No Focus

On PuntersLounge there is a daily MTT selected as a 'focus game' in which members of PL compete for points to be rated the Best Poker Player on any given rolling 28 day period (best five scores taken into account).

The game is usually chosen on the basis of value - although some are PL exclusive league games - and that does not always mean freerolls, although one game quite often chosen is the V-points freeroll on Virgin on a Sunday evening.

I 'cashed' in third this week and managed seventh a couple of months back and the one factor shared by both these events is that the freeroll was not chosen as the PL focus game that night. Annoying as I could have done with the extra points in my quest to move up the PL table but I will settle for the cash (or the V-points which can be converted) instead !

I also played with 17499 others in the $100k guaranteed MTT on Poker Stars and went out in 15000th+ but congratulations to heniek on PL who survived seven hours play to finish 4th to earn more in one night than my poker profit for the last 14 months !

Why I don't love poker

No different to yesterday really !

The four Sun / William Hill freerolls were a waste of time. The best shot was in the first at 10am as there were less than 500 entrants rather than the usual 1700 but shortly into the game the software moved me to table 3 where my wife was also sitting. The software only allowed one of us to play so we had to log in and out to give the other a chance and I eventually went out in 133rd overplaying AK (which I felt I had to do as I wanted to let the Mrs back in).

Nothing much else to report in the others. My AK lost to A6 but when heads up against the same person her AQ was able to beat my A5. Earlier I had called an all-in with AK and one other complete idiot joined in with what turned out to be 26 (spades) - winning with a 2 on the river.

I had first thought that these continued next week but they don't and for that I am grateful !

Why I love poker

I don't always and that's mainly because apparently 44 is better than JJ, any two hearts lower than 9 are better than AK, and most noticeably K4 is better than AA.

The Sun newspaper are promoting some freerolls on William Hill wiith cash for the top 100, a seat in a final for the top 50 (to win a trip to the Caribbean) and either an i-pod or plasma tv for each freeroll winner.

Tonight was the fourth night of playing them having been out well before the money for the first three days. Tonight I was 156th in the first and was leading in the second before hh beat my AK (ok I have to blame myself for that one for not raising until after the AK4 flop all hearts), and 44 beat my JJ due to a board which contained 5678 and K4 beat my AA due to a 4 on the flop and another on the turn. $4 for 88th is hardly compensation.

It even annoys me that 90% of the players have signed up with William Hill simply for these freerolls and haven't had the imagination to pick a name that isn't the first three letters of their real first name and 6 random numbers. I'm sure 'stu070411' wanted to play as just 'stuart' but when told it was already taken couldn't think of anything better than the alternative suggested by the software.

Four more freerolls tomorrow so won't that be fun !