So here's the deal. I've been stressing pretty hard about money lately. We have slowly accumulated debt over the last couple of years due to starting the business and not making as much as I used to. In addition, we owe one some loan payments and we are probably going to pay taxes this year (which was unexpected). We will have a big payment coming up on a humidification system and we just found out our insurance is going up $100 a month.
Why am I venting this on a blog no one reads? Because it's been affecting my poker game lately. Is it affecting how I play? Maybe a little. But worse, it is making me feel extremely tense and stressed every time I play. If a pot goes bad, I get pissed. If I get card dead, I stop looking for situations when I don't need cards or I start feeling either impatient or I start getting on myself for being a nit and not opening the pot with any two cards. Either way, it's putting me in a funk. I love to play poker, but the pressure of needing the money has been starting to get to me.
I have the money in my bankroll to at least take a large chunk out of our debt, but then I'll have to go back to grinding micro-stakes. I'm trying to play more MTTs in hope that I'll hit a big cash and can take care of some things. Some days I'm playing fine and I'm not forcing results because of the need for money and some days I'm just completely stressing while I play.
So...what's the solution? As much as I hate to say it, it falls back on the principles of achieving success in any endeavor...especially poker. I have to stay patient. I can't change the cards, I can't force things. I have to completely separate the need for money from the goal of playing poker. I have to play poker for the fun of it and any good result that may occur in the short run will be gravy. But poker IS a game of the long run and it has variance. For me to stress about results would be the equivalent of me flipping a coin and getting pissed that it didn't land the way I picked. I have to find other means of earning money and if it comes to it in the next few months, then I may need to withdraw some of my bankroll. If I'm able to make it bigger by that time, then that's great. But I need to focus on playing poker and not on winning money.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Daily recap 1-24-10 - Deep Run
After waking from a nap cranky, I wasn't going to play tonight even thought I had planned to all day. I didn't feel that I would play my best because of it and so I ate about 1/3 box of ice cream. After some encouragement from Jenni, I decided to play anyway. I'm playing the $30 rebuy on Tilt for the first time and the $20 rebuy on Stars. My play so far has been pretty good, but I haven't really had a lot of hands. Being a bit tired and feeling the effects of the sugar crash, I'm not quite in the zone yet as far as hand reading and pulling the trigger. I'm kinda going on auto pilot. The first real breaks are just ending so my goal right now is to start putting people on hands.
------
Just hit the money in the $30 rebuy and just bubbled the $20 rebuy. I'm feeling good right now. I'm running good and playing good and I'm 7 out of 35 with $71K at the 1k/2k + 250 level. So I've got chips, but it still isn't a ton. I've got MoormanI two to my right as the chip leader and he is definitely using his stack. I've had to play somewhat patient since I haven't been able to really read his play thus far. In order to win this thing I'm going to have to pick good spots and make good reads. I'm not going to nit up because he's aggressive, but I'm also not going to just 3 bet him every chance. I'm gonna have to do my best to put him on a range and trust my gut.
Right now I'm fighting my own emotions of wanting to final table and ultimately win. I told Jenni that any profit I make in the next month or so was going to pay off some bills, so my hope is to obviously just take down one big tournament and not have to worry about it. But it is counterproductive to play that way. So much can happen in a tournament that I just need to stay +EV focused. I mean I get super deep and it's a big jump and a marginal situation I may pass it up, but I am still focused on making the top 3 at least so I need to accumulate chips.
I'm also trying not to be affected by having Moorman to my right. Normally I don't care about who I'm playing against, but he is literally opening every pot so I can't put him on any sort of range. I've never played with anyone this atgressive before. In order to play my best I can't worry about that stuff. All I can do is play each situation to it's fullest and not worry about the results of one tournament. Even though I bubbled the $20R after playing great and building a big stack, I'm going to push those emotions aside and concentrate on this table now.
----
Just won a massive pot with QQ vs. TT and I'm up to 116K at the 1200/2400 level.
----
Moorman just got taken out, so I should be able to open more pots now.
