Note to self: Don’t pay money to participate in a game where you don’t know the rules.

Note to self: The “E” in Horse stands for something…. What was it again?.... oh, EIGHT, as in Stud HiLo EIGHT.

Note to self: You don’t play limit Hold’Em well.

Well, if nothing else, the HORSE tourney last night on FTP was educational…

First hand in “H”, pocket Aces in big blind. Everyone folds to my blind. Bad sign.

Third hand in “H”, pocket sixes. Limp in with four or five others. Flop is TT6. Well, that’s nice. I think I smooth called a bet, hoping to give straight and flush draws the pot odds to come along. They didn’t, so of course I ended up with quad sixes on the river. Didn’t make much money. I hate limit poker.

Table was tight… painfully so. Damn bloggers anyway. I was getting great hands and nobody would pay off. I knew I was in trouble if I couldn’t double up in Hold’Em since I never play stud games and I would need the cushion.

First hand in “O”, I flop a dual nut draw to the nut flush and low, and start raising immediately. Of course the turn and river are paired JJ, and my “H” winnings go bye-bye.

In “R”, I have NFI what I’m doing, but stay afloat by folding… a lot.

In “S”, I have some idea what I’m doing, but lose a big pot with AA in the hole to someone else with paired Aces, but a better kicker.

In “E”, I forget (if I ever knew, which I’m still not sure of…) that there is an eight-qualifier for low and piss away 90% of my stack on A4/4389K to a guy that clearly had the high hand. I was mightily confused when the stack of 1600 chips or so was being pushed across the table. Shit. After that, I was a dead man walking. Two hands later, I was a dead man buried.

Oh well. At least I learned something. Or not.

Props to the winners and cashers. I saw that Maudie cashed despite being shortstacked for most of the first rounds. Damn these games that require skill and experience!