GC 1/4 Hand History: $6/12

This is the second part of the hand history from this post, containing the hands after I got my 6/12 seat.

Before I begin, I've gotta say that the whole hand history process (taking notes, entering them in, expanding and formatting them, posting, etc.) has been a huge time investment. Granted, it is worth it because it gets me thinking about my game, but I can't imagine I'll do it again in this detail. At minimum though, I'm going to take notes on the hands I get involved in, especially larger hands. It is really great to be able to confirm my feelings (wow, that was a bad day) with actual notes, or not, as the case may be.

Another thing I should mention is that I think taking notes probably HURT my win-rate to some degree. After all, if you write down your hole cards after every fold, plus the other notes and thoughts you have, that's time you can't pay attention to how hands are unfolding. One thing I found that helped was to watch the action until the dealer gathered the chips into the pot before the flop, then write down hole cards then so you don't miss much. Of course, when I was in the hand, I never wrote down my hole cards in case someone could see.

Anyway, here's the rest of the night at 6/12. It was a wild ride, as you will see, although I've had larger swings before. Again, as before, if there are no notes after the hand, assume I folded pre-flop.


$6/12, Garden City, Friday Night, from 8:30 to 10:30 pm 94 hands total, -$73

When I sat down, a number of the players were laughing and joking. Always a good sign. I didn't immediately spot any players I'd played with before that I thought were weak, but I recognized the guy to my left and a few others. Realistically, I didn't think it'd be a super profitable table, but see what happens early in the session:

• 69o (BB) (raised to me, 3 players) Easy fold.
  
• 25o (SB)
• 83o (But) In this sequence, I noted that it folded to the blinds at least twice. The table seemed relatively tight.
• 63s
  
• 77 (CO) Limp (four players to the flop). Flop T93, fold to a bet. Probably could/should have raised since it is LP, but that'd trap me in the hand a little more. [Thuan says limp or raise.]
  
• JTo Fold. [Thuan says limp here, but I think that's too loose given the position and since the table was relatively tight. Suited I'd obviously limp.]
  
• Q2o
• 92o
• 45o (BB) I checked my option, obviously, with maybe 5 players in total. Flop comes 654 and I lead out even though I'm not wild about the board. Another 5 on the turn makes me a little more secure, and the guy to my left calls me down. I don't have a ton of notes, because I played the next hand too. One funny thing I remember is that the guy to my left had queens -- he didn't raise pre-flop for some reason, and he was lamenting it. Along with that, a guy in middle position admitted AKo, which HE ALSO DIDN'T RAISE. I got really lucky just being in this hand in the first place, because I'd most likely folded to a bet (even with good odds, 45o isn't great). I told them that too (a little innocent tilt never hurts anyone).
  
• ATs (SB) When it got to me, 6 total players were in, and I actually remembered to raise. The flop came Axx and I bet it down the whole way with one guy calling. I think he had a weaker ace or second pair. I was nervous about a better ace, but since he didn't make any moves at the pot, I just kept betting, and it worked out this time.
  
• AJo (But) I limped this. At the time, I had just won two pots in a row and I already felt like I was frustrating the other players. But in position, I have no excuse for not raising. Flop came Axx with two diamonds, checks to me, and I bet, and two call, a tricky guy (TG) in EP and an old guy (OG) in middle position. TG had been betting a reasonable amount and OG was predictably old man tight, plus a little frustrated. On the turn a third diamond came, checks to me, I bet, TG calls, OG check-raises. I looked down, and I had no diamonds. Plus, OG gave a speech ('Oh, what the hell, I'll raise.'). So I mucked right there. TG calls, no diamond comes on the river, and OG bets and gets called and shows down the nut flush. Pretty happy with the play there -- OG wouldn't have raised me on a semi-bluff.
• 83o (I take a hand off and scribble notes like crazy on the last three hands)
  
• AQs (LP) Raise. (this time, I'm not going to be an idiot). Bunch of callers (5ish?) to a Q55 flop. While the 55 makes me a little nervous, but I bet it down and aggressive asian guy (AAG), two seats to my right, calls me down to the river. Didn't find out his hand. My stack is now $380ish.
  
