I feel really good playing right now. I'm focused and making good decisions. Keeping it light tonight again since I was kind tired. I'm adapting to using the HUD as something in the background for a reference tool as opposed to focusing on the numbers too much, so that's good.
Got 8th in a $69/45 man on Full Tilt and unfortunately busted at the bubble making a standard shove with A9 and getting called by AT. I had like 6bb left and was in the cutoff.
....
Just made a really nice play with KK on a J high board, got it in on the turn vs. tp and a J hit the river...happy with my play though since I got tp to stack off.
....
Got deep in a $48/90 man KO and was playing really well and lost a flip with AK to the chip leader who was winning every single flip. I made a couple of well timed bluffs and I think I picked good spots for the couple of multi-barrel bluffs I made tonight. I was very confident they would work as opposed to betting and hoping.
I made a really strange call earlier in the night with AK on the river and no pair. The guy had been flatting all my raises and betting into me and in this hand he checked flop, min bet turn and potted river when a flush draw hit. I thought for a while and called 1/2 my stack. I'll have to re-look at the hand tomorrow and see if making a big hero call like this was good. I mean obviously committing half my stack isn't good, but I was comfortable with making a big call there. The one thing I'm not sure is if I was making it more out of ego than a solid read...I think a little ego was in there, but my justification was somewhat logical. It wasn't a spite call or anything.
Anyway, no cashes tonight other than some bounties, but bubbled two tournaments and lost in completely standard situations so I felt good about my play.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Daily Recap - 9/22/09
Light night again. Only played 3 multi-table sngs.
$38/45 man turbo - 38th (ick...lost an early flip with AK to a SS and then lost another flip with an 8bb shove..oh well)
$36/180 man tubo - I got teased by my 2nd place finish so I played again. 21 left I shove 8.5bb (which is a good stack with this many left) with AK. BB snap calls with A8 and hits an 8.
$24/90 man KO - Played really well here and don't really remember any hands. So that's a good thing. I was on complete auto-pilot and didn't have to think much. I had one hand where a big stack randomly shoved the river and I had tp (K) with KJ on the flop. Nothing made sense with the way the hand played out and I was about to call but my time bank ran out. Who knows if I was right or not, but lasted longer than that player and ended up out in 6th place when I shoved A5 and 75 called in the BB and hit a 7.
So overall the night was a profit and I felt good about my play.
$38/45 man turbo - 38th (ick...lost an early flip with AK to a SS and then lost another flip with an 8bb shove..oh well)
$36/180 man tubo - I got teased by my 2nd place finish so I played again. 21 left I shove 8.5bb (which is a good stack with this many left) with AK. BB snap calls with A8 and hits an 8.
$24/90 man KO - Played really well here and don't really remember any hands. So that's a good thing. I was on complete auto-pilot and didn't have to think much. I had one hand where a big stack randomly shoved the river and I had tp (K) with KJ on the flop. Nothing made sense with the way the hand played out and I was about to call but my time bank ran out. Who knows if I was right or not, but lasted longer than that player and ended up out in 6th place when I shoved A5 and 75 called in the BB and hit a 7.
So overall the night was a profit and I felt good about my play.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Daily Recap 9/20/09
I felt good playing tonight. I kept it really light since I was tired and only played 3 45 man turbos. I have been playing under my roll the last few sessions just because I was getting over some tilt and didn't want to be affected by big losing sessions. I've started to run well and I've re-tooled myself so my confidence is high.
At first I wasn't going to play tonight but one thing I have noticed in the past is that I don't ride the upswings enough. I'm not sure I'm on a full upswing yet, but I have started to run better and I've hit a few wins the last couple of days, so I decided to at least play some. I didn't cash tonight, but I played really well. I honestly don't really remember many hands because I was instinctively making reads and plays. So that's a good thing. I'm no longer thinking about things on a conscious level. I did save one hand from tonight which I was proud of.
