Winning the War, not the Battles

Poker, of course, is about wining the long time war and not the individual battles. Those individual battles can be pretty painful. I was hoping to post that after my 4 session winning streak, that things were finally turning around. Not the case. As quickly as I built up over the 4 sessions, I lost it in 3. I won't bore you with all the details; but here is a glimpse

Friday.. Started my bonus chase on Absolute and did OK with a positive session.

Saturday.. for whatever reason (insanity I believe), I returned to the Party 15/30 tables. I will chalk this day up to variance as it happens sometimes... you don't hit your draws and others do.. It was painful day; but I never lost focus.

Sunday... This is one of those days that you wish that you could just have back. First off, I went into the session know that I could only play between 30 minutes to an hour. One of the first few hands I get JJ... plenty of action preflop and flop and I stay in after the flop as it was only 9 high. The turn brings another small card and with a bet and raise in front of me, I lay it down. What does the river... yep.. a Jack which would have beat the set of 9s guy. A couple hands later, I hit TPTK with AK only to lost to Q8.. when a second 8 came on the turn. This turned out to be the trend. I would hit top pair, and somebody else would hit trips with their 2nd pair. After this happened for the 3rd time, I went into maniac mode and I don't have to tell you how that ended up.

Monday... Got beautiful cards... AK on very first hand.... lost... I only played around 50 hands and lost my buy in... I lost with JJ twice, AK and AKs, QQ and the straw that broke the camel's back and put me broke was AA losing to AQ. I did win the blinds with KK... whoopee!!!!!

Tuesday.. I played in the Absolute 19K guarantee... or was it 17K? I can't remember. Anyway, these are now rebuy and addon tournaments. Oh well.. It was a freeroll for me due to AP giving me a free entry. The very first hand I get my nemisis... KQ on the button. I few limpers and raise it up. 3 callers.. Flop comes K high. I don't remember the exact details; but there are about 3 people left after them calling my bet... Turn comes another K... cool... First guys goes all in... huh??? I have to call.. Turns out he did this with 65o.. yikes.. no draw no pair... just a pure bluff... you gotta love it though. I don't know who the bigger moron was.. that guy or me actually calling. Anyway I doubled up on the first hand and things went average for a while. Right before the first break, I pick up 96 in the BB... EP min and I called. Flop comes 994... we both check and I bet and he goes all in on turn... He had T9.. ouch.. that cut me in half. At the break, I did the addon and was doing good... picking up small pots... right before the second break, I get KK. I raise it up and get called... flop comes something KJx... the caller goes all in.. Of course I call and he turns over AQ.... turn x.. although it gives him flush draw... river... T.. IGHN.

So for now, I have conceded the battle on 15/30 and will continue to play on AP at the 3/6 to 5/10 level for now. I am not, however, giving up on the war. I just need to build the bankroll to justify playing at that level again.

I was reading Bill Rinis review of Poker Coaching the other day. I'm giving thoughts to giving this a whirl. There is something that I am obviously missing with my ring play. Has anybody ever used a poker coach? What kind of experiences should I expect. Does anybody know of any others?

That is it for now.. It is obviously hard to motivate yourself to write when you are in the midst of huge downswing. Hopefully, things will turn around and I will get back to writing more.

Absolute-ly Tempting

Well, the month of November (to say the least) was pretty depressing. To tell you the truth, the last 4 months almost make me want to quit playing this game we call poker. On August 6th, I reached an all time high in bankroll and things seemed to have turned around.. but as with a lot of people... variance hit (or whatever you want to call it) and it hit hard. Between bad breaks and my decision to bump things up to 15/30 (which was around the end of October I think), my bankroll had lost nearly 50%. Ouch!!!!! I know everybody runs bad at some point; but I wasn't about to back down as I was (and still am) confident in my abilities. Most of the slide came in a two week period from Oct 29th thru Nov 18th where I lost nearly 5K. I've shown some of the hand histories from them and won't bore you with any more details from them.

The good news is that things seem to be turning around a bit as I have made around 1.5K in the last 4 sessions. For the month of December, I am going to slow things down as far as the stakes I am playing and here is the reason.

