Month In Summary and August Plans

I didn't play much poker at all this past month. I played 20 40 once, played a few low-limit holdem sessions including the previous disaster and played the Wed night only once with a profit of zero. Overall, I made only a few hundred dollars. My focus will change in August. I will play 5 Wed night sessions of hi-lo and 6-8 20 40 sessions at GBH. In addition, I will check-out some 10 20 action and the CNE. No online play, no low limit holdem play. Hopefully, without a bad run I will be up $3k or more this time next month.

A Realization and Likely My Worst Session Ever

I have built a nice bankroll playing some low limit underground games in the GTA over the last 2 years, but something has happened in the last few weeks that I knew was coming and it cumulated in my (relatively) worst cash-game session ever last night. It's the same-old problem that has been there in my online game forever, but I have never experienced it live before. The problem is playing for too low stakes to be meaningful to me. Having the bankroll for, and having successfully played, 10 20 and a bit of 20 40 has made playing in the 4 8 and 5 10 range seem insignificant monitarily. I'm not playing anywhere near my best game at those limits anymore. I've seen it coming in a few small wins and break-even sessions in the past few weeks, but it was abundantly clear last night in what was likely my only 50-60bb loss ever at a poker table. If I'm going to take moving-up seriously then I need to focus on the bigger games. Even the Wednesday night game that has been such a steady income for me has somewhat lost its appeal at the moment -- winning $200-$400 a session just isn't that appealing after winning a small pot of $200-$300 at 20 40.

The drive has been the thing impeding my climb up in limits, but I simply have to make the effort to get out to GBH 6-8 times a month. I was going to head out tonight, but after last night's debacle I'm taking the night off and relaxing away from the tables. Maybe tomorrow...maybe Sunday...have to see how I feel.

As for the my worst session ever, I broke almost every one of my rules for being a winning player. The session started off with a few bad beats, including a few horrible beats. There was no way it was going to be a winning session, but playing against the rules of a winning player turned what should have been a bad session results-wise into a disaster results-wise.

Played beyond the 30-40bb rule,
Played when I didn't care anymore,
Played tired in a game that held little interest to me,
Played too many hands trying to get even,

In summary, played undisciplined poker just like 90% of the players out there and deservedly lost more than I should have.

It was one of those nights that helps to push you forward forcefully, like a 28 year old receiving a firm boot to the ass out of his parents' basement.

Hopefully, good things will follow from the experience as I'm more determined to focus on middle-limit poker.

Time to recoup with some omega eggs, huh Cookie?

A Few Key 20 40 Session Hands

Right now, a good part of playing at GBH is that noone there knows how I play. One of my strengths playing live is assessing and reading a player within one or two rounds, whereas most players probably do not get that good a read on me as quickly.

First pot won of the night. 11 handed and I have 98o in my BB UTG calls, LP calls, button raises and I call a bit worried that UTG might reraise -- this is always a fear when not ending the action, but the other 2 just come along. Flop A76 rainbow, couldn't ask for a much better flop, if I hit the turn I likely get paid by either UTG or the button. Sometimes I bet out here to bet more money in the pot if I hit, but I am playing a bit conservative at 20 40 for now, so I check to the raiser as does everyone else. He bets, I call and UTG calls. Turn is the magical offsuit ten giving me the stone-cold nuts. I check praying for the button to bet and he does, I call and UTG folds. River is a low blank and I bet out, which is generally screaming that I have a big hand. But, like I said noone knows me there and the button decides to value raise his ace-ten (top 2 pair), I reraise and he calls. Nice little pot, and most importantly I hit a draw...it's been a while, but I guess I'll save them all up for 20 40.

Another big blind pot of note (I can't recall the order of all these pots), a new female player from the other 20 40 moves to our table and it is folded to her and she raises my BB from the cutoff. I haven't seen her play much, I have noted that she is very comfortable with her chips and her motions mucking the cards. She also knows a few people at the table that I have established as regulars by their play against each other and their comments to each other. So, I have taken her out of the category of my default female weak-tight player and placed her into the category of a player who can steal my blinds. I look down at T9 hearts, a definite call. Miracle flop of QJx all hearts. I flop a flush with a redraw to an open-ended straight flush. I figure that I'll let her do all the work. I check, she bets and I call. Turn blank...I'm praying..no heart, no heart. I check raise her and she calls. River is the partly nice and partly ugly ace of hearts. I figure that she has now hit some of the AQJxx board, but am hoping that she doesn't have KK with the K of hearts. I have the second nuts, but with a one card flush out I'm not ecstatic. I can bet or check. I figure that the pot is large enough that she can fire again to a check, hoping to win it if I don't have a heart. I check-call and win a nice heads-up pot.

