Sloe Times

First I guess I should put this in perspective. I don't get to play that many hands at any given time so I don't feel I ever really get the chance to let the bad beats catch up with the wins. On top of that, I primarily play SNGs so a bad beat is generally catastrophic. This can lead to some frustrating periods of time where it appears that I just can't win. I think yesterdays post pretty well highlighted that. On the upside though, there's some proof that I'm not just writing to myself. Iggy (I hope he doesn't mind me calling him that, everyone else seems to) at the Poker Blog stumbled upon me and paid me a generous compliment. Thanks!

I got my books from Amazon yesterday and ripped through about half of "The Theory of Poker." A lot of the information in here was pretty straight forward common sense. The part that I really got a lot out of was Chapter 13, "Loose and Tight Play" because aside from the obvious description of what the concepts were it provided enough of a hint about when and how you should move your game around to meet the need. Following on the heels of this was Chapter 14, "Position" which is an area of knowledge I knew I was weak in. The overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the positions along with some hints of how to play from various positions was just what the doctor ordered.

Now don't get me wrong, there's still a lot for me to learn but I've been gradually tightening up my game for the last month and this was just another step in the right direction. The essay on May 17th at The Cards Speak called "A year in the making: the development of a poker player" about the evolution of a poker player hits it pretty dead on. That was probably one of the best reads in a long time since it was good reinforcement to recognize that as an individual I've come a long way in my playing skills and that I still have a ways to go yet.

Ok, so with the preamble out of the way lets go to the highlight reel...

Armed with some peace and quiet (the wife and baby were off at grandma's house) and some newly absorbed knowledge I made the bold move to 30+3 at the SNG on Paradise. The thinking here was that I know I have a hard time dealing with maniacs, especially multiples (something to try and improve on). I've got the scratch to at least give it one shot and if I find myself horribly outclassed, I can always go back to 20+2. I'm hoping that at 30+3 I won't have to deal with multiple maniacs like I did yesterday.

The short story is that I took home the win in 1st place pushing my bankroll up +$117. :)

I think my best play of the game came on the last hand of the first orbit. The blinds are 5/10 and I was just behind the button. I'm dealt Qd Qh and feeling pretty good. There are two callers when it comes to me and I raise it to 30 picking up the SB, BB, and the original callers. The flop comes 7c 7d Qs. Fortunately on the Internet, no one can see you jump up and down screaming hallelujah. Ok I didn't really do that, but the heart was pumping and there were jackpot bells going off in my head. I'm last to act and since I raised, it checks around. Fortunately it's easy to play it cool when you're looking at the nut so I check. I think this was the right play here, but knowing what I know now a small/modest bet would have netted me more chips on this one. The turn brings 5h, no help. UTG bets 35 which drops two of the 4 other players, I call. I'm thinking to myself that this was a feeler bet, the best I could hope for is someone with a 7 in the hole. The river brings As and I'm thinking that A7 isn't too much of a stretch, I hope someone has got that too. UTG bets 55, the next fellow raises to 350, I raise to 745 (All-In). UTG Calls, and the other guy raises bringing UTG All-In. UTG shows Js 7s, The other guy shows 7h Ac and I scrape 2490 of the pot, the other 525 goes to A7.

Five hands later I got the ladies again but they didn't do so well for me this time.

The other day I was talking about betting patterns being a feel sort of thing, I think this hand (same tournament) best illustrates what I was trying to describe.

We're on game 6 of the 4th orbit and I'm sitting on 1915 in chips leading the #2 chip guy by just shy of 300. The blinds are 30/60 and I am the button. I'm dealt 7d 7c. #2 calls as do 3 others, I double it with a raise to 120 managing to keep the SB and the other 4. The pot is at 720 and the flop brings Kd 7s 3s. It checks around to me and I bet what I think is a modest 220. Everyone folds except for #2 who calls. The turn brings 4c, no help. #2 goes All-in UTG and he's put me to one hell of a decision. One card to go and I've got trip 7s. Does he have KK? Thinking back to the way he had bet in previous hands I couldn't recall a bet larger than 200, including the pots that he won at SD or folded everyone out of. If he had KK, wouldn't he want me to bet? Throw out something modest to get me to call so he can suck some more money out of me with his nut? By this point the dealer is getting grumpy and with a few seconds left to act, I call. Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was the right play or not, all I knew for sure is that his bet didn't feel right and it was way over the top if he did have KK. He shows 8s 9s and I only partially let my breath out. He put it all on the line for a flush draw and periodically the river seems to favor the underdog. Not being a religious person, I don't often find cause to pray. However the only thing running through my mind at this moment was that if the dealer was going to grant #2s wish for a spade that it be the K or 4 of spades. The river comes with 6c and I start breathing again. Many of the other players also thought #2 was on KK, but the way it was bet, it just didn't seem right. I'm glad I called, it was obviously the right thing to do at the end of it but it could have gone the other way.

What a great way to start the weekend, I hope I can stay focused and apply the lessons I've learned consistently.