October update
After withdrawing every dollar from Party, Stars, and Empire, I played against the robots of Poker Academy. Interesting, but it’s no substitute.
So I freed $100 from the confines of my bank account and stuffed it into Stars. Then Empire offered a bonus. Then Party did. Then Stars did. That $100 had no idea where it was when it landed, but it did bring along about eighty new friends. Good deal.
That was all about two weeks ago. I finished off my last Stars bonus and got all itchy: it was time to try a new site. Since I hadn’t done Paradise, and that’s where my whole family plays, I decided to give it a shot. I’ve earned $10 of my bonus, but I’m also up about $30 on an initial deposit of $100. It’s easier to earn a bonus on a cash table than a ton of tournaments, so I’ve been focusing on that. Full table is a big strength for me, mostly because it’s so easy to be patient at loose tables and just wait for the right cards and a strong flop.
Then this Stars-hates-me tournament drought started. I can’t wait until that’s over, because I really like not finishing in fourth. I think my short-handed game kind of sucks, but I’m also referring back to the starting hands matrix (it’s way more complicated than a chart) in Harrington’s Volume 1.
I still haven’t been to a live game since the Tournament That Shook My Faith in Poker. (But my work friends keep holding them over thirty miles away: I love this game, but I’m not going to drive that far to get beat by some jackass on a low-end straight draw with… never mind.)
I bought two new books: I’ll post them on the sidebar as soon as I’m done.