I found my first "victim" at the $57.50's...he had a -16% ROI, so I fancied taking him on at the higher level. This I saw as less of a risk than playing a randomer at the $35's, and after all, I do have 55-60 BI for it so it isn't reckless. I was also 100% stopping if I lost the first one.

I got outdrawn, was down to 250chips, but managed to turn it around from an 11-1 chip deficit to win. This was the boost I needed. I won 2-3 of the $35's I had randomed up as well, and had a bit of confidence back. I began to open up every $57.50 lobby, rapidly searching Scope for the fish. I played two tables vs a couple of guys with around -6% ROI...this isn't indicative of the most terrible of players but I fancied taking them on and managed to win them both. The fact that both folded leaving themselves 180ish behind at the 50/100 level shows how poor they were. I had played three $57.50 and won 3, and in the last two, was able to play small-pot poker and was never flipping for the win or involved in too big a hand when I was doubtful of where I was.

I found another two fish, played them both and comfortably won, one -30% ROI and another -20% I think...one was super-passive and just so readable that there wasn't really any danger, and the other was so keen to shove all his chips in I just had to be patient and not even think about bluffing!! I crushed the pacifist and vs the psycho I check-raised with K5 on a KK5 board to a random amount which prompted his shove with Q2....so, played 5, won 5...profit from table selection = $262.50.

I then stalked the lobbies for these five players and searched the $35s and $57s for any fish as the tables were loading up. I played the -30% guy a further two times and won both, the -20% guy again and beat him and beat the -6% guy but found him more difficult this time round.

So, I played 9 games of the $55's (NOT $57.50 as I have been saying) using table selection, and managed to win all 9...maybe I was running well but I felt like playing vs such fish made the game so much easier, and it was just a matter of working out what type of fish they were to win.

I fully intend to table select from now on, in just an hour and a half I was able to win nearly $500, and play the $35's or the $55's depending on where the fish are. This should provide much lower variance than the way I was previously playing, where I could get runs of good opponents. This concept has prompted considerations of going back to fulltilt where I might be able to get the fish to rematch as well, and maybe play from either software depending on the opponents. Either way, I definitely think table selection is a fantastic way to avoid decent opposition and make money in the most clever and variance-reduced way.

Finally, some stats from tonight...first from the $35's :-(

Games 83
Avg Profit -$5.08
Avg Stake $33
ROI -15%
Profit (LOL @ profit!!) -$422

Then the $55's (table selects)

9
$52.5
$55
91%
$473

I defo have to move up so people respect my raises!! :P

Merry xmas all,

Mariah Carey.x