Good Ol' PokerStars

I was home alone dogsitting tonight,
a perfect time to log some online
poker hours, earn some frequent
player points, and maybe even make
a few bucks to take with me to Vegas.

Decided to play some NL cash on
PokerStars, something I haven't done
in quite a while. I mostly play my cash
games on Full Tilt. About all I've used
my Stars account for lately is to play the
Elite Poker Tour (http://www.elitepoker.ca/)
events on Friday nights and the odd
big Sunday tournament.

I figure I should be able to handle 4 tables.
I didn't want to take on more than that
right away since I find the P-Stars graphics
a little harder on my eyes than Full Tilt.
I get on the waiting list for 6-7 tables.

First table pops up and I get it tiled
just the way I like it.

Second hand, I get dealt KK in the
cutoff. Couple of limpers so I
make it 6 big blinds. Small blind
raises me by about the pot.
All others fold. I pop it enough
that he has to fold or get it all in.
He shoves and turns over TT.
I'm 80% to win, he's a 4:1 dog.
Turn is a T. He wins. I go broke.

I start cursing. " F*ckin' PokerStars ".

A few years ago when I was trying to
grind out a bankroll at the $0.05/0.10
and $0.10/0.25 tables, I went through
several rough stretches of bad beats
where I just got pounded. Suckout after
suckout. Nut flushes were no guarantee.
Full houses were no guarantee. Sets were
continually drawn out on the river.
It got to the point where I referred to
any suckout (even in live games) as
"getting Poker Starred".

I guess this beat tonight caught me
off guard since I went broke in only
the second hand.

I told P-Stars in a very harsh voice
(they can hear me yelling through
my moniter, you know) ...
"F*ck you ! I'm not reloading.
I'm going to sit out and take up a space.
You're not going to earn any rake until
you kick me off after a couple orbits."

This threat did not go unnoticed by the
software at P-Stars. My seats at the
other 3 tables got incredibly hot.
Within about 10 minutes I not only
had my money back, but had a profit
going on all 3 tables (about 40%).

I wish I had figured out this secret to
getting lucky on P-Stars a few years ago.