---
Took a big hit a bit ago...ugh...in shove mode now with 16 left.
Full Tilt Poker Game #17890349164: $25,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (134861280), Table 8 - 1500/3000 Ante 400 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:26:17 ET - 2010/01/25
Seat 1: AKSharky (76,764)
Seat 3: heavyv63 (162,199)
Seat 4: JOSEKATE (24,276), is sitting out
Seat 5: Romario25 (21,821)
Seat 6: ErikTheKing7 (41,024)
Seat 8: sMokInMySkIzArD (45,166)
Seat 9: DP388 (120,614)
AKSharky antes 400
heavyv63 antes 400
JOSEKATE antes 400
Romario25 antes 400
ErikTheKing7 antes 400
sMokInMySkIzArD antes 400
DP388 antes 400
heavyv63 posts the small blind of 1,500
JOSEKATE posts the big blind of 3,000
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [Ks Kh]
Romario25 has 15 seconds left to act
Romario25 calls 3,000
ErikTheKing7 folds
sMokInMySkIzArD folds
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 raises to 10,500
AKSharky folds
heavyv63 raises to 18,000
JOSEKATE folds
Romario25 folds
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 calls 7,500
*** FLOP *** [6h 7d Jc]
heavyv63 bets 9,000
DP388 raises to 27,000
heavyv63 has 15 seconds left to act
heavyv63 calls 18,000
*** TURN *** [6h 7d Jc] [As]
heavyv63 bets 9,000
DP388 calls 9,000
*** RIVER *** [6h 7d Jc As] [9d]
heavyv63 bets 9,000
DP388 calls 9,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
heavyv63 shows [Kd Ad] a pair of Aces
DP388 mucks
heavyv63 wins the pot (134,800) with a pair of Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 134,800 | Rake 0
Board: [6h 7d Jc As 9d]
Seat 1: AKSharky (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: heavyv63 (small blind) showed [Kd Ad] and won (134,800) with a pair of Aces
Seat 4: JOSEKATE (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Romario25 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: ErikTheKing7 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: sMokInMySkIzArD folded before the Flop
Seat 9: DP388 mucked [Ks Kh] - a pair of Kings
----
Fck...can't pick a spot to shove...3bb now.
----
Grrr...13th for $325.20. That KK hand killed me and I couldn't pick a good spot to get my chips in until I was so low I had to get called. I'm still happy with the way I played, but I lost another big hand late that really hurt me.
---
Post note: I think I just realized a small leak that's been happening in bigger tournaments. I'm talking myself out of shoving with marginal cards when I'm a little above 10bb or so. I'm assuming I will find a better spot than shoving J9 from the hijack and I'm letting myself blind out. I used to never do this, but I think because of the possibility of higher payouts I'm a little more timid shoving ATC. I need to be conscious of that in the future without overcompensating for it.
------
Just hit the money in the $30 rebuy and just bubbled the $20 rebuy. I'm feeling good right now. I'm running good and playing good and I'm 7 out of 35 with $71K at the 1k/2k + 250 level. So I've got chips, but it still isn't a ton. I've got MoormanI two to my right as the chip leader and he is definitely using his stack. I've had to play somewhat patient since I haven't been able to really read his play thus far. In order to win this thing I'm going to have to pick good spots and make good reads. I'm not going to nit up because he's aggressive, but I'm also not going to just 3 bet him every chance. I'm gonna have to do my best to put him on a range and trust my gut.
Right now I'm fighting my own emotions of wanting to final table and ultimately win. I told Jenni that any profit I make in the next month or so was going to pay off some bills, so my hope is to obviously just take down one big tournament and not have to worry about it. But it is counterproductive to play that way. So much can happen in a tournament that I just need to stay +EV focused. I mean I get super deep and it's a big jump and a marginal situation I may pass it up, but I am still focused on making the top 3 at least so I need to accumulate chips.