• A5o
• K2o Fold. Around this time I'm having some 'Winning tilt.' Hard to describe, and I don't think it effects my play too much, but I'm happy to have won so much so quickly (over $200 in less than a circuit of the table). At some point I should figure out how I play in winning tilt (in losing tilt, I usually tighten up a bit and get too attached to my premium pre-flop hands).
  
• 52s
• 53o

The guy to my left is a lot of fun -- I'll call him Happy Asian Guy (HAG) for the purposes of this post. I was going to call him Fun Asian Guy, but the acronym didn't work out quite as well. Anyway, I've seen him around, he he always seems to be happy, always gambling, very experienced, but plays a ton of hands. A great guy to have at the table.

• 42o (BB) Check, fold flop when I miss.
  
• 96o (SB)
  
• A2o It is five- or six-handed now, a few people busted or went for a walk.
  
• Q3s
• K7o
• 64s
• 64s (BB) (straddled, 4 in to me) Called, missed flop, folded.
  
• 72o (SB, chopped)
• A7o (But) Fold, but this is one hand where I probably should be raising, according to what Thuan says. I think I should be playing weak aces more in late position and getting more aggressive with them. [Open raise, read dependent, raise if just one limper]
  
• QJo I open-raised this one when it got to me, but the big blind and HAG (on the button) call. Flop comes A58, I bet the flop, and both call. Turn comes offsuit 7, checks to me, and I take another shot at it and bet. HAG raises me, I show my hand as I'm mucking for advertising. My thinking on the turn is that often the ace will scare people enough that they won't chase quite as much. If they both fold 20% of the time, then it is +EV. [Thuan says call QJo -- I was getting a bit aggressive, but I think it is ok since I was first into the pot and it really was just a blind steal.]
  
• 99 There's maybe 3 players in the pot already, and I raise it up. Everybody calls. Flop comes K98 rainbow. Checks to me, I bet, tricky guy (TG) raises, and I call to keep some people behind me in. A raise won't protect my hand here but on the turn I plan to check-raise. Which is exactly what happens when a blank comes, and it's me against tricky guy. Of course, a Q falls on the river, TG leads into me, and I make the crying call. He had JTo. At this point, I made a mental note that TG likes to bet and raise his draws, so call him down more than usual. [Thuan says raise one limper or less -- I raised more than one limper. Maybe I was too aggressive with a medium pair?]
  
• T9o Fold. [Thuan says: "Call if pots are usually unraised." This is maybe another leak, I'm not sure. Thuan definitely likes the middle unsuited connectors, while I never play them. Maybe I should loosen up, but I actually don't think this is a good play here because it's middle position.]
  
• T3o
• 52o Fold. My chip count is now $266. I took a $100 hit in those last few hands.
  
• ?? (BB, maybe chopped?)
• 44 (SB) Limped, HAG checked his option. Three players in. Flop came out J82 and it checked through. Turn was a J, and I bet out, nobody called. I figured I most likely had the best hand and it'd be hard for anyone to call on a draw.
  
• 76o (But) Fold. [Thuan says, "Call if 3+ limpers in front." I don't think there were in this case.]
  
• A4o
• 84o
• J3o
• K6s

Around this time, someone actually said something about the notebook. Took them long enough. HAG was joking about what I was writing down, so I just told them I worked for the IRS. No problems, nobody gave me any flack. I'm sure it gave me a more serious image though. I told them that I was just keeping track to see why I was losing so much. HAG also confides that he kept track of his losses one month and he lost about $1500. So he stopped keeping track :) Perfect guy to have at the table, plays loose, has fun, knows he loses overall but doesn't care.

• Q4s
• Q7s (BB)
• Q9o (SB) (raised EP, 3 players) Fold.
  
• Q3s (But) Fold. I have $271.
• 93o
• A7s Limp. Flop comes 89J, I check, button bets, I fold flop. It is now 9:25 pm. [Raise if 3+ in front, otherwise call.]
  
