I Thought It Was Going To Be My Day...

...but it wasn't. I had stretches where I got hit over the head with the deck and other periods where I would just fold for several hours straight. An annoying session overall as the lineup at the table was great as usual. I think I have to be prepared to change gears more often as the looseness and tightness of the game ebbs and flows. I'll have to really be keen on which players are winning and losing in the session as that affects how tight or loose they play. Anyway, nothing remarkable happened this session as far as big hands go or interesting moments at the table. This is it for the post today. It's wifey's Saturday so I'll be spending the day with her. We'll need to get my car at some point. I left it at The Wynn since after I quit play for the day I started boozing and watching the US win their semifinal match in the Gold Cup while also cheering the Phils on to victory against the Cubbies.

7/23
Hours Played This Session: 6
Gave: $54
$ Per Hour: -$12.00

Earn:
Month to Date: -$36.00
Year to Date: -$159
Hourly Rate Year to Date: -$4.30
Total Hours Played Year to Date:37.00
Sessions Played Year to Date:8
Win/Loss Record by Session: 3/4 42.85%

Hitting Some Flops

Had a decent day yesterday, would have been better if my table had not broken. Really odd that we were the only $4/$8 game going at around 7 pm so there was no other table to move to or no list to get put on. Luck (read: variance) was just starting to swing in my favor. I'll briefly describe the two interesting hands where I came out the victor.

In the cut off seat, only a loose-passive Asian player called from early position. I raised with pocked 9s and the big blind came along. The flop comes down A-9-3 which is a gin flop for my hand since the most likely holding of the loose-passive player is a weak Ace. The flop is checked to me and I bet out. The big blind folds and weak player calls. Now I definitely have him on an Ace and he is the type to see the hand all the way through. The turn brings a blank, checked to me, fire a bet, and get called again. The river pairs the board with an Ace. He checks, I bet, and he check-raises. I trust my initial read and think he believes his trip Aces are good. I reraise him making it $24 to and $8 back to him. He insta-calls and announces he has a full house. My first thought is "oh shit he flopped two pair with Ace-trey and filled up on the river." I flip over my hand to show 9s full of Aces and he shows 3s full of Aces for the smaller boat. I rake in a nice pot. My read was off here but I gained valuable information on this opponent who plays regularly. He will almost always slow play a monster hand so now I know a couple of things about him for future use: 1) If he is betting out on the flop and turn he probably has a hand but not a monster, and 2) If he check-raises me on the river I can lay down a decent hand with a clear conscience. He does not seem to be the type of player to be able to make a move, nor should he playing at this level where opponents will not throw a hand away to save a bet even though they are 99% sure they are beat.

The second hand came about a half hour later. This time it is folded to me again in the cut off and I look down at T9s in diamonds. I raise, the button folds, the small blind comes along (an old man in a suit and wrap around shades named Bill who appears to be a regular) and my Asian buddy from the previous hand I mentioned decides he doesn't want to tangle with me and folds his big blind (the first time I saw him do this in the 3 sessions I've played with him thus far - also good info if he remembers who I am the next time we play together.) The flop comes down 6-7-8 with two clubs. Fake Oakleys checks to me and I bet, he calls and the turn brings a Jack. I still have the nuts and it is checked to me again. I bet and he calls. The river brings a 4 and no club which is such a delightful card because if he has a 5 he has made the ass end of the straight and may even raise me since I raised pre-flop indicating a possible big hand like pocket Tens - Aces, hell he even beats a set in this spot. He checks, I bet and he calls. I announce I flopped the nuts and before I could turn over my hand the guys makes a disbelieving sound and gives me the look of "how could you flop the nuts if you raised pre-flop." I show him the T9s and he mucks showing me only his 9 for a one card open ended straight. I can only imagine one of two hands he held here. Either J9 for a turned top pair or pocket 9s. He was not the type to call raises even out of the small blind so originally I thought is was J9 but the more I think about it he must have had wired 9s instead and he put me on an unimproved big Ace the whole way.

