Working Things Out

I went to the Peppermill last night with the plan of playing until 9:30, about 3hrs, and going home and getting a good night’s sleep for work the next day. Yeah right! I got out of there down $200 at 2:30am. I was within $10 of even and of course I chased it.

There was a juicy 15/30 going when I got there at 6:30 and I was only third on the list, so I jumped into a 2/3 5 to go NL game to pass the time. I won a few tiny pots to $235 when this hand came up. I had J9 of hearts in MP1. I limp in along with 7 others to see a 5h6d7h flop. The small blind bets $15 I call and the CO calls. The button moves all in for his last $75. Small blind folds and I tank for a minute thinking about the action after me and how the button pushed his small stack in with J4o a few hands ago. I call and the CO moves all in with more chips then me. There is enough in the pot to triple me up so I call my last 150 or so. I get runner runner two pair but no flush and the button gets lucky on his gut shot to win the main pot. The CO flopped the straight and took the rest of my chips. So in the end I called with 9 outs (two 9 seven hearts). I believe I was right to call the CO based on the odds but it still hurts. Any thoughts on this hand?

The main 15/30 hasn’t moved but they opened up a feeder game and I get a seat. There is amazing action in this game. I win a big pot with AA to make up for my NL loss and have a few bucks extra. One of the reasons this pot was so big was the total maniac in seat 10, I am in seat 8. I flopped a set and he bets into me on the river with a pair of nines. I only called because there was a possible straight. I get mixed up with him in two more pots, one was a bluff on my part on a KK77x board with QQ. He called and re-raised me on the river and I folded. It might have been weak to fold for one more bet but I was pissed I didn’t check the river down. He didn’t show but when he folded he held up his cards and I saw paint that I took for a K but I will never know for sure. Then I limped in on the button with KTo and he raised in the small blind and all 7 of us called. I only limped because there were so many in the pot already. The flop came K high with two clubs. He bet and it was folded to me and I raised, he 3 bet and I 4 bet, he just called. The turn was a blank and we got another 4 bets in. The river was a third club and he hesitated then bet. I just called and he showed the A5 of clubs for the nut flush. I was sick and stuck again.

Two hands later a new player sits in between us and I raise with QQ. New guy 3 bets and maniac 4 bets, I call. I bet a low flop and new guy raises and we both call. Turn goes check, bet, call, call. The river is the K and it goes check, check, bet, call, call. Of course new guy wins with AA and maniac had nothing and folds before any hands are shown. Yes I knew he had AA and I played it like a donkey but I got two things out of this hand. My biggest mistake was that I should have raised the river bet from the maniac and put the new guy to the test. He should have easily put me on KK and could have laid it down. He said that is why he checked and based on his later play I think he was good enough to lay it down. The second thing was that I figured out how I should have played the hand. I am fine with the pre-flop bets and without knowing the new guy the flop bet isn’t even that bad, but I should have check folded to the turn bet. Now that I know the new guys play I would even check, call the flop then check, fold the turn. I banged my head once again but it finally sunk in.

I bought another rack and was now in 1200. I went cards dead and got moved to the main game shortly after. I was in the 8 seat again and got QQ on the button there were 7 limpers, I raised and they all called. The flop cam Kxx and I checked and it got checked around to the maniac from the first table who is now at the main game also. I called and 2 others called. The turn was a 10 and it was checked to the maniac again and I raised, maniac and one other caller with me to the 9 on the river. I held my breath and bet into the straight. LP folded and maniac raised, I call and am good. He got a nine on the river. The big pot brought me back and it felt good to get my money back from the maniac.

I am happy with this hand, not because I won a big pot, but because how I played it. I didn’t charge in and let myself get raised out, I let the action unfold until I was sure I had the best hand and then got aggressive. The rest of the night I thought about my hand, how it faired with the board, and what action was happening. Then I followed my reads and folded many good hands correctly. I slowly came back and would have gotten even if I had more time. I was finally getting it. I did pay off a few times and I limped in with hands I shouldn’t have but I am not perfect yet.

As I play through this awful down swing I begin to realize that I could even make a few dollars by playing this way. I have renewed confidence in my game and am intrigued by the challenge of the game and longing for the day when the cards turn back my way. I will break my cycle of winning and giving it back now that I am plugging up the leaks in my game. The last month or two has been painful but it forced me to think about my game and improve. The last time this happened I went broke, but not this time.