I'm also trying not to be affected by having Moorman to my right. Normally I don't care about who I'm playing against, but he is literally opening every pot so I can't put him on any sort of range. I've never played with anyone this atgressive before. In order to play my best I can't worry about that stuff. All I can do is play each situation to it's fullest and not worry about the results of one tournament. Even though I bubbled the $20R after playing great and building a big stack, I'm going to push those emotions aside and concentrate on this table now.
----
Just won a massive pot with QQ vs. TT and I'm up to 116K at the 1200/2400 level.
----
Moorman just got taken out, so I should be able to open more pots now.
---
Took a big hit a bit ago...ugh...in shove mode now with 16 left.
Full Tilt Poker Game #17890349164: $25,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (134861280), Table 8 - 1500/3000 Ante 400 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:26:17 ET - 2010/01/25
Seat 1: AKSharky (76,764)
Seat 3: heavyv63 (162,199)
Seat 4: JOSEKATE (24,276), is sitting out
Seat 5: Romario25 (21,821)
Seat 6: ErikTheKing7 (41,024)
Seat 8: sMokInMySkIzArD (45,166)
Seat 9: DP388 (120,614)
AKSharky antes 400
heavyv63 antes 400
JOSEKATE antes 400
Romario25 antes 400
ErikTheKing7 antes 400
sMokInMySkIzArD antes 400
DP388 antes 400
heavyv63 posts the small blind of 1,500
JOSEKATE posts the big blind of 3,000
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [Ks Kh]
Romario25 has 15 seconds left to act
Romario25 calls 3,000
ErikTheKing7 folds
sMokInMySkIzArD folds
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 raises to 10,500
AKSharky folds
heavyv63 raises to 18,000
JOSEKATE folds
Romario25 folds
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 calls 7,500
*** FLOP *** [6h 7d Jc]
heavyv63 bets 9,000
DP388 raises to 27,000
heavyv63 has 15 seconds left to act
heavyv63 calls 18,000
*** TURN *** [6h 7d Jc] [As]
heavyv63 bets 9,000
DP388 calls 9,000
*** RIVER *** [6h 7d Jc As] [9d]
heavyv63 bets 9,000
DP388 calls 9,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
heavyv63 shows [Kd Ad] a pair of Aces
DP388 mucks
heavyv63 wins the pot (134,800) with a pair of Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 134,800 | Rake 0
Board: [6h 7d Jc As 9d]
Seat 1: AKSharky (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: heavyv63 (small blind) showed [Kd Ad] and won (134,800) with a pair of Aces
Seat 4: JOSEKATE (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Romario25 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: ErikTheKing7 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: sMokInMySkIzArD folded before the Flop
Seat 9: DP388 mucked [Ks Kh] - a pair of Kings
----
Fck...can't pick a spot to shove...3bb now.
----
Grrr...13th for $325.20. That KK hand killed me and I couldn't pick a good spot to get my chips in until I was so low I had to get called. I'm still happy with the way I played, but I lost another big hand late that really hurt me.
---
Post note: I think I just realized a small leak that's been happening in bigger tournaments. I'm talking myself out of shoving with marginal cards when I'm a little above 10bb or so. I'm assuming I will find a better spot than shoving J9 from the hijack and I'm letting myself blind out. I used to never do this, but I think because of the possibility of higher payouts I'm a little more timid shoving ATC. I need to be conscious of that in the future without overcompensating for it.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Earning Pots - Recap 1-20-10
I'm feeling really good about my play so far tonight. After playing with Chris Layton in Biloxi, I've started noticing more spots where I can profitably bluff. I realized that I was nitting up a bit in Biloxi and only taking one stab and check/folding when called. Tonight I am 2 barreling when it makes sense for the board and I'm leading more. I'm not going crazy, but I am definitely making good reads and balancing my play. So far I was pretty card dead in the beginning, but I opened up my game sooner than normal and it helped me stay afloat until I picked up a few hands. I was also 3betting in position as well as from the blinds vs. just calling to set mine, etc.