• K3o
• 75o
• 92o
• T9o
• AA (BB) Raise, obviously. Flop is 965 with two spades. I bet, two call. King of spades on the turn, I lead out since I have the ace of spades, one caller (HAG). River comes an ace, I bet, he folds (he said he had a 9 with an OE draw). Although, in hindsight, I'm not sure how that is possible. Maybe I have the board wrong. It is nice to recover some chips, and I'm now up to $306 again.
  
• 94o (SB)
• K2o (But)
• T9o

At this point, a new woman sits down (although she looks familiar). And she says, "What table is this? 20-40? 6-12?" Wow, never heard that before. It's the real deal, later they offer her a seat in the 20-40 by name. I'll call her LL, for loose lady. Actually, here's a table map at this point (from memory, I didn't write it in the notes):

Seat 1: OG. Old guy, kinda tilty, pretty loose, on a short stack. Tends to call down too much.
Seat 2: AAG. Seems to play solid, but aggressive. Relatively tight. By the end of the night he has a mountain of chips in front of him.
Seat 3: TWG. Tight white guy. Seems pretty solid, doesn't usually bet or raise without a good hand. Not that he can't mix it up, but he's familiar and I know he plays pretty well.
Seat 4: Me
Seat 5: HAG. Happy asian guy. Loose, has reading ability, plays decently post flop but his pre-flop looseness is hard for him to overcome. Will bluff.
Seat 6: Loose older guy. Didn't get into any hands with him, but he rebought a few times.
Seat 7: ??. A few different people, nobody scary though.
Seat 8: LL. Loose lady. Aggressive, will raise a lot of hands, calls to the turn with anything, but can fold nothing on the river.
Seat 9: TG. Tricky guy. Likes to bet/raise his draws, maybe a little too loose, but seems to not make a lot of mistakes.

• J5o
• QTs I limp along with a bunch of others pre-flop, including loose lady. On the flop of KQ6, she leads out, OG raises, and I fold. None of my suit and I can't chase for those odds. She ends up showing down Q2o, but loses to a king (OG).
  
• A8o Fold. I have in my notes that OG shakes a ton. Usually with decent hands, but not always.
  
• 42s
• KK Raise it. Get 4 callers. Flop is K98 with two spades, I bet. TG raises, I have the nuts, but just call to check-raise him on the turn. The turn is a third spade, I check, TG bets, TWG calls in the big blind, and I call. Raising won't help now, and I figured TG was on a flush draw. I do have the king of spades though. River is a blank, we all check, and I say, "Shit, I missed a bet." Until TWG turns over 42 of spades. Crap. Maybe I should have raised the turn, but it wouldn't have gotten anyone out and I'm likely behind with the action the way it is. If the board pairs I could probably check-raise the field on the river too. Although, this may be fancy play syndrome. The way it went down, I lost the minimum.
  
• 94o (BB)
• A2s (SB) Call. Flop is J34 with one of my suit. There are six in, and we all check the flop. Turn is another 4 of my suit, so I bet out. Only LL calls. River is an ace, I bet for value, she raises, I call. She shows 52o. Darn.
  
• 92o
• A4o I have $216 on the table. I have a note saying, "Is it an act?" about LL. I wonder if it's her thing, to make everything think she sucks. Yet, I've seen enough to know she sucks. She's just got plenty of money and plays poker to take a break from 21. Another great person to have at the table.
  
• J3o
• K7o Around this time HAG tells me he's "catching up" to me. He's not trying to be mean or rude, he's just making an observation.
  
• K5o
• AA Raise. Five players call me. Flop is J64 with two spades. I bet, LL raises, OG three-bets all in. I cap it, LL calls. Turn is the king of spades, and I grab chips to bet but LL already has chips in her hand crossing the line. So I check, and she checks. Damn it. That gets me every time when they try to insta-call me. I've got to stop getting tricked by that. Jc river, I bet, LL folds. And OG turns over JTo. At least I won the small side-pot, but I missed LL's bet.
  
• 86o Fold. I've got $176 left.
  
• K5o (BB) Check, fold flop.
  
• K6o (SB, chop)
• 93o (But)
• 84o
• J4o
• Q9o
• 73o

I take a break around 10:05 pm. HAG gathered his chips and left about ten hands ago. I'm starting to get tired so I go and get a drink of water during my blinds. At most another hour of play in me. LL is still around, but she's spewing a lot of the chips she won earlier. The table in general has tightened up a bit.

