Day 18: +$4.10 (+4 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$34.05 in 2610 table minutes

I squeezed in a quick session this evening because I had a little free time on my hands. It turned into a small win with a couple hands which I thought were interesting.

Hand 1: PokerTracker lists AA at the top, and I can't help but feel a little glad that villain was all-in on the flop.

Preflop: Hero is MP with Ac, Ah.
UTG raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, SB calls, 1 fold, UTG caps, Hero calls, SB calls.

Flop: (13 SB) Qd, 6h, 8s (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets, Hero raises, SB folds, UTG 3-bets (All-in), Hero calls.

Turn: (9.50 BB) Td (2 players)
River: (9.50 BB) 2c (2 players)

Results:
UTG has Qc Qs (three of a kind, queens).
Hero has Ac Ah (one pair, aces).

Hand 2: I donked up this flopped flush. I don't have anything in particular about MP. He raises some preflop and plays too many hands. I figure that this is a decent semi-coldcall with a hand that can flop well in so many ways. I played it poorly by check-raising instead of betting out.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Qc, Jc.
UTG calls, MP calls, CO raises, 1 fold, Hero calls, BB calls, UTG calls, MP folds.

Flop: (9 SB) 6c, 7c, 9c (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, CO bets, Hero raises, BB folds, UTG folds, CO calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) Tc (2 players)
Hero bets, CO folds.

Hand 3: This was a failed steal attempt. BB didn't seem particularly loose or tricky, so I decided that if he called a flop bet, he must have the best hand, which is why I check-folded the turn. Maybe he has a heart draw or a queen, but there are far too many ways I'm beat now, and those hands against which I have the lead, they all have many outs on the river to win, and I don't want to fire three barrels into this board with this hand.

Preflop: Hero is SB with 7c, Ac.
3 folds, SB raises, BB calls.

Flop: (4 SB) Jh, Th, Ks (2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3 BB) 2d (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets, Hero folds.

Hand 4: Villain is a LAG. I would have 3-bet him except that CO is a fairly readable player. He's tight enough that I know he's calling with at least a decent hand and I know that he knows that villain is a bit overaggro. I'd rather keep the pot small preflop so that I don't have a bloated pot to contend with postflop. On the flop, CO's call means a weak hand (except if he had 55 or 22 or A2s), and his call is a loose peel to snag a pair with two overs to the board. I check-raised here for value, and CO's fold is a little surprising given that he closes the action and is getting monster odds. He must have made a very loose peel on that first bet. I thought about throwing a screwplay on the turn with the aggro villain, but decided to just value bet instead.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ac, Qs.
1 fold, MP raises, CO calls, 2 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (6.50 SB) 5d, 2s, 2h (3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets, CO calls, Hero raises, MP calls, CO folds.

Turn: (5.75 BB) Ah (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

River: (7.75 BB) 4h (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

Results:
Hero has Ac Qs (two pair, aces and twos).
MP has As Td (two pair, aces and twos).

Hand 5: Here's another hand with the same two villains. I could have only called the 3-bet preflop, but my table image was pretty solid at the time as I had been showing down solid hands and taking a number of pots uncontested. I suspected that aggro-villain was playing back at me a little bit. On the flop, I went back to playing the relative position game. With the predictable player in the pot, I knew I could count on him to tell me what he has. Sadly for him, CO caught a nice flop.

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Ks, Ad.
Hero raises, 1 fold, CO 3-bets, Button calls, 2 folds, Hero caps, CO calls, Button calls.

Flop: (13.50 SB) 9d, 7c, Tc (3 players)
Hero checks, CO bets, Button calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (8.25 BB) Qh (3 players)
Hero checks, CO bets, Button raises, Hero folds, CO 3-bets, Button calls.

River: (14.25 BB) 5h (2 players)
CO bets, Button calls.

Results:
CO has Ts 9c (two pair, tens and nines).
Button has Qd Ah (one pair, queens).

Hand 6: I think I played this perfectly. A turn raise is bad because it allows better hands to raise me, and if he has a worse hand, it's either much worse (so that he may not pay me off) or not much worse (and could chop on a range of cards on the river). Since it's heads up, there's no point in pumping the pot.

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9d, Ad.
UTG calls, MP calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls, MP calls.

Flop: (10 SB) 5c, Jh, 5h (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP checks, Hero checks.