Well, after taking a few beats and then earning my way back up I had to make a big laydown which I think was correct, but not sure. Shortly after that I doubled back up to 70K with 2000/4000 blinds. The utg shorty shoved and the button min raised. I had KK and shoved and the button thought it would be funny to show up with AA. gg me. 31st in the 50/50.
Gonna keep playing mtts. I am good at grinding the 90 mans, but we need money right now and I'm due for a big cash so I will sacrifice sleep so we can pay some bills.
Well, after taking a few beats and then earning my way back up I had to make a big laydown which I think was correct, but not sure. Shortly after that I doubled back up to 70K with 2000/4000 blinds. The utg shorty shoved and the button min raised. I had KK and shoved and the button thought it would be funny to show up with AA. gg me. 31st in the 50/50.
Gonna keep playing mtts. I am good at grinding the 90 mans, but we need money right now and I'm due for a big cash so I will sacrifice sleep so we can pay some bills.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Biloxi WPT Event - Jan 2010
I'm currently in an RV heading down to Biloxi to play for about 5 days at the WPT Southern Poker Open. I'm looking forward to the trip and I'm ready to get down to business. I'm going into this trip with kind of a grinders mindset. I haven't played much over the last few weeks compared to normal, but when I have played I have played really well. I feel like a lot of the multiple factors that most good players still don't think about are now coming to me at a subconscious level.
So I'm going down to take care of some business and make a profit. Of course there is the phenomenon of constantly seeing 1:11 or 11:11 on the clock for the last few months that gets me excited that the tournament on 1/11 could be a big one. But I really can't put stock or extra emotion into a tournament simply because of a coincidence. Of course, if it was a sign then I'm not going to argue with that.
We played a few tournaments up on a flat screen in the RV using the WiFi, so that was pretty cool. We tag teamed the decision making and it was comforting to hear myself think about hands at a different level than others.
Anyway, I'll try to post any significant hands as the trip goes on.
So I'm going down to take care of some business and make a profit. Of course there is the phenomenon of constantly seeing 1:11 or 11:11 on the clock for the last few months that gets me excited that the tournament on 1/11 could be a big one. But I really can't put stock or extra emotion into a tournament simply because of a coincidence. Of course, if it was a sign then I'm not going to argue with that.
We played a few tournaments up on a flat screen in the RV using the WiFi, so that was pretty cool. We tag teamed the decision making and it was comforting to hear myself think about hands at a different level than others.
Anyway, I'll try to post any significant hands as the trip goes on.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Daily Recap 12/20/09
My last two cash game sessions went really well. I probably ran above normal, but I also extracted max value and used my image to pull off a few well timed bluffs as well. I was up $600 online the other night and left with $505 ($200 buy-in) from Snow's .50/$1 game last night.
I feel like I'm adjusting to cash games, and specifically 6-max online much better now. I'm not forcing situations as much, I'm going with my reads and I'm adjusting to the table and player dynamics. It is definitely improving my poker skills by playing more turns & rivers, which will ultimately help my tournament play.
It's a little weird though since I haven't played a tournament in like 3 weeks. I know 3 weeks isn't that long of a time, but it's probably about 15 sessions or so. I'm probably going to start shifting back to tournaments over the next couple of weeks to get ready for Biloxi.
I feel like I'm adjusting to cash games, and specifically 6-max online much better now. I'm not forcing situations as much, I'm going with my reads and I'm adjusting to the table and player dynamics. It is definitely improving my poker skills by playing more turns & rivers, which will ultimately help my tournament play.
It's a little weird though since I haven't played a tournament in like 3 weeks. I know 3 weeks isn't that long of a time, but it's probably about 15 sessions or so. I'm probably going to start shifting back to tournaments over the next couple of weeks to get ready for Biloxi.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Daily Recap 12/07/09
About to start a session of 1/2 6 max. I'm ready to make adjustments from last night and play solid poker. I know the things I need to work on, so I'm gonna just play my best and make +EV decisions.
...I'm letting my emotions ride with the size of my current stack, which by nature is being results oriented. This is something I'm really going to have to get over, no matter how much money it is.
