In The Raw

I closed my Party Poker account yesterday.  Got them to confirm it, close it out, pay it out, and that is it.  That’s right folks, Rawalex has left the room, and isn’t coming back.   I will never in my life play another game of Poker at Party Poker again.
Here’s the story.  I have played quite [...]

I have been playing a bit on and off, not really making a dedicated stab at it, but certainly paying attention and not getting myself into any trouble.  I have played a few free rolls (7000 people, 6000 of them total idiots playing anything and everything) and a few qualifier types to see what is [...]

First off, for whatever reason, Party Poker has had a fair bit of network issues recently.  I think it might have to do with upgrading their infrastructure to support their newer version game software, which I have a feeling is a little more demanding on their network.   Yesterday they were down for about 2 hours [...]

Well, I went to check out Party Poker again to see what was going on.  First off I got ANOTHER new version of the software, which is always a good thing.  However, there are still some pretty major fuckups (I will get to that in a sec) and there is still some issues with the [...]

Well, I am continuing my quest for the best poker online. Basically, I have spent the last year or so playing Party Poker and Empire Poker. Party Poker I think is about the most popular of the bunch, attracting upwards to 75,000 players online at peak times. Empire Poker is at the [...]

I won’t say the name, I don’t want to make them (or the players on that place) feel bad.
It is one of the smaller places. Primetime there was about 5000 players (party poker typically runs up to 70k players in prime time), and they had a number of “guaranteed minimum” tourneys that I could [...]

Well, the last few days have been interesting, that is for sure. I have never really done all that well in larger tournaments, limiting most of my play to sit and go tables (online) and 2-4 2-6 or 4-8 tables in person. I am NOT a big spending high roller or anything [...]

Well, I took a couple of months off, not realy playing too much and generally paying attention to other things in my life that were more important (plus trying to get away from a very specific playing style that was killing me). Anyway, in the process, I didn’t realize and lost over 7000 points [...]

Okay, no links or anything in this one… just a thought.
Party Poker has added Blackjack and sidebets to their sites. Basically, the blackjack is a pretty standard pay to play game. I have tried it a bit, and I lost there about as fast as I lose in vegas. Make some money, [...]

I have been playing on and off for the last couple of weeks. I have been through a bout of pneumonia (single, thanks) and two funerals in the last 3 weeks, so I have not been a very happy camper. Playing poker and having the concentration has not been there, so my [...]

Well, another interesting weekend of Poker. Got my highest placing in a full size tourney (30th out of 2000) and did some good on some of the sit and go tables. But some of the other things that have happened are encouraging me to move to another “skin”.
Basically, Party Poker has some of [...]

Well, it’s been a while since I wrote on this subject. I have been playing a total ton of games in the last 30-45 days, using it as the yang to the ying of my work (much of which was created by annoying new US government regulations, I might add).
I have been running different [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Here is an interesting theory I have come up with…
I play a bunch of “sit-and-go” tournaments, which basically is one table, 10 people, playing with a top prize of about 50% of the money paid in. The blinds start small and increase every 10 hands. A typical s-a-g table lasts about 60-70 [...]

I have been playing a bit here and there, around work and other projects outside that take me away from the computer. When I do play, I am amazed to see what people consider a “good hand”.
Seeing people UNPROMPTED moving all in with T6 offsuit just stuns me.
While it is true, any two cards [...]

Well, I keep on keeping on. Received my copy of Sklansky’s “Hold’em poker for advanced players” today. A very interesting read indeed. Opened my eyes to many interesting strategy plays and such. This book is more more oriented towards limit hold’em, and many of the strategies are based on the raise [...]

I have spent a fair bit of time playing poker in the last little while, including a few days playing live in Vegas in january, playing tournament style with friends, and such. I play online pretty regularly, not big money or anything, but a few hundred dollars a month for the pure fun [...]

First off, I just want to say that I am NOT a professional poker player, far from it. Rather, I just like to play cards, online or with friends, and money makes it MUCH more interesting. It really does keep people on their toes and playing well.
I play at a number [...]