Turn: (5 BB) As (5 players)
SB bets, BB folds, UTG folds, MP folds, Hero calls.

River: (7 BB) Qd (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

Results:
SB has Ks 5s (three of a kind, fives).
Hero has 9d Ad (two pair, aces and fives).

Day 17: -$28.90 (-29 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$29.95 in 2510 table minutes

Sometimes, the cards are out to get you. Today was one of those days. It could have been worse, I guess. I only played 81 hands, and when 6 of those hands (7.4% of all hands, 27.3% of VPIP hands) account for -25 BB, it's very hard to have a positive session.

Hand 1:
Preflop: Hero is BB with Kd, Ac.
2 folds, CO raises, 1 fold, SB 3-bets, Hero calls, CO calls.

Flop: (9 SB) 9d, 6d, 8d (3 players)
SB bets, Hero calls, CO calls.

Turn: (6 BB) 4s (3 players)
SB bets, Hero calls, CO calls.

River: (9 BB) 5d (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, CO raises, SB folds, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has Kd Ac (flush, king high).
CO has Ad 7d (straight flush, nine high).

Hand 2:
Preflop: Hero is BB with Qs, Qd.
2 folds, CO calls, Button raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, CO calls, Button caps, Hero calls, CO calls.

Flop: (12.50 SB) Qc, 8c, Ad (3 players)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, CO calls, Button calls.

Turn: (10.75 BB) 7c (3 players)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button raises, Hero calls, CO calls.

River: (16.75 BB) Tc (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button bets, Hero calls, CO calls.

Results:
Hero has Qs Qd (three of a kind, queens).
CO has Ah Th (two pair, aces and tens).
Button has Ks Ac (flush, ace high).

Hand 3:
Preflop: Hero is SB with 6s, 6c.
UTG calls, MP calls, 2 folds, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (4 SB) 6h, Qc, Js (4 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG folds, MP calls.

Turn: (3.50 BB) Kh (3 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, MP folds, Hero 3-bets, BB caps, Hero calls.

River: (11.50 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

Results:
Hero has 6s 6c (three of a kind, sixes).
BB has 9h Ts (straight, king high).

Hand 4:
Preflop: Hero is BB with As, 5s.
1 fold, MP calls, 1 fold, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (3 SB) Ts, 5h, Qs (3 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, MP 3-bets, SB calls, Hero caps, MP calls, SB calls.

Turn: (7.50 BB) Kd (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP checks.

River: (7.50 BB) Ah (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, MP calls, SB folds.

Results:
Hero has As 5s (two pair, aces and fives).
MP has Js 7s (straight, ace high).

Hand 6:
Preflop: Hero is SB with 3d, 3h.
1 fold, Button calls, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (3 SB) 2s, 3c, Jd (3 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, Button calls.

Turn: (2.50 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (4.50 BB) 4s (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has 3d 3h (three of a kind, threes).
Button has Ah Jh (straight, five high).

Day 16: -$22.35 (-22 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$58.85 in 2452 table minutes

Today's feature is titled "Losing the value bet war." I was playing against a player who was calling down with a wide wide range of hands. The lowest I saw was Q2o with queen high. On the other hand, he was also calling down with hands like a flopped set and trips. He never bluffed (and almost never bet). I did my best to isolate against him, but unfortunately, the cards didn't come my way. I did a lot of value betting with hands like top pair, overpairs, and the like, but ended up down because he kept turning over monsters. I'm glad that he didn't raise these hands, because if he were aggressive and catching cards the way he was, I'd be down much much more than I am. No detailed hand posts today.

Day 15: +$22.45 (+22 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$81.20 in 2307 table minutes

Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving! I had just over 20 people at my place last night for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was great. About half of them were members of Graduate Christian Fellowship at UCSD, and the other half were friends and family of GCF members. I ended up making two turkeys, one baked in the oven and one semi-smoked over the grill. (I say semi-smoked because the first smoke bomb I put in there turned into a fireball, so I don't know how much smokey flavor was actually picked up by the meat.)

I went back up to two tables today for no particular reason. I would really like to develop the ability to switch between two lines of thinking with ease, and I know that if I want to develop this, I should start sooner (low stakes) rather than later (not quite as low stakes). I do notice that when I play two tables, I remember fewer hands that I played. I'm also going to try posting hands via the FTR Hand Converter to see if I like the format better.

Once again, I'm within reach of the next level...

