I passed my goal of making 20 BI at $0.10/$0.25 PLO (that's $500), so I decided that it's time to take a shot at $0.25/$0.50 PLO, and step down if I lose like 5-6 buy-ins there. So far so good though, as about the only differences I've seen at 50 PLO is that players are slightly more aggressive--however, they still play bad hands, still get sucked in when they shouldn't, and make some very transparent moves that cost them money. Was a bit of a slow day today hands-wise, but I did make a little more than half a buy-in.

As Stars is offering a deposit bonus for their 2X promotion, I plunked down the maximum $600, and I'm now going to play like crazy to claim that $240 bonus. The good news is, the points go up MUCH faster at 50 PLO than they did at 25 PLO, and I earned like 400 points today alone. At that rate, I should make Gold Star by Wednesday, and if I keep playing well for a few hours a day, I will get my bonus sometime next month (I need base 4800 VPP to get the $240, not too hard). Also got around to ordering Daniel's new book from the FPP store. Read a bit of it in Borders, and I'm looking forward to getting it for myself.

Played a little more Triple Draw today as well, and a similar situation came up twice that I thought was interesting. In both instances, I opened from late position with three to a wheel (something like 2-4-7-x-x and 2-5-7-x-x), and the same guy reraised me from the blind on both instances, and we got head up. In both hands, he stood pat on the first draw, and I of course drew two, knowing I had a ways to go. In both hands, I ended up making a 7-6 on the first draw (I think I made #2 and #4, or 76432 and 76542, respectively). He bet into me, and I of course raised, and was happy not to get reraised. On both hands, though, he ended up staying pat on the second draw again! Now I was trying to figure out what the hell he had. I obviously am not breaking my hand, but what hand can he stay pat on after I raise him that he wouldn't reraise himself? 85432? 76542? Something worse? Is he planning to check-raise a pat wheel? When he checked to me again, I still had to bet, half expecting to get check-raised, grit my teeth, and call down. To my surprise, however, he called and stood pat again (it surprised me less the second time, as I'd seen him do it once already)! Obviously, I stood pat and bet the river when he checked to me, again not sure if he was going to end up check-raising me with a wheel or what. In both instances, however, he just called and mucked. I checked the hand history. In hand one, he held 9-7-5-3-2, and in hand two, he held 8-7-6-5-3. Neither of those hands make any sense to me. For one thing, he shouldn't be patting on the first draw with a 9 in hand one, especially since he has a great one card draw to a wheel or a smooth 8-7! And certainly, after I raise him after the first draw, he has to know he needs to break his hand, because what am I going to raise with against a pat hand? Certainly nothing worse than 8-7-5-x-x. And in hand two, quite honestly, he should probably fold either to the raise after the first draw, or definitely to my bet after I stay pat on the second draw. There simply isn't a hand he beats!

Take a lesson from this guy, and don't stay pat too early, know when to break, and have the intelligence to fold a rough 8 when a solid opponent gets aggressive early.