NLOP good on the flop!

http://games.nlop.com/Registration.ehtml?mchID=90013358

NLOP, which stands for National League of Poker, is a Texas-hold'em poker site that I have been playing at for about 5 months now and WOW have they upgraded! Lots more prizes to win and a lot more tournaments since I first signed up! This is one site that you DO NOT have to buy-in or use a credit card to win actual cash or prizes. You play with points and you wager your points to play to win stuff. The prizes are cool and consist of a lot of UFC promo's (tickets, gear, etc.), Guitar Hero, Wii system, Playstation, Xbox, Tapout gear, even a weekly Golden Nugget Vegas trip and so much more! NLOP also has daily cash tournaments going on all day and most of the night. Every month they seem to have new championships and stuff to win along with the usual tourneys.

If I can give some advice: The key to the tournaments are stamina and patience. The tourney games last around 2 hours. Obviously, you aren't going to sit there and fold every hand and only play when the big blind hits you, trust me, it doesn't work. This site has a lot of pre-flop freak betters. You know the one's - who go all-in on the first hand before the flop? So beware and don't fall for it. Also, definitely play on the pairs...I rarely see straights and I have NEVER seen a royal flush, but plenty of 4-of-a-kinds, 3's, 2 pairs, etc. It's pretty quiet in the rooms with not a lot of chatting going on which I like.

One bad thing about NLOP that I have experienced (and so have others) is that the game WILL crash on you at least once while in a tournament. Just poof, gone! I just played a qualifier and it crashed on me 6 times. Ugh! (I did make that qualifier but I think they were testing my patience!) I highly recommend that you mark the check box ahead of time if you know what you are going to do with your 2 cards (fold, check, raise). That way while you are restarting from your desktop icon, you have less chance to lose your bet and/or piss off the other players for waiting. It will say you have a game in progress when you log back in. In my humble opinion, I think it is because of all the flash advertising going on in the sidebars during the game, BUT if that is how they make their money and I can play for free then it is fine by me!

The VIP's supposedly get ad-free play during games but you have to pay a monthly charge to be a VIP. It is $19.99 a month and I am very tempted to sign up! The VIP's have more cash games, higher payouts and less players in their VIP tournaments. I figure I can recoup my monthly charge just from that alone. They get to pick out dorky player avatars too.

The leaderboard clears out every Sunday morning and everyone starts again with 1500 points. There are other ways to get extra points like the daily survey or wager your points for more points tourney's, or signing up for special offers. You get 1500 points a day for just logging in.

The software is easy to download and easy to navigate when in. I recommend to check it out first to see all of the different tournaments that interest you and what days and times they start. If you go to the Tournaments tab you will see a list of games starting soon. You can see from the list that you can check-in to least one game every 15 minutes! You easily could be playing in tournaments all day and night, even a few at the same time! You can play in up to 3 tournaments at once, but honestly the most I have played is 2 at a time but it just doesn't make for good concentration and not to mention, more risk of crashing! The game start times are EST so plan accordingly.

Believe me, I am not the greatest poker player by any means but I did win $10.00 in one of my first tournaments for coming in 3rd place of about 300 players. And yes, I did get a check in the mail - after 2 months. Soooo what are you waiting for?? Click on the link I have provided and start playing! You don't need to be a pro to win, trust me! I play there almost every day or night and my username is BossLadyC. Hope to see you there and...Have fun people!

Click here to sign up

Bejeweled Blitz via Facebook

This game is so habitually mind-numbing! Not recommended for addictive personalities. It will keep you going for hours even though each game is only a minute long. Trust me, just watch the time go by. And if you play long enough, you will be seeing visions of colorful jewels dance in your head at night when you are trying to sleep thinking of ways to match them up. No joke! I have seen posts quoting this exact phenomenon!
“Good”, “excellent”, “awesome”, and the dreadful “time up” will be played frequently in your brain.
Bejeweled Blitz is a puzzle game where you line up at least 3 jewels of the same color horizontally or vertically to clear them off the board, though the board never clears, it gets replaced by new gems. Simple, right? Maybe that is why it's so popular.

So if you are a newbie or a seasoned “bejeweler”, here are some “excellent” tips on getting a higher score:
-First, blow something up. No really! Only after that will you see the x2 color circle multiplier and if you match the colors with it, it will increase to x3, x4, etc. That is where you get your real points! I've only gotten up to x6 so far.
-Also, when you get the color “hypercube” (achieved by lining up 5 of the same color) don't blow your wad on it immediately. Wait until you have a LOT of the same color on the board with one of them next to the cube of course, then click on the color next to it and all of that color gem will clear the board. Lucky you if you get a few cubes on the board at once. Do the same thing but I wouldn't wait. Major points and more cubes!
-Oh and I also like to keep the “flame” gems for the end if possible (made by 4 in a row), I have racked up more than 50,000 points alone from just doing this.
-Another hint is to turn the sound off! Sometimes it helps, but most of the time it will stress me out more than I really need! Trust me I don't need any more stress!
-Oh yes, the speed bonus is “awesome”. But I started out concentrating on speed and even getting the flashing orange blazing speed bonus often, but the point factor doesn't compare to focusing on the x's bonus. Doing both of course is the goal. Speed is just a factor and it's what you should be doing anyway.
-Also, try to find matches close to the bottom of the board. This will inadvertently match gems at the top that will cascade down hopefully making stars, flames or the all important cube!

What is the point of this game? It baffles me to this day. Maybe it's the pretty flashing lights, the stressful music, the quest for the highest score. It reminds me of a casino game, which of course I love. I usually play games where there is some kind of “payout” or prize involved but this really has none, except for a drawing which you have to enter your email address to win some games or...a popcap laptop. I have to check into that some more. I do remember playing a similar version on a kid game website for my daughter and was addicted to that too. Go figure!

Every Tuesday the leader board gets cleared and your friends have a chance to beat you once again.
So enjoy the bedazzled Bejeweled Blitz in baffling bewilderment. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Facebook application (you have to have a Facebook account, duh): http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=40343401983

Oh ya in case you didn't read my profile...

If you want honest reviews of online games I am your GAL! I play or have played on all the sites I review so you get a first hand experience to let you know what is the best, so-so and worst features of your gaming experience at these gaming sites that lure you in. Some are legit and some are not - but you have me to decipher! Lucky you! My resume includes (too many to name but mostly): World of Warcraft, Tombraider and ranked #1 online for Quake 3 in 2002. My recent passion is online Poker. Disclosure: I do not pay for any games nor am I receiving any compensation for the reviews but you are more than welcome to click on any links within this blog. :D Also I am not held responsible for any gamer site you play on. These are my opinions...play at your own risk!

Coming up...

Reviews on my most recent games played: NLOP (crash and burn poker?) and Bejeweled Blitz (a blitzkrieg for your eyeballs). Hey it's late, I'm out of beer and I have to take screenshots! Patience is a virgin..I mean VIRTUE! Jeez! Go listen to some Slayer or something.