less poker but expect more to come

I want to play poker as much as possible. 24/7/365/1. That means all the time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You dont want that. It makes it easier for me to improve my game because I am playing more.
I have not been at the tables much lately. I have been busy doing final exams. And you think the crisis in Libya is bad or the Tsunami/Earthquake/Radioactive chaos? Wait another week and the news will have a new crisis for you. The good news is that I will be getting a three month vacation starting this Saturday. I want to play a whole ton until the 31st, so I can keep that Silver Status and I want to get as much FPP. I forgot about the money. I want that too and add that to my bankroll.

losing 20$ in one pot

In one hand I had QQ and was in the small blind. Great hand, worst position. Someone in late position raised it to 15c and the button called. I made it 65c. That is big. They both called and I wanted to blow up. The flop is A29. I did not like the A but still fired. The first caller folded. The other guy called. He did not call with AK, or AQ, he had a set. He hit his 2 outer nonsense. I blew up on the turn. It was an A. I decided to go all in. Knowing I would be called. It was a terrible play. He had a fullhouse. I wanted quad Aces. I lost the almost 20$ pot and had enough. It was a blow up play, because the guy called the raise to 15c and then all the way to my 65c. Its donking. I can do that to. Now I want him to dig his grave before I shoot him. I gave him the shovel.

I want to play again at the 1c/2c, because of those huge pots. My bankroll and my skill allow me to play there, but why not build up more skill and then get going big at the 2c/5c? That is what I want. I never wanted to play at 2c/5c until I have about 300$. I want to grind myself up there.

Winning

Look at a winner

A quote I came up with: Winning doesnt happen at the end. It has to happen all the time!

Get what you dont want for a while. This will eventually motivate you to learn and do things that will save you from getting what you dont want. Obviously you dont want bad beats, but there is nothing you can do about that. You want to cry, then cry. The good news is you are still a loser. I want to win. You will never see me whine much about any hand that I lose with.

I dont know why, but most people want to call. Understand that this allows you to bet big when you have the best hand. If they have a small hand, they dont want bets and they dont want to call. They want to fold. Give it to them, if you see that opportunity. You want to win the pot. All these small pots will add up to a nice share of additional ammo in your bankroll.

You want to play consistent. This means you raise and bet the same amount. Make it three or four times the BB. Always. Do it with AA and do it with 72. Or other hands you feel comfortable with. If you make it six times the BB when you have AA and four times the BB when you have 78 suited, its boring. Its obvious. Its for losing players. Its for scared players. Its simply bad poker. The winners want you to play like that. Change your style

2c/5c session

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 1518 hands and saw flop:

- a total of 223 out of 1518 (14%)
Pots won at showdown - 31 of 57 (54%)
Pots won without showdown - 121

The 2c/5c tables are fun. My bankroll went to 175$ today. Nice.

I had three hands with massive pots that went to the showdown. I won two and lost one. All hands were sick, with some wild brilliance. Everything that you would want in order to play good poker.

The first one was with partychaly. I had KK and was in the small blind. I want to win if I have KK. Everyone folded and it seemed as if the round would go without action. I wanted to limp. I could have gone crazy but chose not to. The player in the big blind was trigger happy. He seems to be a consistent player according to pokertableratings. I had noticed that he always raised preflop to oblivion whenever people limped. So I wanted him to do it again. He did, making it 25c or even 35c to go. Now I shoved and get called instantly. He had AK suited. I had him where I wanted him, drawing to a few outs. He didnt hit. Nice.

The next hand was with sakisM. I had 22 and limped UTG. There was another limper and then sakisM had to raise big time. I know that usually people will show you big hands on the river when they make moves like that. I want to hit with my 22, so I called. The other guy decided to call as well. The flop came down 1024, all off suit. I was first to act and led out quite big. The other guy folded and sakisM called. The turn was an 8 or so. I thought for a while. With an over pair he would have raised unless hes scared of something. Maybe hes slow playing a set. I went for the first option. He wanted to call, so I wanted to shove. He called and showed AA. No more catching and I had the second felt booked for the session. Nice.

