Running Bad Is No Fun

Triple draw is a tough game. I've spent the last week or so just getting completely crushed. It hasn't been like this in a while, and I kind of had an inkling that I might be due for some good old fashioned variance. It's frustrating wading through starting hands like 2KJ96 over and over again and then finally getting something decent like 257QK. I'll play it straight up, not trying to get tricky, but just trying to get value, or essentially raising and re-raising pre-draw 1. Then I brick-brick, maybe get lucky to get to the second draw and hit a wheel card, which will usually result in drawing 1 against a pat hand which is usually beatable only to pair or brick the last draw. This also can result in the huge tilt factor that I have prided myself in not hitting. Occasionally it rears its ugly head and I try to calm myself. My other favorite draw/hand, while I'm ranting, is when I pat a marginal hand like a J/T/9 and even and 87 type hand and get drawn out on continuously.

What is making matters even worse at this point is that the games have gotten extremely good. The play is super loose and there have been a number of tables going with lots of players that I haven't seen before. They're the kind that LOVE to limp into pots, and occasionally pat a starting hand like 97654 all the way down, which can do wonders to your self-control and confidence. I still haven't figured out what to do in a situation where you have 257xx in the sb and there are 2-3 limpers. I've played it both ways profitably AND unsuccessfully, for big pots won and loss and vis-a-versa.

I have actually shown a small profit in the few SnG's that I have played this month, despite taking awful bad beats along the way. This has kept my confidence high, and the bankroll growing, just not at the rate that it was last month. So be it though. The important thing is that I have still been having fun playing and I guess I am trying to learn a bit at the same time. One thing is for sure, the hours I have logged this month have surpassed last month, so that may have something to do with the results as well.

I won the SSPC February event on Saturday. I almost didn't get to play it, but it was great that I could since Mo felt like I deserved a break/stress-reliever. There was a total of 20 players this month so the double points will help me hopefully get to the TOC again this year. I need all I can get because I foresee not playing in a number of tourneys in the months ahead since we have our child on the way.

Moving along to more exciting news, we had our first doctors appointment since Mo was allowed to do her bed rest at home instead of the hospital. Everything went very well. The baby passed all of his physical tests which include breathing (practicing of course) for 30 seconds straight, moving his fingers/toes, etc. We are still taking it one day at a time, but we are really hoping that Mo can get on some kind of modified bed rest so that she might be able to log some hours working from home. Even if she can't though, we are trying to stay positive and are getting exciting for this little guys arrival.

Finally, I have acquired a few new music releases from this year, and all of which have been really great, these include albums by Vampire Weekend, American Music Club, Beck (Odelay Deluxe Edition), moe., Sam Amidon, Jazz Liberatorz (the first hip-hop/rap album I've bought in a long time that was not something from my youth), and The Soundtrack from the movie "Juno".

Of Course...

Late in the game. You play tight aggressive as usual. Pick up few hands then get short <10 bb's. Run JJ vs. KK pre-flop (other player is also shortstacked). You are now down to <4 bb's. Of course you pick up a few hands and climb back to still <10 bb's. The blinds climb and it is bubble time. Time to get aggressive, there's no cash for 4th place. Of course you get it all in behind this time and run K7 into QQ from the second smallest stack, of course he calls...then the huge stack that hasn't played badly all tourney, but hasn't really played that well either calls with 98o. Flop delights you with K 3 7 rainbow. "Sweet" you are thinking as you also remember all of those times you've been on the QQ end and wanted to reach through the computer screen and strangle the guy with K7....but hey, what goes around comes around right? Then the turn brings an offsuit J....you feel that pit in your stomach and your mind quickly wanders..."i'm home free" you think as the T of hearts plops down on the board. Of course the computer lags behind for about 2 seconds while it tries to figure out, as do you if you in fact won the pot as you ~should have...then it's pushed to Mr. Big Stack with 98o who was probably playing the odds, and you realize that, sure enough, he just hit runner, runner straight to take you both out. You quickly check the hand history and realize that you were the shortest stack, so even though both of you were all in, and you had the second best hand, you still get nothing. And so it is, before you can even close the hand history window the tourney is already over in one heads-up hand where Mr. Big Stack of course picks up a small pair and wins his race against QT....OF COURSE