Another nice heads-up pot. I have one of the two donatorsin the game 2 seats to my right, and I'm waiting to isolate hime with any decent paint. I see him turning over K7o in EP, etc, etc. I'm in the cutoff and he open-limps and I raise with KQo. Unfortunately a decent, TAG player reraises on the button and the donator folds, I sheepishly call as my raises are getting respect at this point from the 4 players on my left, I'm thinking that I may be drawing fairly slim and remind myself of the troubles with KQo out of position before we see the flop of Qxx rainbow. I check call both the flop and the turn and check down the river to his second pair of TT.

My big cards did fairly well for me all night, winning some small to medium pots. I didn't hit a set in the few hours that I played. At a table like this that is a spot where you are going to win some decent pots.

A few small mistakes and questionable plays in the session, but no major mistakes. Here they are.

Questionable situation one. I'm in LP with black 44 and it is limped to me as a family, I call and we see the flop 11handed! Flop J65 with 2 spades, giving me 2 outs that don't bring a flush but bring a straight. SB bets and I think everyone calls to me, so there are roughly 9-10bb in the pot. I have proper odds to draw to the two remaining red fours and with only 2 players to act behind me and everyone coming along, the odds of a raise behind me is slim. I think for 10 seconds or so and muck telling myself that a larger set or 65 could already be out there and hitting my set could obviously make a made straight, killling some action to my redraw. At the least, with everyone coming along for the ride some of my ten redraw outs must be dead, so I fold a $400 pot for $20, of which I had only invested $20. The button ends-up raising, and I lost track of the rest of the flop action. The turn is a 9 and the river an 8. So, the board is J5698 rainbow. Player on my right had check-raised the turn after it was checked to the flp raiser who bet the turn with the sb coming along. I put him on 78, as did the other 2 I guess. He bets the river and the other 2 fold to a single bet into a $700+ pot. He flips A8 suited, missing his flush draw and hitting a pair of 8s on the river. Button says he folded KK. What a horrid, horrid fold for a single bet on the river. You do the math. I should have probably come along for one more bet on the flop.

Questionable situation two. Same scenario as the next hand in the series (sorry, I wrote these out of order), but I'm in my small blind with K7o. I usually call just about anything here, but I don't want to hit a king and not be able to play it for value against the donators, so I fold and see a K9x flop which is checked around. Final board of K9xJx rainbow. BB bets A9 on the turn and checks the river and wins a small pot against one of the donators.

Small mistake one. One donator is 5 to my left or 5 to my right, so I don't get to manipulate him all too often, the other two to my right. I'm on the button and both donators are the only ones in the pot. I see Q8 suited and decide that I have so much pot-flop equity against these calling-stations that I limp along as do the blinds. KTx rainbow and I check-fold. Now the purpose of having these donators in the game is to have them pay-off your top pair decent kicker, not to be drawing against them. Only cost me $20, but the fact that I was dying to play against these 2 let me make a bad call.

Small mistake two. UTG calls, I call with ATs diamonds in UTG+2 (table is playing fairly passive preflop), guy three to my left who loves raising his middle pairs preflop raises and I the donator on my right comes along. Beautiful flop of A74 with a 4 flush for me. I'm not crazy about my kicker, but I love my draw. Check to me and I bet the the flop to see if there's any strength out there. (I'm also not giving the guy (preflop raiser) who spiked an 8 on my queens on a previous turn a free card to his set). Preflop raiser just calls as does donator. UTG folds. Turn is a blank and I check and so do the other 2 -- against Mr. pocket-pair and the donator who would call any ace, I should have bet for value. I think the pocket-pair would have folded, but I lost $40 from the donator. River makes the board A74x4 and the BB (donator) bets out. I I literally think for 20 seconds -- call/raise? call/raise? call/raise? -- I decide to call to try and get an overcall from the pocket pair and I have a smidgen of fear that the BB has the 4. Pocket pair folds saying he had a pocket pair. I win against the donator's A6o. A raise on the river was the right move. I likely lost $80 easy profit in that hand.

