All's Fair In...

Love and Casino War! Hey, I'm all about the entertainment factor here, so I've linked another fine poker blog.

Speaking of Casino War, I've seen it. I can't believe they actually spread this game in a casino, but sure has hell, there it was, in all it's $5 minimum glory. I watched out of morbid curiosity. They dealt a hand every 15 seconds. It was like Baccarat on steroids, and the money moved just as fast. Considering how boring playing War with my buddies during my childhood was, I decided that adding a $5 wager to each play would only mildly mitigate the boredom, and seems like an excellent way to lose a shitload of money very, very quickly. But hey, I never see an empty seat at the Caribbean Stud table, either, so whatever keeps the money flowing for the casino must be a good thing, as they'll be more inclined to spread poker in spite of it's relatively low take for the house.

In other news, I've decided to head back to some of the educational sites and try to return to the basics. I found the information about starting hands rather enlightening, in that I've probably been playing a little tight pre-flop. Of course, in 50/1, there is no scaring anyone off anything remotely close to resembling a hand, which we all know is a blessing and a curse. As I said previously, though, my bankroll of ~$60 makes it a little tough to, in good conscious, bet into possible losers with total confidence. Indeed, therein lies the crux of my problem. Perhaps the answer is to lay off of Party for a little bit and start playing the UB .25/.50 tables until I pad that bankroll to around $75 or so. At $36 at the .25/.50 tables, I'm a lot less intimidated by the possible variance, and the game moved remarkably quicker. Since UB only has 9 players at the table, there's less action, but I seem to improve as the number of my opponent reduce. Something that lends even more credence to the fact that, if I were just to loosen up a little bit and start thinking of decent hands as "possible winners" instead of "possible losers", I think my EV will be significantly improved.

I've really tried to tap into my inner Chi about this whole "lose big early, spend next three hours scratching back to make a little gain" moebius loop I seem to have been stuck in. Though tilting to success seems to be a +EV strategy for the short term, I fear the odds of having an aneurysm during one of these days will ultimately prove to be non-profitable as I'll be, well, dead.

Dead = -EV

Oh, by the way, to all you guys on the East Coast... You're having a snow storm. I'd like you to knock it off, please. Can't run an on time operation when you guys are having snowball fights. That is all...