The watch is here!!

It looks like Full Tilt deliver a lot quicker than they say they will!
I returned home from a brief trip to the shops today to find a package underneath my door mat. Inside was the Full Tilt watch I had ordered a few weeks ago. 6-8 weeks shipping ... not with Full Tilt!






















Of course the watch will now be part of the things I wear pretty much where ever I go!
























Now to work on actually turning a profit in this Deuces Cracked 50,000 hands challenge ... and finish recording a podcast!

Another Deuces Cracked Challenge

I've decided to get involved in another Deuces Cracked challenge ... this time a bankroll-building challenge to see who can turn $100 into the most after 50,000 hands. The challenge starts on December 1 & runs for three months (or 50,000 hands, whatever comes first). Part of the reason for getting involved in this is not only for the potential win (two coaches have offered a free coaching session to the winner), but also to see how long it takes to actually get through 50,000 hands. At the moment, while I have been playing some micro-limits to gain Full Tilt Academy points through challenges, I have played just over 25,000 hands on Full Tilt since September ... which means I need to be playing more to fulfill the 50,000 hand requirement.
Also coming into consideration in this challenge are the issues of bankroll management & game selection. The main issues being how aggressively to use (or ignore) bankroll management ... and what games to play.
Issues to ponder:
What level & game should I be starting at?
* 2NL
* 5NL rush (there is no 2NL for rush)
* 5NL
* 10/20c L
* 25/50c L
How many tables should I be playing simultaneously?
* 1
* 2
* 4
* 6
* 8
* As many as possible
At what point should I move up in limits?
* 20 buy-ins (NL)
* 30 buy-ins (NL)
* 40 buy-ins (NL)
* ?? buy-ins (NL)
* 200 BB (L)
* 300 BB (L)
* 500 BB (L)
Will the progress of others (assuming others post their progress) affect how I play in terms of game choice & limits?
I'm sure there's a few rather obvious questions I'm missing at the moment ...
At present, the thought is to start at 2NL & move up when I have 30 buy-ins, although that might change ...

In other happenings, I've completed enough of the FTPA challenges to get over the 5000 point mark, have converted these points into Full Tilt points & have put in an order for the watch I have been mentioning on the blog ... apparently it takes 6-8 weeks for delivery, so I suspect it might become a late Christmas gift, but I'll see what happens.
I also plan to get a new (now long overdue) episode of the Donkcast out in the next few days ... but with so much to try to catch up on, it might almost become a news-only episode!

The Watch ... the Academy ...

I've gone for a change of direction with the Full Tilt watch mentioned a few posts ago. Yes, the plan is to still get it from the FTP shop, not only because I need a new watch (my current one is somewhat ordinary, plus the hands have stopped [in spite of the digital display still working, so it still works as a watch] & I'm kind of lazy in regards to repairs & maintenance), but because a Full Tilt watch says so much more about yourself than a site store purchase of the t-shirt/cap variety.
With this in mind, I've made use of the Full Tilt Academy to build up points. When you reach 5000 Academy points, these can be exchanced for 5000 Full Tilt points ... which in turn can be used to purchase the watch. Earning points in the academy is reasonably straightforward, as you simply have to complete challenges at the tables.
For example, the requirements for Bill Edler's 'Power of Position' challenge are as follows:
* Open-fold A-J, A-T, A-9, K-Q, K-J, or K-T 3 times in early position (UTG, UTG+1) in 8- or 9-handed NLHE cash games.
* Raise with A-Q, A-J, A-T, A-9, K-Q, K-J, or K-T 3 times in late position (button, cutoff) in 8- or 9-handed NLHE cash games.
* Win a pot with a continuation bet on the flop with no pair in an 8- or 9-handed NLHE cash game, after open-raising from late position (button or cutoff) pre-flop.
* Successfully bluff on the turn with no pair after calling a bet in position on the flop.
* Win 3 consecutive pots from the button.
You get points for completing each task (the points per task increases as you complete the tasks), with the entire challenge being worth 250 points.
As you can see from the example, the challenges are about getting players to play 'correct' (whatever that means) poker, with many of the tasks requiring things that you would (or should) be doing in many cases in the course of your normal cash game play. Yes, the academy does cop some flack for some of the tasks & suggestions (such as Mike Matusow's 'Setup Plays' challenge, where he requires limp-folding as part of the challenge), but on the whole its a decent idea from Full Tilt ... and doubles as a pretty easy way to gain points for various poker-related items.
As a result I've been multi-tabling micro stakes quite a bit lately & have racked up just over 4000 points in the academy, so hopefully the 5000 mark (and the watch) is not too far away.
On the related Full Tilt points goal, I'm now close to the 6000FTP mark ... which will put me well over the required points for the watch when I add in the 5000 from the academy!
Time to get my BLING on!

Mixed games on Full Tilt!

The latest software update on Full Tilt Poker has introduced a range of draw poker games. The reason that it is of interest is that it is the first time draw poker has been offered at Full Tilt. Previously if you were after draw poker, you had to play at PokerStars (and possibly some other smaller sites). Anyway, given that it is something new, people tend to try it out without knowing much about the various games that are played (the same thing happened in the first few weeks of Rush Poker at Full Tilt) ... and as a result the games are good. Of course it also tends to increase the variance as a result, but if you run good, there's money to be made!
My favourite at the moment is the 10-game mix, which includes the usual games in standard 8-game mixes (limit Holdem, limit Omaha hi-lo, limit Razz, limit Stud, limit Stud hi-lo, limit 2-7 triple draw, no limit Holdem & pot limit Omaha) as well as Badugi & no limit 2-7 single draw. So many players are horrible & will call with almost anything, so you can generally maximise your value for your strong hands ... the dilemma is in saving bets when you don't have the best of it.
I'm sure I'll find out more in the coming days and weeks ... and I have less than 3500 points left for the watch!

Back in Melbourne ... back to the grind!

I'm back from the Sydney trip. Good to be home & sleeping in my own bed!

The Sydney trip was good for the most part. The Deuces Cracked meetup was great. It was good to catch up with my chess firends that I hadn't seen for a while. The poker, particularly at the casino, could have been better. I like the deeper stacks (you can now buy in to a $1/2 table up to $200), although deep stacks mean little when you continue to run bad ... such as an all-in pre-flop with KK v JJ for roughly $160 where my opponent did the usual & flopped a J & I couldn't catch up.

It was also good to catch up with the family ... my brother seems to be going OK with his studies & my parents are still doing fine.

Now that I'm back in Melbourne, its back to the grind. I'm hoping to do some casual teaching to give me something of a regular income ... and of course hoping to turn the current poker run bad around! The next step for me as far as online poker goes is to not only continue to build my bankroll (I've gone off the idea of the self-challenge from a few posts back) playing limit & no limit holdem & mixed games, with the occasional tourney ... but also to build up my Full Till points so that I can have a watch (as seen on the left) shipped to my home.

Will see how it goes ...