SnG's Tilt Me, But So Does Life Sometimes

Not only am I not playing very well in SnG's right now, but they are frustrating me really bad. I remember a while back having absolutely no success in them. I really have not played very many this month so my sample size is extremely small. I can say that I've gotten all of the money in when I am ahead 80% of the time. The other 20% have been "cooler" hands, for example; I get short and have ~10 bb's and pick up AKs in EP. I jam and get called in MP and LP, we flip and I'm up against another AK and QQ. GG me. And then there is the good old moron playing transparent poker. In my stats I have a section for notes on the particular game that I played....here's what I wrote in my second to last SnG where I went out 8th place: such bs…maniac plays three to my left, I limp w/ 66 utg+1, 1 more limps, and maniac jams big stack…I knew he would do it and decided if he did I would call, he flips KT, flop QQ4, turn A, River J, IGHMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the other hand, the TD tables have been OK, but not as profitable as last month. I am running into variance mostly, but I really believe I could be making a bit more if I could stop playing SnG's (or at least get better at them), therefore making it less likely for me to tilt. I noticed in the few games I played last month at 2/4, I was a marginal winner. I would love to step up to that limit, but I need to probably double my 'roll before I really feel comfortable. I don't mind taking shots though as those games generally aren't any tougher, since basically the same players are playing them. The few other players that are regularly playing seem to be your average 1/2 player just with a larger bankroll. Plus, the rake at the 1/2 games is pretty bad.

Mo has had some complications with the pregnancy which has been pretty stressful for the last two weeks. After finding out that she may have gestational diabetes, we were told that the baby is under weight and she has low amniotic fluid, all of which have contributed to her being on 24 hour bed rest at the hospital. There was a chance that the baby would be born at 29 weeks (obviously very premature), but that did not happen. The doctors really want to get to 34 weeks, but we are just taking it one day at a time. It's hard not being at the hospital with her at night. But, I think I'm better off going home at night and getting a decent nights sleep rather than on the pathetic excuse for a pull out bed that is in her hospital room.

@#$% !!!!

I don't like to post bad beats, and i don't think I really ever have done it on here, but this hand left me shaking my head...

PokerStars Game #15091765658: Tournament #76484677, $15+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2008/02/05 - 23:46:40 (ET)
Table '76484677 1' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1:(4605 in chips)
Seat 5: (4013 in chips)
Seat 8: jamfreek (4882 in chips)
Seat 1: posts the ante 25
Seat 5: posts the ante 25
jamfreek: posts the ante 25
jamfreek: posts small blind 200
Seat 1: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamfreek [Qh 4h]
Seat 5: folds
jamfreek: raises 800 to 1200
Seat 1: calls 800
*** FLOP *** [7h 2h Ac]
jamfreek: checks -> I usually made a cont. bet here, but I had played previous hands where I had the best hand and checked, and was able to increase my stack because I had made so many cont. bets with nothing and got caught. I thought this player was paying attention...but who knows, I probably should've bet here.
Seat 1: checks
*** TURN *** [7h 2h Ac] [Jd]
jamfreek: bets 1600 -> Now I do it and bet about 2/3 of the pot, but since I get called I am guessing it's too late. Problem here is that I have left myself 1/4 of the pot behind and jamming is really my only option since I feel like I have no other play <--probably wrong
Seat 1: calls 1600
*** RIVER *** [7h 2h Ac Jd] [2d]
jamfreek: bets 2000
Seat 1: calls 1780 and is all-in --> Snap call btw/
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jamfreek: shows [Qh 4h] (a pair of Deuces)
Seat 1: shows [4s Kc] (a pair of Deuces - Ace+King kicker) <-- Did I just get owned?
Seat 1 collected 9235 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 9235 | Rake 0
Board [7h 2h Ac Jd 2d]
Seat 1: (big blind) showed [4s Kc] and won (9235) with a pair of Deuces
Seat 5: (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: jamfreek (small blind) showed [Qh 4h] and lost with a pair of Deuces

January Update

At least I have been able to keep up with my new years resolution for 1 whole month. It's pretty easy when you are winning though. I just got back from Vegas for our annual convention. I had my best trip playing poker ever. I finally cashed in a tourney, actually I chopped it evenly between two other guys after playing the same tourney the night before and busting short of the cash. I played pretty good and only made one bad laydown that I can remember. It was actually a great little tournament with 3000 in starting chips, a $65 buy-in with an option to re-buy if you were busted out of the tourney in the first hour, and no antes. Also, I played basically one session of 1/3 NL that yielded a $500 profit. I played a quick 30 minutes before the tournament and although I can't remember how much I won, it really wasn't much. I even played two sessions of blackjack and won a grand total of $200. It's been about two years since i've played any table games in Vegas so I couldn't be happier about that really.

Right now I am waiting for a seat to open up in a TD game, but all that is available is a 5/10 game and while there are 2 tables of 2/4 going, there are 2 people on the each waiting list. Besides, I would much rather play 1/2. If there was anything that I could say I have learned about my online play this month it would be that I need to really figure out my SnG strategies and re-learn to play them. It might be my switch to turbos, who knows, but I did not do very well this month.