I got a call from Absolute Poker the other night. Now, I don't necessarily like getting these kind of calls at home and I actually couldn't talk very long or effectively due to baby Wonka being her wild, normal self. Mrs Wonka wasn't home at the time. Anyway, he tried to persuade me to come back to AP and offered me a few things (which I am sure is there standard offer). Here is what they offered me:

- $10 CASH!
- 20% added to your pending bonus account!
- VIP seat in any one of Sunday's $1k AP Challenge Main events!
- $20 rebate for playing in any one Thursday $15k Guaranteed Tourney!
- Entry to the EXCLUSIVE end of month VIP Invitational!
- $30 rebate for playing in any one Tuesday $16k Guaranteed Tourney!
- AP baseball cap or T-shirt!

One thing that I always hated about AP was that you had to email request hand histories. They have now corrected that problem and the hand histories are put on your hard drive which of course makes importing into Poker Tracker a slam dunk. Poker Ace HUD also supports AP.

I replied back that I would need a 30% bonus and they agreed. The other problem with AP was the traffic or lack thereof and that still hasn't really been resolved. There were very few tables of 5/10 or greater going last night... so what this means (and this is not necessarily a bad thing) is that I will lower my limits to chase the bonus and hopefully make a splash in one or more of the above tournaments. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully, the interface or should I say CPU usage had been cleaned up a bit as well.

I would also like to get back to playing some SNGs so I will probably mix some of those in as well.

In other news, The Cowboys have a huge game this weekend with the Geee-men. If they can somehow find a way to win that game, they will be looking pretty for the post season. It is hard to believe that there are only 5 more games this year in the regular season.

Hand History Results

Well, the answer to the previous question of whether this was my breakout session or more of the same? Neither really.. leaning more to more of the same... I was more or less break even (-$36.25).

Last night was more of the same.. I seem to always get myself stuck at the beginning of a session and am continually playing catchup. I ended up around $300 last night which is around $600 for the last 2 days.. As always, I need to keep patient.

Below is the hand history from the prior days. As always, feel free to comment away on any problems or weaknesses that you see. These reviews have been helping me. The only bad things about these for you the readers is that you don't necessarily know my "reads" based on Poker Tracker information... but anway, I'm sure that you will get the gist.

