Update

Draw's been going well; rakeback isn't going to work out for a while, though. I found a site that was like, hey, sign up with us and we'll hook you up etc etc. You had to download and register through links they provided, then sign up with them to get rakeback started. After I downloaded and opened accounts on pretty much every major site, I went to register and was informed that due to my residing in Washington State, I wouldn't be allowed rakeback as online poker is illegal in my jursidiction. (Washington recently made online poker a felony; the law was designed to prosecute some people who had set up online games that were competing with the B&Ms and Indian casinos around here. Individual players have not been targeted.) Thanks, guys, I sure appreciate the fact that now I won't be able to get rakeback at Absolute, UB, FT, Pokerroom, etc, etc. Hopefully I'll be able to convince them when I go home for Christmas that I moved back to Oregon. (If that doesn't work out, what would the sites do to me if I signed up for new accounts using Max instead of Maxwell for my first name, with a different address but same last name?)

Little annoyed there.

Anyway.

I've been playing 1-2 draw for the last week and a half on Paradise and Carnaval. 17.4 real hours, 22 table hours, 4.4 BB/hr for just over $150 profit. I like the game a lot; it's a little boring when the cards are cold, but it's still interesting to watch.

The primary purpose of this post was to record my first 2-4 draw session. I bought in for $100, played for about 45 minutes, and ended at 118.60. The game was very similar to a normal 1-2 game; people doing all sorts of limping with low pairs and draws, similar tactics, etc. Cards weren't particularly hot or cold, so I think it's a fine sample even though it's obviously insignificant statistically.

For the first couple orbits, I didn't get any playable hands, which gave me a little time to get used to the fact that all the numbers were bigger than I was used to. I'm okay with losing pretty much my entire roll (Poker's my primary hobby these days, and I don't mind spending money on my hobbies.) but it was a little unnerving. After I just stopped thinking about money and began translating dollar amounts into number of bets, I was pretty much fine. I wasn't playing scared and generally was happy with my mental state.

For most of the session, I was down a couple bets. Fairly early on, I had eights up and was heads up with a tight guy after the draw. He had limped, I raised, and he drew one. He didn't call raises with his draws, but he folded queens up and below. (Or at least didn't call with anything better.) We both drew one, and I figured he had a better two pair and would fold to my bet. I bet, and he raised. I think he filled up, but I'm not sure; I had to fold.

That was the only really interesting hand; I'm getting better at actually listening to the little voice that tells me to fold. It's almost always right, but until recently I wouldn't believe it and lost a lot on crying calls that I didn't need to make.