Hand 1:

Preflop: Hero is CO with Ah, Ad.
UTG calls, 1 fold, CO raises, Button calls, SB calls, 1 fold, UTG calls.

Flop: (9 SB) Ac, 8c, 9d (4 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, Button calls, SB calls, UTG calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) 3s (4 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, Button folds, SB calls, UTG calls.

River: (9.50 BB) 7c (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, SB calls, UTG folds.

I guess this is a bad beat. I lost to 52 of clubs. I'm posting this hand simply because after I lost, I had to remind myself that it was a good value bet against a wide range of hands.

Hand 2:

Preflop: Hero is CO with Jh, Ah.
1 fold, MP raises, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, SB calls, BB calls, MP caps, Hero calls, SB calls, BB calls.

Flop: (16 SB) Js, 4s, 2c (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, MP bets, Hero raises, SB folds, BB calls, MP 3-bets, Hero calls, BB calls.

Turn: (12.50 BB) Qh (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero checks.

River: (12.50 BB) 8c (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets, BB calls, MP folds.

The turn play really had me confused. MP is a known aggressive player. His preflop raising range is quite wide, but this is the first time that he capped. Given that he capped in a multi-way pot, I assumed that this meant he was more likely to have a legitimate hand. The flop 3-bet seemed to point in this direction as well. But when he checked on the turn, I became concerned that he might have QQ. Aggro players tend not to slow down suddenly unless they have hit a strong hand. I intended to check behind and call a single river bet, but it was checked to me again. BB paid off with T8o and to the best of my knowledge, MP had AK of spades and decided it wise to get to the river cheaply instead of semi-bluffing.

Hand 3:

Preflop: Hero is SB with Kd, Kc.
UTG calls, MP calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, BB calls, UTG calls, MP calls.

Flop: (8 SB) 8d, 7h, 3s (4 players)
SB bets, BB raises, UTG calls, MP folds, Hero 3-bets, BB calls, UTG calls.

Turn: (8.50 BB) 7d (3 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG calls.

River: (11.50 BB) 5h (3 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, UTG raises, Hero calls.

I thought about folding to this river check-raise. Villain in this hand was not particularly aggressive and I had no reason to think he would pull a monster bluff here on the end. But I hate folding overpairs and paid him off. He had 96 of hearts for the OESD.

Hand 4:

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ts, 5s.
2 folds, SB raises, Hero calls.

Flop: (4 SB) As, Qh, Ah (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (3 BB) 3h (2 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, SB folds.

Villain in this hand was an aggro-stealer. He was an aggressive player already, and in blind situations he seemed to turn it up even more. But he also knew how to fold when it's fairly clear that he's beat. Because his preflop range is so large here, I think this play works very very very often. If he were a showdown monkey (like me), then I think it would be harder to pull this off, as he would be showing down pocket pairs like 55 to win. I might not be playing this hand against such a player... at least not at my current skill level.

Hand 5: I'm posting this one to 2+2 for some feedback.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Tc, 9c.
2 folds, CO calls, Button calls, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (4 SB) Kh, 4h, 9s (4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets, CO calls, Button calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (4 BB) Kd (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO checks, Button checks.

River: (4 BB) Kc (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO bets, Button folds, Hero calls, BB folds.

This one gets put in the "I played it strangely" file. From SB, I don't always donk this flop with my hand. I think I would from BB with only two players behind me to act, but with three players it becomes much more marginal (especially if the players are aggressive or otherwise hard to read). I don't recall anything special about BB (a consequence of playing two tables, I think). I'm not quite sure how to handle the turn play. My instinct says that betting is best, but with all the callers and the broadway draws, I'm not sure if I can get away reliably on the river. Once the river gave me a boat, I decided to check-call because I'm pretty sure not many worse hands will call and that the chances of there being only worse hands out there is just too small. But I can check-call because after the turn action there is a decent chance that someone wakes up and tries to bluff the missed draw, especially after some checks.

Day 14: +$31.65 (+32 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$58.75 in 2150 table minutes

Finally, after running bad for 5 sessions in a row, I have a decent upswing to pull me up and make me feel good about my playing again. I played a little distracted tonight, chatting online with a friend and on the phone, but it was okay.