Here's the book keeping for the session:

7/22
Hours Played This Session:4.5
Take: $54
$ Per Hour: $12.00

Earn:
Month to Date: $18
Year to Date: -$105
Hourly Rate Year to Date: -$3.39
Total Hours Played Year to Date:31.00
Sessions Played Year to Date:6
Win/Loss Record by Session: 3/3 50.00%

A Wynn Lose Situation

The second session at The Wynn proved to be just one of those days where nothing seems to go right. The table was still great. When I sat down the first four pots had 6 players in them. I knew with this kind of table it pays to play hands that can flop big hands and big draws from late position. I've taken poker author and all around good guy Tommy Angelo's advice and decided that there are really only two positions outside of the blinds. There is late position which entails the button, the cut off, and the hijack seats and then there is early position consisting of the rest of the seats. He calls the late position seats his bread and butter where he makes the majority of his profit playing. Tommy has been playing both limit and no-limit professionally for over 20 years and he has all sorts of gems of insight. This one is definitely worth its weight in chips. Only, on the day, it didn't matter. I did not win a pot in the first two hours of play (contrast that to the first two years of yesterday's session.) I won't bore you with the details of a truly boring session. However, there was a truly humorous situation that came up.

It was folded around to an old lady on oxygen who spoke Spanish as her first language in middle position. She was not a rock especially, but you knew if she raised pre-flop she had a premium starting hand. First in, she limped so I figured her range was pretty wide. It is then folded around to me on the button I look down at KQ0. I raise, the small blind folds, the big blind comes along as does grandma. The flop comes down A-K-A. I'm not sure what to make of this flop as I am not worried about the big blind by the old lady is known to play any Ace. The big blind checks, the old lady checks, and I bet out because I hate missing bets and just would rather take the pot down right now. The big blind folds and the old lady check-raises. I started cracking up and mucked my hand. The was the first time I've ever been check-raised by anyone over the age of 80, let alone an elderly woman with oxygen tubes up her nose. I knew at that point that I was the butt of the poker gods jokes for this session.

At my low point I was down roughly $230. A regulary to my immediate right named Bob who I used to play with at Green Valley has taken a liking to me for some reason and we got to talking about being stuck. He said his stop-loss limit is $200. I told him I was stuck more than that at the moment and he recommended I call it quits for the day. I replied to him that as long as the game was good I couldn't justify leaving. I mean, if I am going to come back tomorrow and play what difference does it make. After all, there is a possibility that the line up tomorrow won't be as good, though I highly doubt it. The games are always good at this limit. My feeling is as long as I am playing good poker and not feeling the ill effects emotionally of bad beats and cold decks that I should continue playing. And on this session, I felt remarkably calm. In fact, being stuck really didn't bother me much at all. I know this has everything to do with being properly bankrolled. When you are not worried about going broke, you have the confidence to keep playing your A game even when the chips are down.

To put this into perspective, I flopped a set of 8s while being first to act against two opponents. I check it and it gets bet to my immediate left and called by the late player. I also call and we go to the turn. I checked again and the middle position once again fired. The late player called and I check-raised them both, getting double bets from each of them. I bet out on the river, the middle player folded and the late player raised. Fifth street put a possible straight on board and I made the crying call knowing all too well that I was most likely looking at it. Not to be disappointed my opponent showed me that he hit his gutshot and a massive pot went his way. A couple minutes later he was called for his $1/$3 no limit game and off he went with pile of my checks. It didn't even phase me. I knew right then and there that I have what it takes emotionally to do this. A lesser player might have had that hand cracked and steamed off a bunch of chips. That's what my late grandfather would call throwing good money after bad. He also told me not to accept any wooden nickels.


7/21
Hours Played This Session:4.75
Gave: $106
$ Per Hour: -$22.32

Earn:
Month to Date: -$36.00
Year to Date: -$159
Hourly Rate Year to Date: -$6.00
Total Hours Played Year to Date:26.50
Sessions Played Year to Date:5
Win/Loss Record by Session: 2/3 33.33%

A Wynn Win Situation

I tried twice to find a game at South Point but all they were spreading were $1/$2 no limit and $2/$4 limit. I take so much time checking websites that review cardrooms so that I already have a good idea of what games and what types of players to expect when I arrive at a casino. Some of the sites suggested that South Point would have a $4/$8 game. This is not the case and is very disappointing as I now have to travel to the strip to play rather than just crossing the street. I guess I kind of have my own commute to work now.

