Just got back from a cruise vacation and had the opportunity to play some poker. All $1/$2 instead of the usual Sit-&-Go tournaments this time though but still on the PokerPro machines.
Monday –
Really wanted to focus on patience and hand reading. I do well with the patience factor and basically fold for 1:45 before finally flopping top pair with Q/10. Villain bets $6, I call. Turn is low and he bet’s $6 again, I call. River is meaningless and he bets $6 again. I jam in my remaining ~$40 and he folds. First pot!
I call with J/9o and flop 2-pair (which I hate). There’s a bet and a re-raise. Based on the action I decide to re-raise. Original better calls (for all-in), re-raiser folds. My 2-pair holds!
Few fun hands like 8/9 and Q/10 where I have a better kicker. Starting to feel like I’ve got a handle on this hand-reading thing…
Final hand of the night: A/Q and flop top pair on a Q/J/9 2 heart board. I overbet the pot and take it down. Up about $100 for the night.
I’ve also been working on putting my observational skills to use during a hand I’m in. I’ve been pretty good when I’m not in a hand, but I noticed recently that I was nearly 100% focused on myself during a hand. What I’ve found is that there really is information to be gleaned when you’re paying attention that can really help you make a decision. Common tells, betting patterns, etc.
Tuesday
Very little action. Down about $30 in 2 hours when the game broke.
Wednesday
FULL of action. A few notable hands:
8/8 and hit my set for a full house on the turn.
A/A and hit my set on the turn to counterfeit someone’s 2-pair.
A/K and A/Q were big losers for me though. Lots of low cards that hit the limpers hands.
Final hand of the night: Limp/called with J/8 and flopped J/J/2. Some action, I re-raise and get jammed against and call. Villain turns over 2/2. Ouch! Good night and down $100.
Lots of up and down swings in this type of game, you just have to be able to survive it.
Thursday
I call with 5/5 and flop a set. Based on the lady’s action, I decide to slow play and try and get lots of money into the pot. The board pairs on the turn and it’s looking good for me. The board pairs again on river and I’m pretty sure I just got counterfeited. She jams for a little more, I call and my read was right. I’m sure this is a common poker player’s complaint, but why does it seem that when others slow-play you that it works, but whenever you try to slow-play it backfires?
After that disaster, I had lots of good hands and made more than my fair share of sets. Lots of 2-pairs that held and even flopped a straight with 4/5! At this point I have about $350 in front of me and am getting tired.
I look down and have 7/7. I raise to $7 and get 5 callers (loose game remember?). The flop is 7/2/4 with 2 hearts. There is a bet and a re-raise. I re-raise again as I don’t want anything crazy happening, but my raise isn’t recognized by the computer and I only raise ½ of what I wanted to. The player to my left re-raises again! It folds around to the 1st better who folds, the re-raiser folds and looking at how much money is in the pot, I decide to jam it all-in. Player on my left insta-calls and I announce to the table that I’m pretty sure we’re going to see set-over-set. Sure enough they turn over 4/4. My set of 7’s holds and I call it a night with around $600 (+$400).
Saturday
Lots of bad luck.
K/K with an Ace on the flop. Lose.
A/5 with 2 Aces on the flop and the other guy flopped a Full House.
Finally down about $125 when the table breaks. It’s the last night of the cruise so I give up and head back to the room for some final relaxation before heading home the next day. Up about $250 for the cruise so nothing spectacular, but a win is a win!
Good to get some non-Gargoyle cash experience. I still feel that I’m a solid poker player with a game that is constantly improving. Just gotta keep learning and trying to improve. There were two hands I documented above that I think I could have gotten away from but didn’t want to “play scared”. The game was SO loose it was very difficult to put anyone on a hand pre-flop so I really had to bring my post-flop A-Game. I figure I played a solid B and had a few lucky breaks.