.25/.50 NLH SH 12/5/07

Opening balance: $343.94

Buy in : $40.00 + $40.00
No. of hands : 130
Left with : $0

Closing balance : $263.94

Running total: -$136.25/488
-272ptbb/488

Well that sucks. Took a few days off to try and get my head together and shake the feeling that I'm going to lose money every time I sit down. It worked, but I lost anyway.

Looking at the reasons why, I'd have to say that it's a combination of not getting flops and of being on a table of deep stacked nutters. One in particular was raising and calling a lot, except when I bet. Not wanting to get caught in the middle of the loose play with weak cards, I tried to get in only with hands that could hit big hands (pocket pairs, connectors, suited aces). Most of them didn't hit a damn thing. I know that's not unusual, but when you're playing with a thin roll anyway it's a recipe for disaster. One important point I should learn is that there was little call for bluffing here. I think I saw too many flops when attempting to steal the blinds from early position. Against this kind of card-happy table, ultra tight is probably the most reliable strategy.

Let's look at some hands.

Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: eziquioLobao ( $59.15 USD )
Seat 3: djangoboy ( $115.50 USD )
Seat 4: gozer111222 ( $152.50 USD )
Seat 6: Katharina24 ( $68.50 USD )
Seat 5: YagaS ( $44.50 USD )
Seat 1: i_crumb_u ( $50 USD )
YagaS posts small blind [$0.25 USD].
Katharina24 posts big blind [$0.50 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to YagaS [ 2s 4d ]
2 folds
djangoboy calls [$0.50 USD]
1 fold
YagaS calls [$0.25 USD]
Katharina24 checks
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4h, 2d, Kd ]
YagaS checks
Katharina24 checks
djangoboy checks
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9d ]
YagaS bets [$1.50 USD]
2 folds
YagaS does not show cards.
YagaS wins $2.95 USD

I would normally bet this flop for combined disguise and to deny flush draws, but I knew djangoboy was aggressive and may well bet here, in which case I'd come over the top and probably get paid off. For added value katharina would almost always bet with a king but not much else. The turn bet is for information, but as it turns out it killed any action I may have had.

Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: eziquioLobao ( $59.15 USD )
Seat 3: djangoboy ( $113.75 USD )
Seat 4: gozer111222 ( $186 USD )
Seat 6: Katharina24 ( $64.75 USD )
Seat 5: YagaS ( $45.45 USD )
Seat 1: i_crumb_u ( $45 USD )
gozer111222 posts small blind [$0.25 USD].
YagaS posts big blind [$0.50 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to YagaS [ Js Tc ]
1 fold
i_crumb_u raises [$2 USD]
3 folds
YagaS calls [$1.50 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8c, 2s, Qh ]
YagaS bets [$3 USD]
i_crumb_u raises [$8 USD]
YagaS calls [$5 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7d ]
YagaS bets [$15 USD]
i_crumb_u is all-In [$35 USD]
YagaS folds
i_crumb_u does not show cards.
i_crumb_u wins $67.75 USD

I've seen crumb let go in situations like this, a couple of times against djangoboy. I suspect the flop raise may be a play back at me, so I call to bet the flop. I think that looks stronger than betting it back on the flop. I also have a tight image, which might be working against me here. That flop doesn't hit many tight hands (AQ, pocket pairs) so he'll probably fancy any good cards here. That said, I saw him throw money around like there's no tomorrow, so maybe I just needed to accept that he wasn't going to fold to me.

Seat 2: eziquioLobao ( $68.35 USD )
Seat 3: djangoboy ( $91.52 USD )
Seat 4: gozer111222 ( $208.65 USD )
Seat 6: Katharina24 ( $54.15 USD )
Seat 5: YagaS ( $30.80 USD )
Seat 1: i_crumb_u ( $51.53 USD )
eziquioLobao posts small blind [$0.25 USD].
djangoboy posts big blind [$0.50 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to YagaS [ Qs Ad ]
1 fold
YagaS raises [$2 USD]
2 folds
eziquioLobao calls [$1.75 USD]
djangoboy calls [$1.50 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7c, 5h, 3h ]
3 checks
** Dealing Turn ** [ 5d ]
eziquioLobao bets [$4 USD]
1 fold
YagaS raises [$14 USD]
eziquioLobao calls [$10 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ Ks ]
eziquioLobao checks
YagaS checks
eziquioLobao shows [ Ah, 8h ]a pair of Fives.
YagaS shows [ Qs, Ad ]a pair of Fives.
YagaS wins $32.30 USD from the main pot with a pair of Fives with Queen kicker.

