Things I Learned Yesterday

1. Razz freerolls on FTP are both highly entertaining & infuriating as well. Among the horrible plays I saw were:

Players continually calling completion bets with face cards showing
Someone raising on 7th street showing AKJT (those T-highs sure are monsters!)
Someone four-betting me with J8 showing when I'm showing 67 (with A2 underneath).

Of course, this is razz, and I donked a couple of hands to, but that last one was brutal. I was shortstacked, and with 67T(A2) and everyone capping it, I knew this was my best chance to get my money in. But the last two cards were 6A, and I end up losing to 87432. Oh well, who cares - I got some razz practice, which is more important than fighting it out for a couple of hours to win $15.

2. Linking up other bloggers to your previously unknown blog will get you some comments.

How does that work? I've been linked up before, and the only way I found out was to actually visit that person's blog. Keep in mind, I'm still relatively new to using Blogger, but it looks like I'm missing something here.

Anyways, thanks to all those that commented yesterday. I've adjusted my blogroll to account for everyone, and I'm sure I'll have more additions down the road. I'm glad some of you were able to appreciate my post - it makes it feel just a little bit less ghey.

3. I'm a better poker player today than I was yesterday.

Just finished HOH1 last night. Can't really say I learned anything completely new last night, but it did help me understand that I need to be more disciplined at the table. I've found that my style of play the past couple of months has been the result of a couple of principles:

1. I haven't made a concerted effort to understand the style of others at my table, which in turn...

2. I find myself making -EV plays by either folding when I should be calling OR reraising, or trying to run over the table when I should be folding, which is part of the bigger notion of...

3. I try to make moves when I'm only in level one thinking. I'm simply playing my cards, only winning when I'm getting paid off on monster hands. This isn't to say that I'm NOT capable of running some dirty bluffs at key times, but I'm often playing with less regard to position and flop context than I should be.

Anyways, despite the desire to get back into online poker, especially with the announcement of the Battle Of The Blogger Tournaments, I'm still planning to take at least a 3 month hiatus soon. I won't be at the Mookie tonight, but I do plan on playing the $26k Guaranteed tonight, so I'll at least stop by and check out the game.

Good luck everyone, and go play the Mookie tonight!