My Poker Hiatus is Over!

I hadn't played a hand of poker in nearly 7 weeks, but that changed as of yesterday.

As far as why I didn't play it was a combination of factors, mostly revolving around my compulsion to track all the details of my on-line play. With the last 7 weekends being filled with different tasks or activities, I just didn't seem to have the time to properly setup my computer to track my poker stats.

Now that I'm in Vegas, things have changed. Yesterday I played at the Hooter Casino for a couple hours and walked away with a modest profit after being down most of the game. My key losing hand was a bluff that I just could get away from. By the end I had invested over half my stack into the hand and my oppenent called me with a Ace high, the same hand I had. Problem was, he had a better kicker so I lost the pot. Considering he called two good sized bets with no pair, no draw I was worried that he could tell I was bluffing. Within an hour it was clear, this player just fell in love with any Ace in his hand and would call all the way down. He didn't last long and was gone from the table, busted, within an hours time. My only mistake in the hand was not going all-in on the turn. It may have been enough to push him off the hand. AA bet on the river wouldn't have been any good because he didn't have much left and I'm sure he would have called.

My trip to Vegas was the best ever. No lineups, no annoying travelers, smooth flights, and I even pulled my luggage off the carousel 60 seconds after arriving to it! My hotel is small but adequate, and it gives me almost everything I need for the trip.

Now I'm off to the RIO, the home of the WSOP to star gaze a bit, play some poker and try to have some fun.

Back Into the Swing Of Things

April is quickly turning into one of the best poker months I've had in a long time. Most of it happened this past weekend.

On Friday I went to a new club to play my first live poker hand in 9 months. With my bankroll management rules I have had to spend almost all my poker playing time on-line. I really enjoyed this new club as they seem to do many things right. There are several tables with a tournament and then a couple cash games afterwards. On the night that I was there they had two 1/2 NL cash games going after the tournament. One is a larger buy-in with the second being a small buy-in.

First the tournament though. $25 buy-in. 10,000 chips, and blind levels at 15 minutes. With 100-200 starting blinds the blind level started pretty high so a good starting hand was usually required. The two tables filled up and it seemed like most players were separated into two different categories. One group were very passive while the other group were over-aggressive. Either way most players were also calling stations which made things a bit trickier to play. It was very clear that betting for value was a great strategy in this tournament, but in order to accomplish that, some type of hand was required. This, for me was the tough part of the tournament. In two hours I honestly only received a couple 'ok' starting hands. My strongest starting hand was a pair of deuces that I had to fold against a raise and re-raise ahead of me. There was only one hand (KQ of diamonds) that I regretted not playing by the time the hand was completed. In that particular hand the UTG player, who was short-stacked went all-in. UTG+1 called and then it got to me. I honestly read the UTG+1 as having an Ace. I was in a very tough spot. I could call but with so many people acting after me any type of re-raise screws me. If I go all-in someone behind could easily wake up with a hand and crush me. I folded, and so did everyone else. The UTG+1 player tabled an Ace-Ten and he won the hand unimproved. I would have had two pair had I played the hand. My read and decision, pre-flop was technically correct but I should have seized the opportunity to get lots of chips.

21 players started the tournament and I ended up getting 5th place. Top three cashed. I felt fine after the tournament considering that I think I would have easily cashed if I had one or two better hands in better position. After the tournament I wasted some time at the smaller buy-in cash game. In less then 30 minutes I had won my tournament entry fee and then some, making it a profitable night overall. The one thing for sure is that I will be returning.

My poker bankroll took saw another nice achievement over the weekend. I have tracked several stats and one of them is actual bankroll versus peak bankroll. On Saturday, I saw my bankroll peak at every single poker room that I play at on-line. This peak has maintained at all sites over the rest of the weekend. I'm now trying to build all my rolls at each room up to the same level so that my game selection will be more balanced.

All in all, a great poker weekend!

Learning to Play a New Style

Over the past week it looks like I have snapped out of the slump that had eaten away a lot of my February profits. I have cashed in around half of my sit and go's earned enough to book a slight profit for the week.