• 83o (Post, CO) I miss buying the button, so I post in the cut-off. Flop comes AK8, someone in EP bets, someone calls, and I fold. Maybe that's weak, but I just didn't feel it there. My outs would likely be clean though.
  
• 73o
• Q4o
• 87o Fold. [Thuan says Call if two are in]
  
• 33 Limp. Fold on an 865 flop.
  
• K2o
• K3o (BB) (Raised, 3 in) Fold.
  
• 82s (SB) Limp. KT2 none of my suit, LL bets, I fold. LL and another woman get into it, the other woman wins because LL had AJo. This may have been the hand that busted LL.
  
• K9s (But) I call, 972 flop, rainbow, but one of my suit (6 players). AAG leads, I raise him, and it folds around to OG who says, "What the hell, three-bets." He's definitely got something, and it could be a set. So I call after AAG calls. Turn is something like a king which puts two hearts out there (not my suit) and it checks to me. I take some time. OG is on a short stack, and I honestly think I have him beat. So I bet it. OG says, "What the hell, let's get it all in." He raises for $20 total, AAG cold calls after a little thought, and I call. River is the ten of hearts completing a ton of draws. It checks to me, and I check behind. OG has K9 and AAG has A9. It really is too bad we couldn't force AAG out, but I doubt he'd be folding to me on the river. Besides, I thought I had him beat :)
  
• 97o
• A6s Limp. Flop comes 987 with one of my suit, and I call a bet. Turn is a blank, and I get out. [Call... raise if 3+ limpers. Wow, raising A6s seems really loose, no matter how many limpers.]
  
• J4s Fold. I have $93 left now.
  
• Q3s
• Q9o (BB) T73 flop, SB leads into it, and I fold. Nothing for me there.
  
• Q6o (SB, raised, 2 in) I fold. Flop comes QJ6 and I curse my fold. Turn comes 6, and I really curse my luck. No showdown though. At this point, I decide it's my last round. Eyes burning, getting pretty tired.
  
• A7o (But) Fold. [Thuan says: raise 1-2 limpers depending on my read of the players]
• KK Raise, take the blinds.
  
• 83o
• T7s Fold. Blinds chop. Again. Table is super tight now.
  
• Q9o
• K4o

"Seat open!"

It is 10:35, and I cash out $91. I'm pretty tired now. Plus, it is no fun when you don't even need a chip rack when you leave...

More analysis tomorrow, but at least I got this stuff finally typed up.

GC 1/4 Hand History: $3/6

I filled 8 pages of my notebook on Friday night, about a third of that spent in 3/6, and the rest spent in 6/12. I'll record my hand histories here, along with my other notes and comments that I remember now. To aid in reading, I'll color code as much as I can. If no notes after a hand, assume I folded.

Thuan took a look at the hands before I gave him the results, so I've also noted where his actions would differ from mine, in purple.

So, here we go:

3/6, Garden City, Friday night, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm
52 hands total, +$24

7:00 pm, buy in for $100

• A3o (SB, bought button), checked after 5 limpers. [6 SB] Flop A25 two hearts. I lead into it (I'm being aggressive, right?) and get raised from the button, I call with chop outs and a straight draw, 3 players to the turn, a blank [6 BB]. Check, check, bet, call (me) fold. I thought about dropping out here, but the straight draw kept me in. I didn't think I was in the lead. Check-call river (can't fold for one bet here), and get shown 43s. -$25
  
• 22 (But) Limp after 3 limpers, blinds in. Checks all the way to the river and I win with a pair of 2s :) +$10
  
• ATs (CO) Limp after a bunch of players, miss flop, fold. [Raise. I agree.]
  
• AKo (MP) Raise, 6 players call, flop something like J84 two spades. I check after the field. Turn another 8, I bet it after everyone checks. Two callers, I check river, can't remember what took it down, but it wasn't my hand :( -$12
• 39o
  
• A3o
  
• A3o
  
• KJo (UTG) Limp, fold when I missed flop. [Fold. I somewhat agree but this is a close one. I also know you would have played it :) ]
  
• K6s (BB) Check, miss flop, fold to bet.
  
