5:49pm: Well, if my hands hold up, I’m somewhere around 17-7. The problem is that they just WON’T, so unfortunately I’m just 13-11. No matter how far I’m ahead lately, my opponent hits whatever they need to win the hand. Everyone has this problem, but sometimes it comes in waves, and can be a little much to handle. I had to take a break and take a walk to check the mail after I had the last guy (who had 400 in chips) all in two times with the best hand, none of them held up and he came back to win the match. There’s only a few things in poker more annoying than that. Seems like lately if I take 2 steps forward one day, I take 3 steps backward the next. I’m not sure what the problem is, but I keep finding myself in hard situations. I keep flopping bottom pair, and my opponent bets into me. I keep having to play middle pocket pairs with 2-3 overcards. You know, all of the marginal situations you make an effort to stay away from: they are seeking me out like a homing missle.

Normally, I’d try Cake at this point. However, of the 14 people I’ve played today, I believe 8-9 of them were fishbowls. You’d think that would translate into easy wins, but not always. If they’re playing bingo and you’re playing poker, your hand still has to hold up. And so far, it hasn’t. More later..

*EDIT*, 5:49pm: Played 4 games on Cake, and am 3-1 on there. Should be 4-0, once again, if a certain hand would have held up. Very frustrating, but you gotta love it.

*EDIT*, 8:48pm: Getting a lot of volume in today, as planned. I’m now 13-11, unthinkably. Still having trouble getting hands to hold up, but I’m playing pretty well to make up for it.