July 2009- Here we go...

So it has been a bit since my last post. This is not necessarily due to lack of playing, just lack of interesting things happening. A couple pretty awesome things have transpired in the last month or so:

1. I am now a rakebackpros.com member! Woot for 27% back on all rakes! :D Can't complain about that in the slightest. Especially since it still applies to SNG buy-ins, which is where I am spending the majority of my time playing.

2. I have about 1700 Full Tilt Academy credits for performing tasks at the tables. I am really crushing the SNG challenges. Too bad that it is limited to 10 times that you can repeat any given challenge. I've got my eyes on a sweatshirt that is 9600 credits, so I think I am well on my way. *edit - Just got word from the ESPN Poker Edge that I won a free Full Tilt sweatshirt for listening to their podcast and sending in the player of the day. Woot! * Maybe I'll be using my points for something else...

So I guess that will sum it up for now. The bankroll is dipping a bit, but I have high hopes for the near future. Playing a little more conservatively in the SNG and it seems to be helping.

33... 33... Wait a sec, it's deja vu...

Proof that the Frugal Endeavor continues...

Not much to see here, move along...

After going over to ohcaptain's house this weekend for a graduation celebration, it became apparent that many people were looking for some sort of update on the Frugal Poker Endeavor. Well, it's been a couple weeks since my last post, and the reasons for this are many:

1) Spending less time playing online, leading to less in the way of updates
2) Spending more time on work related items, leading to less in the way of updates
3) Spending more time on home related items, leading to less in the way of updates

I guess that about sums it up. As of right now, I am sitting at a bankroll of about $25, so down a little from last time, but my Full Tilt points have nearly doubled, implying that I am essentially just spinning my wheels when I do play. I've gotten into the challenges of the Full Tilt Poker Academy, and find that this concept is probably just put forth by Full Tilt to make you lose your money faster :D ... Although I have accomplished a few of the challenges so far. It makes it for an interesting test of yourself when playing in the cash games, which haven't been doing so hot.

Where I have been doing significantly better is in the SNG's... primarily the 9 person. Compliments of SharkScope (since I refuse to pay money for any other poker tracking related software), it appears that my ROI is significantly better on $2 tables, with an ROI of about 16%, but an overall average ROI of 5% when all games are included. I think that I need to bag the $1 crapshoots, and stick with solid play at the $2 whenever it is that I get a chance to play.

And hopefully there is more exciting things to post in the near future...

33... 33... 33... (thirty-three)

Now, like all good people in this world, I love beer. One of my favorite pales from the college days (ah, the good ol' times. I wonder where I would be now if I started playing online poker in college instead of after getting a regular more than full-time job, marrying, having kids and responsibilities... but I digress) was Rolling Rock. On the bottles, they have imprinted the number 33. It saddens me to say that I actually did not know what the 33 meant, so of course it is off to wikipedia, which has answers for everything.

The number 33 is printed prominently on all bottles of Rolling Rock. A widely-held belief is that it marks the repeal of prohibition in 1933. However, according to James L. Tito, former CEO of Latrobe Brewing, the "33" signifies the 33 words in the beer's slogan: "Rolling Rock - From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you."

A founding executive is said to have written "33" at the end of the slogan to indicate the number of words it comprised as a guide for the bottle printers. However, they thought it was part of the text and incorporated it into the label graphics. Hence, the first batch of bottles carried the number "33" and they remained that way since they were continually collected and reused (also, during the Great Depression, there was no reason to throw away perfectly good merchandise and start over). This tradition has been sustained by the company as the wording on the labels has changed over the years, and the verbiage is carefully structured to retain a length of 33 words. There are several other lesser-known theories or urban legends about the "mysterious" number 33, but none have been verified.

So I guess that clears it up. :)

Anyways, the reason for the link is that I was just noticing that my bankroll has gotten to be above $33. Whoo-hoo!

Back on track...

Well, although I was lucky enough to hit that royal flush that I posted last time, my bankroll continually went in the wrong direction... (Cue the sad music).
I am back in the game and trying to play much better. In an attempt to do this, I have been reading quite a few books on the topic, including the quintessential Harrington on Hold Em series (Vol. I and II) and David Skalansky's Tournament Poker for Advanced Players. These books are great for tournament strategy and have been quite useful, especially in the sit and gos (SNG)...

As of last night, I was sitting with about $17 in the account, after taking 2nd in a 45 person SNG, netting me about $11 and 1st in a 9 person SNG (giving me $4.50). I am significantly happier with my play as of late, and have a good feeling going into the tables/SNG tournaments tonight.

Why can't this happen everyday?

Sigh... the bitter end of week three...

Well, it has been awhile since my last post. The reasons for this include: 1) Went to Vegas on my first ever experience (which promptly including having aces cracked on my first hand) and 2) The Full Tilt experience is not treating me so kindly. As of today, my bankroll is cut to $15, making it a 50% reduction since the last post. Very, very sad. I am thinking it is mostly luck, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I seem to be getting bad breaks on flops and outdraws to the river, both in the ring games and the SNG tournaments that I have signed up for. I think the next $5 is going entirely to SNG tourneys, with a hope of booming the bankroll back up. If that fails and I end up down at the $10 range, it is back to grinding it out at the micro stakes tables.

On the plus side, the FTP are accruing nicely. Am still in line for that hat in 2012...