There are 3 strip rooms that spread $4/$8 limit hold'em constantly. These are The Bellagio, The Venetian, and Wynn Las Vegas. The greatest thing about these rooms is $4/$8 is the lowest limit game they spread, therefore you get all the $2/$4 and $3/$6 players playing in it. They make for wild swings since they draw out so much more often on your superior hand (i.e. they do not know how to lay down a hand) but they make the pots so big that it is worthwhile to put up with the beats they provide routinely. I played at The Bellagio last year and found the room to be cramped (on the low limit side.) Bellagio does not provide any hourly comps to players. You have to be a regular there and then tip the floor to get yourself a $15 paper food comp. I find it funny that one would have to tip for a comp. Seems to defeat the purpose, especially when I am only netting $10 on the deal. I also played the Venetian last year and I really liked the room as it is gorgeous and spacious. If you go back to the blog of that session, you will recall I ran into my first experience with collusion. I've thought about that session repeatedly and I can come to no other conclusion. The two players left together at the end of the session and took breaks together during the session. This is no reflection on the quality of the Venetian room. It would have been hard to catch and I might not have noticed it had I not been the victim in the hand. The Venetian provides players at my limit $1 per hour in comps which is pretty much the industry standard. I will be playing there again some time down the road.

This brings us to the last of the three options, The Wynn Las Vegas. The poker room at The Wynn is beautiful. There were 3 $4/$8 tables going when I got there around 1 pm which was a sight for sore eyes. I was seated in about 10 minutes and immediately felt I was in heaven. The quality of the players was so bad and there was a mix of locals and tourists. In the first two hours I was up $120. I texted Rebecca and told her that I think I had found my office. I slowly bled chips back throughout the course of the session and then slowly built them back up. I ended the session up $70 which is the equivalent of 1.45 big bets per hour. I could have easily pushed that up to 2 big bets if I value betted the river correctly in a few spots. This is going to be something I continually work on as I think this is where I can grind out as much as one additional big bet per hour in my game. Especially against a lone opponent on the river that I know will call a bet with a hand that he would not bet himself. No real big hands to discuss this session. Just top pair top kicker type hands that won decent sized pots repeatedly. I was pleased with my first session back off of a long layoff and I am looking forward to playing again tomorrow.

Oh, and The Wynn provides a $1/hr comp as well good at a limited number of restaurants. I'll be sure to accumulate them and then take wifey to the buffet which I hear is one of the best in town. It should be at $30 per person.

7/20
Hours Played This Session: 6.0
Take: $70
$ Per Hour: $11.67

Earn:
Month to Date: $70
Year to Date: -$53
Hourly Rate Year to Date: -$2.44
Total Hours Played Year to Date: 21.75
Sessions Played Year to Date: 4
Win/Loss Record by Session: 2/2 50.00%

Back To The Grind

It's been a while since I've had anything to say, hence the dry spell with posts. As mentioned previously, I have been waiting on a check to arrive and that day has finally come. After taking care of some financial obligations that had been weighing me down mentally (along with clogging up my voice mail with collector's calls - at least I was keeping people in the collection's department employed,) I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off of my shoulders. I had been suffering from restless nights due to my financial position so I hope to be sleeping easier in the days to come. For the first time in my whole life I will be able to approach the felt battlefields with a clear conscience in regards to being properly funded. I have set aside a sufficient bankroll to get me going and I have money set aside to cover living expenses. In my time off I have been studying material on limit hold'em in anticipation of my return to playing.

