So, I have to say I'm really upset with myself today. I played a little poker last night, and by the end I think I was really on tilt.

The night started off horribly. Generally at $1/$2 you have really got to win one of the first few times you take a raised pot to the river, otherwise you'll get busted out pretty fast. And that's exactly what happened. Every time I had something of a hand, I'd get out drawn on the river, or other times somebody would be really slowplaying a monster hand and I wouldn't realize it until much too late.

So, I took my lumps and tried my luck at a different table. There I did much better. I even had quite a good rush, more than doubling up my second buy-in and doing a little better than even for the night. But then it all fell apart. I don't even remember how it began. I think I was a little distracted, as I started playing way too many hands; putting in a bet or two and folding when nothing panned out. When I did win, it wasn't much. In the end I lost nearly all my second buy-in, going from a little better than even to down $60. sigh. I think its time for a bit of a poker moratorium while I gather my thoughts. Maybe I should stick with $.50/$1.

Doubled up again last night. This time at the $1/$2 tables. Its quite a ride at the higher limits as the swings are much bigger. You really have to hang on for those big pots and milk those straights and full boats for all their worth. A couple of times I was nearly down to the felt when I'd grab a big draw and win a $20 pot.

A few more rounds like this, and I might just be able to hit the $2/$4! Moving up the limits is definitely helping my game, and I find that there are just as many fish. In fact, I would say the fish at these levels are even worse than at the lower levels, as they're much more predictable. Someday, I can only hope to be as cool as Chris and "take it easy" at the $5/$10 table.

As you know, I've been playing at Ultimate Bet for several months now. I started out at the $0.25/$0.50 tables, and did fairly okay. But the grind was horrible; it was a good night if I was up $5.

So, after a month or so of playing the $.50/$1 tables, I built my bankroll up to $150, and decided to take the plunge into the higher limits. My first night at $1/$2 was fairly successful. Its pretty fun to see a nice $25 chip come your way after winning a big pot. Overall I was up about $17.

The strangest thing is, the poker is essentially the same. There are still some serious fish at these "higher" levels. I witnessed one guy burn through $100 in an hour, much of that heading my way, or to a pretty good player named honeycutt. The easiest way to make money in those situations is to just get into a pot with those characters with any decent hand and just hang on for the ride. Its very difficult to bluff them out of anything, and you have no idea when they're just hanging on for that inside straight draw.

So it was a good night. I almost doubled up (my usual stopping point) several times, but in the end, I count myself lucky to come back from a fairly big deficit. However, I told Laura I'd be in bed over half an hour ago, so I guess more money making will have to wait for another night.