Full Tilt Poker Game #14832008906: $69 + $6 Sit & Go (108866952), Table 5 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:20:52 ET - 2009/09/20
Seat 1: hdkeisk (1,375)
Seat 2: DP388 (3,725)
Seat 3: vardar14 (1,825)
Seat 4: KRISDRU (1,305)
Seat 5: DIMJR (1,765)
Seat 6: voff voff voff (1,615)
Seat 7: Sando85 (3,285)
Seat 8: Dr_Krimsonn (1,375)
Seat 9: Tinmannohearts (1,325)
hdkeisk posts the small blind of 25
DP388 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [7d 8c]
vardar14 folds
KRISDRU calls 50
DIMJR has 15 seconds left to act
DIMJR has timed out
DIMJR folds
DIMJR is sitting out
voff voff voff folds
Sando85 folds
Dr_Krimsonn folds
Tinmannohearts has 15 seconds left to act
Tinmannohearts calls 50
hdkeisk folds
DIMJR has returned
DP388 checks
*** FLOP *** [3s Jc 8s]
DP388 checks
KRISDRU checks
Tinmannohearts checks
*** TURN *** [3s Jc 8s] [5d]
DP388 bets 100
KRISDRU calls 100
Tinmannohearts calls 100
*** RIVER *** [3s Jc 8s 5d] [Jh]
DP388 checks
KRISDRU bets 200
Tinmannohearts folds
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 calls 200
*** SHOW DOWN ***
KRISDRU shows [Ah Kd] a pair of Jacks
DP388 shows [7d 8c] two pair, Jacks and Eights
DP388 wins the pot (875) with two pair, Jacks and Eights
Him having a jack didn't make since since he checked the flop that had a couple of draws. When he called the turn, I put him on a flush draw or possibly a hand like 89, A8 or A5. After he bets the river and the other guy folds, it just didn't make since. He would likely check behind with an 8 since it had showdown value and he'd be afraid of the other guy having a Jack. So I called and it was a poorly played AK. I did think for a moment before calling to go through a range of hands and once it didn't ad up, I called with confidence.
At first I wasn't going to play tonight but one thing I have noticed in the past is that I don't ride the upswings enough. I'm not sure I'm on a full upswing yet, but I have started to run better and I've hit a few wins the last couple of days, so I decided to at least play some. I didn't cash tonight, but I played really well. I honestly don't really remember many hands because I was instinctively making reads and plays. So that's a good thing. I'm no longer thinking about things on a conscious level. I did save one hand from tonight which I was proud of.
Full Tilt Poker Game #14832008906: $69 + $6 Sit & Go (108866952), Table 5 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:20:52 ET - 2009/09/20
Seat 1: hdkeisk (1,375)
Seat 2: DP388 (3,725)
Seat 3: vardar14 (1,825)
Seat 4: KRISDRU (1,305)
Seat 5: DIMJR (1,765)
Seat 6: voff voff voff (1,615)
Seat 7: Sando85 (3,285)
Seat 8: Dr_Krimsonn (1,375)
Seat 9: Tinmannohearts (1,325)
hdkeisk posts the small blind of 25
DP388 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [7d 8c]
vardar14 folds
KRISDRU calls 50
DIMJR has 15 seconds left to act
DIMJR has timed out
DIMJR folds
DIMJR is sitting out
voff voff voff folds
Sando85 folds
Dr_Krimsonn folds
Tinmannohearts has 15 seconds left to act
Tinmannohearts calls 50
hdkeisk folds
DIMJR has returned
DP388 checks
*** FLOP *** [3s Jc 8s]
DP388 checks
KRISDRU checks
Tinmannohearts checks
*** TURN *** [3s Jc 8s] [5d]
DP388 bets 100
KRISDRU calls 100
Tinmannohearts calls 100
*** RIVER *** [3s Jc 8s 5d] [Jh]
DP388 checks
KRISDRU bets 200
Tinmannohearts folds
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 calls 200
*** SHOW DOWN ***
KRISDRU shows [Ah Kd] a pair of Jacks
DP388 shows [7d 8c] two pair, Jacks and Eights
DP388 wins the pot (875) with two pair, Jacks and Eights
Him having a jack didn't make since since he checked the flop that had a couple of draws. When he called the turn, I put him on a flush draw or possibly a hand like 89, A8 or A5. After he bets the river and the other guy folds, it just didn't make since. He would likely check behind with an 8 since it had showdown value and he'd be afraid of the other guy having a Jack. So I called and it was a poorly played AK. I did think for a moment before calling to go through a range of hands and once it didn't ad up, I called with confidence.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Daily Recap - 9/19/09
AM Session:
So Jenni took the kids to a play date and I figured I'd fire up a few turbo multi-table sngs. I was feeling good from the nice cash the night before and wanted to start riding an upswing. I played only 2 tables at a time so I could concentrate better and played well, but busted out on completely standard shoves. But for some reason, I still felt angry that I busted. I was hoping that the night before would have helped erase some of that but obviously there is still some lingering emotion from the downswing.