I am psyched to get back to the grind. If you read blogs of some pros they talk about how they cannot stand the grind of playing table poker and how they believe online play is superior. There are pros and cons to each but I much prefer table poker to the virtual brand. There is just something romantic to me about the sound of riffling chips filling the air, the feel of real cards be squeezed out between my fingers, and the counting and recounting of checks before I move them into the center of the felt. Only a degenerate would find such things romantic. From the outside looking in, the life of a poker player looks sexy. A poker player gets to make his own hours, gets to play a game for a living, and carries large amounts of cash on him at all times. In reality, sitting at a table for 8 - 14 hours or more in clothes soaked with sweat, choaking on the scent of your own body odor along with smells of all the other mopes at the table, listening to the same bad beat stories over and over again, and carrying large amounts of cash that you cannot spend because the reality is this is your working capital for the business you are in is not particularly sexy in the least bit. However, all this still appeals to me on some level that I really cannot accurately formulate. I have so much admiration for the classic players such as Doyle Brunson, Brian "Sailor" Roberts, Amarillo "Slim" Preston, Jack Strauss, Puggy Pearson, Johnny Moss, and a host of other old timers that played brutally long sessions day in and day out to make their bones. There were no books to learn from at that time so they relied on playing long hours and seeing tons of hands to develop and revise their playing strategies. In addition, they did not have the luxury of virtual play on the internet. For instance, I played over 500 hands (roughly 8 hours) of limit hold'em yesterday at mico stakes just to get my card senses flowing again. It would have taken me a 16 1/2 hour session live to see as many hands as I did online. Online you get to see nearly double the amount of hands as you do live and in this regard I give the nod to online play as being superior. In limit hold'em, my edge comes from making less mistakes than my opponents. Therefore, the more decisions they get to make, the better my expectation of making a profit. It's just like playing a table game in the pits. I may get ahead for awhile playing craps or roulette, but giving enough trials I am guaranteed to walk away with my wallet lighter. It's the same for limit hold'em provided I am playing at stakes that I can afford and against competition that I can beat. At the stakes I am currently playing I am not worried about the competition. Make no mistake about it, online poker will be part of my game plan for making this career choice work for me. However, I do not play as well online as I do in a brick and mortar card rooms. I am not about to tell you that I am a master at picking up physical tells and that's what makes me so much better than when I play online. However, I do get a better sense of where a player is at in a hand when I can look across the felt at him. For instance, online I have no idea whether the villain I am heads up with is taking a lot of time making his decision because he has a borderline decision to make, or if his connection went down, or he got a phone call, or he is surfing porn and has not realized it is his turn to act. With that said, I feel my big bets per 100 hands will be lower online compared to live play but I am still a +EV player online so it will be worth my while to play when it is not feasible to make it to one of the card rooms here in town or I just want to get in some additional hands later in the day after playing a live session. Also, I must give a nod to those who point out that I will be able to multi-table my play online. Therein, even if I expect to make less BBs per 100 hands online, playing two or more tables I will be able to multiply my win rate accordingly. You just have to have the resolve to play ABC poker since your attention will be split amongst several tables. No matter, ABC poker gets the money at low limit play online. Hell, it gets the money at table play as well until you start to get to the middle limits and above where you really need to consider your opponents' tendencies much more closely along with switching up your own play to throw off observant and astute players. Even though there are many pros to being an online pro, I cannot stomach the thought of sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day. If I wanted to do that, I'd find myself a real job. Besides, like the "Mad Genius" Mike Caro said people don't take the time and effort to make their way down to the cardroom to fold...I do.

With it being Rebecca's weekend, I plan on starting my final run at this brand of employment Sunday. Not sure where I plan on playing yet. I live right across from the South Point and I may give that a shot to start off with. I plan on playing $4/$8 limit hold'em to begin with. I don't think there is a single professional playing this low but my reasoning is I want to start back slowly and really get my card sense on point before venturing higher. I would like to pad the bankroll I have set aside some so that I minimize my risk of going broke. I figure logging sufficient hours at 4$/$8 I should be able to realize a profit of $2,000 a month. I am figuring I can average roughly 2 big bets an hour since the players are so bad at these stakes. That will not make me rich anytime soon but it will pay my portion of our living expenses and allow me to add to my bankroll. And if I can't achieve 2 big bets per hour, then I will just have to log enough hours of play to ensure I make my monthly nut. I will then start taking single session shots at the bigger games to see how I fair. Hell, if I can't make $2 G's a month then I really need to put this pipe dream to bed and go find some real employment. I also think it's time to find some breakfast. Take care and check back soon for a review of my upcoming session.

Thought Of The Week 3/23 - 3/29: Soft Playing

This is a new weekly feature I am staring on The Vegas Experiment blog. I will provide my own commentary on the things I see at the tables, or life in general, that give me pause for concern or just piss me off in some way, shape, or form. This week's thought involves friends soft playing each other at the tables.

FRIENDS SOFT PLAYING EACH OTHER

This shit would never fly with my friends back home. My buddy B. Litty just the other day informed me of an $800 pot in a local NL hold'em home game that I've been known to frequent when I'm in town. Furthermore, it was against both his and my good buddy Duck. There was no remorse in the tone of his email about the hand. Just told it like it was. He knows someday or another, he will lose in that spot. That's what makes the game such a challenge and so much fun. In fact, everyone I know would take it as a sign of disrespect, not only towards each other, but also towards all other players at the table. I believe in the saying handed down by one of the poker legends (not sure if it was Baldwin or Brunson, or was it someone else?) that goes something along the lines of "I would be willing to break my grandmother for her prescription money if she was sitting at the same table as me." Instead, the same boobs sit around and play the same lousy poker day and day out and when the pot gets heads up between them, they check it down between each other, one of them shows the nuts, and they both have a good laugh. Fuck that! Hell, that is borderline collusion. How do I know they are not working to trap me when I am in a hand that includes both of them? I believe in playing everyone as hard as possible. I mean, if we were all on the basketball court, would they take it easy on each other? Probably not. And why is that? Because they are competing and what good is competing if you don't play as hard as possible? Throw some money into the equation and I guess that principle flies out the window for some people.

