Playing Poker again.

Been a while since my last post. I haven't been too busy; I've reworked my laptop to a dual-boot Ubuntu-XP hybrid and my desktop to more of a local file server.

Since I wrote last, the Boot Hill Casino over in Dodge City has opened and is running well: lots of money getting put into the state's education coffers. But I haven't been much.

I can't: I have an addictive personality; and I simply can't afford to make the half hour trip and drop a $50 or $100 into the slot machines or blackjack tables. And if I can't afford to play 21, I sure as hell can't afford to buy in to the poker game. Their small table is a 50 BB buy-in; that's $500 to even sit down -- or just shy of a paycheck. I'm not that good.

So I've been getting my fix on Pokerstars. I had busted out on Full Tilt playing their Rush Poker. Rush poker seems like a good concept, you can see over 150 hands per hour, compared to a regular online room at around 50-60. The idea is you're put on a table, and as soon as you fold your hand, you're shunted to another table. The Big Blind is paid by the person who has seen the largest number of hands since paying the big blind. This appears to be determined after the players are seated, so you may -- like I was -- be put in the small blind multiple times in a row, only to be dropped in the big blind the next hand. Yeah, I had that happen more than once.

So, why'd I jump over to PS? The PokerSchoolOnline.com Skill League. Basically, you watch a few lessons, take a few tests, and are awarded an ticket. That ticket buys you in to every PSO Skill League free roll. When I started, it was a $50; but then they cranked up the league. Every month, the PSO is putting $17,500 (plus $40 a day in freerolls) up for grabs. How do you get a piece?

Take the test, get the ticket. Play the free rolls. Place well enough in the free rolls (usually top 200 or so, depending on the number of runners) and you'll get rating points. Do poorly and you'll lose them. At the end of the month, the ratings are locked in. Finish in the top 200 and win cash.

But wait, there's over 9000 people signed up for the tournaments. Only the top 200 get paid? Yes... and no.

Now, here's where it gets tricky. There's two prize levels: Whitestar and Active. Active players earned at least 20 Pokerstars VIP Points in the month prior to the league's month. So to be an Active player for August, you will have needed to earned 20 VPP in July. If you didn't, you're a White Star. To win as a White Star, you need to have finished in the top 200 ratings for the month.

Active players have an advantage. It makes sense, in the scheme of things: one of the things they tell you in the lessons is you need to practice. So they are rewarding players that put in the time outside of the league... doing their homework, so to speak. What's the advantage? A 10x multiplier on the payout. I'm not kidding: the 99th rated player will receive $3, unless they are Active, in which case they'll win $30... All the way up to $150 for first place changing into $1,500. Also, more Active players get paid: While only the top 200 are guaranteed money, any Active player who placed in the top 1,000 will get paid.

Needless to say, I put in the time to qualify for Active this month.

But see, I have a dilemma. I've got 1755 rating points, with 4 tournaments left in the month, putting me in 277th place. I'm just shy of 8 points ahead of the 300th place player... but 301st place pays 1/3rd of what I'm at. On the other hand, I'm 36 points behind the 200th place player; which represents the next prize level, and double my cashout. 36 points isn't insurmountable... Simply cashing can usually gross you 30 points. On the other hand, finishing outside of the quarter could actually cost me points.

So... is it worth the gamble? I think I've got to at least play -- and do well -- in one of the four. A thirty or forty place climb isn't unheard of -- heck, my top 20 finish last night jumped me over 70 places -- and if twenty people in the 300s manage it I could drop.