Quest for fire

I seem to have again sort of lost steam with online poker. My quest to turn $5 into $5000 has bogged down at about $20. A bit shy of the goal.

Last night was the first time I've played in several weeks. The cards were not kind. I was actually lucky to finish the session down less than a dollar.

The bankroll now stands at... drumroll please... $21.71!!!

I have to admit I'm having some trouble reading the players in the shallow end of the pool. The play tends toward the erratic and illogical. One hand sticks out in my mind. I didn't lose that much, but I just sat there shaking my head afterward.

Just two of us in the pot. The flop brings an ace and two rags. Check, check. So when I catch second pair with a good kicker on the turn I figure I'm good. Nope. The other guy had a medium ace that I guess he wasn't proud of. I can't believe he thought he was slow playing it. Of course, I can't believe he didn't bet it out either, so my belief doesn't appear to count for much.

I was going through some old email today and came upon a Full Tilt article by Phil Gordon I hadn't read. He was basically espousing the raise-or-fold strategy for pre-flop play. I have a suspicion it wouldn't work particularly well at this level, but maybe I should give it a try anyway. Anything to get things moving again.