12/7/2004 - Laziness

I haven't updated in a while.  I feel bad.  The reason has been three parts laziness, one part new job. 

The new job has been killer.  Not because it's particularly tough--it isn't--but because it means I have to wake up at 8:30am.  As someone who was going to sleep at 6 or 7am just a week ago, that's a pretty dramatic change in sleep habits.  Unfortunately, my body has not adjusted as quickly as I like--I'm getting up at 8:30am, but I still can't fall asleep until 4:30am, making for some pretty tough mornings of simply trying not to trip over my own feet, much less trying to be productive in any way. 

Between waking up and, oh, about lunch time I must have about 149,732 distinct, lack-of-sleep-induced moments during which I decide to quit.  I will persevere, though.

Maybe.

Online Wackiness   

My, uh, second job...er..first job...er...other job has been going okay.  It has slowed considerably, likewise because of my corporate job, but mostly due to my own shody play.  That's one problem with bonus whoring: I no longer have to actually win to win, I just have to break even.  And so I think I've subconciously taken that into account with my play, as my actual poker wins at sites has for the last two weeks or so been pretty consistent in being below my take from bonuses.

For the month of November, my Winnings:Bonus ratio was nearly 3:1.  In December so far (and, really, also the last week of November) it has been less than 1:1.  Maybe I've just hit a bit of a rut, but in examining my play I think I've allowed some leaks to spring up--playing a little too aggressively at times, and paying people off a little too much.  I think in my efforts to just "hit the bonus" I've played for longer than I should have in single sessions and less optimally than I should have because my goal with each hand was no longer just to "make money."  I really, really, really, need to be conscientious of my play at all times.

Perhaps having this job will have a good effect on my overall poker playing, though.  I'll no longer be able to play with impunity, having to limit myself to a couple hours in the evenings and to the weekends.  I'm thinking such limitations will make me less jaded with the overall poker experience, perking me up and getting me to concentrate and play better.  If I can only play half as much, but I only lose a third of my winnings, then I'll have a pretty lucrative two-job total salary (heck, I will even if I lose half of my winnings).  At least it will seem that way to a guy who was always either a student or making less than $10/hour doing menial work. 

Also, reading this thread on bonuswhores.com has me convinced that my recent bonus success (> $1200 last month, similar if not more this month) can quite possibly be achieved every month.  That one guy made over $2000 in bonuses in November alone!   

The only question: will I ever play live again?   

I have to complain about one site, however.  NaziPoker, er, StaffPoker  (a 24h skin whose symbol, a black S inside a white box inside a red circle, is very reminiscent of the good ol' nazi flag, a little too much for comfort, I think) got me coming and going.  Either that or it was Neteller.  Staffpoker is a European site that deals exclusively in Euros and as far as I can tell, with no warning whatsoever, I was charged a pretty substiantial fee for both withdrawing from Neteller to Staffpoker--Dollars to Euros--and then from Staffpoker to Neteller--Euros to Dollars.  It was 10 Euros in each direction if my math is correct.  That seems to be a pretty substantial charge considering at no point in time during the entire process was I told I would be charged even a penny.  Are regular conversion rates that wacked out that I lose 2% of my money every time I change over? 

Anyways, needless to say I'm unhappy.  I did make a 150 Euro bonus in addition to just about breaking even, so it was a profitable move anyways, but still. 

Comments

[Mikko]

Unbelievable that you find nazism from STAFFPOKER logo. I think that no one else has thought the same, and certainly not perseons who has that site.

I`ve played there also quite a bit and it seems one of the best sites in europe, and when you say that they charge you when you change euros to dollars and vice versa, i must tell you that it`s not STAFFPOKER who charges it`s NETELLER.

-Merry christmas

[poker_wannabe]

Just FYI, I wasn't trying to say that Staffpoker was related to Naziism (is that a word?) in any way, I was simply stating that at first glance, the color schemes matched up very well in my head. Is that really unbelievable?

BTW--I don't believe it was Neteller who charged me. I believe it was Staffpoker. When I was cashing out from 24h recently (of which Staffpoker is a skin), they gave me the option of either a) getting charged 10 Euros (the exact amount I was charged at Staffpoker) or b) giving up 800 VIPs (their player points you get for playing raked hands). I, of course, gave up the points. The exact amount I cashed out in euros showed up in Neteller in dollars meaning Neteller didn't charge a dime. If neteller isn't charging, then who else would be besides the site? Additionally, I noticed that I hadn't reached 800 VIPs at Staffpoker yet, so I wouldn't have even had the option of paying money or points. So yes, I believe Staffpoker charged me 10 euros going each way, dollars->euros and vice versa. Perhaps they have that in their fine print somewhere, but I think they should make more of a point of letting people know--information like that should be prominently displayed any time someone makes a transaction, not buried in some obscure clause on some obscure page filled with fine print.

[Joacim]

Lol, that previous comment to you was most likely written by Mikko Holma who works at staffpoker. at least there is a manager with that name.