• J7o (SB) Call, check flop, fold to turn bet. This was too loose, although Thuan says call with 5+.
  
• 55 (But) Limp, fold when I missed flop.
  
• K6o (CO) Fold.
  

Notes say I had $61 at this point.

• A5o
  
• K8o
  
• J6o (BB) (raised to me, approx 2 players in) Fold.
  
• J4o (SB)
• A3s (But) Two bets to me with four players in, I cold called. Flop is TTT. Everyone, including the pre-flop raiser, checks. I'm ready to fold to any bet. Turn is an ace, and suddenly I'm interested again. Checks to me, I bet, two players call. I expect I'm chopping, but assume I have the best hand. River K, checks to me, I bet, one fold, pfr raises (which gets him all-in), I call expecting a chop. He flips over his cards, I see an ace (I'm most afraid of a T), and I flip over my ace, but the dealer doesn't chop the pot. Instead, he points to the other guy's hand again and everybody starts to explain why aces full beats tens full. Oh yeah, he's got a second ace under the first. Nice. I don't dislike his play from the turn on (he was nearly all-in and he wanted to make sure he got another bet in) but I hate his check on the flop. A lot of 3/6 players will take a card off with any two overs on a board like that, and if he loses to a ten, oh well. Not sure about my play though -- a very thin value bet once the ace comes out, since most players know that they'll be drawing dead.
  
• Q7s (CO) Fold. [Call with 5+. The table was tight at this point though. Calling in EP with Kxs and Qxs seems loose to me, but I think it probably is correct in a 3/6 game.]

It is about this time that I realize I'm not even on the 6/12 list any more. Since I'm in the tournament area way to the back, I can't hear the announcements very well and it looks like I missed my call. Which is strange, because usually they repeat the names enough until they're annoying. Given the fact that the 3/6 and 6/12 were 50+ names long though, I understand if they go a little faster.

So, I tracked down the floor man and got put back on the list. From this point I'm, I'm looking at the list every chance I get, but with the note taking, playing, and looking at the list over my left shoulder at the limits of my slightly declining vision, I'm pretty distracted. Not a good thing for poker, but at least it is 3/6.

Also, around this time about 3 players get up and walk, leaving us pretty short-handed and the table really tightens up.

• J9o
  
• 76o
• 98s (UTG) Limp but nobody else limps behind me, leaving me alone with the big blind, an older guy. Hell, what am I saying, other than the AA guy, the whole table seems to have one foot in the grave. To be nice, I offer to check it down to the river with him, since after the drop, there's $4 left in the pot. We show our hands, and he has 84o. Flop comes 567 with two of my suit! Really regret checking it down, although in general I don't think it reduces EV that much in this situation, other than my positional advantage. In this case, I'm pretty positive I would have gotten at least four big bets out of him. Oops.
  
• 23o (BB) No notes, I think I missed the flop and folded.
  
• K5o (SB) Fold.
  
• Q9o (But) Fold. [Call if 6+. Probably true, since position helps. This is probably a place where I can play more hands in a favorable situation (position).]
  
• J3o
• K3o
• 92s Fold. It is now 7:45pm.
  
• 95o
• 25o
• A4o
• 56o (BB) (raised, 5 players in, raiser is all-in). Since the raiser is all-in and I'm getting 11:1, I call it. Of course, I flop nothing, and fold to a bet at some point.
  
• KQo (SB) I just call, with maybe three other players in. I generally think I should raise here, but it is close. Suited I definitely raise. Unsuited, it may be helpful to have a smaller pot so I can actually (maybe) give bad odds on the flop. In this case, I flopped nothing, no draws, and let it go on the flop. [Thuan says raise with <3>
  

At this point I rebuy, since I've been playing the last couple of circuits with about $35 in front of me. I've been steadily moving up the 6/12 and I'm 4th on the list. I add on $40 though because I'm getting below 5 big bets, and I want to be able to exploit any edge I have.