Hand#	Pos	Hand	Net	Action	Comments
1	BB	J8o	-15	F PFR
2	SB	94o	-15	C	5 pl..2Q4.. Checked around. Turn K… I check and fold to bet and raise.. River 4.. You have to be kidding me…KJ wins
3	But	Q2o		F PFR
4	Cut	64o		F PFR
5		AKo	-60	R	4 pl..8T4 2dia.. I bet and call raise. Turn T.. I check fold… not a good start… JJ wins
6		A2o		F
7		A2s		F
8	UTG	K9o		F
9	BB	Q5o	-15	F PFR
10	SB	T8o	-10	F PFR
11	But	86o		F
12	Cut	97o		F PFR
13		64s		F
14		42o		F
15		52o		F
16		K9s		F
17	UTG	85s		F
18	BB	AJo	-45	C PFR	3 pl..Q4K flop.. Check call Turn… 5.. Check fold River.. 8.. No showdown
19	SB	A9o	102	C	4 pl.. 5dAa3c..checked around. Turn Qd .. I bet and get raised.. I call.. River 4h..ch ch.. I win against QsJd.. Can you tell I'm gunshy?
20	But	J5s		F PFR
21	Cut	J2s		F
22		A7o		F
23		QTs	-15	C	3 pl..J2J.. Check fold
24		K3o		F
25	UTG	AKo	112	R	3 pl..6J3.. Bet.. 1 caller.. Turn 8.. I bet and get called.. J.. I bet and he folds
26	BB	74o	-15	Check	5 pl..8QA… check fold
27	SB	53o	-15	C	Folded to me and I just call…K8A.. Check fold
28	But	97o		F PFR
29	Cut	Q9o		F
30		94o		F
31		J6s		F
32		J7s		F
33	UTG	75o		F
34	BB	85s	-15	F to 3bet	5Q8 Flop… Doh.. Flush wins… Whew.. Ok.. That is why I fold that..
35	SB	T6o	-10	F
36	But	T9o		F
37	Cut	83o		F
38		74s		F
39		64s		F
40		A7o		F
41	UTG	T9o		F
42	BB	76o	-15	F PFR	2 pl.. 582.. 4..J.. Doh!! No odds to call preflop.. AJ wins
43	SB	T7o	-10	F PFR
44	But	76s		F to 3bet
45	Cut	AJo	-45	R	Blinds Call.. 3pl..2Q5..ch ch I bet.. I caller.. Turn 3..ch ch River T.. I fold to bet
46		83o		F
47	BB	63o	-15	Check	3pl.. A5T.. Check fold.. Table is now short handed
48	SB	AKo	44	RR	2 pl..2K7.. Ch ch.. 8.. I bet he folds
49	But	T6s		F	3 players at table
50	BB	A6o	10	Won	Folded to me
51	SB	A9o	-195	R	2 pl.. 3T9.. I bet he calls Turn 7h.. I bet.. He raise. I 3bet.. He caps.. River.. 6.. I check call.. I lose to 86o
52	BB	QTo	104	R	HU now.. 57T all hearts. I have Qh. He check calls.. Turn 2h.. He check calls.. River 4s.. He check calls and loses with 4dJh
53	SB	JTo	-30	C	3pl.. 973.. I check call.. Turn 7.. I check fold
54	But	A6s	14	R	3pl.. 4A7.. Ch ch I bet.. 1 caller.. Turn T.. He check calls.. River T.. He check calls and splits with A2o… No love from the river
55	BB	Q2o	59	R	SB just called and called R. QK9.. He bets and I raise.. He calls.. Turn.. 4.. He check folds
56	SB	J9o	-105	C	3pl..Jd5c8d.. I check raise.. 2 callers.. Turn 9d.. I bet.. I caller.. River.. Ts.. I bet and get called by K7 who rivered str8
57	But	73o		F
58	Cut	AQo	19	R	6 handed now.. 3pl see flop..46A.. SB bets.. I raise.. Turn J.. SB leads out again.. I raise again. River. 9.. SB check calls with AQ.. Another split
59	UTG	A5o	67	R	BB and new poster calls.. J22.. They fold to my bet
60	UTG	54o		F
61	BB	A6o	-15	C	3pl..J25 I check fold
62	SB	Q7s	-10	F PFR
63	But	93o		F
64		A5o		F
65		J8s		F
66	UTG	87s		F
67	UTG	KTo		F
68	BB	65o	-90	Check	3pl..32Q check call.. Turn 6.. Check call River 7 check call.. Lose to AQ.. Must have been brain cramp there.. Must have thought AQ would raise PF
69	SB	T8o	-10	F PFR
70	But	K8o		F
71		Q6o		F
72		J3s		F
73		72s		F
74		94o		F
75		QJs	-30	C	5 pl.. 4K7.. Check call. Turn 4.. Ch ch.. River 2.. Ch ch.. He wins with J7s
76	UTG	T2o		F
77	BB	93s	-15	F PFR
78	SB	75o	-30	C	BB raises.. 4 callers.. 96Q.. I check fold
79	But	T4o		F
80	Cut	J5s		F
81		ATo	97	C	5pl..J77.. Check around.. Turn.. J.. LAG bets and I raise and he folds
82		Q9o		F
83		72o		F
84		A8s		F PFR
85		63o		F
86	UTG	Q5s		F
