Things to remember

For trip 4, I have to remember a few things...

a.) Be humble. I could get my butt whooped at any time easily.
b.) watch for the first hour.
c.) be patient.
d.) look out for draws.
e.) try to get on an easy table.

3rd time

This was another milestone in my poker career as I track my winnings and losings. I've been told by friends who care about my well being to quit while I'm ahead. And I told him it doesn't work like that in poker ;)

I did great this time. I went with a game plan which was to sit and play tight/passively until an hour and just feel how the table is. After a while I noticed a few players who seemed to be decent, very selective and very aggressive (these guys had lots of chips in front of them). A few others were extremely loose players and even aggressive in bluffing. This was key to making decisions later in the game.

On one hand in particular while I was still starting my chip stack, I raised 10 dollars preflop. Most people called since I guess my table image wasn't established yet. Okay fine. I hit an Ace on the flop, giving me top pair with a good kicker so I bet 20 dollars. Everyone folds until it gets to a loose player who I know likes to bluff. He gives it a second pause and then calls. I check around to him, he bets 40 at me. I call. River comes around I check, and he pauses again looking a little trapped and decides to drop 80 dollars in the pot. I flat out called him with my heart in my throat. I knew it was the right move as something compelled me to catch this particular lie mid throw. But its always scary to just "throw" in 120+ dollars worth of calls in two rounds of betting.

I showed him my top pair. He mucked his hand. I felt great. I not only proved my worth but the entire table was shocked at the fact I only had top pair. I established a good table image. Which is key to how I work my magic.

However, one issue remained. I wasn't catching the cards! For a good solid 2 or 3 hours I was not getting anything. I was just bleeding my winnings and got back down to my starting chipstack through little forays that ultimately didn't land me anything. I was thinking I should just go ahead and leave, or play a different table. But I stayed with the knowledge that everything at this table was working except for a little luck.

And it payed off big. I won't go into too much detail but things worked out well. At this particular table I did well. After a while some cards started going my way and I have to say the luck came at the right time.

One thing I have noticed is that I start to play sloppy after 7-8 hours.....

Good advice on choosing tables

I found this useful tidbit of advice from Mike Caro on which tables to leave when you run into these signs...

Reasons to leave a game: (1) Game is bad; (2) Your image is bad; (3) You've been losing, inspiring opponents; (4) Silence; (5) Your foes play selectively, but aggressively; (6) Game is too loose for your bankroll (loose games are generally more profitable, but require larger bankrolls, due to increased fluctuations of outcomes); (7) You can't actually spot mistakes opponents are making; (8) You're worried about cheating (this will eat up mental energy, even if it's false); (9) You feel "glued to your seat."

This is good advice, and next time I sit at a table I will be sure to look for these signs before deciding to continue to play.

Second table

This table was very different. There were very weak players on this table. Bad players:

1.) A caller who played a lot of hands down the river and lost almost all of his pots.
2.) A few generally weak players who either didn't know what to call/catch with.

These guys supplied the most of the money at our table.

The good players were:

1.) An older lady who showed me her tournament paper showing that she was in first place. Good tight/aggressive player but not aggressive enough in certain hands.
2.) People who liked to bluff at the pot once and a while. I was hoping to catch these guys in a bind once and a while since I would slow play these players for lots of money.

Overall I think I played conservatively and well. I bluffed at pots a couple times, and won with nice monster hands. Once in a while I would get bluffed out for $25 when a lot is in the pot, but sometimes its not worth going for it.

New strategy...

Now that I've had a couple of days to review what went wrong that first table I'll point out a few mistakes I made/noticed.

1.) The person directly left of me was very loose/aggressive. So anything I played was in danger of being stolen or bluffed at often. Any attempts to defend or bluff back at is risky at such high stakes.

2.) I should have played much slower in the beginning to realize that the person directly left of me was very loose/aggressive. If I had gotten a better feel for the table first I could've geared myself up for a change in style/tactics.

3.) After an hour I should've started to play incredibly tight/passive. This lets me lose fewer hands/less money while at the same time gives me a better table reputation of being tight. Let them try and bully me but if I had anything really good going for me I could've easily have slow played some of them.

4.) A lot of people were getting in th flop cheap and trying to catch anything. If I were to play good hands(Pockets, suited face cards) I should've raised pre-flop to make them pay and also if I felt like they were trying to catch anything I should've made it expensive for them to see it.


The second table I did very well at. Next post to review the second table I played at.

Things I have learned this trip

I want to just point out that I've been awake for almost 20 hours now, so bare with me if my writing is a little wacky.

Today has been a big milestone in my poker life. I feel like my skills have improved slightly. I distinctly say slightly because I have learned 2 very important things today.

Firstly, old people should not be categorized as "soft". Up until today I thought they were all tight and passive players. The first table I sat at, I was being outplayed by loose aggressive players. Were they young? No. They were at least 4 times my age and were chasing things down the river, re-raising my 40 dollar raises with 150 dollars.... I got so frustrated I couldn't readjust my strategy in time and got busted out. I need to recognize a table that I am able to play at before getting myself into that situation and that old people deserve more respect. I am officially humbled.

Second, once you get busted out and are frustrated its much better to walk around, play craps, or whatever for an hour until you feel like you've lost that universal sting known as being on tilt. I played craps for about an hour. I didn't play aggresively, and walked away about even and felt fine. I went back to the poker room and won back what I lost plus some. Luckily this table was soft enough for me to play well. I need more tables like that ;)

Position

The importance of position can't be understated. Remember that if you're first to act everyone knows how to respond to you. Conversely if you act last you can react to everyone else. This is a huge HUGE advantage. The difference is that you can play K8 as the dealer to better efficiency than if you were to play A8 if you were left of the dealer. The difference is huge. Whenever you play A8 you'd play blind and not really know if someone has you outkicked. But if you were last as K8 you can see how people bet first to know if you should fold, or re-raise. You can even try to steal the blind. You just have more options when you act last. So remember these things:

1.) The earlier you are to act the tighter you should play
2.) If you're last to act take advantage of your situation and observe what is going on in the hand.