I wanted to voice my concerns, but I honestly felt it would do no good. I mean, let's think about the repercussions.

1) I piss off my fishy opponents by calling bullshit. I do not think they are clever enough to collude and work together so accusing them of this would not be smart. Furthermore, they seem like fine gentlemen otherwise and the thought of working together probably never crossed their minds. All I could do is call into question how such play affects the integrity of the game, but my feeling is this ruins the friendly atmosphere that surrounds this game.

2) If I called the floor over, how exactly would I voice my concern? I mean, I know what's going on, but to tell the floor that the guy checking the nuts down to his buddy isn't going to fly. Maybe he was afraid of the flush draw or whatever that the board was showing. You can't make a guy bet his hand, and most times you don't want him to if you're behind and drawing to a probable winner.

So, instead I bite my tongue and grin and bear it. Sometimes I wish other players recognized the spirit of the game and played accordingly. On the other hand, because players do not recognize this, amongst a plethoria of other things surrounding the game, I make long term profits from their bad decisions at the table.

Go ahead and post some feedback on your thoughts on this issue. Have you ever come across this sort of thing in public card rooms or private home games? How did you or would you have handled it?

Why The River And I Do Not Get Along

I didn't sleep well last night. It's hot in our bedroom and we do not have a ceiling fan. I think today we will go out and get a floor fan to keep it comfortable at least until air conditioning season falls upon us. Even though I was tired going into yesterday's session, fatigue was not a factor. Our game got going late (1:40 pm.) Maybe people were watching the morning NCAA tourney games. Not really sure, since the guys at the table didn't seem to have much interest in the games that were on while we were playing. I was happy to see 'Nova got their heads out of their asses and didn't lose to American University. That was about the only bright spot from yesterday. Today is an off day from play for me. Gonna spend the day with wifey. We have two free breakfast buffet comps at the new M Resort so we're leaving for their shortly. Hoping that their pool area is ready today because I'd like to watch some of the tourney games outside by their pool bar and grill. I could use a nice recovery day after getting beaten up yesterday by improbable draws.

Yesterday's session reminded me of the final sessions I played last year before I went broke where not much seemed to go my way.

Hand 1) In the first of my two heartbreaking beats I was in the big blind with 6-40. Limped in many spots and I check the option. Flop comes down 7-3-A. I check and it gets bet in the next position which is exactly what I want. All call and I take a card off knowing that if I flop my gin card of 5 I will be holding the nuts. The 5 does come off and I check. Again it is bet directly to my left, only a couple call, and I check-raise. The guy on my left folds and the small blind on my right calls. Another 5 falls on the river. He checks and I check behind him. I ask him if he has a boat and tables A5o for the runner-runner fives full. The 11-1 redraws and gets there after I hit my own 11-1 on the turn (what's even funnier is that I hit my gutshot twice. we all know how hard it is to hit it once. psychologically it would have been easier to take if it hit a remaining Ace.) I proceed to tilt slightly for about 10 minutes. Taking flops with poor holdings hoping to get lucky but having enough sense to muck after the flop. I could feel the heat spewing out of my track jacket by my neck.

Hand 2) I get dealt AA in first position. I should note here that I hate getting Aces UTG or up front in general. I was playing uber-tight for the hour preceding this hand but it didn't matter. I got called in 6 other spots. The flop comes down all low cards (3-8-5 rainbow.) I bet out and I am called in all but one spot. The turn pairs the board with another 3. I bet out, the guy to my left folds, the button calls, and the big blind raises. I ask for time and think about what he could have. Judging from his play, I didn't think he would call preflop with anything other than a premium hand even though he would have gotten the right odds to callwith any two. I proceed to just call, though in hindsight I think I should have reraised to try to knockout the button and get the pot heads up. The button calls and we see the river card appears to me an inconsiquental T. The big blind bets his final $6 and I know I am priced in to call. I feel the button is weak and I know he will come along anyway because the pot is so big. The big blind flips over pocket TT and rivers tens full. I show the rockets and the button shows J8s for a weak two pair. The big blind got one of his two outs on the river. What I found out later was that the guy to my left had pocket QQ and mucked on the turn. Wow, what a good fold and what terrible flop play. If he reraises me preflop I get to cap on the flop, totally giving away my hand and I may win the pot on the flop or on the turn. Just goes to show the mindset of players at this level. It takes so long to pick up premium pocket pairs and then they don't push people around with them. Instead, they price in the table to take flops with ridiculous holdings.