Hand 1: I raise A4s UTG, the next player coldcalls, SB calls, and BB folds. The flop is A77 and it's checked to me. I bet, get called, and SB check-raises. SB is a somewhat known aggressive player. His check-raise can be an ace, a worse pocket pair, or total junk. It's rarely a 7. If it's an ace, I run a slight risk of being outkicked and not having the board bail me out. In both other circumstances, I have him drawing very thin. I'm not sure if he would fold if I put more pressure on him, and since this is a way ahead type of situation and since I have position, I decided to let him try to buy the pot from me and just call down. After I called, the coldcaller folded. The turn was a 9, the river an 8, and I lost to JTs hitting runner-runner straight (less than 4%).

Hand 2: This one makes me a little disappointed because I misread the board. I raise KK preflop and flop top set on a flush draw board. I bet and get called in two spots. The turn is an offsuit card, I bet and get called by one player. The river is a flush card, I bet and get check-raised. Sadly, I failed to notice that this card also paired the board, so I missed out on a likely two more BBs to add to my collection.

Hand 3: There is one limper and I raise KJs from the cutoff. The small blind and the limper call, giving us a 3-handed flop. The flop is Q64 with a flush draw for me. It's checked to me and I bet. SB calls and the limper check-raises. At this point, I can either 3-bet (for value and often a free card) or just call and look to raise a turned flush. I decided to go with the 3-bet and got called in both spots. The turn was an offsuit T, giving me the OESD. I took my free card because there was no way I had the best hand and there was no way I was going to make them both fold. The river brought another T, giving me the flush. The flop check-raiser bet into me and I raised. I thought about trying to get an overcall out of the other villain, but the chances of getting a call out of the aggressor are far greater than the chances of getting a call out of the other guy, so I clicked raise. The last player folded out and the aggressor called. He showed Q2o for flopped top pair.

Hand 4: I have K5s in the big blind and it's a 6-handed family pot. The flop is KQ7 giving me top pair and the flush draw. I lead out, get raised, get 3-bet, and I choose to cap it because the players in this hand are a little LAGgy. The turn is my flush card, and it gets capped again, although one player ended up all-in halfway through. The river is a 2 of bonus flush and I bet, hoping not to run into the the A. It was called and I laugh at the button limper's KK and the all-in's Q6o.

Hand 5: There's an early raise, a few callers, and I call with QJs. There are 5 of us to the flop. It comes down Q98 with a backdoor flush draw for me. It's checked to me and I check, anticipating that the aggressor would bet so that I could evaluate the action from the rest of the table. Instead, it gets checked around. The turn is a 3, and I bet it, getting called in two spots. The river is a 5, I bet again, and get called once. I win the pot.

Day 13: -$2.00 (-2 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$27.10 in 2049 table minutes

I probably only played a B game today. There are a number of spots where I should have folded, knowing I was beat, but decided to call.

Hand 1: I raise AJs from the small blind after three limpers. The flop is a 5-handed J53 with a flush draw and I lead out. There's one caller and an aggressive player raises. The aggressive player has been playing pretty erratically, pushing weaker hands and nothing hands and so on. I 3-bet him and get heads up. The turn is an ace of flush, and I continue to push. Now villain raises. I'm not folding top two here, so the question is whether I should continue to push for value or aim to get to showdown. After some deliberation, I decide the get-to-showdown route is better because he's not all-crazy-all-the-time. I check-call the meaningless offsuit 6 on the river and he turns over AK with the K of flush and I take down the pot.

Hand 2: I raise AJo UTG and get coldcalled in two spots plus BB. The flop is KQ8. It's checked to me, I check, and watch it get checked through. This is not a good spot to c-bet because the coldcalls are very bad news for me on this board. I'm actually a little surprised it got checked through. THe turn is an A and it's checked to me again. This time, I bet and called in two spots. The river is a 3 and I bet again, getting called in both spots again. I beat a worse ace (A4o) and a K (BB's hand).

Hands 3-4: From the "keeping me down" file. I have J3s in the BB and flop two pair. Value bet, value bet, and got checked-raised on the river by someone hitting a gutshot. In another hand, I raise AJo and flop my ace. Value bet, value bet, river a jack that gives villain a gutshot straight.

I'm a little tired, so I won't post any other hands tonight.

Day 12: -$12.90 (-13 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$29.10 in 1953 table minutes

I played a second session today, and it went worse than the first. I like one-tabling much more than two tabling, but I'm not doing so well at it. At least, the results are going down even though I feel my play is going up. I call it variance. It's only 4 losing sessions in a row and I'm still up overall, but it's a little bit annoying.

