Back to Basics

So I played the first session back from the abyss. I played about 800 hands and won a little under 2 buyins. Not a bad result. My win rate was about 20 BB's/100, so that was great. Especially because I felt like I was playing uber nitty. I was playing a 14/8 with a 2% 3 bet, and less than a 2 aggro. For me, that's uber nitty. But then again, maybe my losses lately were because I was playing way to aggro LAGGY, eh.

My goal for the session was to play flops and not play so aggro pre. I was also trying to play position much stronger than I had before. There were a couple of interesting hands that came up.

1.) Within the first 10 hands, I pick up 22 in late position. There was an early raise and two callers. I'm sitting on the button and flat call. I have position and if I flop a set, I'm sure I can get somebody to make a big mistake. Sure enough, the flop comes 962 rainbow. The raiser checks, so he probably had a decent ace, the next guy bets pot, there's my horse. It then goes fold, I flat call, raiser folds. Turn brings a jack, and he fires pot again. At this point, I have him on either A9, QQ, or 1010. He doesn't have enough to slowplay any longer, and if an ace hits the river I can't guarantee he'll shove or call. So I put him in, of course he calls, and shows QQ.

2.) I get KK in early and raise to $1.50. A nitty tight player with stats of 9/7 and 2.5% 3 bet raises me to $4.50. Against just about any other player, I'm ready to play a big pot, and I'm definitely not folding KK to LAG's. However, this guy is an uber nit, so what could he possibly have? I decide to flat call, because I know if I 4 bet, we're getting it in. The flop comes K34, so I check call the flop OOP. Turn brings a 2, and I check to him again. He bet 2/3 pot on the flop, and a little over 1/2 pot on the turn. So I raise him in, and he calls with AA. I think if I played it faster before the flop, it's a negative EV play. Just so you know, I had him on AA the whole time. With stats like that, and raising an early position raiser, I don't think he's doing this with QQ or AK. If I didn't flop the king, I might have taken 1 card, depending on what he bet. Who knows.

3.) Much later in the session I get JJ in middle position. I had been playing pretty solid, but had been switching gears lately. SO I raise it up and get 3 bet by another nit. With JJ you really want to see a flop, but with a NIT raising, it's better to just cut your losses and find a better spot. Coincidentally, I pick up QQ later and ended up stacking the NIT when he thought I was on tilt. He 3 bet me 4 times and everytime I would just fold. I decided to take a flop with QQ to his 4th 3 bet, and the flop comes 8 high. I check called him down to see JJ.

So the first session back went well, I just need to keep my patience and discipline. I need to play small ball and let the pots come to me. There's no need to fire countless and mindless bluffs into LAG's. Decide when it's a good time to CBET and when it's a good time to cut your losses. Finally, don't get tied to a one pair hand for your stack. That and don't give any action to the cockroaches of the internet, the short stackers.

On a personal note, this weekend we are heading to spring training in Arizona. It should be a really great time, especially now that the Mariners have Griffey back. So I'll have lots of pics and stories when I get back.

Starting Over

I decided to start my challenge over. I withdrew some money and took my account down to 50 buyins. So I am changing my goals for the month. I know I probably won't make it to the 100 NL level this month, so my goal is to steadily increase my bankroll and to win at a 4-5 BB/100 rate. That's pretty reasonable.

Now on to why I decided this. This month has been a complete was so far. I am getting so frustrated with the suckouts and bad play I am up against. Here's two examples:

1. I have 99 in late position, nobody entered the pot. I raise 3X, as always. The BB calls, and the flop comes 974 rainbow. BB bets 2 BB's, really weak bet, but there is really no draw out, so I flat call. The turn brings a Jack, he donks 3 BB's, again, pretty weak bet. He only has about 20 BB's when the hand started, so I raise hoping he'll take it as a steal and push. He does, and shoves in, I instacall. He shows 44 and has 2% chance to win the hand. BAM...4 on the river. UGH!!!

2. I'm playing very solid, not too LAGGY. I get KK in middle position and raise. BB calls, the flop comes QJ7, BB checks. Not a good flop to slowplay, so I fire a CBET of 2/3 pot. He flat calls. We both have about 50 BB's. Turn brings a blank, he now donk bets into me for the pot. Most of the time this would be the classic check call, lead on the turn play, signifying a set or two pair. However, most of those players will lead for 1/2 to 2/3 pot, not the full pot. So I raise him and put him in, he instacalls and shows K7. HUH? Of course a 7 rolls off on the river to win a giant pot for him.

I have been getting very unlucky in so many spots and have played well for the most part. So I am going to refocus on starting standards and isolating. I need to get over the beats and get back to playing well. Over the last couple of days, I have dropped a ton of buyins from either calling down when I shouldn't have, or getting outdrawn. I can't believe how unlucky this month has been for me. Hopefully getting back to the basics will help me get over it.

So for the rest of the month, I'll be playing 50 NL and can hopefully get back to the grind. I need to stop paying off people when I know I'm beat, and get away from hands when I get raised. I need to play position better. Finally, when players raise, depending on player type, they usually have at least one pair beat. So stop putting so much money in with only one pair. I can't believe how many times I have been up against a set when I've had an overpair, it's just disgusting.

I Suck

I can't believe how many times tonight I had big hands get cracked by sets, (i.e., AA vs. 55, KK vs. JJ, AA vs. QQ). Not only that, but the sheer number of floaters that would catch a set on the turn with an underpair to the board. It was laughable. I saw a lot of funny things tonight. When players had AA or KK and the board would come with a four straight and three flush, it would take a stick of dynamite to get their pair out of their hand. Don't try to make them aware that there are possible straights and flushes, they ain't folding. Again, hilarious.

So I'm do a couple of buyins tonight, which sucks. This month has been horrendous. So hopefully it will get better.

March Goals

So the new month has started and I'm off to a decent beginning. I lost a little the first day, and won a little the second day. So it's time to set some goals for the month.

[] Make Ironman for the second month in a row. Hopefully Gold or Iron.
[] Play 25,000 hands.
[] Win 4 BB/100.
[] Watch the video series on PokerVT about poker math.
[] Finish reading Bill Chen's book.
[]Move to 100 NL.

These seem like pretty reasonable goals for the month. With rakeback and hopefully a good month, I should be able to move up. I need to keep playing small ball and stay out of marginal situations for 20+ BB's. That is one thing I have noticed. I was playing way to LAGTARD in big pots. I would get the money in with coin flips and on some big draws. But I noticed that a lot of players would play smaller pots with marginal hands. So I need to play more post flop situtations and look to exploit them.

So let's get this month going and make some moves.