Do I followed Dandan's advice and went back to live poker and well it didnt help. Suited connectors are killing me lately. Got off to another awful start.

Hand 1: I am the BB with QJo flop id QQ5 rainbow, checks around. Turn is a 7, Sb bets $20, I raise to $60. He reraises to $140. I dont really know what to do here. He is a solid and tricky player and I know that he knows I prolly have a Q. I decide to call. Turn is a 4, he checks, I check. He has KQ.

Hand 2: Shorty starts hand with $200. He makes it $15 preflop 4 callers to me in the BB, I call. Flop is 5. I check he bets out $40, another shorty calls. I push PFR instacalls with AK. I miss my 14 outs.

Hand 3: Same guy from hand 2 he raises to $15 I look down at and call from CO, 4 to the flop. Flop is A56. It checks to me I check thinking that the guy behind me is going to bet and of course he checks. Turn is a Q. Villians bets $20. I raise to $60. He reraises to $150. I ask him if he got lucky and caught a set of Q's on the turn. I fold my hand face up and he shows QQ.

Hand 4: Finally a good hand I am down $400 at this point and havent won a hand yet. I raise to $20 with QQ. Flop is AQ4. I bet $30 get called. Turn is a 9. I bet $60, only flop caller raises to $160. I push he calls with 99.

Hand 5 More suited connector fun. I call a $15 raise from a really bad player UTG with on the button. Flop is 6h . PFR who starts the hand with $200 bets $40, leaving him $155. Caller in the middle, I raise to $200. Villian calls instantly with . turn 8c river Kc. He turns over the nuts.

Hand 6: I limp utg with 1010. Button raises to $20. I call flop us T92r. I check he bets $20, I just, I would have raised but his bet made me thing he has AK, AQ and couldnt call a raise. Turn Ac. I check, he bets $75, I make it $175. He pushs for $225. I call he has AQ and it drawing dead.

I have been getting killed with suited connectors the last couple sessions. I have played my 15 out draws really hard and have lost a whole bunch in a row. I have not won my last 5 megadraws. Overall I lost $120 today which isnt to bad considering how bad i ran. I am playing well so hopefully this little cold streak will end soon.

Bad beats...why not just not play them for awhile and focus on the big cards and pairs?

New advice: Have the best hand at showdown.

I just wish I followed this advice more.

What did you have Hand #2?

Thanks...but, honestly, it IS absurdly easy. Especially that cash game. Although I've been staked the entire time, I've decided to build my own roll to stop giving up 50% of my profits (I think 2k/month is reasonable playing 4-8 sessions).

It's not just that ABC poker pays off, it's playing solid (pretty close to ABC) with the ability to make moves, really knowing your opponents, and having a good grasp of the fundamentals of live play (image, tells - appearing to give action, when you don't - advertising, that's a big one actually). Perhaps important enough to stress: advertising is REALLY important if you want to play TAG in a live game, especially. You have to mix it up and do whatever you can to show it...one good way to do that is to make some solid plays with marginal hands (in position, obv) and make a REALLY big deal when you win a big pot with it...that you always play hands like these cuz they're so great..etc. I'm talking about crap like 75o

ATM, where I'm at in needing the $$ and being somewhat risk averse, low variance is REALLY important to me...so chasing the last bits of EV puts me at too great of risk to either have much bigger swings (affecting my moods and deteriorating my play), or squarely crossing that fine line between + and - EV.

However, I'm starting to realize that it's time to work on moving up, cuz getting to 200NL will make a monumental change in my standard of living, and make moving up to 5/10+ in the future more than possible...right now I'm treading water trying to make 3-4k/month.

When you move to 200NL one of the biggest differences is that your living expenses become a significantly smaller part of your income, making it feel much less like a grind. 400NL is another huge step, at that level you start to make enough money that all real life expenses become completely trivial and you can truly start enjoying yourself. Moving up is like crack..

There was a time when I felt it was absurdly easy too. Maybe it was. I just think the games at the low stakes havent changed relly that much. You still can make money. I am just playing more than double the hands to be making just a bitmore.

Since my last break, I have made almost 5K. I took a whole month off and started on December 18th.or soemthing like that. I have been able to save about $1500, while living relatively without preocupations (I am single, live in my own house and live in the third world...wooot!).

I think I have what it takes to beat .25/0.50NL for 5ptbb/100, and make more than 3K. Lately I havent been able to do it. No confidence anymore, but still, I ammaking some money.

Another god awful day of live poker with a god awful donkament thrown in. Description tommorrow after some sleep.

stick to it Rhound the $$$ will come back to you soon.

Thanks m9man, it has been a rough week or 2 for poker but it will turn around, bad runs happen, though it doesn't keep us from getting frustrated when they do.

So I went to Harrahs Rincon yesterday, it was the first time that I had played there but the WSOP circuit event was there so I figured there would be some good action.

I got there and tried to play 2/3 unfortunately their game setup sucks and the 2/3 in 100 max. The only other game that they were running was a 5/5 $500. I have been waiting to take a shot at 5/5, my BR was stuck in the middle, a little short for 5/5 and overly big for 2/3. I watched the 5/5 game for 10 hands or so and it was going crazy. So I sit in

Cold as cold can be again. I won 2 pots in 4 hrs of play. The 2nd hand I play I flop 2 pair from the BB with 104 CR and the bettor folds. The other winning pot I play KJ from the BB flop is AK5 I check it checks around. Turn 8. I bet and everyone folds, that was the extent of my winning hands for 4.5 hrs of cards.

Couple really ugly hands.