Hand 1: I open-raise A7o from CO and get called by SB. BB 3-bets it, I call, and SB caps. BB is an aggressive player, but not stupid, but SB is a bit crazy. The flop is AJ9 and crazy leads out. BB raises and I make the easy fold to avoid AJ going nuts against J9.

Hand 2: Here's an interesting KK hand. It's raised ahead of me and I 3-bet from the button. We see the flop heads up. The flop is AQ2 with a flush draw. Villain donks into me. He is an aggressive player who can be donking a lot of hands. It could be an ace, a queen, a flush draw, a straight draw, or maybe even JJ. I decide that it's often enough not an ace that I can proceed with the hand. The debate was between calling and raising. I decide to go with the "free showdown" option of raising the turn because he's not crazy. If he has a draw, he'd be forced to call the raise, but if he 3-bets me I can easily dump my hand. So the I raise the offsuit 7 turn card and check behind on the ace river. He turned over QJo. I wonder if a river value bet could have been a good play...

Hand 3: I raise JTo from the button against a poor playing opponent. Sadly, both blinds call and it's 4 to the flop. Happily, I flop 978 for the nut straight, though there's a flush draw. The poor playing villain donks into me, there's a caller, and I raise. The poor playing villain 3-bets and the guy in the middle coldcalls. At this point, it's appropriate to say a couple words about poor playing villain. I have seen him completely overplay draws (gutshot and flush draws) on both the turn and the river. He may also overplay weak made hands, but I haven't had much verification on this just yet. The reason I wanted to isolate with him is because I know he's capable of spewing a whole lot of chips my way if I flop anything decent (like a pair of tens). I decide that it's likely that any hand he's betting now will also be bet on the turn if I just call, so I call intending to raise any non-flush card. Sadly, the turn is a 4 of flush and he leads (as expected). The middle player folds and I just call down. He turns over K7s and I lose another hand.

Hand 4: I raise 88 from the small blind against a limper and we a 3-handed flop. It comes down 982 with a flush draw. Bet-call-call. The turn is a 6 bringing a second flush draw. Bet-call-call. The river is a 3 of the first flush and I bet and get raised. The phone rang and I accidentally clicked raise while reaching for the phone. Fortunately, he only calls and shows me a J7s for the flush, instead of capping me (I'd probably fold to the cap at least 75% of the time...).

Day 11: -$18.20 (-18 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$42.00 in 1880 table minutes

I went back down to one table, and things felt a whole lot better. My reads were stronger and I played with much more confidence. The results, however, were less than pleasant. I got stuck in a couple bad spots and it took its toll on me. I may go back to play later today and call it "Day 12" even though it's the same day.

Hand 1: One limper, an aggressive player raises, and I 3-bet from SB with KK. Three of us to the flop. It's 974 with a flush draw, and I lead out, getting called by the aggressive player. The turn is an 8 for a double flush draw and I lead again. This time, the aggressive player raises. I didn't really like the raise, but I decided that he could be doing this with hands like QQ/JJ/TT that wanted to see a good turn card before raising, and possibly something like ATs/KTs that has a straight draw plus a flush draw, so I went ahead and 3-bet him. He capped it. The river was an offsuit ace. This is where I think I made my mistake. I think I can safely bet-fold this river card after all of the turn action. I get paid off by QQ/JJ/TT plus maybe miscellaneous hands that he has that I might not have considered. However, if I check, I allow him to check behind with all those hands, but value bet Ax and better hands. Anyway, I check-call and find that he had 99 for a flopped set.

Hand 2: A loose-passive limper limps and I raise K9o from the button. A somewhat loose-aggressive player in SB calls and BB folds, giving us a 3-handed flop. The flop is QJ9 and it's checked to me. I bet and get called in both spots. THe turn is a 5, bringing a flush draw. It's checked to me and I check behind. I don't like that I was called on this flop. Sometimes it means a lone K, T, or 8 that is drawing to a straight or rarely an underpair that wants to look me up, but I can't often expect this out of two players. The check behind is also good because sLAG may try to bluff this river with both missed draws, giving loose limper a chance to reveal the strength of his hand. The plan was to call a single bet from sLAG, but not overcall, and to fold to a bet from the loose limper. As it played out, sLAG bet, limper called, and I folded. sLAG had 86 for the missed idiot gutshot draw, and the limper turned over J7s for the best hand.

