Mid-May update

Ok...

Due to my ups and downs at 6-max (due to bad luck and apathy) and my recent success at full ring I've stopped playing 6-max for awhile. I'm sure I'll go back, as it's exciting and makes me think more.

The full rings $ tables... I just never played them until a few days ago. I expected that they'd be boring (which they are a bit) with a lot of people playing a tighter game (which they are), but that doesn't make them less beatable. And I find that playing 6 at a time isn't difficult, whereas 4 6-max tables on my little notebook PC can be a little hectic.

I'm doing well at the full rings. I think some of it is that none of the FR regulars have hand histories on me, so I can get away with a little more. But otherwise, I've been seeing a lot of stupid calls. I never considered that more players = more potential bad players at a table.
Anyway, I'm just starting out so it could all be beginner's luck. We'll see.

I've also been playing more S&G's. I'm not very good at tournament poker, so I avoid it. I mean, I'm a winning player, I just shoot myself in the foot too much.
I'd been wanting to play the $100k on Stars ever since I started playing there but didn't want to put $11 towards it. I played 3 $2.20 satellites and 2 $1.10 satellites and lost them all. This was over a period of weeks, maybe even last year.
Then I played another $2.20 satellite a couple weeks ago. If I won a seat I'd have $11 invested towards getting that $11 seat. I ended up bubbling. But the bubble paid $7 I think (maybe $6?). Anyway, it was enough that I didn't give up on it.

I've been watching exceptional CardsChat players play tournaments and they play much the same way I do, but they don't crack and start making moves out of boredom.

So anway, after watching Tenbob awhile I got a bug up my butt to play and keep my nose to the grindstone all the way through. I mean, I know what to do, but seeing him do it without choking sort of smacked some sense into me.

(Note: I played the $3 CC event and lost just before Lost started. The next week Lost was off-the-air and I got first place. The next week Lost was still off the air and I got 2nd place. The next week Lost was off the air again and I got 1st place. Coincidence? No. The next week I got cocky and was eliminated early. With Lost back on the air, I was the first to go out last week.)

Since then I've played 5 $2.20 satellites to the $100k, and won 3 of them. One I lost due to a suck out, and another (the second game) I lost do a donk-move.

I think I've figured out the structure on these things. Basically I play tight, gamble very little, and let people give me their chips. Then at the end as long as I've got a decent number of chips I can sit out and let the short stacks slit each other's necks.
If I'm short myself, I shove in the right situations to accumulate blinds out double-up.

It's different than regular tournaments as the payout is the same to everyone who lasts.

Still, I can't believe the stupidity I've witnessed in this game. We were 3 away from the money when a big stack raised it. He was raised by another big stack. These guys then proceeded to battle it out on the flop and turn. One finally shoved on the turn, causing the other to fold. Had he called and lost he'd have been out when the blinds came around to him. Stupid stupid stupid.
Maybe 6 hands later the game was over.

I'm not sure what my plan is right now. I'm not quite in "make money" mode. The full ring games are more of a diversion, to kill time. I get bored of playing after less than an hour, so I quit. Thankfully I'm quitting ahead now.

Anyway, I'm just going to take it easy and do what I want when I want. I have $8.33 on Full Tilt now which I worked up from $2 worth of freeroll wins. I pop in and add little bits to it every once in awhile.

I'm sort of in a dilemma with the Full Tilt account. They only allow one account per user. I have money on my account, but I've never made a deposit. Looking at my info, it doesn't even look like they have my address. Just my name and email address. So I'm not sure if a no-deposit/no-verify account even counts.
I'd sort of like to make a deposit on Full Tilt for a change of scenery. However, if I play without rakeback I'd feel like I was losing money. I'm tempted to abandon the account, create a new one with a rakeback site, and play exclusively with that. I'm just not sure what the legalities are. I think I can do it as long as I've never made a deposit with my current account, but I'm not sure.

Abandoning my $8.33 on FT is no big deal, as rakeback would easily pay for that.

I guess I should ask FT.