In addition to the SnG's I have also been flirting with playing a new style at the cash games. The limits are low but I'm finding that I am enjoying this new style. In the past I have always thought of myself as a tight, aggressive player. As a result of watching some Cardrunner videos I am opening up my starting requirements and becoming a bit looser. I am raising almost every pot that I enter and breaking even. I'm still making two mistakes that I will most likely resolve in short time.

The first mistake is that I'm over-aggressive with a pre-flop raiser when I have a strong hand. I should be playing my strong hands with a little more deception. Playing these hands fast is a by-product of taking some bad beats and trying to prevent that. As I play in more cash games this fear should be reduced.

The second mistake is that I try pushing players off hands too often. I have to remember that I'm playing low-limits and as such I should just focus on playing ABC poker, with a more loose aggressive style. In the past I used to get frustrated by the loose aggressive players that raise so many hands but I'm discovering that if it's done in the right situation, and in good position it can be a formidable weapon at any limit.

A Bad Run...

For the past week I have been having a bad run during my Sit and Go's, both in Hold' Em and in PLO8. I haven't really seen much reason for the bad run. A bad run will always be a mixture of bad cards, bad luck, and even some bad play. I have been guilty of all of three even though I feel the luck has been the main factor going against me.

I have played in some turbo tournaments and that is something that I should be staying away from. The blinds move up too quickly in my opinion and even though the tournament concludes faster, it also becomes a bit of a luck-fest.

On the flip side I multi-tabled a few Hold' Em NL tables and did very well. I played a style of poker that is a bit foreign to me after watching a CardRunners video. The video focused on playing aggressively in position and smartly out of position. I usually play tight, only raising with premium hands but watching these videos showed me that most players, even in the lower stakes don't want to call with weak hands against players who show aggression pre-flop. I raised nearly every hand that I got involved with and never stopped betting until I was shown some resistance. The nice thing was, even if someone played back at me I'd say I was winning half the time so I was able to take some pots and show down some good hands. For me one of the amazing things two of my more powerful hands (Jacks and Ace Ten) were hands I was able to easily release based on my read of my opponents. I really felt comfortable during these sessions.

Time to get back to the tables to see if the bad run is over.

No Love at Lunch

Played in two low limit PLO8 SnG's at lunch and busted in 5th during both of them. I was a combination of too tight/weak starting hands throughout most of the first match. I finally get AA2T, suited once and my opponent pushes with QQ44. I go all in and winning this places me in 3rd and almost a lock for the cash. Flop comes 422 and it's all over. Thanks Full Tilt.

Second match saw me with top two pair and a low draw against a made flush on the turn. No help comes on the river and I'm out. I wasn't short-stack at this table but it was heading that way. It was probably also due to a bit of tilt since I knew my chips were going in bad when I called all-in.

I played in two more matches when I got home, one was a 9 person SnG at Party and the final one in bed was a 18 person SnG at Full Tilt. I was out in 5th during the match on Party. I had a nice chip stack about halfway through the match but then lost a great portion of it drawing to a flush and low draw that never came. Three people were knocked out in the first few hands so I figured that the rest of the match would be like that, it wasn't. Play slowed considerably when we got down to 6 handed and the short-stack to my right played very strong to stay in contention. It was all over for me when my nut straight on fourth street turned into a full house for my opponent on the river.

The second match, the 18 person SnG went much better as I cashed and ended up finishing in third. There wasn't much though behind this match. I played my strong hands strong and folded my weak hands and draws.

Overall the day was pretty uneventful. I posted a small profit at Full Tilt and a slightly larger loss at Party.

Lunchtime Poker

I went 1 for 2 in my Turbo 9 person PLO8 Sit and Go's that happened today at lunch. I played uber-type and patient in both matches. I was able to get a couple powerful scooping hands in the second match and took it down while using other players aggression against them.

I posted my first thread about a hand that happened yesterday. Click here to check it out.