Hand 3: The table is down to 4-handed play, and I raise 98o from CO. I get called by the button and the small blind. The button is an aggressive player who loves to bet, but shuts down to raises (sometimes folding). the flop si T43 with a flush draw, and it's checked to me. I checked for a reason that I don't think I can actually explain because I don't know if a rationale exists for checking, except to check-fold. But I didn't check-fold, I check-called. At the time, I felt that aggressive player would bet any two cards, would likely call if I bet, and sometimes raise no-pair hands as a bluff. So I check-called and hit an 8 on the turn. Here's where I got something right. I check-raised him, knowing that he would continue to bet any hand he had bet on the flop. I could fold to a 3-bet here, and he would have a tough time 3-betting without a strong hand. The river was a 6 and we both checked. I decided not to value bet the river because he wouldn't call with overcards, which was his mostly likely holding. If he had a pocket pair, he would probably call. He turned over 55 and my pair of 8s takes the pot from him.

Hand 4: I flopped a set of 4s in a 5-handed pot, but the flop was monotone. A very aggressive player who I have seen overplaying a flush draw cap the flop and turn. I check-called the river and he showed me J8s for the flopped flush.

Hand 5: I flopped top two pair (Q8s) against an unknown UTG raiser. The flop is capped, and I lead the turn and river. He had QTo and rivered two pair to beat me.

Day 10: -$5.20 (-5 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$60.20 in 1803 table minutes

Meh. 6-max is a fun game. I might actually do better if I stuck to one table instead of going with two. I just can't seem to pay enough attention to get what I feel are adaquate reads, so I end up making plays that are far more marginal, and get myself into situations that I don't particularly like. I think I'll go back to one table next time, just to see how it feels.

I feel like I folded a lot of hands on the flop and turn tonight. More than I should have. But I don't feel like I played poorly. I did notice that I was a little hesitant to donk-bluff into 3-handed pots, which is something I did playing full ring quite often. I think it's not as valuable at 6-max because players call with weaker hands, and sometimes it requires a turn bet follow-up to get them out. I'm not usre if the investment is worth the reward, so I tend to just check-fold.

Hand 1: Standard A9s hand. I raise preflop UTG (4-handed) and get called by both blinds. The flop is 965 monotone (not my suit), checked to me, I bet, called twice. Turn is an offsuit queen with the same action. The river is an ace, I bet and get no callers.

Hand 2: I raise KQo from the small blind and get called by a player who has a note on him: "Very aggro". The flop is J96 with a heart draw (no heart for me). I bet and he calls. The turn is another jack and I bet. I think this bet was a mistake. Very aggro player will likely raise a lot of hands here. I've got enough outs to draw against him if I just check-call, but that puts me in an ugly spot on the river, because he's going to bet it again very often. Do I want to call with K-high to snap a bluff? If I bet-call, I definitely cannot call UI. But maybe if I check-call the turn... I don't know. It's an incredibly marginal spot. But back to the real hand, I bet, he raises, and I call. The river is a queen, saving me the agony of folding. I thought about check-raising, but I decided to just check-call, possibly because I'm weak.

Hand 3: I complete 96s in the small blind against 3 limpers. The flop is 662 and I get FPS and check my hand. Stupid! It gets checked around. I lead the turn and river and get one caller on each street. My hand beats a limped QQ.

Hand 4: The table just broke and I'm heads up with an aggro player. I really don't want to play heads up, but I didn't get up right away. So I'm dealt a hand. I limp T9o expecting him to raise. I don't mind him having the lead because I'm already in showdown mode, and since I'm in position I have the ability to value bet/raise a lot. He checks behind. The flop is KQ3 all clubs (I hold the T of clubs). I donk and he calls. I know he's very aggro, so he's either got a weak club draw or is slowplaying a monster. Either way, I don't like my hand or my draw. The turn is a K and I check. Surprisingly, he checks behind. I guess he's suspicious of something. Or has a boat. Anyway, the river is a Q and I check again. Now he bets. I probably should have folded to this bet, but I was curious and suspicious and called. He turned over 95 with 9 club and I win.

Hand 5: Same villain, next hand. I have QTo on the button and call his raise. The flop is K43 and he bets into me. I expect he's fuming. I decide that Q-high is probably ahead of his hand range and call down blind. Turn 7, river 2, and I beat Q8o. Then I get up and leave that table.