Bad mistake one (and only). The far-off donator limps in EP and 2 to 3 more limp to my sb where I have KJs, I call. Flop KTx rainbow. I bet, donator calls, all else fold. I know he can call with a ten here. Turn ten, copleting nothing put a draw to a ten. I check and he bets...sirens screaming in my head -- the calling station just bet out for the first time almost ever, he has the ten, he has the ten, hello, hello TENTENTEN -- pot is small and I have only invested $30. I call? River blank, I check he bets -- arooooooohah, aroooooooohah, he has the ten! I call. He turns over QTo. Nice play Dave. At 20 40 that's $80 being stubborn. Almost a stack of red shifted to the donkey, nice move. I hate paying-off horrid players.

So, overall I lost or didn't gain roughly $160 making a few mistakes. A good session none the less.

A Very Frustrating Wednesday and My Second Ever 20 40 Session

Wednesday night came again and I played the world's most beatable game again. I had a terrible session. The table was softer than it has been in a month or so and if the chips weren't flowing to me they were going to the second best spots -- to the worst players on the table. Unfortunately all I could muster was a break-even night after 11 hours of play. I couldn't hit a hand to save my life.

The most frustrating part of the session is that I fell back into an old pattern of staying too long to try and post a win -- instead of leaving at 3-4am as I had planned, I stayed until 9am. I was exhausted, got caught in the AM rush-hour traffic and was too tired once home to walk my dog. I hate when I do things like that, I need to be more regimented in my session times. I did get to +$100 after hours of struggling down $100-$200, but ended just about exactly even.

The most rewarding part of this session is the realisation that an awful card-dead session can be a break-even session for me whereas it would be a -$500+ session for almost every other player in that game. This is what makes me a long-term winner. Anyone can win a huge pot with a huge hand, but most give it back fairly quickly.

Just home from my second 20 40 session at the GBH. I was planning on going at 7pm or so, but my sleep cycle is all fucked-up due to working nights and not adjusting back to days well due to idotic things like playing an 11 hour session Wednesday night. Last night I drank a bottle of wine in an attempt at getting to bed at 3am having just woken up at 5pm. Well, it worked, but I awoke at 730am no longer able to sleep and felt tired all day. When 7pm came I knew that I had that tired anxious feel that makes me lose at poker, so I had an hour and a half nap. Then at 1025pm I finally left my house for GBH feeling in the right mindset to play but not really up for a long session.

50 minutes to GBH and I see on the screen that there is an interest list for 20 40 Omaha8??!! Ok, I say sign me up for 10 20, 20 40 and 20 40 O8. Then I ask the floor guy if the Omaha ever goes and he says no, they don't have omaha dealers...uh, ok. Scrap that plan. I get a 10 20 seat right away. I'm hungry, so I decide to wait and post at my BB which is 6-7 hands away and try to get some food.. Fortunate for me as I am called to the 20 40 after 2 hands...still foodless.

Physically, I get a great seat (I hate the end seats with a passion) right in seat 6 and we are 11 handed. Position-wise the seat proves to be good as well...1 of the 2 main donators is 2 seats to my right. Good table, not a great table, 2-3 live ones max and the rest TAG to TWeak players. Certainly a workable table and I had reads on everyone after 1 or 2 passes of the button. At my peak I'm up $650. I only play 3.5 hours and leave at 3am up $600. I'm happy booking a win, only 15bb but $600 is still nice. I'm not at all nervous or apprehensive at the table and after showing down some big hands I'm getting respect all over the place. It's the kind of poker game you read about but never experience at most lower levels. 3-4 players per most flops, a few 7 handed flops, one 11 handed flops, UTG raises being folded to the blinds at times. The ability to make isolation plays, to make a few moves out of the blinds against the overly tight players, to raise for the button preflop from the cutoff, etc. A fun game for sure. I'm still getting used to winning a small pot and making $100-$200 and a decent pot making $400-$500. Pretty neat feeling though.

I'll post a few 20 40 hands tomorrow, now time for bed.

So far, 2 fairly short 20 40 sessions and +$1300-$1400, a good start.