While I've felt pretty good, I've only given myself a couple of small 1-2 day breaks. I didn't think I needed it, but it might be time for me to take 3-4 days off to fully reset my head. I still have two tables going so we'll see what happens. Unfortunately I'm sitting at like 8bb because I had to rush to the bathroom and folded JJ when I would have doubled up...oh well.
Bleh...A8 > my AT...one left. I'm cool though.
...Ship it! Had a super passive final table and completely took control. It was just a $24/45 man on Full Tilt, but I played well and did not settle for anything other than first. I pushed back the voices that were telling me to not get too aggressive and it paid off. I just kept raising until people played back and they never did.
PM Session:
Things are starting to click back into focus now. I am kind tired so I only 2 tabled and played just a few turbo multi-table sngs so I could go to be early. I took 7th in a 90 man and was unfortunate to have my AT get beat pre-flop by Q8, but that's how it goes. So overall profit for the last two days is around $1,100 or so.
Here's a pretty big hand that came up:
Full Tilt Poker $24 + $2 KO No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t120/t240 Blinds + t25 - 8 players
CO: t1335 M = 2.38
BTN: t6200 M = 11.07
SB: t11325 M = 20.22
BB: t1125 M = 2.01
Hero (UTG): t6425 M = 11.47
UTG+1: t6740 M = 12.04
MP1: t2360 M = 4.21
MP2: t7480 M = 13.36
Pre Flop: (t560) Hero is UTG with KsJs
Hero raises to t595, 2 folds, MP2 calls t595, 2 folds, SB calls t475, 1 fold
Flop:(t2225) JdKd6s (3 players)
SB bets t960, Hero raises to t2640, MP2 folds, SB requests TIME, SB calls t1680
Turn: (t7505) Qc
SB bets t3840, Hero requests TIME, Hero calls t3165 all in
River: (t13835) 8s
SB shows [7h Kh]
Hero shows [Js Ks]
Opening KJs utg is definitely marginal and loose for me, but my image was tight and I felt I could get away with it and definitely get away from a marginal spot if I needed to. When he bet the flop, it felt like a probe bet to see where he was or possibly a flush draw that was trying to control the action. When he called, it really didn't change his range much. He could have various diamond draws and hands like KT and K9. I think KQ bets out stronger or check-raises here, but either way I'm taking him to value town.
When he bets the turn, it really threw me off. Could he have AdTd? Maybe...but why would he want me to fold here? Why not check and let me shove what looks like AK? I also think a set jams the flop since I showed strength. KQ was definitely something I was worried about but based on the flop play it wasn't as likely so I decided to call. This was the pivotal hand of the tournament.
So Jenni took the kids to a play date and I figured I'd fire up a few turbo multi-table sngs. I was feeling good from the nice cash the night before and wanted to start riding an upswing. I played only 2 tables at a time so I could concentrate better and played well, but busted out on completely standard shoves. But for some reason, I still felt angry that I busted. I was hoping that the night before would have helped erase some of that but obviously there is still some lingering emotion from the downswing.
