A Pretty Uneventful Trip

After five-and-a-half hours of playing, I ended up with a $80 profit day. I would like to tell you grand stories of big bluffs and bigger pots, but I pretty much played aces, kings, queens and high cards that didn't go very far into the hand.

My peak was $375 and I lost a lot of that money with A-Q when I flopped top pair and a guy rivered a flush on me. The guy's final bet of $65 on the river was just the right amount to make me curious enough to see his hand. I felt pretty good he had me beat, but I just couldn't lay it down.

The past few months since I started playing cards on a pretty consistent basis I have noticed I can't make the lay down of big hands on the river that I used to do pretty routinely. That was something I was proud of back in the day that I could fold hands others wouldn't dare do at the end of the hand, and more times than not it was the correct decision. Yet, now I can't seem to do it.

If I could tweak that one element of my game I think I would have more and larger profitable sessions. In fact, now that I think about it, the last couple of times I've had losing nights was because I wouldn't fold aces when I knew they were beat. That is something I need to work on in my game.

Well, my next time to play will probably be the Weatherford game. I'll give you details from that night when it happens.

One Final Hoorah

I start work at a new job Thursday, so the wife gave me the okay to go play cards tomorrow. I will post about my time there tomorrow night.

A Poker First For Me

Lately I've gotten away from tournament play, but this Saturday my friend Danny and I will be participants in a different type of game for us. I have played in all sorts of tournaments since taking up Texas Hold 'em, including small home game tournaments with poor blind structures, multi-table casino tournaments with acceptable to player-friendly blinds and even a World Series limit/no-limit tournament, but in all my time at the tables I've never played a bounty (or knockout) tournament.
I am anticipating the event, especially since my last outing at poker that resulted in nearly $1,200 profit, but I'm not feeling good about my tournament playing style. I have a reputation for going out on the bubble (highest place to finish without winning money), and doing so enough times to earn a reputation means I have a flaw when it comes down to that point in a tournament. I also do not knock out a lot of players during a tournament. I like to win pots without risking a large portion of my stack, which is usually what it takes to eliminate players throughout the game (minus those on the short stack who are in desperation mode).
Wish me luck and I will remember some key hands during the tournament. I figure, as long as I either make the money or knock out at least three players I will either break even or make some profit. Until then.