Patterns

I finished just short of the final four tables last night in a NL Hold'm points freeroll of 321 tables. (keeping me up way too late) Last two tables being paid in points. Hanging on with only a fraction of an average stack until the last 50 tables. Then I climbed into the top 20 chip leaders before hitting a tough streak.

My last trip to the casino I went bust with my tiny stack. I went to play my best game, Omaha Hi/Lo, but, since they didn't have a table going, I played my weakest game; limit Texas Hold'm. I decided to only settle for a seat with my strongest game next time I get the chance.

I made most of my Internet play money fortune at heads up no limit Hold'm or at Omaha Hi/Lo. Lately I've been doing poorly at heads up, but have noticed some patterns with Internet play. For instance in a half hour period I hit trips four or five times but the other guy had a full house each time.

Or in a ring game hitting two pair on the flop but another guy hitting a long shot flush on the river. Another annoying pattern is being pushed off a small pair or suited connectors pre-flop and seeing you would have had trips or a flush on the flop. And as the hand plays out you see that those who raised, or a group that raised and re raised, had poor starting hands. When these hands happen over and over you wonder.

Or there are those tables where you just get great hands over and over but another always seems to have an even better hand. In heads up play I started scanning with my anti-virus/spy ware program that came with my new computer after the first few hands. After a few more hands my opponents often leave the table. Otherwise it goes like this. You trade hands for a while. Then you get up a bit before they clean you out with a series of really big hands and leave the table quickly. Just a pattern I noticed.

I'm not saying anything... I'm just saying.

Of course we have 'vista' with our new computer. I've come to blame all my problems on 'vista' these days. Three weeks til we can expect to get our free version of '7' in the mail.

Or there is the single table tournament games where there are four of you left but the other three seem to work together to keep each of their stacks viable. That's with the final three being paid of course. Just good old fashion graft.