#Game No : 6823100677
***** Hand History for Game (?) *****
PL Omaha Hi-Lo $6 USD Buy-in Trny: 38662748 Level: 5 Blinds(200/400) - Tuesday February 26 20:55:52 ET 2008
Table Table 125768 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 3
Seat 5: InsaynePayne ( 14 485 )
Seat 6: mark2004222 ( 1 675 )
Seat 7: Hero ( 3 840 )
Trny: 38662748 Level: 5
Blinds(200/400)

Holecards:
Dealt to Hero [ ]
RAISE Hero , 1,200
CALL InsaynePayne, 1,000
CALL mark2004222, 800

Flop:
[ ]
BET InsaynePayne, 3,600
mark2004222 folds
Hero folds
InsaynePayne does not show cards.
InsaynePayne wins 7,200 chips

Playing Normal Again

I played in two more PLO8 Sit and Go's at Party Poker tonight and earned second place in each of them. I was more patient during these matches and was willing to wait for good hands to play rather then getting my money in bad and hoping to draw out.

In my first match I honesty did not voluntarily put money into the pot for the first 20 hands. THis was a combination of some weak holdings and multiple raises pre-flop. As a result I cashed before ever having to risk a chip! It's not impossible to have that happen during a Sit and Go but it doesn't happen often.

With the second match I was involved in more pots but I still kept things under control. I released drawing hands when I was under too much pressure and things worked out quite well. I only had to play in one all-in hand but I was ahead pre-flop and on the flop, fell behind on the turn and then rivered my flush. The chips I earned in that pot let me coast to the final three.

A pivotal hand that I played when it was three handed:

Level: 5 Blinds(200/400) - Tuesday, February 26, 20:55:52 ET 2008
Table Table 125768 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 3
Seat 5: InsaynePayne ( 14,485 ) (This player has been super aggressive throughout 3 and 4 handed play)
Seat 6: mark2004222 ( 1,675 )
Seat 7: JonShadow12 ( 3,840 )
Trny: 38662748 Level: 5
Blinds(200/400)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to JonShadow12 [ 4h 2d Ks Kd ]
JonShadow12 raises [1,200] (3 handed I figure I'll pick up the blinds with the raise. If not I still have a reasonable hand to play with and can afford an all-in against the short stack.)
InsaynePayne calls [1,000] (He's called lots of hands, I'm not surprised here.)
mark2004222 calls [800] (This surprises me a bit. He's low in chips so I'm pretty sure my hand may not be very strong now. I have to hit this flop hard to continue.)
** Dealing Flop ** [ 5c, Th, 9c ] (Not the best flop. Lots of hands beat me and I don't have any draws.)
InsaynePayne bets [3,600] (Damn - This puts me all in if I call but that bets smells like a small set or tw0-pair trying to keep anyone from drawing at a low.)
mark2004222 folds (With this fold, mark only has 475 chips left. I can call and probably lose or fold and almost certainly get second place. Based on my hand, my opponene and my remaining chips if I fold I decide to play it safe and fold.)
JonShadow12 folds
InsaynePayne does not show cards.
InsaynePayne wins 7,200 chips (This gives InsaynePayne a lock on the chip lead and eventually the match. At the same time though I cruised into an easy second place when I could have easily been in third with a foolish call.)

I'll take the profit and it's nice that my foolishly bad play didn't continue past 24 hours.

Several Sit and Go's, a Little Bit of Profit

Throughout the day and night I played in several PLO8 Sit and Go's at PartyPoker and Full Tilt. The earlier SnG's didn't go very well. I can pinpoint the reason though, I played bad. It happens and the important thing is to recognize that it's happening, or happened and then make the necessary improvements.

I was able to tighten up, regain my patience and then earn a profit for the day after a cash and win.

Another Good Night With Omaha Hi/Lo

In following with my plan to play Omaha Hi/Lo only for the next little while I played in three PLO8 Sit and Go's at Full Tilt. My first SnG saw me finish in a painful 4th place. This was after being the short stack for several levels and clawing my way back up several times. I made some mistakes earlier in the session that prevented me fro cruising into the cash, but I also learned from those mistakes.


Me next two SnG's were much more rewarding. I finished in second in the 9 person SnG and then figured I would try out a 18 person SnG. Even though it took a bit longer I was able to win the event thus increasing my overall bankroll by 10%.