While I've felt pretty good, I've only given myself a couple of small 1-2 day breaks. I didn't think I needed it, but it might be time for me to take 3-4 days off to fully reset my head. I still have two tables going so we'll see what happens. Unfortunately I'm sitting at like 8bb because I had to rush to the bathroom and folded JJ when I would have doubled up...oh well.
Bleh...A8 > my AT...one left. I'm cool though.
...Ship it! Had a super passive final table and completely took control. It was just a $24/45 man on Full Tilt, but I played well and did not settle for anything other than first. I pushed back the voices that were telling me to not get too aggressive and it paid off. I just kept raising until people played back and they never did.
PM Session:
Things are starting to click back into focus now. I am kind tired so I only 2 tabled and played just a few turbo multi-table sngs so I could go to be early. I took 7th in a 90 man and was unfortunate to have my AT get beat pre-flop by Q8, but that's how it goes. So overall profit for the last two days is around $1,100 or so.
Here's a pretty big hand that came up:
Full Tilt Poker $24 + $2 KO No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t120/t240 Blinds + t25 - 8 players
CO: t1335 M = 2.38
BTN: t6200 M = 11.07
SB: t11325 M = 20.22
BB: t1125 M = 2.01
Hero (UTG): t6425 M = 11.47
UTG+1: t6740 M = 12.04
MP1: t2360 M = 4.21
MP2: t7480 M = 13.36
Pre Flop: (t560) Hero is UTG with KsJs
Hero raises to t595, 2 folds, MP2 calls t595, 2 folds, SB calls t475, 1 fold
Flop:(t2225) JdKd6s (3 players)
SB bets t960, Hero raises to t2640, MP2 folds, SB requests TIME, SB calls t1680
Turn: (t7505) Qc
SB bets t3840, Hero requests TIME, Hero calls t3165 all in
River: (t13835) 8s
SB shows [7h Kh]
Hero shows [Js Ks]
Opening KJs utg is definitely marginal and loose for me, but my image was tight and I felt I could get away with it and definitely get away from a marginal spot if I needed to. When he bet the flop, it felt like a probe bet to see where he was or possibly a flush draw that was trying to control the action. When he called, it really didn't change his range much. He could have various diamond draws and hands like KT and K9. I think KQ bets out stronger or check-raises here, but either way I'm taking him to value town.
When he bets the turn, it really threw me off. Could he have AdTd? Maybe...but why would he want me to fold here? Why not check and let me shove what looks like AK? I also think a set jams the flop since I showed strength. KQ was definitely something I was worried about but based on the flop play it wasn't as likely so I decided to call. This was the pivotal hand of the tournament.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Daily Recap - 9/18/09
So I was inspired by a Cardrunners video to start doing a brief recap of each night's session as a way to evaluate my play while it's fresh in my mind.
Tonight started off brutal as it has for the last couple of months. A flush draw got there on the river leaving me short and my AQ vs. TT ran out QxxxT...weeee. I was okay after that and picked up some really nice pots playing the players tendencies. Then a massive hand occurred where I flopped a straight with J8 in the big blind with a straight flush draw. The pot was only 450 and a guy shoved for 2700 and gets flatted by the button. I shove and the button calls with a king high flush draw! He spikes a gut shot J on the turn (3 outer!) and knocks us both out. I kind of laugh that one off and then play a hand what I feel was very optimal with QT. With the board reading T4x44, I check to induce a bluff or possible chop with another T. He shoves, I call, he shows A4! At this point a really start steaming. It had been like this for a while now and I literally started breathing like a pregnant woman trying to stay calm.
I had one more tournament still going and it was a $36 180 man turbo on Stars. I rarely play these (maybe 5 times total) because the variance was so high. But I was trying to play under my roll tonight and figured I would give it a shot since the payout to buy-in ratio is really high. I won a couple of pots and eventually I calmed down and managed not to tilt-shove my way out. Eventually it got down to about 40 people and as a super short stack I was able to win a crucial flip with 66 vs. KJ. I double up to 10bb and then pick up AA the next hand and build up to $25K. Down to 30 and I win a huge flip with AK vs. QQ and now I'm up to $45K at the 1k/2k level which is huge for this tournament.
