The Creeper

I have been slowly creeping my way up this week. I couldn’t play much because I was working. I played around an hr to 1 ½ hrs a night, just enough to get my 200 points. Out of the last 5 sessions I have profited 4 times. Once was for $45 and the others were in the teens and 20’s. But I am getting my confidence back and that is always good. I didn’t play well overall, thus bringing in small wins.

I have a friend at work that I have been talking poker with and he has started playing online. He is very green (he had only played twice live a home games,) but it is nice to have someone competent to talk poker and online poker hands with. He is a smart kid and wants to learn and has the drive and intelligence to become a good player once he gets some hands under his belt. Plus, it is cool to help him on his way. He is playing every day like I do, so we talk hands and scenarios daily.

Last night was a roller coaster ride of bad play and coolers. I jotted some big hands down so I could remember them for discussion with him and to show how a few bad plays can effect your night’s profits and bankroll growth overall. I wrote them down, so I mind as well post them here so you can relive my crappy plays and lucky coolers, which turned me a meager profit for the night.

1st hand – I limp in from the Small or Big with K6ss. Flop comes T87 with 2 spades. I don’t remember how many limped but it ended with just 2 of us after our action. I bet-out and the guy raises real big. I push with my pair and 2nd-nut FD. He only had $50 to start the hand and asked for time before he finally called his last $27 with ATo. I whiff and lose $50 soon after sitting down. I normally wouldn’t play the hand that aggressively, but I figured if I did call I would be pot committed anyways with my FD on the turn. It was fold or push IMO, so I decided to do it while I had some fold equity. I probably played it badly by calling or pushing. But I ended up having the better odds of winning the hand with 2 cards to come. But obviously I had to hit a K or spade. I honestly didn’t know this at the time. I’m not saying that is why I did it; I’m just trying to figure it all out now. Weird thing is I actually had better odds if he would have flopped the nuts. Down $50 or so at this time.

2nd hand – A guy had raised PF 3 times in a row. This time he does it UTG. I am the BB. I call the other $2 with K6s. Flop – 987 rainbow. I check; he bets; and I raise. He pushes. I call. He had around $50 or so at the start of the hand. He has pocket Q’s and takes it down. I know that this was horrible on my part. I have been getting stupid like this since the tilt session. It’s like I have some residual after tilt virus invading my play. This is a play that I can honestly say that I never do. OK, almost never. Not only did he show strength PF, he showed uber flop power also. To top this off I was drawing to the dumb-end of a straight. Pathetic. Plus, there was no fold equity whatsoever to make this play; I called his all-in. I’m embarrassed to even show this tripe. These are the kinds of plays that donks pay ME off with. Another $50 dropped. Down $100.

I call a PF raise and a call with 44. Two 4’s hit the flop. I am in position. Aggressor bets $8 and other dude folds. I just call obviously. No legitimate need to worry about him drawing out. Turn X. He bets $20 for me and I smooth-call again. River X. He bets out $30. I only have $64 so I push. He calls. Hand ends and he mucks face down. I’m guessing that at some point in the hand he made a boat. Aces or Kings would have to slow down to my calls at some point in the hand with a pair on the board. I wish I had more at the table because he had $200 in his stack. Well, I can’t play that hand wrong so I can’t sit here and say how I out played this dork. The hand played itself. Position was great in that hand. No guessing. Oh yea, this was one of the coolers I was talking about. Poor bastard. Usually when you hit quads or a boat on the flop you have the board crushed and don’t get much action. I was lucky here. +$100 or so and I’m back to even.

4th hand – Raise from EP and I call from the BB with J-small-suited. Flop delivers 2 beautiful Jacks. I check and he bets and I call again. Turn X. I check-raise him this time, putting in a goodly sized raise. He folds and I scoop a $60 pot. I’m up $30 or so at this point.

I then play a lot of small pots and steal tons of blinds. I get up around $75.

5th hand – Raise from EP again and I call with 99. Flop - Q9x. Check/check. He bets the turn; I raise; he RR’s; and I push. He calls and shows QQ. My 1-outer doesn’t come and I lose a $200 pot. Kick-ass, I’m down $25 again.

6th hand - I get off the computer to sneak a smoke. As the tables are timing out because I didn’t hit the sit-out buttons because I was aggravated with me play. (I know, you hate players that hold up the game.) I am walking back by from the kitchen and see an Ace on the popped-up screen. I also notice that there are like 6 Lemurs limpers. I see that I have A9dd. I call just as it is about to time-out. Flop comes 3 diamonds and I am last to act. Everyone checks to me and I decide to give a free card and hope that someone gets a piece of the turn and also pray that the board doesn’t pair. Turn is a blank. Checks to me again. I bet $3 this time. (Around ½ pot, wanting to look like a position steal.) Folds around and a guy min-raises me to $6. Anyways, we reraise back and forth until both stack arrive in the middle. He shows the best hand possible. (For me obviously.) I didn’t have to worry about a suck-out because he was drawing dead with Kxdd. Hmm…up $75 again.

I mess around for a little while longer and end my session only up $26. It really just goes to show how a few bad or iffy plays can turn good day’s profits into mere change. I am going to get my points tonight and try to play with smart aggression and not just blow all my profits throughout the session.

As an aside: Full Tilt is being very magnanimous this month and is matching your year’s whole accrued Iron Man Points at the end of this month. (Just regular accrual though, not bonus points or anything like that.) So starting January I will have 1496 IMP. I always buy $100 bonuses. They cost 600 IMP’s apiece. But for 300 in one shot you can save 200 and get them for 1600. I really want to buy them as soon as Jan gets here, but I don’t want to just buy $200 and miss out on a 200 savings. Well, last month they started giving bonus IM Points that compound every 500FTP’s that you accumulate daily. Ex: 500 = 2 IMP’s - 1000/5 - 1500/10 - 2000/20 - etc. Today is the 14th so I have half the month left to get 104 points. I will need to put in a few long sessions to accomplish this, but hopefully I can. Damn I love free money for my bankroll to eat. I should have close to $300 currently coming from rake back also.

Wish me luck. Later, Ash out…