I've said it in past entries, Omaha Hi/Lo is a game where you can recognize your mistakes easily and you are ofter rewarded for playing well. I find there is a lot less luck in PLO8 when you compare it to Texas Hold'em.

Friendy Games

Last night I played in two $5 friendly Sit and Go's. I was fourth place in the first and third in the second one. It was fun even though I didn't get to cash but I do like playing in those types of matches to experiment with different playing styles. I had a maniac to my left that made things just a little harder than exacted. There were a few hands that I could have played differently but for the most part I felt I did ok. It seemed like when I had the goods I had no callers and when I was semi-bluffing I could have had more callers. It was frustrating but that's part of the game. I should have been more aggressive against the maniac and that is one of the lessons I'll take from the games.

1 For 2 Again

This time I busted out in my NLHE SnG in seventh place and cashed in my H.O.R.S.E. event for 2nd place. There wasn't anything too eventful that happened. No crazy hands. All I had to do was play the cards, play my opponents and the poker gods took care of the rest. Very little profit, but profit none the less, and valuable experience.

It's Just an Ace

I went 1 for 2 in my Sit and Go's tonight at Full Tilt. I got second in my NLHE 9 person table after being completely card dead for the entire tournament. I know people love to blame the whole card dead thing for not doing well but hey, I got second so it's not that I'm using my lack of playable hands as an excuse. I played as well as I think I could have considering the circumstances.

My H.O.R.S.E. event was much different, and shorter. In my first playable hand I was in the Limit Hold'em section of the event. I was dealt TT in late position. It was raised by the UTG +1 player and I made it 3 bets. The small blind calls, UTG+1 caps the betting and I call. The flop comes 385 and the UTG raiser bets out. I raise to isolate and the small blind folds. UTG+1 re-raises and I just call. Another eight peels off on the turn and the UTG player bets out again. I remember feeling that I wasn't playing aggressive enough during limit so I decide to raise. He re-raises and I figure I'm up against a bigger pair or even possibly an A8. I call and know that I'm calling the bet the UTG player makes regardless of the river. The river is an Ace. I call his bet and he reveals A4. He had 7 outs on the turn and caught one after heavy betting from me. Before you think this was a brilliant play by the other player but I assure you, he donked off his chips pretty quickly throughout the SnG.

I never really recovered after that. During the Stud High/Low event I though I was drawing to a scoop hand. I didn't catch my flush for the high and I lost to a better low. Out in seventh but I don't think I would have played either hand any differently.

Grr Full Tilt

I know it isn't Full Tilt, it's random, but damn if it doesn't feel like someone is controlling the cards, seeing how badly they can put someone on tilt.

I'm playing in a 9 person NLHE SnG and it is 4-handed. I'm the short-stack and card dead, not a good combination. Here is the hand that I'm knocked out with:

Seat 2: Sayntin (2,445)
Seat 3: Iam4U (2,505)
Seat 7: wcarro4 (7,110)
Seat 9: JonShadow (1,440)
JonShadow posts the small blind of 120
Sayntin posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to JonShadow [Kh As] (Best hand I've seen in 30 deals.)
Iam4U folds
wcarro4 raises to 480
JonShadow raises to 1,440, and is all in
Sayntin folds
wcarro4 calls 960
JonShadow shows [Kh As]
wcarro4 shows [Qc Jc]
*** FLOP *** [Th 4h Jh] (He hits top pair.)
*** TURN *** [Th 4h Jh] [Ks] (I hit top pair.)
*** RIVER *** [Th 4h Jh Ks] [9s] (He hits a straight on the river!)
JonShadow shows a pair of Kings
wcarro4 shows a straight, King high
wcarro4 wins the pot (3,120) with a straight, King high

This is a very painful way to lose a hand. It's like being given two bad beats in a row. One is usually bad enough but two, that's just cruel.

I take a tiny amount of comfort in the fact that it seems I lose most of my SnG's this way.

The other SnG I played in was once again a H.O.R.S.E 8 person match-up. I made a wheel that allowed me to scoop early on and take a chip lead. From there most of the hands just played themselves. I ended up winning the SnG when all was said and done, and I did get my fair share of luck so I guess it makes up for the NL SnG.