I then make a bad play when we are down to 3 tables left I believe. A new player arrives at the table and he min raises the cut off and it folds to me in the BB with Ah8h. Believe it or not, I can often times find a fold here and my instincts were screaming to fold since I did not know how the guy played yet. But I called because of odds, I had a decent stack and the fact that I could have the best hand. The flop is 832 rainbow. I check to evaluate his play and he bets over 1/2 his stack to $16K into a $5k pot. My initial reaction was that people in these tournaments sometimes make these really weird overbet plays with big hands to make it look like they are bluffing even though no one really ever bluffs like this. BUT where I went wrong was not trusting my initial instinct and convincing myself that he had overcards or a hand like AK and he was just trying to take down the pot. I mean there were no draws present, so what is he protecting. So I shove to put him all in and he flips up KK. I guess he assumed that if I had a PP that I would stack off. Well, I hit the 8 and stacked off. So it's not the worst thing in the world, but the main thing is that my instincts are crazy good and I've been so emotional and anxious to win lately that I'm not trusting them because I'm forcing wins.
Well, the good news was that I didn't berate myself and just stayed calm and focused. I ended up taking 2nd for $1,188 which was a much needed win that felt really good. I would have loved to take it down, but I felt like I played well overall.
So this recap was longer than expected. I plan on making them shorter. But evaluating the A8 hand was good because it reminds me to trust my gut even if there is no logical explanation. It doesn't have to be logical at the moment, it just has to feel right.
Tonight started off brutal as it has for the last couple of months. A flush draw got there on the river leaving me short and my AQ vs. TT ran out QxxxT...weeee. I was okay after that and picked up some really nice pots playing the players tendencies. Then a massive hand occurred where I flopped a straight with J8 in the big blind with a straight flush draw. The pot was only 450 and a guy shoved for 2700 and gets flatted by the button. I shove and the button calls with a king high flush draw! He spikes a gut shot J on the turn (3 outer!) and knocks us both out. I kind of laugh that one off and then play a hand what I feel was very optimal with QT. With the board reading T4x44, I check to induce a bluff or possible chop with another T. He shoves, I call, he shows A4! At this point a really start steaming. It had been like this for a while now and I literally started breathing like a pregnant woman trying to stay calm.
I had one more tournament still going and it was a $36 180 man turbo on Stars. I rarely play these (maybe 5 times total) because the variance was so high. But I was trying to play under my roll tonight and figured I would give it a shot since the payout to buy-in ratio is really high. I won a couple of pots and eventually I calmed down and managed not to tilt-shove my way out. Eventually it got down to about 40 people and as a super short stack I was able to win a crucial flip with 66 vs. KJ. I double up to 10bb and then pick up AA the next hand and build up to $25K. Down to 30 and I win a huge flip with AK vs. QQ and now I'm up to $45K at the 1k/2k level which is huge for this tournament.
I then make a bad play when we are down to 3 tables left I believe. A new player arrives at the table and he min raises the cut off and it folds to me in the BB with Ah8h. Believe it or not, I can often times find a fold here and my instincts were screaming to fold since I did not know how the guy played yet. But I called because of odds, I had a decent stack and the fact that I could have the best hand. The flop is 832 rainbow. I check to evaluate his play and he bets over 1/2 his stack to $16K into a $5k pot. My initial reaction was that people in these tournaments sometimes make these really weird overbet plays with big hands to make it look like they are bluffing even though no one really ever bluffs like this. BUT where I went wrong was not trusting my initial instinct and convincing myself that he had overcards or a hand like AK and he was just trying to take down the pot. I mean there were no draws present, so what is he protecting. So I shove to put him all in and he flips up KK. I guess he assumed that if I had a PP that I would stack off. Well, I hit the 8 and stacked off. So it's not the worst thing in the world, but the main thing is that my instincts are crazy good and I've been so emotional and anxious to win lately that I'm not trusting them because I'm forcing wins.
