Catching up, in more ways than one!

Wow, I'm way behind here. I made it back Arizona alive and well. I've been pretty laid back, just doing a lot of reading and playing online.

I picked up Rolf Slotboom's new book on PLO (at Highwaytime's suggestion) and have been reading that, while logging some session's on Full Tilt. Most of my sessions have been uneventful, but profitable.

My main focus has been PLO at small stakes .25/.50 or .50/1. For those at home that don't know PLO plays bigger than no-limit and you can get some pretty decent pots in a .50/1 game. It plays similar to a 1/2 no limit game.

I really enjoy PLO and really have a fire and excitement for it that I haven't had for Hold'em for quite awhile. I love Hold'em, but PLO is really a nice change. I'm learning a lot and hope to climb the PLO ranks in the coming months.

Now, lets cover the rest of my catching up. I was playing a 1/2 NL game on Full Tilt and was really catching the worst of it. I had two flopped sets chased down by runner runner with all the money in. I kept getting everything in right and just couldn't win. A flopped straight losing to a backdoor flush from a guy that flopped middle pair! I was frustrated.

So, Highwaytime was on playing PLO too and said he was going to call it a night. I was at my ropes end, so I threw out that I may take the little I have online and sit at like 5/10 NL and just say screw it. He was down to watch the carnage, but did appropriately try to discourage this terrible idea on my part. So, I sit down at a 4 handed 5/10 game with the bare minimum of $200 and quickly realize that the standard raise is 25% of my stack and everyone has at least $1k on the table, uh-oh. I post the blinds and fold, fold, fold. I get to my button and the cutoff makes it $40 to go. Now, I have no read on this guy as this was my 4th hand, but the terrible, evil, Filmaffian donkey in me said I think A9 off is good here, I'm all-in for $185 and my proverbial online life. He insta-calls with AQ, this looks pretty bad for me, Mike is silent on instant messenger. Then a funny thing happens the flop rolls off like a thing of beauty 5 9 9!!! Trip 9's and my friend with AQ is almost drawing dead. I double up, immediately sit out, and proceed to quickly inform my opponents "You guys are shitty" "9999999 look at all of 'em" "eat it".

So, there you have my first foray in to 5/10 NL. Highwaytime was kind enough to inform me, after he stopped laughing hysterically, that I now average $4k an hour at 5/10 NL. So, just remember the next time you look down at A9 and a 4xBB raise is staring at you from a guy who has 6x your chip stack, "I'm all-in" cause you just might catch up.