When a year doesn't have many high points or many low points it doesn't give you a lot to write about.

That just about sums up 2011 for me and is reflected in my poker playing over the course of the year.

With regards my bankrolls on the various online poker sites I play on, The only one that's really been going in the right direction is my Pokerstars account. The rest (on various sites like Titan Poker, Blue Square Poker and Betfair) have remained stagnant and on PKR it has hit a large downswing (well, large for me anyway) simply through (mostly) bad beats. When you shove with AKo and get called by 10-2o and lose, well you know that not much is going to go your way.

I have now also set up accounts with Party Poker and 888 Poker. I set up the account with Party Poker as they have an association with the WPT and hold a lot of satellites for WPT events. I know this might be big thinking for someone playing micro stakes but there's always the chance. Anyway, I have been left extremely disappointed as, apart from the affore mentioned WPT satellites, there is very little else on offer for micro stakes players, particularly those that like playing non-turbo SNG's (aka Me!).

888 Poker was a pleasant surprise. They were (and I think still are) running an offer for $8 free when you sign up with them. It's not much but does give you enough to get a feel for the site and the type of games they offer. Whilst the interface is not the most sophisticated around, it is easy to get to grips with and they seem to offer a nice variety of tourneys and SNG's. I will watch 888 with interest as they are currently the sponsor for APAT (the Amateur Poker Association and Tour) who hold a series of live tourneys with quite a low buy-in and hold satellites on 888 for these events (Here's hoping I can get into one of the events this year!)

Here's a list of the highlights of my 2011 in online poker:

• Made a decent cash in February's Turbo Takedown on Pokerstars
• Made a decent cash in the first Big $11 tournement I played on Pokerstars
• Satellited my way into the Event 12-L on the Pokerstar's SCOOP. Managed to pick up 3 bounties but didn't make the cash
• Qualified via FPP's for a Saturday Micro (I know it's only a $3.33 buy-in but with the way things went this year, I'll take it!). Unfortunately I didn't make the cash after running Pocket 9's into Pocket Kings on a 8 high flop :-(
• Won a freeroll to qualify for the 10th Anniversary Sunday Storm. Unfortunately, had to unregister as the event clashed with my work schedule :-(
• Won a satellite to one of the Mega Satellites for the 10th Anniversary Sunday Million. Unfortunately, had to unregister as the event (and the 10th Anniversary Sunday Million itself) clashed with my work schedule (my work schedule sucks at the moment!)
• Won a Stage 1 and Stage 2 satellite on PKR to get a seat at a Semi-Final qualifer for WPT Ireland. Unfortunately mis-read the details after winning the Stage 2 and thought it gave me a ticket for any Semi-Final. Turns out it automatically registered me for the NEXT Semi-Final, so missed it completely (again due to my rotten work schedule), so missed out on a chance to get into my first big live event :-(
• Have qualified for event 10 of the TCOOP on Pokerstars, so looking forward to this.

As you can see, not too much to write home about this year. Here's hoping for a better 2012.

Happy New Year!!!