Monday, March 21, 2005
Well, after paying my bills for the week, I decided that I wanted to sink $100 somewhere for sake of grabbing some bonus money. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that adding $100 to my Party account for a measly $20 in bonus cash just wasn't worth it... not when Full Tilt is offering a 100% bonus for first-time deposits. I've heard that it's hard as heck to clear the bonus, but what the heck. Why not, eh? I'd already registered my account (intending to play in the WPBT HORSE tourney, but not making it due to the thrills of Vegas). So I put my $100 into Full Tilt. Besides, the ability to have facial expressions intrigues me.
I sat down to a couple $.50/1.00 limit tables. Without the statistical comfort food of Poker Tracker and GT+ or PlayerView to fall back on, I felt sort of scrambly at the beginning. I scurried to find a notepad and pen so I could go back to the old-school note taking on my opponents. After a little while, I decided to just take my notes directly into the FTP interface. I recorded hands that were shown down, and other tidbits of behavior patterns and the like.
I must say, I like the software. The sound effects are so much less obnoxious than some of the other games I've played - subtle but audible and noticeable without being distracting or annoying. The software seemed quick, though sometimes slow to respond to my actions. (That could have just been my net connection, which has been flaky all night). I love the avatars. Funny stuff. I hope they add more! But I'm a geek like that. I really like the ability to move the table around so that you're sitting in any seat you prefer. The statistics seem better than most sites too - I was able to decipher VP$IP, and Won $ at showdown, but couldn't quite figure out which number represented went-to-showdown. I also wish it noted the pre-flop raise percentage. Heck, I wish it worked with Poker Tracker! But, beggars can't be choosers, right?!
The two tables I played at were quite loose-passive. Very much the any-two-cards crowd, but it was easier than it should be to buy pots from them on the turn or river with nothing. I was surprised by this - was expecting the quality of play to be a little higher. But I'm definitely not complaining!
I ended the night up +26BB (woohoo +$26.50!) and cleared $2.38 of my bonus. LOL! This could take a while...
I definitely enjoyed the software at Full Tilt Poker. It has been officially added to my play rotation. Good stuff. Check it out if you haven't already - you can find me there as "phlyersphan."
