Glue Factory

The temptation to aggressively parlay my $25 Empire Poker bonus into either $200 or the ground by playing $25 NL was offset by a less rational desire to play for more than 2 minutes, and so it was that I decided to try my hand at $0.50-1 limit hold'em. The swings were great, with my $25 first dropping down to $2, then back up to $44, and finally down to zero. The play was fishy and following is the hand which sealed my fate:

Empire Poker 0.5/1 Hold'em (9 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Qc, Td.

Hero calls, 5 folds, Button raises, SB calls, 1 fold, Hero calls.

Flop: (7 SB) Tc, 5h, 4d (3 players)

SB checks, Hero checks, Button bets, SB calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (5 BB) Qs (3 players)

SB checks, Hero checks, Button bets, SB folds, Hero raises, Button 3-bets, Hero caps, Button calls.

River: (13 BB) Jd (2 players)

Hero bets, Button raises, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 17 BB

Results:

Hero has Qc Td (two pair, queens and tens).
Button has As Kc (straight, ace high).
Outcome: Button wins 17 BB.

If and when Empire Poker are generous enough to send me another $25 bonus, I'll be going all-in on my first hand of $25 NL (as I should have done this time). Till then, it's B&M NL for moi.