Quick Update

The bankroll is still growing, and I'm almost ready to jump to the next level. I've been doing well at the current level, and have continued to have winning days. My big problem has been putting in volume. I just can't seem to get myself to sit in one spot and play for longer than an hour or two. I was playing in some really juicy games tonight, and I just didn't want to sit and play. I was up about two buyins for the hour that I played, but just wasn't feeling like playing. I don't know what my problem is right now. I love playing, but just couldn't put the time in. To be successful in this game, you have to put in the hours.

Ever since I switched to cash games, I have been doing really well. I'm still running into some coolers from time to time, but playing small ball has really helped to lower the variance. Here's one way to think about small ball. If you are normally betting the pot, you might get paid off by a really bad or inept player. However, when they do suckout on you, you are pretty much committed by the river to call off your money drawing really thin or dead. By playing small ball, you get a lot more value for your winning hands that may have been very marginal in other games, and are losing smaller amounts when they do get lucky. Another thing about small ball, is that you don't want to overvalue one pair, and you don't want to get in the habit of paying people off. If you think you are beat, or at best, in a very marginal situation, don't hesitate to fold. This is good for a couple of reasons. For one, it keeps you out of tough situations where you just don't know what to do. Secondly, it will make the other players think you were drawing at a hand or are a weak player. I don't know how many times I folded top pair or second pair to a check raise on the turn. Then in a later hand, they think they can run me over and pull off the same move....WRONG! Again, you have to know your opponents and know what they are thinking about and what they are capable of.

Whenever a LAG would make a move against me in a marginal situation, I would simply tighten up in pots against them and wait to drop the hammer on them. I try to remember how much I raised and what I did on the flop or turn in that marginal situation. I will then do the same thing and they bite because they have been trained like Pavlov's dog. So, things are going well, I just need to keep it up. A few more wins and I will be taking a shot at the next level. Hopefully I can be at the next level by the beginning of the month. Good luck at the tables.