February 12, 2008

A pretty uneventful night on the poker scene. I played in two sit-and-go's at Full Tilt. One was a No Limit Hold'em table with 9 players, the other, an 8 person H.O.R.S.E. match up.

I earned 3rd place in the NLHE SnG. My bust out hand was Kings (mine) versus 72. To be fair I limped in to try to get either of my two remaining overly aggressive opponents to bite and push hard. The flop was unkind and I pushed. Sometimes plays like that work, sometimes they don't.

The H.O.R.S.E. event was much longer, as always considering it is limit and some hands take much more time to play out. We got to three handed play after an hour. I ended up getting 2nd place overall in this Sit and Go. There were a few marginal hands I could have played but overall I was happy with how I played. I was fortunate that a lot of my opponents let me draw to my hand cheaply.

A Tough Way to Break Even

Over the weekend I separated my poker between two different sources. On Saturday I had a four hour session of low-limit Hold Em and on Sunday I played in several Sit and Go’s and some low-limit Omaha Hi/Lo.

Over the course of my session at Brantford here were some of the starting hands that didn’t win:

KK (twice)
AK
JJ
TT
AJ

The sad part of the session was not the fact that I lost with these hands but rather that I won with :

33 (flopped a set and held on through heavy betting and raising)

T8 (these were suited and I turned a flush)

I look at the bright side though and it is pretty simple in this case. When I can still break even after getting a lot of strong starting hands beaten it means I’m able to read my opponents and lay down losing hands before I invest too much money in them.

I did end up making one mistake that I will hopefully learn from. I had a new player sit down two seats to my right. I was dealt ATo UTG. By the time the action got around to me the new player (in the small blind) raised it up. I called as did everyone else in the hand. The flop came A K 9 rainbow. The original raiser bet out, the person on my right called, as did I and most other people in the hand. A lot of argument could be made for me to raise here but with low-limit I wanted to see what would happen on the turn. I’m not knocking anyone out with a raise here and if the small blind checks I’m pretty sure I have the best hand. I realized that I probably had 5 outs, any Ten or Ace. Before the turn came I knew that the person to my right held JQ, and therefore any 10 gives him the nut straight. The turn comes a 6 and the small blind bets out again. The gut to my right calls (chasing a 3 outer) and I decide to fold. A blank comes on the river. The small blind bets out and Mr. Chase folds. The player turns over Jacks and takes down the pot.

Even though I know it was a bad decision to fold now, in the course of the hand it was very easy to put my opponent on AJ, AQ, AK, KK or Aces. He raised pre-flop in the blinds with Jacks. This is usually an overly aggressive move that doesn’t pay off that well. If any over card comes out, in this case two did, then you usually figure your Jacks are no good. At the same time this person came out betting on each street showing no fear with the Ace on board. My mistake was not raising the turn. If I raise the turn the original better probably calls and checks the river, or folds. Even though I may have made more mistakes throughout the session, this was the only one that kept me thinking.

I played several Sit and Go’s on Sunday as well as some low-limit Omaha. I won 1 one of the bigger buy in SnG’s and that took care of the few that I didn’t cash in. I also find that I do better in the non-turbo Omaha Pot Limit H/L Sng’s due to the structure and speed. I find myself making more mis-reads and mistakes during the Turbo sessions.

All in all a mediocre weekend of poker, but I did eek out a profit, I learned that I need to raise on the turn more often and I learned that even I can get lucky and win a pot with T8.

This is the Poker I Remember Playing

In the past two days I have played in 5 SnG tournaments and two short term (less then 2 hour) ring games.

5 for 5 cashes

2 for 2 in the ring games, 10 BB/hr for the first and 18 BB/hr during the second ring game.

I just hope I keep it up.

Maybe I'll Have Better Luck On Another Site...

Last night was the beginning of my vow to stay away from Full Tilt poker, except for the odd free-roll and AIPS tournament. I moved some money around so now I’m able to play at several different sites. My first night of non Full Tilt action was relatively successful.