Hand 6: I have red QQ and open-raise from the button, getting called by both blinds. The flop is J97 with a diamond flush draw. SB bets, BB calls, I raise, SB 3-bets, BB calls, I cap, and we all see the turn in a nice big pot. I notice that SB is running short, so might be stacking off, but that's a lot of bets to be putting in. I don't like my hand enough to keep pounding, so I decide to slow down if he leads. The turn is a 4 of spades. SB leads again, BB calls, and I just call. The river is a T of spades, and SB puts in his last $.50. BB wakes up and raises. After debating with myself for a while, I note that BB has been a very loose-passive customer, and that my overpair is no good. I muck my QQ for one bet in a monster pot on the river. SB shows T9o and loses to BB's 86s OESD.

Day 9: -$11.35 (-11 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$65.40 in 1641 table minutes

I played pretty well last night, but I was unable to put together a winning session.

Hand 1: Here's another preflop fold hand. A somewhat tight player raises UTG and is 3-bet by a TAGgish player. I muck AQo on the button. The showdown had the tight player with 99 and the TAG with AQs.

Hand 2: Aggressive player raises UTG and I 3-bet with AJs. BB comes along and it's 3 to the flop for 3 bets. The flop is AT8. They check to me, I bet, and they both call. The turn is a 9 and they check to me again. I bet, BB calls and UTG raises. This raise is bad news for me. Most of the time, I'm in big trouble. There will be some times when the aggressive player will have something like the Jx of clubs (maybe KJ) and have just the draw, but most of the time it's AK/QJs/AA/TT. But with my open-ended straight draw and a big pot, I peel to catch a miracle. The river was a 7 of clubs, completing my straight and the flush that I don't have. It's checked to me and I bet it. BB folds(!) and UTG calls with his TT.

Hand 3: A somewhat poor aggressive player limps UTG and I raise with AJo. It's folded back around to him and he LRRs. I just call. The flop is 983 with a diamond draw (I have no diamonds). He bets. I think for a while about how I want to play it. I don't particularly believe his LRR because he has been wildly aggressive preflop and on the earlier streets. But he does seem to slow down. I decide that I would either call down or raise the turn. I decided to raise the turn because I had seem him muck to aggression before. So I call his flop bet. The turn was an excellent card for me, another 8 to pair the board. Bet-raise-hesitate-call. At this point, I decide that he has two overcards. The river is a 7 and he checks to me. I debate with myself about trying to bet him off his hand (maybe AK/AQ/AJ), but decide that it probably doesn't work often enough and check behind. We chop the pot.

Hand 4: I raise A9 clubs UTG and get called by aggro-bluffer BB. The flop is 542 with a diamond draw. He checks to me. I decide to check behind and go to showdown blind against him. This is the sort of spot where he could easily check-raise a pocket pair or nothing. The turn is a 9 of diamonds and before it registers in my head that I just paired up the action has already been bet-call. This is a good spot for a value raise. If he has a diamond draw, he may 3-bet it as a 4:1 dog. And it's highly unlikely for him to have the best hand. Either way, I'm still showing down against him. The river is another diamond and I call his bet again. He turns over Q3o with the 3 of diamonds for the lowest possible one card flush to take the pot.

Hand 5: This is a pretty standard KK hand, except maybe for the river. I raise from the button and get called by both blinds. The flop is J95, check-check-bet-call-call. The turn is another J, check-check-bet-call-call. The river is an ace, check-check-check. I lose to AT. I might get yelled at for not betting the river...

Hand 6: This is a pretty standard JJ hand, except definitely for the river. I have JJ in the small blind and raise two limpers. BB 3-bets, both limpers call, and I cap. 4 players for 4 bets. The flop is 932. I bet and get called in all three spots. The turn is an 8, I bet and get called in all 3 spots. The river is another 9 and completed a backdoor flush draw. Here's where I screwed it up. I bet, got called by the first two spots and the guy on the end raises. I'm beat by a 9 most of the time here. Sometimes I'm beat by a backdoor flush. I'm beat with more a 95% confidence level. This is just a completely awful spot for me. I call and get shown T9o. Once again, I get lots of bets in as a 4:1 favorite, but don't win the pot.

Day 8: +$13.25 (+13 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$76.75 in 1441 table minutes

I think this was my first early afternoon session. The tables didn't seem very different to me. It was nice to have two stable tables after last night when I think I was in and out of 6 different tables over the course of the session.