Wow....all I can say is wow. I started playing great and was up about $400, then I was still playing decent and next thing you know I'm down $300. Then I made a really bad play and went 100% against my strong read. Brazza was super tight and is NOT raising here with AJ, but I convinced myself that he could have it (even though it was really that I was tilting and couldn't fold KK). Playing 6max 1/2 is really different than tournaments. Not only am I involved in way more hands, I am getting affected emotionally with the ups and downs of my stack size. I am determined to adjust to this game and I think this is going to be huge for my overall game. Not only in terms of tilt control (which I didn't realize I had a problem until now), but also in terms of my ability to make read and plays in deep stacked situations.
Full Tilt Poker Game #16625861301: Table Weave (6 max) - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:37:45 ET - 2009/12/08
Seat 1: DP388 ($406.95)
Seat 2: BrazzaNivel ($412.70)
Seat 3: mark857 ($61)
Seat 4: KyleGass ($306.45)
Seat 5: ziggyjer21 ($164.10)
Seat 6: pointnutter ($97.25)
ziggyjer21 posts the small blind of $1
pointnutter posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [Kd Kc]
DP388 raises to $6
BrazzaNivel calls $6
mark857 folds
KyleGass has 15 seconds left to act
KyleGass folds
ziggyjer21 calls $5
pointnutter calls $4
*** FLOP *** [5c Jc 8h]
ziggyjer21 checks
pointnutter has 15 seconds left to act
pointnutter bets $10
DP388 raises to $30
BrazzaNivel has 15 seconds left to act
BrazzaNivel raises to $112
ziggyjer21 folds
pointnutter has 15 seconds left to act
pointnutter calls $81.25, and is all in
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 has requested TIME
DP388 raises to $400.95, and is all in
BrazzaNivel has 15 seconds left to act
BrazzaNivel has requested TIME
BrazzaNivel calls $288.95
DP388 shows [Kd Kc]
BrazzaNivel shows [5h 5d]
pointnutter shows [6d 7s]
*** TURN *** [5c Jc 8h] [As]
*** RIVER *** [5c Jc 8h As] [Ks]
DP388 shows three of a kind, Kings
BrazzaNivel shows three of a kind, Fives
DP388 wins the side pot ($619.40) with three of a kind, Kings
pointnutter shows Ace King high
DP388 wins the main pot ($294.75) with three of a kind, Kings
BrazzaNivel adds $194.25
pointnutter is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $917.15 Main pot $297.75. Side pot $619.40. | Rake $3
Board: [5c Jc 8h As Ks]
Seat 1: DP388 showed [Kd Kc] and won ($914.15) with three of a kind, Kings
Seat 2: BrazzaNivel showed [5h 5d] and lost with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 3: mark857 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: KyleGass (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: ziggyjer21 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: pointnutter (big blind) showed [6d 7s] and lost with Ace King high
...I'm letting my emotions ride with the size of my current stack, which by nature is being results oriented. This is something I'm really going to have to get over, no matter how much money it is.
Wow....all I can say is wow. I started playing great and was up about $400, then I was still playing decent and next thing you know I'm down $300. Then I made a really bad play and went 100% against my strong read. Brazza was super tight and is NOT raising here with AJ, but I convinced myself that he could have it (even though it was really that I was tilting and couldn't fold KK). Playing 6max 1/2 is really different than tournaments. Not only am I involved in way more hands, I am getting affected emotionally with the ups and downs of my stack size. I am determined to adjust to this game and I think this is going to be huge for my overall game. Not only in terms of tilt control (which I didn't realize I had a problem until now), but also in terms of my ability to make read and plays in deep stacked situations.