Oh well, I've been playing these stakes for several years and know exactly what to expect by now. I was playing with $200 lying around the house hoping to grow it before my money arrived. That didn't happen so now I will have to hold off on playing until my funds get here. I think it's for the best. It will give me time to complete the several pages left of my final paper for graduate school and with the rest of my free time brush up on some concepts in my limit hold'em books.

It should also be noted I had a wonderful weekend with my wifey. We hung out and watched the tourney games. Pulling for 'Nova, Xavier, and 'Cuse in the Sweet 16. Wifey's six team parlay lost on her first game. That made me laugh. Maybe some day she'll learn to just pick a game and just play it. The bingo parlor offers better odds than her parlay cards.

Hours Played This Session: 4
Gave: $144
$ Per Hour: -$36

Earn:
Month to Date: -$123
Year to Date: -$123
Hourly Rate Year to Date: -$7.81
Total Hours Played Year to Date: 15.75
Sessions Played Year to Date: 3
Win/Loss Record by Session: 1/2 33.3%

Settling Back In

I'm truly exhausted. Don't have it in me tonight to give you the blow by blow for this session. Suffice it to say, it was much like yesterday's. Played my usual style and had a couple big hands not hold up in big pots.

Briefly, flopped top two pair with QJo. The board came with two hearts, so that combined with the flop being coordinated I played the hand fast and rammed it. I got ran down by an ATs in spades. I know what you're thinking and it's much worse than that. He didn't hit his gutshot on me which is approximately 5.5 - 1 to come in by the river, but rather he went runner-runner to the nut flush with is approximately 23 - 1 to come by the river. I blame the way he played it on the flop, but once that second spade hits the board he is getting the right odds to take a card off and see the river. He has great implied odds in that if he misses either his spade or the jacks he can muck quite easily while if he hits any spade or 3 out of 4 jacks his also makes the nuts (the jack of hearts would give him a straight but give me a possible flush.) I had a feeling I was beat when he bet into me on the river. However, I didn't expect him to say "I've got the nuts." I didn't even see the back door flush possibility. Goes to show I'm still a bit rusty but my instincts were still there.

On another hand I am holding the two red kings early position. The UTG limps in and I raise. Another player cold calls, the big blind comes along, and the limper completes. The flop comes down with three spades. Early position player checks, I bet, two folds back to UTG player and he calls. He bet out on the turn when a blank fell and I raised him. He smoothe called me. Now I was really confused. I was ready to muck if he three bet it back to me being that I was drawing dead to a flush at that point. The river brings the king of spades, putting 4 to the flush on the board and giving me top set. UTG checks and I check behind and he tables the 34 of spades to my three kings and takes the pot down with the 4 of spades to complete the flush. I figured out after the hand that when I raised him on the turn, he thought I might have a bigger flush. I kinda felt that he would have check raised me in that spot if he had the goods and thought the leading at the pot was meant to scare me off so I trusted my gut and raised him, just in case he was holding the ace of spades and was betting a draw. I wanted to charge him the maximum price. Turns out he was worried I was doing the same thing and when the king of spades fell on the end it scared him. Looking back I should have made one last stab at the pot because I was pretty sure at this point that would be the only way I could take it down. He check showed weakness and I should have picked up on that. My spidey senses are just starting to come back to me, so again this is a learning moment. In a big pot that I showed a lot of aggression in, I should have made one last play at the pot. I only have to pick it up once in probably 7 or 8 times to show a profit.

Other than those two notable hands I lost, the winning ones I showed down were nothing special. Just playing good cards in good position and value betting them as much as possible. It seemed like a long session today. Not sure why though. I used to be able to play 10 - 12 hour sessions without it phasing me. Hoping that I am just getting back into the swing of things and that my stamnia will improve with time.