Well, the good news was that I didn't berate myself and just stayed calm and focused. I ended up taking 2nd for $1,188 which was a much needed win that felt really good. I would have loved to take it down, but I felt like I played well overall.
So this recap was longer than expected. I plan on making them shorter. But evaluating the A8 hand was good because it reminds me to trust my gut even if there is no logical explanation. It doesn't have to be logical at the moment, it just has to feel right.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
High Expectations
I've noticed a trend over the last few years. When I make a really deep cash or have big success, I tend to follow that up with a downswing. Now some of this is just the natural ups and downs of poker, but I also realized that the downswings have a much more emotional effect which can start affecting my play.
Case in point - I had a great WSOP this year and hit a few wins right after that building my bankroll up to $11.5K. I then hit a bit of a downswing and I was down about $1600 in August and then had a negative trip to Biloxi. I've hit a few wins here or there online, but nothing major. So far, I'm down in September as well and my roll is down to about $7,500. So that really sucks.
For the most part, I feel like there are parts of my game where I am killing it. And honestly, I feel like I am a better player now than I have ever been. I am going through a rough patch in terms of not winning coin flips and getting 3-outered. BUT, the more important thing is that I have been letting it affect me emotionally. I might play fine in 3-4 tournaments and then the last 2-3 I am either getting anxious or nitting up and afraid to bust or I am not making clear reads.
I think the trend I am noticing is that after a big win I am on top of the world and I start expecting my "superior play" to yield continuous wins and put me in the ranks of poker's elite or something. Am I good? Yes. Do I have things to learn? Absolutely. Do I expect to make big cashes and 5 figure scores online? Yes. BUT...I can't force that to happen. I can't assume I will run like god and because I had a nice WSOP that I "deserve" to keep winning. So therefore I can't get mad when it doesn't happen. I have to keep making +EV decisions and finding edges. I have to keep improving my play. And I have to be consistent about controlling my emotional reaction to situations. If I start the night playing great, I can't let one or two bad outcomes affect the rest of the night or rest of the week. All I can do is control my decision making process and trust my instincts and the results will come.
Case in point - I had a great WSOP this year and hit a few wins right after that building my bankroll up to $11.5K. I then hit a bit of a downswing and I was down about $1600 in August and then had a negative trip to Biloxi. I've hit a few wins here or there online, but nothing major. So far, I'm down in September as well and my roll is down to about $7,500. So that really sucks.
For the most part, I feel like there are parts of my game where I am killing it. And honestly, I feel like I am a better player now than I have ever been. I am going through a rough patch in terms of not winning coin flips and getting 3-outered. BUT, the more important thing is that I have been letting it affect me emotionally. I might play fine in 3-4 tournaments and then the last 2-3 I am either getting anxious or nitting up and afraid to bust or I am not making clear reads.
I think the trend I am noticing is that after a big win I am on top of the world and I start expecting my "superior play" to yield continuous wins and put me in the ranks of poker's elite or something. Am I good? Yes. Do I have things to learn? Absolutely. Do I expect to make big cashes and 5 figure scores online? Yes. BUT...I can't force that to happen. I can't assume I will run like god and because I had a nice WSOP that I "deserve" to keep winning. So therefore I can't get mad when it doesn't happen. I have to keep making +EV decisions and finding edges. I have to keep improving my play. And I have to be consistent about controlling my emotional reaction to situations. If I start the night playing great, I can't let one or two bad outcomes affect the rest of the night or rest of the week. All I can do is control my decision making process and trust my instincts and the results will come.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Baggage & Tilt - Side Effects
I'm usually really good about brushing off beats and staying calm during a down swing, but I've recently had what seems like one of the worst downswings ever and I hit my breaking point on Sunday.
