Monday, August 13, 2007

"Same Old Song and Dance" - Aerosmith

Another losing session Friday. This means I'm back to my starting bankroll that I had when I went to Foxwoods in June.

I was card dead for the greater portion of the night, but early on I had A-Q 4 times, and some small pocket pairs. Big losing hand was A-K (or as I like to call it "Big Stink" since I tend to always lose with it.

Cards: A-Ko in late position

No raise to me, I raise to 12. 2 callers.

Flop: K-9-2 rainbow.

I bet 20 and grab 1 caller. This caller is someone who just sat at the table and was "priced in" for 2 bucks pre-flop.

Turn: 9
I bet out $25. The newbie that I will refer to as "Drunk Ex-Marine" (because thats what he reminded me of) raised to $50. Surely this man could not have called a $10 raise with K-9. I call.

River: It doesnt matter what the river was. DEM bets out his last $23. By this point I have to call. And as my gut on the turn told me, he had the K-9.

The more I play, the more I realize the game of poker is not about winning. Its about knowing when you are beat. The hardest thing is to believe someone has called you with ridiculous crap, I think if you can master that, you can master NLHE.
Last hand of the night I finally got a premium pocket pair Q-Q. I raise to $16, 2 callers. DEM and one other guy. Im in early position.

Flop Ks-Js-x. I want to see where I am at so I bet $20 into a $51 pot. Guy to my left re-raises All-in (like $150 somethin) DEM calls. I'm sittin looking at my hand like "wtf", so I fold obviously. All-inner shows A-Ko. DEM shows K-Jo.
Turn: Q Fuck you irony, fuck you, stupid ass all-inner.
River: x DEM takes down the pot. Guy to my immediate left asks me if I tossed something, and I told him I tossed Qs. DEM overhears us talking and says, "YEAH YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED SO I COULD HAVE TRIPLED UP!" Guy tells him I had a set and he quiets down immediately. Luckily Liss calls me after this and tells me its time to go.

This brings me to the point that I now loathe about NLHE. The All-in reraise. Notice All-inner did not win the pot and all he had was TPTK. I just cannot fathom why you would put your whole stack on the line with TPTK. He has no idea where my hand was at, PLUS he has someone to act behind him. Why in the world would you think this is a good move? I had been playing pretty tight all night (due to card-deadness) and when I raise and bet on the flop wtf does he put me on? A-Qs? Small pocket pair? What if I had K-K? By making this move you are just hoping that I don't have anything and the guy behind you missed as well. If I checked the flop I'm pretty sure he wouldnt have bet that much, and if I had bet more then $20 he would have done the same move. Very frustrating.

So that was the casino trip for this week. Online was so-so. this weekend. Up and down. I was at $1058 and I decided to let Alissa take a crack at micro limit NLHE. She was playing uber tight when she hit 8-8 in 7 person limp pot. I told her to raise, but she just called. Flop was 10-8-x with 2 diamonds. One person pushed and I told her he probably had top pair, she should push to clear out the draws. She pushed but 2 people called her anyway. I knew she'd probably lose to a draw unless the board paired. And with a 9 on the river one of the calling douches made a straight. She was very bitter about this beat and I explained to her that I go through this multiple times a day, but that didnt make her any less upset.

After a bunch of 2nd place finishes in a $12 SnG I played PLO .05/.10. I like the game and will probably play it more often.

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