Hours Played This Session: 5.75
Take: $54
$ Per Hour: $9.39

Earn:
Month to Date: $21
Year to Date: $21
Hourly Rate Year to Date: $1.79
Total Hours Played Year to Date: 11.75
Sessions Played Year to Date: 2
Win/Loss Record by Session: 1/1 50.0%

Day 1 All Over Again

Well, it's been awhile. Some parts of the game felt natural, others didn't. The six hour session got to me. I used to never get up. Today, I made sure to take two breaks so that I could clear my head and stretch my legs. I'm not in poker playing shape. Hell, I'm not in any kind of shape at the moment. To put it mildly, I'm fat. But, I'm very proud of how I played. My cards picked up where they left off last year with two distinct exceptions which I'll get to in due time. First, I want to sum up the session. What sticks in my mind is that I didn't tip a dealer for 4 straight dealer changes. I wasn't keeping track but usually a dealer sits at a table for 20 minutes at minimum. I figure I had a stretch where I folded nearly every hand for 90 minutes. The hands I did play were mucked after the flop. Yet, I was able to persevere and battle through the frustration. Small win usually, big win when you are getting back after a long layoff.

OK, I'm not a fan of bad beat stories. This blog is all about telling it like it is, or at the very least how I perceived the reality of the situation. So, with no further ado, my two tales from this session end with the hero (me) winning the pot (yay!) The first hand was a bit weird. I was in late position with pocket 88. Multiple limpers in front of me, I think about 4 with me in the cut off. The button and blinds come along and it feels like a family affair. Flop comes with me holding an over pair. Well, I only have eights so that means at the very least it is a semi-coordinated board. Actually, I'm holding a gutshot with board showing 7-5-4. I think it came rainbow but no matter because with my position I'm gonna ram it and jam it on the flop. Someone up front bets it and as usual in this game everyone calls because it's a small bet. I bump it up a unit and mostly everyone behind me comes along as well. This gives me pause for concern. I could be looking at two pair, a set, or a well priced in straight draw. A king comes on the turn and it's checked to me. I check along thinking that if it gets bet and I get to close the action I'll take flyer on the gut shot. It wasn't. A jack comes on the river and I know for sure I'm mucking if it's bet. It isn't. I check along and so do the two players behind me. The dealer asks for us to show a winner so I flip first. Being that I made the last aggresive action I abide by etique and show first. Reluctantly some muck and others show their meek holdings such as A4o and A5o. I'm amazed that I get to take down a decent sized pot with not much of a hand. The player to might right comments that I've been very patient and deserved the pot. Patience doesn't deserve dick. Each hand is unique unto itself and I'm pleased to take a nice pot that I thought I might not get.

Fast forward 20 minutes and this time I'm on the button. I look down at KJs. For those of you that know me you know that KJ is my least favorite broadway hand. Two limpers in front of me and I call on the button. The small comes along and the big checks the option. The flop comes down J-J-Q with 2 spades. The first player bets, the second calls and I make it 2 bets. The blind fold and the 2 players with money in the pot call. The case J comes on the turn and I'm sitting on the nuts. The first player bets into me and I'm dumbfounded. To further add to my delight the middle player calls and I smoothe call. The river is a meaningless card (I was hoping for a third spade in case one of them is drawing at the flush) and again the first player bets and the middle player calls. I raise knowing I can't be beat. The first player thinks for about a minute and calls. The middle player mucks and I show the goods. He shows AQo for the best house which isn't close to being good enough. I take down a monster pot and thank the poker gods for my great position and even better turn card. I gave this hand much thought and could not determine how the first player thought his hand was good. I was playing uber-tight and only pushing my hands when they were good. It goes to show that at this level table image means nothing. I'm going to use this as a lesson in that I will remain tight-aggressive and play with position whenever possible. Players at this level fail to get past the first level of thinking which is "what do I have?" Most do not give much thought to what their opponent has. This is fundamental flaw amongst these players, along with playing terrible hands out of position and not raising with good hands preflop to limit the field. Well, admittedly that rarely works at this level but I'd rather get more money in with an edge than just limp with a premium hand and allow my opponents to a chance to see a cheap flop with rags. Pushing any perceivable edge is the key to maximizing poker profits. This is especially true in low limit hold'em where opponents are getting near to the right price to draw many times with meager holdings.