I raise from the button to $40 with JJ I get 2 callers. Flop is 7 . Checks to me I bet $80. First player folds, 2nd player CR all in for $300 total. The guy had been tilting and I wasnt sure what to do. I asked him if he had a king, he says, "Yes I have the king of diamonds." I asked him if hes on a flush draw and he shrugs. I call turn is , river He turn over . I look back at my hand but I have . No good play goes unpunished

Ugly #2 I am the BB with QJ. I check flop is AKT rainbow. I check MP bets $40. I smooth call hoping to get a call from the player in the middle He folds. Turn T. I check villian checks behind, river another freakin T. I check he bets I fold and he shows an A.

That was it for the cash game. I was getting frustrated so I decided to play the tournament. They were playing a $200 2nd chance tournament. 180 players started 1500 chips to start, 30 min blinds, blinds start at 15/15.

As I usually do I had some success early. I won a 2000c pot with KQ on a Q43 flop. One of the nice things about early in a tourney like this is the players really suck. This lady was complete ABC. So on the Q43 flop I bet and she calls. She cant have 2 pair, she could have set but she raises the flop. I put her in on the turn and she shows QJ ship it.I KO another player with QQ vs TT.

Then a funny hand I am in mp with tight player in MP raises 4.5x. I fold even though I am the big stack. Flop is . Checks to the other big stack who bets $400 into a 1600 chip pot. PFR calls. Turn 4s. PFR pushs, other big stack calls with Ks 9s. I say oh fuk, that was my double up hand. Dealer looks at me and sends me off for 10 min penalty for the f bomb. The blinds were still only 25/50 and I had 5k in chips so no big deal, I didnt even miss a blinds.

I get back from the break + penalty. I look down at KK. EP raises to 800 chips, big stack makes it 3k. I push he instacalls so fast I figure I am fucked and he has AA. He turns over AJ umm ok. I win and am now the big stack with about 19k in chips. I stole a couple more blinds and antes and was up to 20-21k when they broke my original table.

My new table was not so good, they put me to the left of the big stack all in idiot. I raise from the CO with rags, moron pushs all in. I fold and he shows 33, funny part is I had 43 so he had me crushed.

I am prolly down to 16k now after an hour and a half of folding nothing hands. The blinds are 300/600 with a 50 ante. One weak tightly limps in EP I look down at 99, I raise to 2000. Idiot behind me pushes again. UTG folds, I fold he proudly tables AJo. I knew he we were flipping a coin but at the time I didn't see a reason to flop a coin fro 16k stacks. As it turns out I might have been better off. I go completely card dead for the next 90 min.

I start to get desperate as we get down to the bubble. I am down to 5k and the blinds are 500/1000 with a 100 ante. I am in the BB with Q3o. Folds to the SB who completes, I thought about pushing but he is a moron and his thing is he likes to call all ins because he "has a chance to knock someone out" He called off 1/3 of his chips twice with a suited rag K once flopping 2 pair, the other rivering a straight with [ks] . I check flop comes Q93. He checks there is 2500 in the pot and I have 3900 left after posting the BB. I push he insta calls with 99. I go out in 20 out of 180, 2 spots out of the money. As I said the worse people play the better chance they have of beating me.

This has been my routine for to many of my recent tournaments, big stacks early then totally card dead at the end and out on the fuking bubble.

Rough day all around, it looks like I'm back to 2/3 for a while longer. Cash game - $645 4.5 hrs, tournament -$200 in 5.5 hrs of play.

The bad run continues for one more day. I played pretty well, I made a couple of good lay downs but I just cant catch a break right now. It looks like February is going to be a negative month, my first since february 2006 and my first losing month where I played over 40 hrs since December 05. I guess I was due one, this is the coldest I have run consistently in a couple years. I havent seen AA in 5 sessions somewhere close to 40 hrs. I have flopped 2 sets in my last 40 hrs of live poker.

Some hands from last night.

Tilting villian who just ran his QQ into his buddies AA. I am in the BB with . Tilting guy just made it $12 blind. I call his $12, straddler completes. 5 to the flop $60 pot. Flop us . I lead $45. He pushs for $130, I call. He has . on the turn. Please poker gods let me win with the best hand occasionally.

Against same villian. I limp UTG with KK he makes it $18. 2 caller I raise to $80. He calls. Flop is A23. I lead $100 he pushs for $250 more. I fold

My one big pair of the day. I raise QQ in a straddle pot to $31. Get 4 callers of course, guess I should have raised more. Flop is Js 2d 3d. I lead $100. Bad old man calls, Short stack who has $120 left thinks about it and calls. Calling station lady calls. Fuk $20 more and I can reraise. Turn fuk me. Lady pushs all in for 200+. I fold, old man angrily folds QJ face up. Lady has . Dumbass shorty actually had 72 and turned 2 pair, so I'm fuked either way.

Couple nice reads

I limp UTG with . Flop is QJ7r 1 diamond. I bet $20, asain kid calls. Turn , I was going to bet but asain kid looks like he really liked the turn. He actually rocked forward in his chair. I check he bets $30. I call river is a brick. I check he bets $50, I fold face up and ask him if he has KQ or KT. He says nice reads and flash's KQ as he gets rid of his cards

Best read of the day.

Suited connectors hand again. I call a raise from a rock with 78. Flop is K78, I check planning to CR. He checks behind, I now I have him on one of 2 hands KK or QQ . Turn 4. I lead $30 he raises to $100. I fold face up and say you set of kings is good. He gives me a dirty look as he wins the pot.I think I was supposed to pay him off.

-$367 in 6 hrs

One more try today, Oceans has a big tourney for presidents day, so hopefully there will be some good action.