Hand 1: I have A4s in the small blind. There's a super-passive, super-bad limper UTG and the rest of the table folds. I can see raising this hand sometimes in this spot to try to knock out BB and get heads up OOP against a really bad player, but I'd rather have a mid-range kicker instead of a lower one so that postflop play will be a little less tricky. I'd much rather have K8s here than A4s. I limp in and BB raises. I don't have a lot to say about BB. He has let me steal a number of his blinds from him so I take him to be a generally weak player. We all call. The flop is AQT. I check, BB checks, and UTG checks. Normally, I'd put villain on a strong hand like AQ/AK/AA/QQ. However, with this weakish player, I think that KK/JJ are both legitimate possibilities, with perhaps KQ in there. Anyway the turn is a J. At this point, I'm trailing *EVERY* legitimate raising hand from BB, so I check-fold. The two other players go to showdown for one bet each street, and they both show down a K for the nut straight.

Hand 2: I open-raise Q9o from the button and get called by BB. The flop is 542. He checks and I bet. This villain played pretty tight-passive, but knew how to bet good hands. In this case, that means top pair, a set, flopped straight (A3s, not 63), or maybe an overpair to the board. I peel getting 7:1 (which is a little loose against this player). He leads again when the turn comes a queen. I made the mistake of just calling instead of raising. This is a clear value raise against a player who will not 3-bet without a very strong hand and who will call down even though he thinks he is beat. It's also important because he will not bet the river with a marginal hand, so this is the only spot for a value raise. The river was an action-killing ace, and he check-called with his K5s.

Hand 3: I raise ATo UTG and get called by both blinds. The flop is JT2 with a flush draw and the small blind donks it. SB is somewhat new to the table, but has so far seemed to be a weakish. Of course, this is a read over only about a dozen hands, so I don't put a whole lot of faith into it. All three of us call. The turn is an 8 and SB donks again. BB calls and I think for a moment about my action. I'm getting around 6:1 (after rake). If I'm behind, I likely have 4-5 outs, but I might still be ahead. I think this is a good point to fold because if I'm ahead, I don't know if I stay ahead often enough on the draw-happy river card to make up for the times I'm getting short odds. But I called. The river was another 8 and now SB checks but BB donks. BB is strangely erratic on the river. He seems to like waking up on the river and showing down fairly weak hands and missed draws. I'm pretty sure I'm ahead of him, but I'm worried that SB had a jack and is afraid of running trips (which would be consistent with my weakish read). After some contemplation, I decide that I should call because my read on SB is too weak to fold when I know that I'm either first or second, and especially when I don't fear a check-raise. BB had T7o, but SB had AJs for the read-confirming TPTK.

Hand 4: I'm not going to type it all out, but I lost with K7o flopping trip sevens from the small blind. It was capped on the flop against what turned out to be two flush draws, and they hit it on the turn. I was able to get away without putting anything in on the river, but it's too bad when you get the flop capped as a 75% favorite because of all the dead flush cards plus your boat redraw, but lose 4 bets on the turn chasing the big pot when you're a 4:1 dog.

Hand 5: I had a happy moment when my 84o from BB flopped two pair against pocket queens that decided to limp. I got it capped on the flop and one bet each on the big streets. I might have gone for the check-raise on the turn except that the action-killer fell and slowed him down.

Edit: I posted Hand 6 at the TwoPlusTwo Microlimit forum. I think I played it right, but I'm curious to know what others think about it.

Day 7: -$11.35 (-11 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$63.50 in 1274 table minutes

I played a longer than usual session tonight. I don't think it hurt a lot, but I was tired at the beginning of the session and I'm tired now. But there was a really good table that I didn't want to leave. There were two players going at each other (capping 42o preflop and such), and I was just waiting to pick up a decent hand to mix it up with them. The one hand I picked up something, they both limped in and I raised my TT. I flopped QQT, but the two nut cases bailed out. I did get paid off by a flush for 4 bets on the turn and 3 bets on the river (he went all-in). But it's nowhere near as exciting when you're only getting one person's money as opposed to two or three. I'm not going to post any hands tonight besides this one. There were a couple really good hands in there and a couple crappy ones, too, but I'm not going to sift through it tonight. Maybe I'll amend this post with some hands, or perhaps not. It depends on how ambitious I'm feeling later.