The only other hand I feel I should metion comes with me in the big blind. I check my option to raise holding A6o. The flop comes down with A-8-6 with 2 spades. I check in first position, a middle player bets and another middle position player calls. I check raise forcing out the two early position players who checked. The other 2 players with money in the pot call. The turn brings a T of spades and I check. The next player bets and the other player drops out. Heads up we go the river. Another T falls and now I'm in a shitty spot. My thinking goes as follows: 1) I didn't fill up, 2) the villain may have a flush, & 3) if the villain has an A, then his 2 pair trumps mine (I have As and Ts with a 6, he has As and Ts with a better kicker. I check and fold to his river bet. I muck my A6 face up hoping to get a read on whether I was beat. He doesn't give anything away when I do so but I think the fact that he doesn't show me a bluff or a lesser hand confirms that he was good. He seemed like the kind of player that plays more for the thrill of the hunt than the satisfaction of the kill. In other words, if he got me off a better hand he would have shown it to me. I'm pretty sure I would have called a river bet if my hand had not been counterfeited. Maybe the T on the end saved me $8, maybe it cost me one last big bet. I'm almost certain he had the flush which leaves me drawing to 4 outs (2 As and 2 6s.) If I fill up I think I can gain an extra big bet on the river, so I felt I was paying $8 on the turn to make $16 on the river. That taken with the size of the pot gave me the proper implied odds to take a card off in that spot.

All in all I felt I played a great session. Most low limit players would have gotten bored or frustrated by folding pre-flop so many times and would have started playing poor hands due to lack of discipline. I believe that it's all one long session. The next hand has no memory of the hands that came before it. If I fold 50 times in a row, it has no bearing on the next hand. If I go on a rush and take down 5 pots in a row I am no more likely to take down the next one. Hand value in relation to position and other players' actions are the key to making money at this game. Today refenforced that even though I left the table a small loser. In all honesty, I felt like a winner today. Can't wait to play tomorrow.

I'm starting from scratch on my figures for this new run, leaving out the career earnings. I feel they are meaningless. I don't need to prove to you that I am a winning player throughout my lifetime. Those of you that know me know that I've posted profits from my play over the last several years. Rather, the purpose of this blog is to keep records of how I am doing in the present. If any of you have feedback on figures that I can provide that will give more perspective on my play please let me know and I will include them here. This blog is both for your entertainment and my professional progression. Let's make it a win-win.

Hours Played This Session: 6.0
Gave: $33
$ Per Hour: -$5.50

Earn:
Month to Date: -$33
Year to Date: -$33
Hourly Rate Year to Date: -$5.50

Act I, Scene II: A Second Attempt

Last year I went on a really bad run and never published the results. I put the card playing career on hold. In a fit, I trashed my Stat King records so I can't even go back and update the blog with the results of that run. If memory serves me correctly, I think I gave away about $600 in a five day span. I wasn't properly funded at the time and have since worked some odd jobs in the fitness industry over the past 8 months. Recently, I've come into some money. I won't get too deep into how that came about other than my grandfather passed unexpectedly and he was generous enough in death to provide me with a better life. I would give back every penny if I could in return for just one more day or one last conversation. I wish I had been able to make him a little more proud of me. I don't feel like I accomplished enough while he was here. Now I need to honor him with how I live my life from here on out. I'm not sure he would approve of playing cards for a living, but it's a dream of mine to do so and that's what I will pursue for now. Being adequately bankrolled for the first time in my life, I believe that will be the key to being successful. I will be able to make the plays that I believe are correct and not worry about going broke. That confidence will be huge. If I happen to dig up my lost records I will be sure to post them for all to see. I really wish I had kept them because I would like to review them. I'm pretty sure it was a case of variance, which I know works both ways. You're never as good as you think you are when you're running well and you're never as bad or as unlucky as you believe you are when things are falling apart around you. I'm going to try to keep that in mind as I attack this game for a second time. One other note, I will be able to play as many hours as I like this time around. In the beginning, I was taking Rebecca to and from work and that cut into my table time. Being that we both have our own transportation now, there are no excuses for not logging a ton of hours. I plan on playing a nice long session today and we'll see what comes of it. I'll post again later tonight when I get back with all the juicy tidbits of the session while they are still fresh in my mind.

It's good to be back. Wish me luck even though I don't believe in it.

PS - below I was able to dig up a draft of a post I was working on when I went bust. I've published it below. It is very rough but I wanted to keep it that way since updating it now would take some of the angst out of it being that I've been removed from that feeling for quite awhile.