I played in a total of four tournaments. My first was a NL Sit and Go that lasted only 1 hand for me. I had AKo on the button and was trying to limp in with everyone else. Before anyone thinks of raising this hand I didn’t really see a point yet. There is a lot of dead money out there but plenty of reasons to see a flop cheaply. Most importantly, with so many people in the pot, a small raise is getting plenty of callers. I’d rather see if I can flop big. An interesting development happened though. The big blind put in a min raise. By the time it got around to me there was over T400 in the pot. I figured a big raise would take all those chips in, and with AKo only 2 hands (AA, KK) really give me any trouble. I push all-in since any reasonable raise meant to drive out chasers gets me pot-committed anyways. I get one caller, the big blind and he flips over 77. This is a race situation and with the dead money in the pot, the odds are in my favor. Some will contest that some Aces or Kings were folded by some of the limpers but I still feel if one or two of my outs are gone the math is still correct. Plus, if I take the pot down I get a huge stack, a nice table image, and I can pretty much coast into four-handed play.

Alas no outs came and I was eliminated right away. This doesn’t bother me that much considering I felt I made the right play and I would do it again in the same situation.

The next Sit and Go was an Omaha Hi/Lo8 Hold Em split game. Since playing HORSE this game has quickly become one of my favorites, right behind Texas Hold Em. My first hand dealt was AcAs2s8c. This is a great hand since I can get the nut low and I’m in great shape if I get a flush draw. The action is capped pre-flop with 7 players and this hand, the first hand of the tournament is starting to set the stage for what should be a quick, action filled tournament. By the turn I’m any club away from the nut flush and any card less then an 8 to give me the low. With all the capping of the betting that has happened on the flop and turn I figure I’m going to tie my low with at least one other person so I’m really hoping for the club, and when the Ten of clubs hits the river I know I’m golden. By the time the dust settles I scoop both the high and the low and after hand #1 I now have 33% of the chips in play! 20 minutes later I take first place in the tournament, never really putting my chips at risk unnecessarily.

The next tournament was a Limit Texas Hold Em I mistakenly got into, figuring it was No-Limit. I love limit ring games but I’m not a big fan of limit sit and go’s. There’s not much to say about this tournament since I was playing the Omaha at the same time and focusing a lot more on that one. I finished the tournament in 5^th place, never really playing the game the way it should have been played.

The final sit and go of the night was a No-Limit Texas Hold Em sng. Glad I didn’t make that mistake twice. This was one of the best Sit and Go’s I’ve had in Texas Hold Em in a while. When I had strong hands, they held up, when I had weak hands it was easy to let them go. I was able to steal blinds efficiently and stay out of the way of any crazy hands and pots. Things tightened up considerably when we got down to 5 handed but I basically stayed in the area of the chip lead the entire time. By the time I made the money I was the short stack with a bit of a mountain to climb up. The blinds were still pretty reasonable so I wasn’t panicking. By the time I got heads up I was at a 3-10 chip disadvantage. I played strong heads up, doubling up, giving some back, doubling up again with strong hands. I did get lucky on one hand when I went all in after a low board with KQo. My opponent called with a pair of Tens and I spiked a King on the river to win the hand and give myself the 18-2 chip lead. With where the blinds were and the pre-flop action it was obvious that I was going to have to go all-in once the flop came down. My opponent went so far as to call me a “fish” which I found was very funny. We had been playing heads up for 20 minutes and on the Internet that is an eternity. I came back from being a huge dog and then yes, got lucky on one hand. It’s a player like these that I love being up against. They are willing to blame so many of there losses to fish and lucky players that they aren’t willing to look at the mistakes they made throughout the session and identify their own leaks and rough edges.

I’m not one to say that I didn’t get lucky; I did, for one hand. Most of the other hands I played were the best hands because I was patient and waited for the right situation to exploit. I get my fair share of bad luck at the tables but I never insult the opponent who just beat me. I get mad and I curse them in my mind but getting those beats is part of the game.

So, all-in-all it was a very good night and certainly a refreshing change of pace. Even earlier at lunch, while playing at Full Tilt, I was three outed on the river to knock me out in 4^th during a sit and go. 75-80% of my losses at Full Tilt are from when I have hands that are 70% favorites or higher when I get all my money in there. I know in time, that the cards will break my way and things will even out, I just think that for the next little while those cards are going to be dealt to me at Party Poker.com

Live Game Good, Tournament Bad

I went to the Seneca Niagara Casino on Saturday with a buddy and ended up having a pretty good live game session, and a not so good tournament session.