87	BB	33	-15	Check	4 pl..5Q7.. I check 1 caller.. I fold.. Turn… 3.. DOH!!!!!
88	SB	98o	-10	F PFR
89	But	J2o		F
90	Cut	Q4o		F
91		T9s	-105	C	3 pl.. JcQsQc I have hearts.. UTG bet and I raise only UTG calls.. Turn Td.. UTG check calls.. River. 5c.. UTG bets out and I call.. He wins with Kc8c
92		76o		F
93		A7o		F	Board was 792A7.. AA won.. That would have really hurt. This is why you fold A7o in EP.. Btw.. Would have also lost to 99.. Yikes
94		ATo		F
95	UTG	75s		F
96	BB	Q2o	29	Check	3 pl..QJ3.. I bet.. They fold
97	SB	A8o	-45	C	3 pls..795..chchch. Turn 7.. I bet out.. Call call.. Oops. River.. 2.. Check fold
98	But	K7o		F
99	Cut	77	-87	R	only $87 left.. Make my stand.. 4 pl.. 32T.. I raise bet.. Turn J.. I call bet.. All in.. I lose JTo.. That ends this session
100	BB	T8o	-15	F PFR
101	SB	K7o	-10	F PFR
102	But	Q5o		F
103	Cut	T7o		F
104		A3o		F
105		KTo		F PFR
106	UTG	43o		F
107	BB	J5o	-15	F PFR
108	SB	ATs	43	C PFR	2 pl.. My suit is clubs Kd3c4s.. Ch ch Turn 9c.. I bet he folds
109	But	63o		F PFR
110	Cut	K7o		F
111		T4o		F
112		63o		F
113	UTG	53o		F
114	BB	K5o	-15	F PFR
115	SB	94o	-10	F PFR
116	But	J9s		F PFR
117	Cut	63s		F PFR	638 Flop.. No showdown
118		33		F	Gameplan this session.. Don't play small pp out of position or without odds.. This case.. Only 1 caller in front of me
119		KJo		F UTG R
120		AJo		F PFR	respecting EP raises.. KK won
121	UTG	A6o		F
122	BB	KQs	-30	C PFR	3 pl.. 7TT flop.. I check fold
123	SB	96s	-10	F PFR
124	But	63o		F PFR
125	Cut	K8s		F
126		J4s		F to 3bet	would have had flush
127		Q2s		F
128		54o		F
129	UTG	86o		F
130	UTG	93o		F
131	BB	K5o	-15	Check	3 pl.. 3J6.. I fold to bet
132	SB	72o	-10	F PFR
133	But	65s		F PFR
134	Cut	82o		F PFR
135		KTo		F PFR
136		J7o		F
137		AKo	25	R	No callers
138		82o		F
139		K4o		F
140	UTG	98o		F
141	BB	74o	-15	F PFR
142	SB	A3s	-10	F to 3bet
143	But	A9o		F PFR
144	Cut	T5s		F PFR
145		93o		F PFR
146		T6o		F
147		52o		F
148		93o		F
149	UTG	52o		F
150	BB	K3o	10	Won	No callers
151	SB	T3o	-10	F PFR
152	But	KTo	25	R	No callers
153	Cut	Q2o		F PFR
154		94s		F
155		Q8o		F
156		A5o		F
157	UTG	J6o		F
158	BB	Q3s	-15	F PFR
159	SB	32o	-15	C	Battle of blinds.. I fold to turn bet.. 6Q8K
160	But	A2o		F PFR
161	Cut	85o		F	3 callers in front of me.. Flop..855… hmmm.. Does anybody call here?
162		AKo	157	R	got 3 bet.. 2 pl.. TK4.. Check call.. Turn J.. I bet and get called.. River. 5c.. Bet and get called by QQ.. So this is what it feels like to win a race.. Prob didn't play that one right
163		A8s		F	28KAJ… Dang QQ wins.. No callers in front of me.. Want players when players Ax suited
164		T3o		F
165		K8o		F
166	UTG	KTo		F
167	BB	J4o	-15	F PFR
168	SB	J8s	-45	C	3 pl.. J3A..I bet out and get raised.. I called.. Turn 2.. Ch ch.. River Q.. Ch ch.. KQ wins.. I bet turn and I win.. When to bet middle pair?
169	But	A2o		F PFR	252 Flop… Doh!!
170	Cut	T9o		F PFR
171		K2s		F
172		55		F PFR
173		J5o		F
174		T4o		F
175	BB	AA	43	R	2 pl.. 945.. I bet he folds
176	SB	65o	-10	F PFR
177	But	62s		F PFR
178	Cut	52o		F PFR
179		97o		F PFR
180		QQ	-150	3 bet	3 pl.. TTT.. Ch I bet.. Get raised and reraise.. And get call.. Turn 7.. I bet and get called.. River 9… I bet and get called by KK… ouch!!!
181		A6o		F
182		A8s	-15	C	4 pl…TJ3KJ.. Checked around..T9o wins
183	UTG	Q9o		F
184	BB	K5o	13.8	Check	4 pl..AJT.. Check call.. 2 pl. Turn J.. Ch ch River.. T.. Ch ch.. He has 55.. Split pot
185	SB	43o	-10	F PFR
186	But	JTo		F PFR
187	Cut	T9s		F UTG R	no other callers
188		QJo	-45	R	get 3 bet.. 3 pl..266.. I check fold
