I spent a few days away from the computer, working on other stuff that isn’t really related to what I do online. However, I did get to play some online poker and did well… placing high in a multitable tournament (taking some money out for a change) and playing well winning some single tables and placing in others. I have pulled a fair bit of money OUT of partypoker this month, a good thing I think.

I have noticed this: As I go up to more expensive tables (I am currently playing $20 and $30 sit and go stuff) I am seeing more and more GOOD players and people playing “properly”. Less people playing runner-runner hands, less people playing flush draws, and less people playing insane ace-anything hands. I still see some all-in play on middle pairs that sort of amazes me, but for the most part people at these levels play better and it really confirms to me something I see:

There are a number of online players who have done well in big tournaments, such as the PP million and others. I think these people do well because they play very differently from “properly” and they often seem to get a little luck on their side. They are not really looking at the return on a bet, pot size, position, or other. They are running on their gut and they seem to do pretty well with it.

However, I see these people also get blown out VERY HARD in many cases. Either they are winning huge or losing huge, few of them seen to be able to just play along and protect their stack. They are either building it up or losing it fast, not seeming to think very hard about it.

Remember, you cannot win with the first hand, but you can lose.

Want to play poker online? play poker online here – try it out and see how it goes!

I am not sure of the math on this, but I have noticed something about limit poker that is VERY different from no limit: The number of people winning with flushes.

I guess because the bet investment thing is lower or whatever, but these people are out there betting along to the limit, playing any two suited cards, hoping for a flush. Sadly, I guess the math on the subject is just good enough to keep them going.

I played last night, and the number of times people lost with trips to a flush draw that came on the river is INSANELY HIGH. My assumption is that in no limit, the player with the trips would have bet the other player out of the hand long before the river card came up, so I guess that is why you don’t see them very often.

Beware the flush draw… it’s proof that limit poker is a whole different game!

Want to play poker?

Good luck if you are in the US 🙂

Alex

So I check my hotmail account, and it turns out that PP had decided to put an extra $20 into my account. I am starting to think it might be because I didn’t have any money in the account but has been playing it a bit hard. They also put a second bonus $20 on the line, but I would have to play 200 raked hands to get it (which, if you do the math, isn’t the best deal in the world… ). So I decide, what the heck, I will go and play a 0.5 / $1 limit table and see what happens…

While the details are just that, details, let me just say that I turned $20 into $100 within the 200 hands without issue, could have been up more but the table shrivelled down to 3 players, which is NOT good for retaining money.

It is truly amazing to see people come into these tables, plunk down $25, and play like total fools. Limit poker is really a much harder game than nolimit, as you cannot easily push people out of pots, and bluffs are way more subtle. I can still bluff people out, but the circumstances have to be exactly right, where as in NL you can just push out way more than the current pot to really make people think twice about playing.

Anyway, just want to say thanks to kikky and a few others that made those 200 hands way less painful than they could have been. I really don’t enjoy playing limit poker that much, but making some money at it is always a good think.

Play poker online come play online… maybe I will see you there!

I have learned something totally stunning playing on Party Poker the last little while. There is just enough chance for a crappy hand to win that when you are playing a full table of idiots, someone will stay in with a crappy hand and beat a good hand. Last night I played a number of games, and time and again I was losing hands to people who had stayed in with things like 75os or J5os. I am stunned to see people going all in with 74os. It’s stunning.

I have come to the conclusion that unless you are playing truly big money tables, then Party Poker is NOT the place to play from about Friday noon until monday morning. The moron factor is high, and they are taking hands through sheer luck and nothing else.

I have also noticed the trend in tournaments on TV. Online players making the final table but not having a clue how to bet or how to read a bet. They are playing on balls, luck, and gumption, and often lack the basic skills. Thankfully, at the highest levels, they mostly get blown out.

Chip and a chair applies equally to morons, I guess.

Alex