Update

Sorry for the lack of updates. Life has been busy (which seems surprising, it is summer). Our family took a vacation and my wife had surgery to correct for carpal tunnel, which has required me to be on kid duty (for 3 kids under five years old) and help her out a bit too since she can only use one arm for a week or so.

From mid-June to July 1st, I had a mini-slump, where I only won a bit in cash games. However, I had a trip to play live poker in Council Bluffs. There I got rivered in some nasty pots (flopped flush, almost all in by river when guy rivers a boat, flopped bottom 2 and guy calls big bets with A-rag on A87-4-4 flop and beats me with aces up). I ended up down only $400. Given that I was playing $2/$5 NL, that could have been worse, but one timely river bluff got a guy off a boat (KQ spades – flop KJT with JT of spades. Turn is T, I bet 35, villain min raises. This guy had played trips very similarly earlier, so it was exactly what I put him on. I have 6 outs for a straight and 9 for a flush, however, with 2 for a royal flush. Through in 2 K outs, I have to call. (Knowing that I have to play anything but a K river or royal flush carefully as he may have a boat.) The river is a J, making the board KJT-T-J. Well, I was pretty certain he had a T, but not a J. Therefore I bet out about 2/3 the size of the pot (I was OOP), which was $110. He went in the tank and folded his ten face up!

Since July started, however, I have not played tourneys. Just cash games due to my busy schedule. But when I have played cash games, I have been tearing things up. I have mainly played full buyin $1 bb NL, and am up over 10 buyins for the week. May try to post some fun hands soon.

I started toying with Elimination Blackjack (EBJ) on UB. It is fun, and there is strategy involved, but I am not very good yet. I would love to learn this game better. However, there is an opportunity cost, since I am giving up a nice earn rate at NL cash whenever I play it. But, since I don’t play for a living, focusing solely on earn rate is probably not the best thing to do. Further, if I get good at EBJ – it could provide a nice earn rate in the future.