Somedays You're The Windshield...

Well, the wife went off to visit her family in Chicago yesterday. Interesting choice of days, considering the crappy weather, but it all worked out. We'll see if she gets back today, since the weather here still sucks.

Meanwhile, I had to go to work from noon until 9. Between the hours of 5, when we went to get dinner, and 9 5 inches of show fell. Guess we got more snow then the weather geniuses thought! Sounds like a good day to play some poker!

I sit down and fire up Party around 9:30pm CST to find over 34,000 people online! I LOVE Partypoker! I sit down at a .50/1 table and start to work...

Or at least I WISH I could get to work.

Thanks to a couple of "wait until the clock hits 3 seconds then decide" sort of people, we make less progress then most live games. Top that with, I'm getting garbage on the flop and having to post and abandon a ton. This gets old, so I buy on a second table. Same thing there! Stall Brothers are playing! I suffer through this for a little bit and finally the tables break up. I log off of the first one and start doing some thinking.

34,000 people. Hmmm... Maybe it's time to take a shot. The bankroll certainly doesn't support any $1/$2 goodness, but my Fishfinder was drawing me to look into the game.

I poke my head into the 1/2 game list and see that there's an open seat beckoning me... A rare occurrence indeed, since the waiting list for 1/2 is usually pretty deep. I jump in and watch a half dozen hands, noting nothing remarkable at all about almost everyone's play. I do tag one tricky, though still bad player, post up the blind, and start the grind.

3 1/2 hours later, I leave up $105.50.

This marks, by far, the biggest win I have ever experienced. What was the difference? Well, it did help that the cards were falling my way, but I think there was a little more to it.. Let's go to the tape!

First off, the big winner starting hand of the day was 98s. Yes, folks, a suited connector! Something I, a mere week ago, would be remiss to play is good for a whopping $41 worth of profit.

Both hands I was in middle position. Sort of marginal to call up suited connectors in that position, but the table was rather passive at this point and I was pretty confident that I could get away without a raise ahead of me. First hand the flop comes 7TJ with two hearts. Boom. Flopped a straight. I pound away at it, helped by a guy who hit two pair on the flop and was kind enough to cap the turn. +$25

Second time I got it I was in the same position I was the first time, and again I managed to get in without a raise. The flop gave me the 7 and T, but also a 3, rainbow with one club. Figuring I've got the open ended straight and the runner-runner flush possibility, I bet out and get raised. Hmmm... Turn comes a 3. Hmmmm... Flop raiser bets and I call, still getting great pot odds. River comes the beautiful 6, with no flush possibility on the board. Flop raiser bets, I raise, and he call it down. +$16

What was the big loser for the day? Believe it or not, the lovely Ladies! I get QQ 3 times yesterday and only once did they hold up...

QsQc goes down when 4 clubs hit the board and the other guy holds out with Kc5h (having neither a pair nor any drawing hand at the flop) out flushes me. -$9

QhQd goes down when I make a misread and muck the winning hand on the turn. -$6

QcQh raised pre-flop, everyone folds out, so I take down the blinds. +$1.50

I think the key here is playing more middle suited connectors from late position. I still muck the middle suited connectors in early position and from middle position of the table is tight and aggressive pre-flop. On loose passive tables where there are a ton of callers, though, you can make a mint with them.

So, definitely an great day. My win rate was around 25BB/hr. Clearly not a sustainable rate, but my bankroll is certainly in better shape. I'm about 55BB away from having the 200BB bankroll for 1/2, so I'm still trying to decide if I want to continue to grind out at the 50/1 level until I get that magical 200BB or if I should continue to grind at the 1/2 level... I'm thinking I'll keep at the 1/2 level unless I fall to $300, then I'll drop back down. All I need though is another big day like yesterday, though and I think I can forget about the .50/1 tables. Thankfully.