What's this? Two in two days?
Hanging in there at the expense of my life expectency
In celebration of the confirmation that someone, somewhere, has actually read my blog I have decided to break my six-monthly update routine and post again today. Deep breaths . . .
The rollercoaster ride of the last few weeks continues, but I am keeping my head above water, just. Yesterday put a real strain on my heart. First I lost a huge pot when I flopped two pair with 6-4 on a 6-4-A flop. Got it all in against A-5 and the five hit on the turn.
After pulling a few back I then found aces in second position, and re-raised the under-the-gun player to $18. The flop came Ad-Th-9h and I decided to slow play it. The dreaded heart came on the turn but I fired $25 all the same. The river was a blank and he fired $80 into the $90'ish pot. I had to call. He had 6h-5h.
I finished work and headed home at around 6ish. Straight back online. Within three hands I turned the nut straight and had to check call a huge bet on the river when the board paired. He had made his boat.
That meant I was down to about $350, having started the day at about $750. Not good. But I persevered. I was pretty sure I had a good edge on the table I was playing at, and to stave off the boredom from playing one table I also played a few heads-up tournies, one after the other. Won four $20 HU in a row, and then just before I stopped for dinner I won two big pots on the cash table. The first was a simple A-K v A-Q scenario, where an ace flopped and I got him to put it all-in on the turn.
In the next pot I flopped two pair with A-T after flat calling a button raise. I slow played it, check calling to the river when another ace fell. I bet and he re-raised all-in with middle pair or some shit like that. Back up to $600.
Went round to my mates for the weekly home game after that. Ran pretty bad - my first losing session in over six months (the standard is pretty poor). Was down £60 at one point but pulled it back to a £12 loss. Frustrating game though - very few cards and hit even fewer flops. Moaned too much. The players in our game are suicidal though. They play quite reasonably for a while, building up decent stacks, and then they just self-destruct, calling all-ins with hands like A-3 on a A-K-T board. Great for me - but its always a concern they may quit if they keep throwing away big chip stacks in the last hour of the night.
Ran well online today. Started poorly again when I made a button raise to $9 with K-T and was called by a first positon limper. Flop was A-Q-8 rainbow and I made it $16 - he called. Turn was a blank and we check checked. River was a Ten and I bet $32 - hoping he had busted flush - he called with Q-2o. Four hands later I flopped the broadway straight with A-T. Up against the same guy and he put it all-in with T-9. Fair enough - no complaints about that - but the river Ace was a bitch.
But things turned in my favour after that. I won a $160 pot when I pushed with Q-Q on a Td-6d-3h-Ks board and was called by 9d-7d. I then started to pick up a lot of small pots, building my stack to around $320, before hitting a monster. The button raised to $8 and I flat called with Ad-Kd from the SB. The flop was a dream - Ac-9d-4d. I checked and the original raiser made it $8 to go. I raised to $20 and he called. The turn made my flush, and I bet a weak looking amount - $10 or something, into a $64 pot - he called. The river did not pair the board, and now I bet $24, feeling fairly sure he was going to raise, either with nothing or with a smaller flush. Sure enough he raised another $50. I then re-raised all-in and he called. Didn't see what he had, but must have been a smaller flush to make the call. That put my roll back to $920, pending the arrival of my Doyle cash.
One thing I have realised this last week is that I gotta control my temper better. Its really not good for my health. Seriously. I joined a new gym the other day and took advantage of the free physical. I'm a pretty healthy guy and scored way above average in almost every category . . . . . . . except one. My diastolic blood pressure was diabolical.
For those of you who, like me, get more than a little worked up when things aren't going your way on the poker table I suggest you consider going to your doctor and getting your blood pressure checked. Its pure speculation, but I'd wager that having high blood pressure through poker-induced stress is probably as bad for your life expectency as smoking ten-a-day.
In celebration of the confirmation that someone, somewhere, has actually read my blog I have decided to break my six-monthly update routine and post again today. Deep breaths . . .
The rollercoaster ride of the last few weeks continues, but I am keeping my head above water, just. Yesterday put a real strain on my heart. First I lost a huge pot when I flopped two pair with 6-4 on a 6-4-A flop. Got it all in against A-5 and the five hit on the turn.
After pulling a few back I then found aces in second position, and re-raised the under-the-gun player to $18. The flop came Ad-Th-9h and I decided to slow play it. The dreaded heart came on the turn but I fired $25 all the same. The river was a blank and he fired $80 into the $90'ish pot. I had to call. He had 6h-5h.
I finished work and headed home at around 6ish. Straight back online. Within three hands I turned the nut straight and had to check call a huge bet on the river when the board paired. He had made his boat.
That meant I was down to about $350, having started the day at about $750. Not good. But I persevered. I was pretty sure I had a good edge on the table I was playing at, and to stave off the boredom from playing one table I also played a few heads-up tournies, one after the other. Won four $20 HU in a row, and then just before I stopped for dinner I won two big pots on the cash table. The first was a simple A-K v A-Q scenario, where an ace flopped and I got him to put it all-in on the turn.
In the next pot I flopped two pair with A-T after flat calling a button raise. I slow played it, check calling to the river when another ace fell. I bet and he re-raised all-in with middle pair or some shit like that. Back up to $600.
Went round to my mates for the weekly home game after that. Ran pretty bad - my first losing session in over six months (the standard is pretty poor). Was down £60 at one point but pulled it back to a £12 loss. Frustrating game though - very few cards and hit even fewer flops. Moaned too much. The players in our game are suicidal though. They play quite reasonably for a while, building up decent stacks, and then they just self-destruct, calling all-ins with hands like A-3 on a A-K-T board. Great for me - but its always a concern they may quit if they keep throwing away big chip stacks in the last hour of the night.
Ran well online today. Started poorly again when I made a button raise to $9 with K-T and was called by a first positon limper. Flop was A-Q-8 rainbow and I made it $16 - he called. Turn was a blank and we check checked. River was a Ten and I bet $32 - hoping he had busted flush - he called with Q-2o. Four hands later I flopped the broadway straight with A-T. Up against the same guy and he put it all-in with T-9. Fair enough - no complaints about that - but the river Ace was a bitch.
But things turned in my favour after that. I won a $160 pot when I pushed with Q-Q on a Td-6d-3h-Ks board and was called by 9d-7d. I then started to pick up a lot of small pots, building my stack to around $320, before hitting a monster. The button raised to $8 and I flat called with Ad-Kd from the SB. The flop was a dream - Ac-9d-4d. I checked and the original raiser made it $8 to go. I raised to $20 and he called. The turn made my flush, and I bet a weak looking amount - $10 or something, into a $64 pot - he called. The river did not pair the board, and now I bet $24, feeling fairly sure he was going to raise, either with nothing or with a smaller flush. Sure enough he raised another $50. I then re-raised all-in and he called. Didn't see what he had, but must have been a smaller flush to make the call. That put my roll back to $920, pending the arrival of my Doyle cash.
One thing I have realised this last week is that I gotta control my temper better. Its really not good for my health. Seriously. I joined a new gym the other day and took advantage of the free physical. I'm a pretty healthy guy and scored way above average in almost every category . . . . . . . except one. My diastolic blood pressure was diabolical.
For those of you who, like me, get more than a little worked up when things aren't going your way on the poker table I suggest you consider going to your doctor and getting your blood pressure checked. Its pure speculation, but I'd wager that having high blood pressure through poker-induced stress is probably as bad for your life expectency as smoking ten-a-day.
posted by Mal | 6:34 AM
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