For the week of August 10-16 I played 28 tournaments and I cashed in only two. One of the cashes was just after the bubble and in a $10 tournament, so my net result was about - $1,100 for the week. Am I worried? Do I care about losing the money? No. I'm playing well within my bankroll with really only one tournament that was a stretch, so it's not affecting me financially. But I'm going to take a couple of days off now because it's starting to affect the way I play.
Up through about 25 of the tournaments, I was playing fine. In fact, I was playing some of my best poker ever. I was getting a lot of 2 outers and runner runners against me, but I just brushed it off and moved on to the next tournament. But since I am playing more volume now, I have to be prepared for bigger swings and my tolerance level for taking the blunt end of the variance stick is going to have to increase. So, at about 25 tournaments I was starting to get sick of the nastiness and while I didn't make any tilty donk shoves or anything, emotion was starting to cloud my judgement and decision making.
The following are the ways in which I think running bad was affecitng my play:
For the week of August 10-16 I played 28 tournaments and I cashed in only two. One of the cashes was just after the bubble and in a $10 tournament, so my net result was about - $1,100 for the week. Am I worried? Do I care about losing the money? No. I'm playing well within my bankroll with really only one tournament that was a stretch, so it's not affecting me financially. But I'm going to take a couple of days off now because it's starting to affect the way I play.
Up through about 25 of the tournaments, I was playing fine. In fact, I was playing some of my best poker ever. I was getting a lot of 2 outers and runner runners against me, but I just brushed it off and moved on to the next tournament. But since I am playing more volume now, I have to be prepared for bigger swings and my tolerance level for taking the blunt end of the variance stick is going to have to increase. So, at about 25 tournaments I was starting to get sick of the nastiness and while I didn't make any tilty donk shoves or anything, emotion was starting to cloud my judgement and decision making.
The following are the ways in which I think running bad was affecitng my play:
- Bet sizing, stack size and pot size calculation - for some reason my emotions cloud everything and I don't think on multiple planes. I just think 2-dimensionally (bet or check/fold, call or raise vs. how much, what will my/their stack be on future streets, etc.). This might be coupled with being tired as well, but either way I need to take a couple of breaths and make sure I'm thinking multi-dimensionally.
- Narrowing the range too much and focusing only on the hands that might beat me - After running bad, the baggage/scar-tissue starts to build up and sometimes play in fear of a hand that might beat me vs. playing against my opponents entire range. For example, I raised with KK in ep, the sb calls and the flop is AcTcXd. Villain checks and I check behind for pot control, inducing bluffs, etc. The turn was Qc. So now I have a gut shot and nut flush draw. Villain checks again. Well...because of baggage in a few hands a couple of weeks ago where an Ace checked twice and my KK lost, I decided to check behind again and let 44 catch up to make a set on the river. Now, this doesn't mean that next time I'm going to overshove so that I don't let someone suckout on me. It just means that I need to bet the turn because while he could have an Ace (or even a made flush), he can also have a lot of other hands as well. Some of those hands fold and some weaker hands call. I also have lots of outs if he does have an Ace.
- Folding instead of stealing, 3-betting or bluffing - when I am playing and running good, I am very confident in pulling the trigger when I sense the situation is right for a steal. However, when I'm running bad I start fearing people waking up with hands and talk myself into a fold. I am losing a lot of equity by doing this and while it doesn't mean that I need to play like a maniac, it means that I need to quit worrying about the "what ifs" and pull the trigger when I have a read...even if I have been running bad in those situations....NO BAGGAGE!
- Not assigning a hand range - When the affects of running bad start wearing on me, I start betting based on the value of my hand and stop putting the other guy on a range. I mean, I might think "strong vs. weak", but I really need to think deeper and say to myself the hands he could have played pre-flop that lead us to this situation.
- Betting for thin value - I know there are times I checked behind on the river and left value on the table because I was afraid of losing a bet
- Not c-betting - While I don't think this happened recently, I know in the past I had a tendency to shut down in spots where a c-bet is standard because I didn't want to get check-raised or called.
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