Full Tilt Poker Game #16625861301: Table Weave (6 max) - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:37:45 ET - 2009/12/08
Seat 1: DP388 ($406.95)
Seat 2: BrazzaNivel ($412.70)
Seat 3: mark857 ($61)
Seat 4: KyleGass ($306.45)
Seat 5: ziggyjer21 ($164.10)
Seat 6: pointnutter ($97.25)
ziggyjer21 posts the small blind of $1
pointnutter posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [Kd Kc]
DP388 raises to $6
BrazzaNivel calls $6
mark857 folds
KyleGass has 15 seconds left to act
KyleGass folds
ziggyjer21 calls $5
pointnutter calls $4
*** FLOP *** [5c Jc 8h]
ziggyjer21 checks
pointnutter has 15 seconds left to act
pointnutter bets $10
DP388 raises to $30
BrazzaNivel has 15 seconds left to act
BrazzaNivel raises to $112
ziggyjer21 folds
pointnutter has 15 seconds left to act
pointnutter calls $81.25, and is all in
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 has requested TIME
DP388 raises to $400.95, and is all in
BrazzaNivel has 15 seconds left to act
BrazzaNivel has requested TIME
BrazzaNivel calls $288.95
DP388 shows [Kd Kc]
BrazzaNivel shows [5h 5d]
pointnutter shows [6d 7s]
*** TURN *** [5c Jc 8h] [As]
*** RIVER *** [5c Jc 8h As] [Ks]
DP388 shows three of a kind, Kings
BrazzaNivel shows three of a kind, Fives
DP388 wins the side pot ($619.40) with three of a kind, Kings
pointnutter shows Ace King high
DP388 wins the main pot ($294.75) with three of a kind, Kings
BrazzaNivel adds $194.25
pointnutter is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $917.15 Main pot $297.75. Side pot $619.40. | Rake $3
Board: [5c Jc 8h As Ks]
Seat 1: DP388 showed [Kd Kc] and won ($914.15) with three of a kind, Kings
Seat 2: BrazzaNivel showed [5h 5d] and lost with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 3: mark857 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: KyleGass (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: ziggyjer21 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: pointnutter (big blind) showed [6d 7s] and lost with Ace King high
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Daily Recap 12/06/09 - Tough Day
Tonight's recap is going to be a bit sporadic. I contains some tilty notes from my 1/2 6 max session where I lost about $450. I started off playing well and then it kinda went to crap. I was doing some things that I would never do in a tournament thinking it was what I was supposed to do in a cash game. I experimented (which isn't horrible) and I did my best to go with my reads, but in many cases I didn't adjust and I spewed a lot of chips in marginal situations.
What are some of the things I did wrong?
....calling too much with no plan for future streets; people double and triple barrel way more in cash games. I am check-calling out of position WAY too much and I know that is bad, but for some reason I am trying to float them with what I think the best hand is hoping they won't bet the turn, but the reality is (AND I KNOW THIS), I should be check-raising not check-calling unless I can stand to call multiple streets.
....trying to manuver and win everypot instead of letting some hands go
...didn't change gears and play abc poker vs. loose bad spewy stations/aggros
...didn't really read the player like I normally do. I mean I was putting people on hand ranges somewhat, but I was trying to make plays like I've been seeing in videos instead of using my gut to make decisions about how that particular player will respond.
I may be forcing a few things too, raising all my mid suited connectors from the 2 seat, etc.
It seems like I'm starting to run really bad too. I was running good earlier in the session and playing well and now even if I have showdown value, I'm running into bigger hands or they have the one hand that can beat me.
I'm not going to lie...the guy to my left has me a little tilted. I can't seem to win a pot against him no matter how I play it. But he is a huge fish and I think I can use our history to win a few nice pots off of him. I'm close to the 2 buy-in stop loss, so I'm kind of tightening up a bit since he is a station and is difficult to bluff. There's a guy on my other table who is a huge aggro fish too, so I'm reluctant to stop playing even though I am a bit tilted. I'm trying to control my tilt in order to play at these profitable tables. I just need to stay patient and keep focusing on putting players on hand ranges, even though they are playing every pot and very non-traditional.
