Just Like A Young Man Coming In For A Quickie

But I do feel proud and good. Mike Caro talks about manufacturing wins, where when things are going well you cut your session short because you want to preserve a win and then when things are running bad you play long hours under the worst conditions in order to get even or a little ahead so you can quit a winner. This was not the case today. I just needed a win. Period. Anything to post since I've been running so bad lately. It's a psychological thing more so than anything else. The table I was playing at wasn't any good and I felt great leaving there a winner considering the rake is $5 max plus $1 jackpot drop on top plus the table was 80% locals grinding out there $30 bonuses. There was one donator at the table making some terrible calls, but I wasn't able to get in any hands with him and wasn't about to stick around to do so. Here are the notable hands from this short session.

The action gets limped around to me in the big blind and I look down at KQ suited in hearts. I also check and we take the flop something like 5 handed. The board comes down king high with a ten and a small card. I bet the size of the pot and get one caller. From what I've seen of this guy he has only shown premium starting hands but he did not raise pre-flop so I'm thinking maybe something like suited connectors. The turn was a blank and I bet out $25. He was again called without much hesitation. Hmmm, maybe KT suited and flopped top two? The river was also a blank and I fired out $40. With top pair and second best kicker I think checking may be too weak a play here. I'm thinking he may have a marginal hand and will probably just throw it away rather than waste $40. Instead he flat calls and I'm pretty sure I'm good. Now I put him on KJ. Instead he surprises me with AK and takes the pot with top pair, top kicker. I would have thought he would have popped me on the turn or maybe play back at me on the flop to find out where I am at and also to protect his fragile holding. By just calling he got the maximum from me. Maybe he thought he was losing the minimum if I was the one who flopped two pair or a set.

The next hand came up with I raised in late position with AQo. I got one caller, the player to my immediate right who had originally limped in. The flop came down K-A-K with two diamonds. I bet out and he called. The turn brought a third diamond. I am usually not too concerned against a single opponent when this happens until I get some bad news from them. He checked the turn, I bet the size of the pot, and he called. The river brought a fourth diamond, and with me holding the queen of diamonds, I now hold the nuts provided he does not have a boat. It would have been hard for him to have a boat being that he would have had to hold AK or or KK to have a full house or better on the flop. If he was drawing at the flush, which was not a smart idea being that I raised pre-flop and could reasonably hold AK for a flopped boat, he would have himself drawing dead even if he hit one of his outs on the turn. Still, I would expect him to have check raised me and moved in for his last $40 on the turn in the event I had a bigger diamond in my hand. He would want to charge me what he could for my redraw. Alas, he did not and when he checked the river to me I eyed his stack and bet enough to tap him. He made a crying call and I said to him if you have a boat you got me, otherwise I have the nuts. I showed him my holding with the queen of hearts and he got pissed and violently threw his hand into the muck. Hey, you played it poorly and got what you deserved. It's happened to me a million times but I'm beginning to learn from my mistakes.

At this point I get the sense this player is starting to tilt which is great since all the locals play too tight. This guy is playing this morning for his $30 a day plus his $599 monthly bonus for the 125 hours he has logged in the room. He does not like the idea of burning through a couple buy ins (someone else stacked him after me.) He got serious and bought in for a couple hundred. He proceeded to play looser and give about a hundred away when this hand came up. Under the gun he raises it to $6. I look down at wired 8s and call. The middle position player who I had lost to with my KQs also comes along and we take the flop three handed. Gin! My 8 falls on the flop along with a king and a small card. I know have middle set and I'm now praying one or both of the two are holding AK and I can win me a nice pot. UTG bets out $10 on the flop, I min raise to $20 which is a weak raise and I am hoping that one of the two come over the top. The player with position thinks for a minute and folds and UTG min raises me back. This is a really odd play, like we're playing $10/$20 limit. After a moment of thought, my spidey senses tell me he is weak, at least compared to my holding, and I move in on him. I am 99% sure he is holding AK. He would have re-raised all in with aces or at the very least made a healthy bet to protect his hand after I min raised him. He instantly calls and I turn over my 8s. With the speed he called with I first thought my read was wrong and he actually had the three wise men. But when he didn't show I was reassured my read was correct. The turn was a blank and the river surely poured salt in his wounds when an ace fell. I picked up his stack of about $100 and he decided to rebuy once again. I guess he really needed his hours. Too bad I made some weak calls later on and gave some of my hard won checks to other players, but I refuse to play too tight a game even with the locals. I need to get paid off on my good hands so by giving some action here and there I believe pays dividends down the road. They will remember the time I called down with a weak queen or king and decide to bet into me. Little do they remember that I was most likely in the blind and playing out of position. When I finally do have position on them and I am calling with a monster hand, they won't know anything about it until the pot is too big, the big bets go in, and its too late. At least that's the game plan against the local rocks. Either that or suck out on them, get them to go on tilt, and hopefully have them seek you out personally where you can punish them when you have the goods. Time will tell, but so far I am holding my own, which may not be saying much, but for a life long limit player it is giving me confidence to keep playing no limit. We'll see what happens today.

7/29
Hours Played This Session: 3.5
Take: $107
$ Per Hour: $30.57

Earn:
Month to Date: -$101
Year to Date: -$224
Hourly Rate Year to Date: -$4.14
Total Hours Played Year to Date: 54.08
Sessions Played Year to Date:10
Win/Loss Record by Session: 4/6 40.00% win rate