The tournament was a mid-range buy in with a total of 47 participants. I tried playing a little more of a lowball style early on but never seem to hit any flops. Then I tightened up and waited for premium hands. When they came I got no callers and when I missed it seemed like I was always up against a raise and a re-raise, and I’d be out of position. I was never really in contention with this tournament and was knocked out at the one hour thirty minute mark.

I quickly moved over to my regular game and had an impact immediately. My first hand was AKs and I hit my Ace on the flop. I had a caller all the way so my first pot ended up being a decent one. I spent about nine hours at that table and left with an ROI of 51%. I didn’t get as many Big Bets per hour as I would have liked but that was mostly doe to some tough hands near the end of my session.

Overall, I have to say that I was very happy with my performance in the live game. I was very relaxed and had a very good read on the table. I spent more time thinking about my decisions and I think that went a long way to keeping me out of trouble. I found myself either winning small pots or very large pots and I think that’s the safest way to play low-limit. It seems like with the average sized pots you never really know where you stand in the hand and it’s always vulnerable.

My only regret is not starting later on in the day since the action didn’t start to build until the 8 pm mark or so. The one bonus you get at an American poker room is that the drinks are free so it can be more profitable if your opponents start hitting the sauce.

A Little Poker at Lunch

I usually go to a buddies apartment close to work at lunch to play X-Box and eat lunch. It’s better then sitting at our desk, or even the “diner” at work. Well today I forgot my controller so we figured we may as well play some on-line poker. I brought my Mac so I could play at Full-Tilt and he played at Paradise. We each did well in our respective Sit and Go’s. I earned second in a 9 person Turbo tourney and he won his 5 person tourney. Not a bad way to blow through our lunch break.

My buddies table was more challenging as well because he had to deal with a maniac on his left. It forced him to be more patient and wait for a killer hand. When the dust settled, he had to take the maniac heads-up and finished him off by some strong, aggressive pre-flop raises.

Things were pretty simple at my table. I got good hands when I needed them, played tight to get to the bubble and played aggressive once I got into the money. I have to admit that I did get super lucky when we were three handed. I had AJo and I raised. The short stack went all-in (which he had been doing quite a bit at this point) so I called. I had him covered so I figured this was my shot. He turned over Kings and I know I’m pretty much done. With no Ace on the flop I stopped paying attention until the chips got pushed to me. I ended up rivering a four, giving me a straight and taking the other player out. Yes, I got lucky, but I’m not going to apologize for it. It happens.

To finish it off, I hit a Jack on the flop, bet, was raised and went all-in with my JTs. My opponent flips over Aces and that’s it for me. Second place and I finished the tourney in 30 minutes, nice.

1 for 3 in Sit In Go’s and a Test Drive of Poker Office.

Last night I played in three sit and go’s with mixed results. I earned 3^rd place in one of them, 7^th in the second and 4^th in the last one I played. The most frustrating placement was 4^th, for several reasons.

1. I had connection problems throughout the session which caused me to miss between 8-12 hands. That easily could have made a difference between fourth and third place.
2. The very act of finishing on the bubble is frustrating in itself. To be so close to the money and not being able to make it stings.
3. I suffered a very bad beat, that sucked away my chips faster then Paris Hilton in a dark room with a camcorder. I had jacks and raised. I was re-raised by nine’s and had another caller after with AJo. I went all-in and was called by both players. The AJ caught an Ace on the river. Since I was in the chip lead prior to this hand I still had around 1500 chips. I lost 500 more within a couple hands after losing a race against a short stack. I had sixes, they had AKo and he hit his King on the flop.

All in all there wasn’t much I could do to avoid getting knocked out where I did. The good news is that I was able to use a new piece of poker tracking software called Poker Office. To some this isn’t new at all as it has been around for quite a while. I have to say that I’m very impressed with the features and benefits that the program offers. I’ll offer up a more comprehensive review when I’ve had a chance to play a bit more.