Party and Table Update

Party Poker is working out great for me! The first night was a little rough, but the second night I was able to win it all back. Tonight I played again and am now up $35. I am strictly playing the lower average pots on the $25 NL tables and I realize that I could probably get more adventurous, but I would like to build up my bankroll first.

The sit-and-go tournaments are not going as well. So far I have played in two $5 tournaments and have not done better than 7th place. Tonight I went out in 8th place, but I got a VERY rough start. I was dealt a pair of 3's on the first hand and I called the big blind. Another 3 flopped and I got tunnel vision. I checked it and was bet into pretty hard, I called as there was an A and J that came with the flop and I thought I was playing against Aces or 2 pair. The same kind of betting happened on the turn and the river, until I had about half my stack in the middle. I was ready to clean up when he showed me a pair of pocket J's and made my set of 3's look like an episode of TILT. I recovered OK and got back close to where I started by stealing a few blinds, but eventually got taken down on another bad beat. I had pocket Q's and called an all-in before the flop. The guy showed me a pair of 7's; what the hell is he going all-in before the flop on a pair of 7's in a tournament for?! Any way bad beat street - he flopped a 7 and I never recovered.

I need to work on my sit and go strategy; it is not producing for me yet.

The poker table is coming along nicely. The pad and felt are on now (after about 200 staples) and I am working on the cup holder design. My father has helped me a bit with the design and we devised a sliding mechanism that will retract under the table when not in use. I have a couple of concerns, however. The sliding device is bulky, heavy, and may not fit around the table legs and underside frame. More research on the topic will have to be conducted before it gets finished. If I could somehow use plastic instead of wood, I think it would be easier to do.

Regardless, the rail is going on next, once that is on, I hope to play my first game on it.