• A8s (But) Limp, fold to bet on flop when I miss everything. [Raise. I think this is out of SSHE too, and probably where I'm missing some EV.]
  
• A5o
• K6o
• T5s
• 45o
• 44 (UTG) Limp, call a raise behind me. Flop is 358, I check, middle-aged Asian guy bets in middle position. A few callers, I let it go. I take a look at the 6/12 list, and when I look back to the table, the river was a 4. That sucks. Even worse: the raiser on the flop had 42s, and takes the pot down with a pair of 4s. Thanks poker, just stick the knife in and twist it. As if hitting the case ace earlier wasn't enough :) Admittedly, when you make a note of every hand, you see a lot more times where you'd win when you'd usually just forget your cards.
  
• A2o (BB) Check, fold flop.
  
• Q7s (SB, raised in LP, 5 players in) With the raise and so many players in, I decide to take a chance and am glad I did. Flop comes 569 with two diamonds (my suit) and I like it. I lead, raise in late position, I call because it really won't help me to force anyone out and I've got great equity against over callers. I believe we get two more players for five total. Turn is a 4 putting two hearts on the board and it checks through. I'm not wild about it, but I don't have a hand yet. River comes 3 putting three hearts on the board, and I start thinking about whether a value bet is worth it. Of course, meanwhile the rest of the players ignore me because I never called time, and it checks around. I don't protest, and take down the pot. Nobody had a 2 as far as I can tell, although I probably missed a bet in that spot. Not sure about betting the turn, I was kind of hoping LP would bet it again for me and I didn't want to pay two bets for my draw against one player. In hindsight, I think I should have bet the turn and river. [Thuan said fold.]
  
• K2s (But) Fold. I've got $112 now.
  
• A5o
  
• J9o [He would open raise at 6/12. Wow, that seems loose to me -- although he thought it was the CO because I mistyped...]
  
• AKo (MP) Raise, K64 flop, I lead the whole way and am called down by one of the calling stations. He shows a K8 when he mucks. This puts me up to $150.
  
• 23s
• T4o Fold.
  

It is now 8:15 pm and I'm still 4th on the 6/12 list. It literally hasn't moved in 30 minutes. Then I had a brilliant thought, or at least it appeared brilliant to me at the time. At busy times with a long waiting list, the 6/12 tables probably get harder, not easier! Two words: natural selection. Assuming similar numbers of bad players and good players showing up at any given time, it stands to reason that the good players won't bust nearly as fast as the bad players, since they play better and tend to re-buy if they get cracked. On the other hand, the bad players will run through what they brought with them faster, and get replaced faster. The end result is that more good, tight players will be left at the tables, resulting in less turn over. Survival of the fittest, Darwin in action!

And me being stuck in the same place on the list for half and hour.

Well, it seemed to be an amazing revelation at the time at least.

Also notable is that no one has mentioned my notebook, even though I write in it after every hand. I guess they're way more tolerant, unobservant, or uncaring than I thought. Maybe I should pull out shrunken head and polish it between hands the next time I go.

• 69s (UTG) Fold. Then, four players call, five players see the flop, and I would have flopped an openender with a backdoor flush draw with plenty of action. On the turn I make the nuts. Curse of the notebook, I tell you!
  
• 52s (BB) (raised, 4 players) Called a raise, flopped nothing, fold.
  
• K8s (SB) No notes... Maybe I folded? Unlikely if it wasn't raised. I probably called and then folded the flop.
  
• T9o (But) Four players, I limped behind. Yeah, a little loose. Flop came T54, LP bets, I raise, two callers. The turn is a Q, checks to me, I bet, and original bettor calls. River K, and I check behind him -- he'd only call if he had me beat. Of course, he shows 22, so I take those tasty chips. What the hell was he doing calling me down? [Thuan says call, so I guess it wasn't too loose.]
  
• T5s Limp, fold on a missed flop. And my name comes up on 6/12, so I have them lock it up for me. [Fold. Yeah, I should have.]
  
• T2s Chips are in the rack, so I let this big hand go...

At this point, I moved to 6/12 with $164 off of a $140 buy-in. It was 7:30 pm and the interesting stuff hadn't even happened yet. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow to read that!

