Off And Running Good

Just time for a quick update to keep the site alive.

I've not been playing much at all this month so far, due to a combination of yet more ill health, and a majorly time consuming clear out of the family home.

I've been unpacking boxes that we moved from our last home, only to deposit them straight into the loft in the new residence, where they've lain for several years.

In the process I've unearthed a few gems, but 90% of the stuff falls into the 'why didn't we just throw that out when we were moving?' category.

Many trips have been made to the local waste dump, with at least one more still required.

The ill health is nothing serious. I'm still in an unbreakable cycle of minor cold/flu/throat bugs. Which is extremely -EV for a freelance worker, and which might at first glance seem like an opportunity to replace the lost revenue with some 'working from home' on the virtual tables.

That doesn't work for me. Apart from the sneezing, coughing, and runny noses, the other symptom tends to be a debilitating lack of energy. On several occasions in the past few months I've slept for eleven or twelve hours straight, only to wake up still feeling fuzzy headed and lethargic.

In this condition, putting my bankroll on the line doesn't feel like a wise move.

It would probably be different if I had something less trivial like a broken ankle. Indeed I can distantly recall a week off work when I had my tonsils removed, during which I was glued to the PC playing computer games to pass the time, and distract from the incessant pain I was experiencing.

If only I'd known about online poker then!

Fortunately, in the few sessions I've played this month I've been running very well.

Not just winning a few big pots, but not losing any either - I can't recall being stacked at any point throughout January.

I've also hit a couple of big flops with speculative hands, and got paid off.

Probably some of my starting hands that I've raised, or called a raise with when in position, look very donkish to a casual observer. They'd be missing the point.

Sayings like 'you shouldn't call a raise with KJ because you will often be dominated' are fine for ABC poker, but I'm not calling with KJ - or 97, or 64, etc. - to flop top pair. I'm calling to hit a big flop that an overpair can't get away from.

If I can see a relatively cheap flop in position against a weak player with a deep stack then I don't see a risk of domination. I see a chance to invest a few BB and win 100BB or more.

So far this year - touch wood! - it's working for me. Albeit the sample size is very low.