The last hand was the sickest with freesu1349. Even my opponent said it was sick a sick play. I was in mid position and there was limpers. I wanted to limp too with my 22. Then freesu1349 raised big to 35c. He got called by one limper and then it was my turn. I decided he had AK or AQ and tried to protect it. My 22 were ahead. So I went all in. It was a rather quick all in. He went into the tank for a while and finally called. The other guy folded.
freesu1349 showed QQ. He had me crushed. Not so nice, because I did not hit.
In the chat he mentioned that he put me on AK. That is what I put him on. I wanted to put this much pressure, because I thought it would be a tough call with anything but QQ, KK, AA. It was even though for him with QQ, because he thought I had AK. This would have been a huge race. I wanted to race against his AK, not against QQ.
Anyways, I am glad to see I am already getting credit here considering its just the second session at the 2c/5c. I want to own these stakes too, so expect more pressure to come.

Its nice. I want this!

Playing at 2c/5c

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 924 hands and saw flop:

- a total of 143 out of 924 (15%)
Pots won at showdown - 17 of 35 (48%)
Pots won without showdown - 71

Bankroll is at 165$. I had a bit of a painful session not catching some bog draws. I was the one seeking the action by betting out and bet both the flop and turn, because I was also the raiser preflop.

I had a few interesting hands where the people knew I was bluffing but with a tiny bit more pressure on them they were going to fold, because they were weak.

Those are spots that I want to explore a bit in the next few sessions at the 2c/5c. I also want to remember the players, because I am preparing to go up against them. I had a good first session even when I lost. I played the poker I want to be playing. That the cards are not coming is not my fault and it is just the way poker goes. When I catch I would be winning bigger pots, instead of losing those semi small ones. Ill master this level with ease since it is not so different from the 1c/2c. The players are a bit better. Just a bit. I want to be much better. I want to be better than you at this game.

Todays session

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 302 hands and saw flop:

- a total of 47 out of 302 (15%)
Pots won at showdown - 5 of 10 (50%)
Pots won without showdown - 19

This was a super short session. I ran terrible and played bad. Bankroll dropped to 171$ in just those few hands. I decided to quit immediately.

I wanted to fold several big hands but I was not able to push through. So I lost. The money mainly went to two people I would consider touch players. They play often and a lot. Strong and bet. Just solid poker. I forgot to take their name but I am sure I will mention both of them in a later post when I write about my competition.

short session

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 960 hands and saw flop:

- a total of 140 out of 960 (14%)
Pots won at showdown - 20 of 46 (43%)
Pots won without showdown - 79

My motivation to play poker is as high as before. I played a small session today but it was not a great session. I lost a bit due to bad luck and I was tired and I am busy with a lot of other stuff. Also since I have not played the past few days I tried bluffing a bit more, which ended up costing me here and there. The bankroll is at 176$.

One of my goals is to defend the Silver VIP status, which will be easy. I have 148 points left and still 2 weeks until I have to get that full and I know I wont be able to get to Gold this month anyways, so there is no need to push sessions to the maximum.

However there was one hand I found interesting and I played it with one of my favorite players marcel2311. It was a small pot and I dont remember the action preflop and on the flop. I had a hand like 35os in the BB and I think marcel was in the SB. There was also limpers. I made a straight on the turn, but there was also a flush possibility and marcel bet. I just called and the others folded. The river was another heart. I did not have one. My straight looked beat. The board was something like A3427. marcel checked the river and I decided to bet a decent size into the pot, but it was still small. Maybe a 10c bet. marcel decided to call. He had A2.
Very interesting call. He called to see, not because he thought his 2 pair was good. A call that he had to made to know more about my game. It was also a good bet by my considering I could have been beat easily. I tend to pay off sometimes too. Its good to know in such small pots how the player plays certain hands. He knew I could have had nothing. I like bluffing small pots.
In his spot I think I would have bet the flop with the A to know where everyone is at. If you get called from the guys who limped in position you can be sure your A2 (in general with a low kicker) is not good. Then on the turn when it completes the straight as well as the flush, it is basically and easy check fold. Then again he did have to pair on the turn. I would have seen how much my opponents would bet in the spot and possibly call to try to hit the full house.
But yeah, interesting hand I think.