By my take, I made a two big mistakes and (maybe) a few small ones.

• Minor Possibly the first hand, A3o, I think I should have let it go on the turn. Really, at best I'm drawing to 7 outs, and could be much worse. It is very unlikely they don't have me beat or drawing only to the open-ender. I'm not sure, but I think there was a flush draw on the board too.
• Major ATs in the CO. Should have raised, textbook Ed Miller, and he calls it a major mistake. I was a little off after the previous two hands.
  
• Minor J7o hand early on. Should call there. Still, very minor.
• ?? Really undecided about the A3o vs AA hand. While I can't be scared of the ten or pocket aces (or even pocket kings), my bets on the turn and river are very unlikely to be called by a hand that doesn't beat me or tie me. But I also feel like I can't check there after the whole field checks. I think the turn bet is good, I'm not sure of the river. Obviously, though, once he check-raises, I gotta call.
• Minor 98s hand UTG. I've got a decent advantage with position in that spot, and a hand that is about average against a random hand. In many cases it will check down anyway. But in those cases where we both hit something, my position is profitable. I think it is enough of an edge that I shouldn't offer to check it down to make me look like a nice person. If he asks, I probably should though.
• Minor KQo in the SB. Probably giving up a little EV to not raise there, but it depends on who and how many are in.
• Major Q7s in the SB. The pre-flop call is a tiny bit loose, methinks. No big deal though. I think my flop play is fine, but it is close between raising for value and calling to let more players in. The turn I should lead out on, since I've got a solid 14 card draw giving me 2:1, and I only need two players to call to make it about break-even, and three players to make a profit. On the river, I think I need to bet and not be scared of the flush. Two pair, bottom straight, even one pair might pay me off. Oh, and I need to call time when I'm thinking!

Goals for GC Tonight

Gonna keep the goals pretty simple tonight:

1. Take notes to give me a hand-history. This means literally writing down all my hole cards, big pots, etc. How many 72o do I really fold? Now you'll know. Hopefully I'll get the notes (and my analysis) typed up tomorrow.

2. Lead out more. Thuan and I determined that I'm a wimp in terms of leading out into the field from EP when I hit the flop. I need to kick myself in the ass to make a bet if I hit mediocre top pair or middle pair. Turns out this habit designed to protect my stack in NL is hurting me in limit.

3. Loosen up a little in late position, raise more, and open-raise more. I need to take advantage of first in vigour a little more with hands like A8s, 88, QJs, etc in late position. This will also help my image and make me look looser and like less of a nit.

4. (Bonus Goal) Early on in the session, don't assume everyone is bluffing me. Near the end of the session, don't tighten up to protect my stack. I think I'm giving up more EV than I thought in the beginning and end of the session, but luckily it is easy to fix.

GC 1/1 Results (Belated)

Forgot about these -- played GC on New Year's and came out $50 to the good, all mostly due to one pot where I called a three-bet on the turn with a flush draw and hit it against two sets.

Poker is easy when your draws come in.

Thuan and I have been going back and forth about some of the hands on e-mail and he's given me permission to share some of the discussion so I'll post it when I get a chance.

Losing Year

I won't belabor this, because I don't think it is that important in the grand scheme of things. But 2007 was my first losing year at poker.

It was also my first year since 2005 in which I didn't play nearly as much or study the game nearly as seriously. I blame my part time tutoring job for that!

In tournaments, I was up around $400, mostly due to a win of a $60 6-player tourney and a $30 6-player tourney in one day (note the big jump on the graph). Ring games I was down over $800, half of that loss from Dave's $1/$2 NL game and half from the GC $6/12. The rest of my play was at micro stakes online, except for $1/2 LHE early in the year when I took most of my losses clearing a bonus. Aside from that, I was pretty much break-even online.

Needless to say, my loss is pretty much in the noise since I was playing poker so much less than before and I took losses in the bigger stakes I played. Not to say I was playing well all year -- in fact, I think I was out of practice most of the year.

My goal is to string some wins together in the new year and rebuild my bankroll from the $1400 it is currently sitting at. Booking some wins at $6/12 if my first step toward that.