I played poker today for the first time since the debacle almost two weeks ago. The break I took to work on TUP's book was just the thing I needed to clear the cobwebs and reestablish the confidence, etc.
TUP has written a killer book. I can't wait till it hits the streets and I can buy copies for all my friends. As an alumna of TUP's workshops I can tell you that he has included in the book a generous helping of professional advice designed to turn the reader into a winning player. Beyond that, I probably should say no more without clearing it with the author. We worked at a feverish pace right through the Labor Day weekend to get it whipped into shape. Trust me, it is going to be THE book in its niche.
So I went back to my old familiar haunt this afternoon. There was one seat open at one of the four $1/$2 blind $200 max buy-in no limit tables. Things were hopping. I sat down in seat 9 as a wild hand was in progress. Four people were all in and three of them split the pot -- they all had J9 to complete a Queen-high straight. It was a huge pot but they all essentially got their money back plus a small contribution of early bettors and the other poor guy who went all in with a set of something -- I can't remember now what it was. After that, there were three other split pots during the first hour, one of which I was in, where a full house appeared on the board. So those of us left after the river split. This really was a get-your-money-back proposition.
After I'd been at the table about 45 minutes I finally played a hand where I had JT suited and the flop came Jxx. I was hoping for another J or a T but it didn't come, and since I hadn't played a hand except the split pot since I sat down, I decided to play it out and figured that if I lost it would at least be good for my table image. It was impossible to put anyone on a hand because these were very loose aggressive players at this table. Obviously, there were many hands that could beat mine, but the board didn't pair and there were no straight or flush possibilities. I decided to try to bull my way through to the end, but unfortunately the only other tight player at the table had actually flopped two pair and, regardless of my agressive betting, he wasn't going anywhere. When we turned over, I had lost about $75 on the hand. Oddly I wasn't too upset because I knew it was a calculated risk, and as it turned out, it did help my table image because the effect was that at least one player got the idea that I would bet when I didn't have much.
Shortly after, I was dealt As7s in the big blind and nobody raised pre-flop, so I checked to see it. The flop came Axx and I decided to bet out and see where things stood. I put $30 out which was about one and a half times the pot, and all but one folded. The opponent was a visitor from Switzerland who looked to be college age or thereabouts. He was very cute, very charming and after calling my bet he had about $37 left. The turn came something nondescript, and I bet $50 which more than covered his stack. The Swiss kid looked at the board for a long time. It was as though he was trying to will one of those cards to change suits, or something. Maybe he was just trying to figure out what I had. He really wanted to call but he had already gone to the cash machine twice to rebuy chips and he decided finally to fold. I didn't have to show my hand, and it turns out that aggressiveness paid off because I heard him tell his friend that he had two pair, which would have beat me. He obviously put me on three aces, and he knew I was a rock at this point. But hey! I was happy to rake in this little pot. This got me back up to about $175.
About a half-hour later I caught pocket Queens on the button -- the best hand I had the entire session. There were seven callers to me and I raised to an even $10 just for the heck of it. The blinds folded and I got four callers. The flop came rainbow rags and everybody checked to me. I decided there was enough in the pot that I'd be happy to take it down right there, so I made it $35 to go. By the way, one thing I had observed about this table was that these guys were all like online players who will stay in, checking around all the way to the river in case they might catch something at which point the real betting begins. So my $35 bet was kind of an informed bet. I was assuming that since no one bet or raised that I probably had the best hand at that point. But with people like this, you can never be a hundred percent certain. All but one folded and the turn produced another rag. My opponent made as if to bet but then thought better of it after he looked at me and saw me smiling at him. (The charm offensive at work!) So he checked, I made it $50 and he called. A Jack came on the river and he looked to see how much I had left -- about $80 -- and he put me all in. I called immediately. Much to my surprise, he was apparently bluffing because he folded when I called. So effectively I doubled up on that hand. I may not have played correctly on the turn. If I had bet, say, the pot on the turn, he might have folded then. I wouldn't have doubled through, but I think in retrospect it would have been safer. I may have been counting too much on the ragged board. But it was a big pot, and I was happy to win. As I have said, however, I do well against players who are worse than I am. I should be so lucky to meet guys like this. I am still scratching my head!
A couple of hands later, the Swiss boys ran out of money and left. Two other people stayed for one more hand and then got up to go. I decided to go as well. The dynamics of the table were evaporating. I'd been there two hours and left having played exactly four hands (plus I saw a couple of flops and folded) with a net profit of $176 -- not bad for a rank beginner.
I think my execution still needs some work. I took some risks here and I never had the nuts. But I'm pleased with the results. I'm pleased with my discipline and my willingness to bet out aggressively. And most of all, I am happy to have notched a winning session. I seem to have emotionally forgotten about the bad day a couple of weekends ago.
But I do have one psychological problem that lingers and I wonder how common this is. (A problem, you say? Okay, there are more than one, but let's deal with first things first!) When I get ahead I suddenly don't want to put my winnings at risk. I start thinking about leaving the table and pretty soon I do. Consequently, I usually end up with a short session of one or two hours if I am winning. I like to win early before people can see that I have a tendency to fold ad infinitum. If I am not winning, then I end up staying for hours in a kind of paralysis. It becomes too late to bet because if I do everyone folds and I get no action. I have almost concluded that short and sweet is best. But I would like to get over that desire to quit while I'm ahead but before I pick up some big bucks. How can I do that? Has anybody out there experienced this?
Later . . .Statistics: Posted by Poquette — Sat Sep 10, 2005 2:08 am
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