The Wilderness Months

Its at times like these that I am glad I don't play poker for a living.

To play approx 500 SnG's and still only be just where you started can be very demoralising.

I think it is even more pronounced because of the flying start I had on PartyPoker.Fr. I turned my initial €150 into approx €900 in about 5 months. Now I can't get above €1000 and have dropped as low as €800 euro .

The other problem I have is that my bank rolling method drops me back down the levels when I am losing and so I am now messing about at the very low stake SnG's again hoping for a run to hit.

On top of this things are not going so well in France and it looks like I will be here on my own from now on. This has left me in a very bad mental state; but if it wasn't for me to be able to throw my time into poker (despite my affected play) then I am sure I would feel even more isolated. At least with poker there is always something there at any time of the day when I need my mind diverting from the real world.

Who was it that said ... ?

" ... you never know your on a peak until you are coming down, and you never know you are in a trough until you are climbing out" ...

Ahh thats right it was .. D.Brent (The Office)

They say poker mirrors life, and with that phrase it has never been more true.

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

Party Poker France points problem!

Last month (and going into the new year) I had a bit of a problem with my points status on PartyPoker.Fr.

I had cut it very fine in earning my 400 points to maintain my Silver Status in December. However by playing for about 4 hrs on New Years Eve (finishing at around 8pm) I managed to get my points balance to around 401.5 ... and was happy that I would be able to buy my 50 euro bonus.

However when I logged in on 1st January I found that they had demoted me to Bronze Status.

I contacted them and they stated that I had only earned 397.5 points in December.

I checked my lobby and found that it showed I had already earned 4 points in January despite having not played yet!

So I re contacted them and assured them that the lobby stated on 31st December I had over 400 points.

They stuck to their story but did raise my complaint to another department.

Anyway yesterday I find my status HAS been restored to Silver ... but with no explanations or email contact, which is unusual because I always find their customer service excellent!

However I am very happy with this outcome as my account now sits as it should be!

But it does show that what we see in the lobby could be different to what is happening on their systems.

So I suggest that if your points balance is very close to the next level, take a screen dump. Either that or make sure you earn more than enough points to get your status levels.

Oh and if their is a descrepancy make sure you contact them!

I do like happy endings though!

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

Why bonuses and promotions are important to a grinder!

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This is just a quick post to show how (at the stakes I am playing at the moment) bonuses and promotions can make a difference in your earning ability!

Monthly Stakes - 2446.06

Monthly returns - 2651.36

Monthly Profit - + 205.3

Monthly ROI - 8.39%

Now add in my Promotions and Bonuses

Gladiator Promotion - +16.43

Monthly Leaderboard - +29.93

10K Gladiator Freeroll - +76.47

Weekly Leaderboard 250 freeroll - +0

Total Monthly Profit - +328.13
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Total Monthly ROI - 13.41%
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And this doesn't take into account the points earned which are contributing to my reload bonus that will mature later this month.

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So as you can see, qualified tournaments and leaderboards can make a vast difference to your statistics. They can turn a losing month into a break even one or a winning month into a better one.
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Do not think any bonus is too smalll to be earning ... you'll be surprised how they will add up over a lifetime of poker.
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Until Next Time
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Keep it Tight!

Bad weather hits me in the pocket !!!

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Until now the snow had been a welcome break from my dundrum, hotel life in London. It meant I had an excuse to go home and not go back until the weather cleared.

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However as a "semi-proffessional" gambler ...

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... yep that is what I am now calling myself as about half of my earnings now come from gambling!

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I'm not saying I can live like I used to ... my monthly income is about 1/4 of what I used to earn, then again my monthly outlay has dropped considerably too!

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Still I am always looking for additional markets to add to my portfolio.

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So with many of the race meetings and sporting events being called off because of the weather it means my only source of income during this inclement weather will be poker. Which, incedentally, is giving me the least return for my efforts.

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So heres hoping for a warm spell to clear the grounds and courses all over europe ... otherwise i may be sitting beside our dog waiting to see what scraps i can pick up!

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Until next time

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Keep it Tight!

PartyPoker.FR Leaderboard Pays Off

Not a big pay off but a nice little bonus.

I finished 56th in the monthly tournament leaderboard for a 35 euro bonus ...

... and for finishing in the weekly leaderboard I again got to play in the weekly leaderboard 250 euro freeroll.

Despite doubling up early with JJ against 3 opponents and then losing most of my stack KK against AA, I managed to manouver my way to the final table as the short stack.

From there on in I was never going to win it but I did manage to push and fold my way to 4th place for another 25 euro.

So how many sit and goes did I have to play to get to this position?

A measly 503 SnG's in the month...

... I don't think I can play any more than that with the time I have ...

... but I will try!!!

Until next time

Keep it Tight!

Is this what they mean when your "On a Heater"

What an unbelievable run of form I'm on at the moment.

Its as if I'm in tune with the game!

If I have a big hand I can get it paid off ...

If I have to bluff, its the right amount to get a fold ...

When I have to push I get called by a worse hand ...

... and when I need some luck I'm getting it.

These moments have led to me having my longest ever run of 20 double up SnG cashes in a row before losing one.

This is when Poker is at its best!

So now .... now that I have probably cursed my game by airing this joy ....

... I must remember to re read this post when I hit my next downswing.

You can't win them all ... but this feels damn close to it!

Until Next Time

Keep it tight!

Made it ... but Oh No!

Yep I made the PartyPoker.FR weekly leaderboard ....

Yes it was relatively easy to reach ...

Yes I got my entrance to the 250 euro guaranteed ...

Yes there were only 43 entered ...

... a great chance for just under 100 euro first prize!

But OH NO!

I had to go out the evening of the tournament.

Basically I could squeeze 45 minutes out of the tourney, and after 30 minutes I was sitting in 9th.

So my plan was to try a gamble double up and then see if I could leave the tournament running and fold into 6th place prize money.

Just my look when I push my A7 suited as I was leaving for the pub that another player called with QQ. Despite two of my suit on the flop his hand held up and I was out.

So the moral of the story is ...

If you are going to try and qualify for a tournament, at least know you will be able to play it.

Until Next Time.

Keep it Tight!