On the Rise

So I dropped a little over 10 buy-ins the other night. I took it easy yesterday, and only played in 6 sit and go's. I cashed in 3 of them, and finished the night by winning one and taking second in the other. Tonight, I wanted to continue to take it easy and not overdo it. I only played in 3 tournaments, but cashed in all 3. 2 third place finishes and 1 second place finish. So I'm getting back to where I started. The main reason I'm not trying to overdo it, and play my usual amount, is to get my mind back on track. The other day really shook me, and I started to question whether my winning streaks and profit up to this point has just been luck or if I am a good player. I feel that the last two days have shown me that I am a good player and that it's no fluke that I've won and cashed in a lot of tournaments.
I just need to remember to not try and push against certain players, and play patient and wait for the right spots. I need to start 3 betting against certain players more often and not be afraid to play flops against overly aggressive loose players. That was one thing I was trying to focus on tonight. If I had position on a loose player, I would usually call in position with a pretty wide range of hands and try to outplay them on the flop. I was in late position with 97 suited. An early player raised, he had been raising a lot of hands. Most of the hands he showed were pretty marginal. He also varied his raises by the strength of his hand, from the hands I saw. He would raise the pot with premium hands, and raised less than 3X's the BB with marginal hands. So he raised about 2.5X's the blind, and I called with one other player in between. The flop came 8-6-3. The early player bet half the pot, and the player in the middle called. I had to ask myself, what did the early player have, and what did the middle player have to float a dry flop like this? There was no flush draw, and I had the best draw. I figured the early player probably had ace high or two big cards and was just c-betting the flop. I thought the player in the middle might have two overs and was just making a loose play to try and steal it on the turn, maybe had second pair. If he had top pair, I'm sure he would have raised, he was the kind of player that overvalued top pair. I wanted to find out who liked their hand and if anyone really had anything. So I raised 3.5X's the initial bet. The early player called, the middle player dropped out. So now I had the early player on A8, or just two big cards hoping to hit the turn. Again, I knew that if he had a hand or an overpair, he would have raised. The turn brought a 5, GIN!!! The early player now bet the pot into me. Do we have the same hand? It sucks when you have the same hand and have to chop the blinds and any calls with someone else. Did he really raise with 97 in early position? With this player, it's possible. I thought he was just posturing and was trying to steal the pot now. If I had a weak pair or just a draw, I would probably have to fold now. I smooth called the turn, after taking some time. He shoved the river, and I snap called when a 10 hit. He had A10, and I crippled him with the nut sraight.
So in the tourneys I've played, I didn't really see many hands OOP, but I did see some pretty good hands IP. That is one of the big keys to success in No Limit Hold'em. If you have position, you can really open up your starting standards and start to play the player and not your hand. I had some small pairs that I was trying to set mine with, but never really hit. The most frustrating hand, that almost tilted me was when I had 22 on the button. A tight passive player limped UTG. A loose player in middle position raised 4 times the blind. I was getting kind of short. I thought the early player was limping to raise. I folded, the early player called and the flop came K-2-2...UGH!!! But I just played patiently and waited for the right opportunity. I doubled through the chip leader, when he shoved on the button with A6 into my 99 that held. From there I just chipped away.
The lesson to learn, is that you need to stay patient and not shove with a weak or marginal hand. Don't get me wrong, you need to stay aggressive and try to steal blinds whenever possible. But at the same time, if you find yourself getting short, you have to wait for the right opportunity. Sometimes it just doesn't come, or you just can't seem to win. But you have to stay patient and find the right time. Once you get past the red M zone, you can open up a little more. But make sure you know what your stack is in relation to the other players and the blinds. Don't get blinded out, but don't shove into certain players without a hand that plays well hot and cold. I've been trying to stay away from shoving, when short, with weak aces and kings. I would rather shove with a pair or suited connector than A5. So many times I see a player call an all-in with A8+, and K8+. So if you shove with a weak king or ace, you may be dominated. If they call you with a pocket pair, you're a 2:1 dog. So make sure to try and shove with a hand that is not easily dominated and a hand you feel is live.
Anyway, just a quick update. It's late and I don't think I'm making sense right now. I'll try to get a lesson plan started. Almost back to square from the other night, so all is looking good right now.