I doubt that flop hit anyone but djangoboy is too aggressive for me to want to bet with AQ. The paired turn either means I'm completely screwed or that it's a great bluffing spot that eziquioLobao is taking advantage of. Honestly, I think I might be too short to make that bet often, but I also think I have a reasonable chance to take it on the turn. Lobao was the second least insane of the players. There's too much chance I'll be checkraised or check/called and beaten for me to bet the river.

The next two hands cost me an entire buy-in between them. One is bad by me, one is just evil.

Seat 2: eziquioLobao ( $52.75 USD )
Seat 3: djangoboy ( $167.18 USD )
Seat 4: gozer111222 ( $202.72 USD )
Seat 6: Katharina24 ( $36.90 USD )
Seat 5: YagaS ( $19.80 USD )
Seat 1: i_crumb_u ( $77 USD )
YagaS posts small blind [$0.25 USD].
Katharina24 posts big blind [$0.50 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to YagaS [ Qc 9c ]
i_crumb_u folds
eziquioLobao raises [$2 USD]
djangoboy calls [$2 USD]
gozer111222 calls [$2 USD]
YagaS calls [$1.75 USD]
Katharina24 folds
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2h, 9s, Td ]
YagaS bets [$6 USD]
eziquioLobao folds
djangoboy calls [$6 USD]
gozer111222 raises [$12 USD]
YagaS is all-In [$11.80 USD]
djangoboy calls [$11.80 USD]
gozer111222 calls [$5.80 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8s ]
djangoboy checks
gozer111222 checks
** Dealing River ** [ Kc ]
djangoboy checks
gozer111222 checks
djangoboy shows [ Jd, 8h ]a pair of Eights.
gozer111222 shows [ Jh, Tc ]a pair of Tens.
YagaS doesn't show [ Qc, 9c ]a pair of Nines.
gozer111222 wins $58.90 USD from the main pot with a pair of Tens.

Pre-flop, I suppose I had the odds to call. Just about. The trouble with having thin odds pre-flop, limited by your stack, is that when you lose, unless you reload, your implied odds get increasingly thinner and you lose fold equity. On the flop, I'm doing that to spite them. The original bet is ok, I think, although I don't know how often they both fold. Maybe not often enough to make it profitable, but I'd do it again. With a call and a raise, second pair needs to be mucked.

Oh, and then there's this.

Seat 3: djangoboy ( $149.53 USD )
Seat 5: YagaS ( $17.84 USD )
Seat 6: ludoingels ( $68.40 USD )
Seat 1: corblimey111 ( $29.74 USD )
Seat 4: Aputty ( $36.42 USD )
Seat 2: xxx_Phantom_xxx ( $50.40 USD )
Aputty posts small blind [$0.25 USD].
YagaS posts big blind [$0.50 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to YagaS [ Ah Qs ]
ludoingels raises [$2 USD]
2 folds
djangoboy calls [$2 USD]
Aputty calls [$1.75 USD]
YagaS is all-In [$17.34 USD]
2 folds
Aputty calls [$15.84 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2d, 7d, Ad ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ac ]
** Dealing River ** [ 3d ]
Aputty shows [ 5s, Kd ]a flush, Ace high.
YagaS doesn't show [ Ah, Qs ]three of a kind, Aces.
Aputty wins $37.73 USD from the main pot with a flush, Ace high.

Let's start with my push. I think Aputty has a huge range here. Not as huge as he took to the showdown, but still. Djangoboy probably has something, but I don't think it's better than AQ very often, mostly he'll fold and sometimes I'll race a small pair. Same goes for ludoingels, except he'll have a slightly better range and will fold more of it.

Then, holy of holies, I hit the flop. And the turn. I'm going to win a big pot! Kd5s!? What the fuck is that? I know, I know, that's the kind of call I want to see here. I'll win this 65% of the time. But seriously, what the fuck is that?!

Wanker.

Anyway...

As you can see, my bankroll no longer looks like a bankroll. I'm sliding in the direction of Bustoville. Tomorrow, I move to .10/.25 full ring. While my bankroll is over $200, I'll 2-table and play very tight. If I go under $200, I'll single table. I'll come back up to .25/.50 and $40 buy-ins when I have $350 for half my sessions, then back full time once I'm over $400 again. I might go to full ring even when I come back up, or perhaps divide my time between short and long hand. I'll get outdrawn on that bridge when I come to it.