Getting Absolutely Smoked on Absolute Poker

[lunchmeat]

6 months ago Absolute was the biggest fish pond online. Good players generally stayed away because of the 30 day hold on deposits and small traffic. Bad players came to the site in relatively high numbers because of their television advertising.

Now Absolute hosts IMO the toughest games online. Good players and bonus whores started swarming the site because of their lax bonus policy and easy games. The flow of fish was cut off because their tv ads were pulled off the air.

For me there isn't much incentive to play there anymore. I can find easier games on the "tough" sites like Paradise and their bonuses take a long time to clear under the new policy.

And don't feel so bad about being behind. On the last Party bonus I played 4 .50/$1 tables and ended up losing $15 after receiving the bonus. That's -115 bets! I know I wasn't being outplayed by my opponents, I just experienced a horrible run of cards and some extreme loose-game varience. If you play long enough this sort of thing will happen to you even if you are good.

[Vazh]

You still need to play 800 raked hands to get your $100 bonus. So the question is, do you think you can play those 800 hands and lose less than $100 (would rather win of course). If the answer is yes then playing for the bonus is +EV, if not then you should dump the bonus and play somewhere else.

The money you've already lost is essentially a sunk cost, that is, it's gone and doesn't matter from this point on. The question is what do you expect to happen now.

The other question is do you expect to make more (other bonus or just by playing) somewhere else than you expect at Absolute even if you do eventually collect their bonus.

[Bubbagump]

Great advice everybody. Thanks for reading and responding.

I'm still not sure what I'm goin to do. I will be staying on Absolute for at least 30 days but I am definately taking a break from that site and playing on Star's until I can restore my sanity and confidence. I'm also hoping Party is going to run another bonus soon. I haven't played on party in a while and I've been waiting for a bonus before re-depositing.

I will re-evaluate my situation on Absolute after my 30 days is up. If Things haven't turned around by then, I will most likely take what's left of my deposit and run to the hills. I hope it doesn't come to that.

Thanks again,

Bubbagump

[IlliniRyRy]

I had the same problem with Poker Stars, I've bonus whored on there like 4 times and I've never been able to finish the raked hand requirement before busting the full bonus. The last time I did it, I forfeited a $150 bonus and just cashed the damn thing out I was so frustrated.

[JDErickson]

[ QUOTE ]
6 months ago Absolute was the biggest fish pond online. Good players generally stayed away because of the 30 day hold on deposits and small traffic. Bad players came to the site in relatively high numbers because of their television advertising.

Now Absolute hosts IMO the toughest games online. Good players and bonus whores started swarming the site because of their lax bonus policy and easy games. The flow of fish was cut off because their tv ads were pulled off the air.

For me there isn't much incentive to play there anymore. I can find easier games on the "tough" sites like Paradise and their bonuses take a long time to clear under the new policy.

And don't feel so bad about being behind. On the last Party bonus I played 4 .50/$1 tables and ended up losing $15 after receiving the bonus. That's -115 bets! I know I wasn't being outplayed by my opponents, I just experienced a horrible run of cards and some extreme loose-game varience. If you play long enough this sort of thing will happen to you even if you are good.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't agree with this. I have many thousands of hands at AP in the last few months. I am doing quite well there. You see the same people there most everyday. There are some good players but there are also a lot of terrible fish.

Take some time to get to know the players. You will soon learn there plays and be able to take advantage of them.

Jim

[arkady]

I can go ahead and tell you about my AP experience which spans over 20K hands and several months, but why would I? I know you are upset and frustrated, but you are basing your results off 220 raked hands? Are you joking? Please go get a meaningful sample and then return.

I will mention however, that when I first went for the bonus back in early March, i played 2/4 and got my ass handed to me. I didnt understand anything about variance or what a sample size really is and felt pissed and proceeded to curse out every person who played there. Well, since then many have busted and those that havent have paid their dues. The site is great, because of the regulars - you can really learn each persons style. Too bad the notes at AP suck.

good luck man.

[David]

I also made my first deposit to AP last week. My opinion? The games are definitely NOT the softest, but they can't be classified in the same degree of toughness as Pokerstars, Paradise, or UB. Some good players and some really bad players. This is definitely a site where Poker Tracker is invaluable. I have played about 600 hands and I know several players to look for and a few to look out for. So far I like the site. I am up quite a bit due to about 5 specific bad players and a pretty good run of cards. How are the multi table tournaments? Anybody play them?

So far.....
A little tougher than Party, but not near Pokerstars.
I like the software.
Looks like this bonus may take a while.
Pretty good traffic.
I like the place.

[Bubbagump]

[ QUOTE ]
I know you are upset and frustrated, but you are basing your results off 220 raked hands?

[/ QUOTE ]

I knew I would get a response like this. I'm just surprised it took so long.

Look, In my post I didn't specify the # of raked hands I had played as a sample expecting to people to guage weather I'm a winning player or not. I menioned this in my post only as a point of reference so readers would know how much more I have to play to clear the bonus.

I have played enough hands on other sites to know that I am a winning player. I'm not here (on 2+2) looking for positive reinforcement that I am a winning player. As I stated, my only purpose for this post was to get some perspective on the situation from other players who have had a bad run on a site that they've never played, while clearing a bonus. I won't ever have a 20K sample hands on absolute, or any other small site because the only reason I'm playing there is for the bonus. I wouldn't ever play on a site like absolute if I weren't working of a bonus. The game selection just isn't good enough.

But thanks for your response.

Bubbagump

[arkady]

[ QUOTE ]
I knew I would get a response like this. I'm just surprised it took so long.

[/ QUOTE ]

That makes 2 of us, why no one has pointed out that this is the number one thing to look at, astounds me. You made two statements: i played 220 hands and the site is against new bonus people. Then you asked whether or not there is meaning to any of this. If you believe that every session is a part of one large session, then your bad run on Absolute of 220 hands, makes perfect sense does it not? You could just as randomly have had a huge swing up and would be tempted to ask whether or not sites tailor to new players and make them win more often. You are playing different players, yes, but they are not dramatically different than your usual opponents. Then again if you play on stars, I suspect the AP folk might be twice as loose and you are failing to adjust ... but lets not get into that.

Bottom line, you have a statistically insignificant sample and are asking people with the same kind of statistically insignificant sample if they have been losing. A few of you match up and we got a conspiracy on our hands. Hope you understand, I really do.

[Bubbagump]

[ QUOTE ]
You made two statements: i played 220 hands and the site is against new bonus people. Then you asked whether or not there is meaning to any of this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you smoking crack?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where in my original post did you read this?

Bubbagump