Fish left and I have one other table open with another fish. So far tonight has been a humbling transition into 1/2 6 max. I tried a bunch of plays that didn't work (some did) and then I made a bunch of turn calls with showdownable hands only to have them fire the river. I don't think I got outplayed per se, I just didn't play my best. Taking some hits while experimenting and learning about 6max is part of the learning process. But I definitely stayed too long at the tables. There was about an hour of the session early on when I was playing really good poker and making really good reads and then I think I just started to force plays without making solid reads and narrowing hand ranges. Then I stopped getting any semblance of playable situations and stopped making reads.
I still have that one table open hoping something miraculous will happen. I've had a hard time in cash games in the past not chasing my losses. I think that's one reason I play tournaments. BUT, if I want to be the best, I have to adjust my game to different situations. I think tonight will be a good learning experience.
...45 min later and I'm still trying to chase losses. It's really hard to get up from the table. As soon as you try to, it starts dealing another hand and you think "just this last one", then "just one more orbit", then "ooh, I'm up a bit now...maybe I can ride this heater". JUST GET UP AND LEAVE!
Finally, I left. But not before I changed a gear that I mentioned in this above post. Instead of check/calling the aggressive button's c-bet with middle pair, I decided to check-raise and he folded. Still a big time losing session, but I have a lot of hands to analyze in the next day or so.
What are some of the things I did wrong?
....calling too much with no plan for future streets; people double and triple barrel way more in cash games. I am check-calling out of position WAY too much and I know that is bad, but for some reason I am trying to float them with what I think the best hand is hoping they won't bet the turn, but the reality is (AND I KNOW THIS), I should be check-raising not check-calling unless I can stand to call multiple streets.
....trying to manuver and win everypot instead of letting some hands go
...didn't change gears and play abc poker vs. loose bad spewy stations/aggros
...didn't really read the player like I normally do. I mean I was putting people on hand ranges somewhat, but I was trying to make plays like I've been seeing in videos instead of using my gut to make decisions about how that particular player will respond.
I may be forcing a few things too, raising all my mid suited connectors from the 2 seat, etc.
It seems like I'm starting to run really bad too. I was running good earlier in the session and playing well and now even if I have showdown value, I'm running into bigger hands or they have the one hand that can beat me.
I'm not going to lie...the guy to my left has me a little tilted. I can't seem to win a pot against him no matter how I play it. But he is a huge fish and I think I can use our history to win a few nice pots off of him. I'm close to the 2 buy-in stop loss, so I'm kind of tightening up a bit since he is a station and is difficult to bluff. There's a guy on my other table who is a huge aggro fish too, so I'm reluctant to stop playing even though I am a bit tilted. I'm trying to control my tilt in order to play at these profitable tables. I just need to stay patient and keep focusing on putting players on hand ranges, even though they are playing every pot and very non-traditional.
Fish left and I have one other table open with another fish. So far tonight has been a humbling transition into 1/2 6 max. I tried a bunch of plays that didn't work (some did) and then I made a bunch of turn calls with showdownable hands only to have them fire the river. I don't think I got outplayed per se, I just didn't play my best. Taking some hits while experimenting and learning about 6max is part of the learning process. But I definitely stayed too long at the tables. There was about an hour of the session early on when I was playing really good poker and making really good reads and then I think I just started to force plays without making solid reads and narrowing hand ranges. Then I stopped getting any semblance of playable situations and stopped making reads.
I still have that one table open hoping something miraculous will happen. I've had a hard time in cash games in the past not chasing my losses. I think that's one reason I play tournaments. BUT, if I want to be the best, I have to adjust my game to different situations. I think tonight will be a good learning experience.
...45 min later and I'm still trying to chase losses. It's really hard to get up from the table. As soon as you try to, it starts dealing another hand and you think "just this last one", then "just one more orbit", then "ooh, I'm up a bit now...maybe I can ride this heater". JUST GET UP AND LEAVE!
Finally, I left. But not before I changed a gear that I mentioned in this above post. Instead of check/calling the aggressive button's c-bet with middle pair, I decided to check-raise and he folded. Still a big time losing session, but I have a lot of hands to analyze in the next day or so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)