Comments from the Peanut Gallery

This has been the week of making something out of nothing for your humble gumshoe.

Told you on Monday about winning some minor scratch after scoring free entries into a couple of tournies on Carbon Poker.

I also mentioned a week ago how I’d jumped into a freeroll on the relatively-new fantasy sports site, Draft Day. Thanks in large part to that offensive outburst by New Orleans on against the New York Giants on Monday night, I snuck into the money in that one, too, meaning I now have another tiny roll ($9) over there with which to try to learn a little more about the fantasy thing.

Then yesterday I hopped into one of those “Fast Fifty Freezeout” tournies on Hero Poker. I had not been faring too well over there of late at the nickel-and-dime cash tables, I’m afraid. Meanwhile, I’ve accumulated a ton of free tickets into these tiny MTTs and so decided to ensure at least a break-even day by trying one of those.

There were 108 entered into the Fast Fifty, called such because of the relatively fast structure (five-minute levels) and fifty-cent entry. As it happened, I went deep and in fact had a great shot at winning but came up short to take runner-up.

Given how the last hand of heads-up went -- I raise-shoved a nine-high flop with top pair, got called by 10-5 for middle pair of fives, then watched tens come on both the turn and river -- it would be tempting to say I deserved to win but fell victim to bad luck. In truth, though, there was a hand earlier in which I’d folded middle pair to my opponent’s flop shove, then he showed he was drawing to a flush. Woulda shoulda coulda.

Still, earned a few more bucks to add to the small Hero roll. Pure profit! Infinite ROI!

I continue stubbornly to add entries (handwritten) into my little ledger of online play. Yesterday I did what I have done at the end of every month since I started playing online back in 2004, tallying up the month’s total and writing that figure down as well. Then I turn the pages back and chuckle when I compare current totals to what I was playing for before.

Not that I had ever really moved higher than low limits previously, but I’m having to make a conscious mental effort now to make the amounts seem meaningful to me. Or “real,” even, given the somewhat theoretical nature of the idea of cashing out. Whereas before, when I’d slowly accumulate and cash out from time to time, such an effort wasn’t needed.

Had an exchange on Twitter a few days ago in which someone referred to having a little bit on these sites with which to play as an “itch scratcher,” and I said I thought that was a good way of describing it. Passing the time is what we’re doing. Just snacking.

Still, it’s fun to play, not to mention win. Even when it’s just for peanuts.