Props to those of you who have written up the Vegas WPBT stop. It sounds like it was a blast. Congrats to Felicia for outlasting such a prestigious field of bloggers and REAL poker players. Of course, your path was made easier by my absence…

Back to the grind. My quasi-streak of O8 cashes ended at nine over the weekend with a horrendous seventh place finish. I was crippled when a nut low hand and nut flush draw (after the turn) was counterfeited on the river, allowing the other guy to scoop with a wheel. Nice of him to hit a three-outer. Oh well.

Popped a second place last night despite not paying full attention. One guy, jamieiv, was pulling out the “I don’t know how to play this, it’s my first time” card, even though I’m pretty sure I had seen him around Empire/Party. He kept typing in newbie questions like “What’s a good hand?” and “How many cards do I use from my hand?” I don’t think anyone was buying it, because most of us have seen this ploy more times than we can count. Plus, he spent most of the time as chip leader. He actually pulled off a couple of nice slowplays, including a check-raise with quads, and ended up beating me head-to-head after starting with a 3-1 lead.

Question – Do you play any different if you know the person claims he is a newbie?

I don’t think I do, although just the thought of it might make me reconsider a check-raise if I don’t think the person is likely to try and steal. It might come down to whether you peg the newbie as a calling-station or a maniac, meaning that the fact that they’re a newbie means less than the table image they’ve EARNED. After all, when you’re playing online with a bunch of strangers, you must begin with a blank slate on all of them, and fill that slate with your impressions of their play on the fly.

The recent run of cashes at Empire have rebuilt the bankroll to $130+ even after pulling some back. Sigh. Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in! I’m right around the one-year mark since I deposited my first $80 into UB. Truth be told, the extent of my investment is that $80 and my first $100 at Party Ever since then, I’ve been playing with house money, by pulling money in Neteller and distributing it from there. I’m up around $1500 overall for the year, depending on how you count re-invested capital, meaning I’m doing OK, though I ain’t making flight arrangements for the WSOP just yet.

Donkeypuncher (Jeff) has been contemplating using some poker winnings to try one of the lower buy-in WSOP events. But then, he’s a young DINK and can afford to take a lark once in while, and I’m an old married fart with kids, which restricts my disposable income. Is anyone else out there thinking about being “dead money” next year? Maybe we should plan a $50 buy-in tournament JUST FOR BLOGGERS with first place being plane fare and an entry into the WSOP... That way, we can live vicariously through one player (rather than simply against the Crew and Hellmuth).