189		T5s		F
190		A4s		F
191		K6s		F
192	UTG	A7o		F
193	BB	J2o	-15	F PFR
194	SB	97o	-10	F PFR
195	But	83o		F PFR
196	Cut	63s		F
197		A6o		F
198		T8o		F
199		64o		F
200	UTG	32o		F
201	BB	J9o	-15	F UTG R
202	SB	A4o	-10	F PFR
203	But	Q8s		F PFR
204	Cut	84o		F
205		92o		F PFR
206		95o		F PFR
207		53s		F
208	UTG	J9o		F
209	BB	92o	-15	Check	At least I get to finally see a flop.. 3 pl..Q84.. Check fold
210	SB	K9s	147	C PFR	2 pl…J99 check call.. Turn 6.. Check raise… River 6.. I bet and he calls with AKo
211	But	Q2s		F PFR
212	Cut	J2s		F PFR
213		T7o		F
214		KJo		F PFR	6K5AJ board.. AT wins… Dang
215		88		F PFR
216		64o		F
217	UTG	22		F
218	BB	A2s	-45	C PFR	2 pl.. 945.. Ch call.. Turn.. Q.. Check fold
219	SB	K3o	-15	C	3 pl..A84.. Chchch.. Turn 5..chchch.. River.. I check fold.. AA wins
220	But	KJs	112	Button Steal	get 3 bet.. 2 pl.. J99.. He bets. I raise.. Turn 7.. He check calls.. River 7. ch ch.. He has QTo
221	Cut	T6o		F PFR
222		75o		F PFR
223		85o		F
224		KTs	-30	R	gets 3 bet and capped.. I fold.. Would have rivered my flush and beat QQ and JJ.. $372 pot
225	UTG	J9s		F
226	BB	92o	-15	F to 3bet
227	SB	J4o	-10	F PFR
228	But	AKo	-90	3 bet	2 pl..23Q..he bets. I call.. Turn.. 4d.. I call bet.. River J.. I fold to bet.. Horribly played
229	Cut	K8s		F PFR
230		Q9o		F PFR
231		64o		F
232		K2o		F
233		85o		F	Timed Out… wait til BB
234	BB	AQs	117	R	SB raises… I reraise..2 pl. QdKd8c.. My suit is hearts He bets, I raise.. He reraises.. Uhoh.. I call.. Turn Ad.. I call bet.. River 7d.. He checks and I bet and he folds… that was the only way I would win that pot
235	SB	T9o	-10	F PFR
236	But	42s		F
237	Cut	K5o		F
238		T4s		F PFR	44K flop.. Doh!!
239		44		F PFR
240		76o		F
241		A5o		F
242	UTG	95o		F
243	BB	82o	-15	F PFR
244	SB	96o	-10	F PFR
245	But	85o		F PFR
246	Cut	J3o		F
247		K2s		F
248	UTG	99	25	R	No callers
249	BB	J7o	127	Check	2 pl.. J7T.. Check call… Turn.. A.. I check raise.. River J.. He calls my bet with A8
250	SB	74o	-10	F PFR
251	But	32s		F UTG R
252	Cut	86o		F	Session Over
253	BB	93s	-45	C PFR	4 callers in front of me.. 5 pl.. A9J.. Ch call.. Turn Q.. Check fold
254	SB	A4o	-10	F to 3bet
255	But	K6o		F PFR
256	Cut	64o		F
257		A6o		F
258		J2o		F
259		AJo		F UTG R
260	UTG	75o		F
261	BB	KJo	43.5	C PFR	4 pl.. 36Q. Checked around.. Turn J.. Check call.. 3 pl.. River 8.. Check around.. I split with another KJ
262	SB	AJo	-10	F to 3bet
263	But	T9o		F UTG R
264	Cut	52o		F
265		84o		F
266		T5o		F PFR
267		Q8o		F
268		A6s	-30	C	BB raises.. 3 callers.. 4JQ.. Check fold
269	UTG	K2o		F
270	BB	62s	-15	F PFR
271	SB	K6o	-10	F PFR
272	But	T5s		F UTG R
273	Cut	AA	262	C PFR	3 pl..4T9… a bet and raise to me.. I 3bet.. Both call.. 6.. They check call.. River 2d which gives fl draw.. EP leads out and I just call..EP had KQo.. Wow. He obviously didn't read my best worst hand post
274		T8o		F
275		53o		F PFR
276		97o		F
277		Q6o
278	UTG	J5s		F
279	BB	KQs	33.5	C 3bet	gets capped.. Called because they are LAGs.. 3 pl..A33 w/ 2 of my suit Check call.. Turn 5.. Check call..River. T.. Ch ch.. Split with KQo
280	SB	AQo	-10	F to 3bet
281	But	72o		F UTG R
282	Cut	KK	-165	3 bet	3 pl.. 9h5c2h.. I Raise and then cap.. Turn Th.. I just call.. River Qs.. I just call.. Lose to 65h.. He opened raised from EP with 65s.. Ouch.. Does anybody get away from this hand?
283		Q3o		F PFR
284		Q8s		F PFR
285		AJs	-30	R	5pl.. No respect for my EP R..79K.. I fold to bet.. Too many players for me.. TT wins on a 4 card str8
286		J3s		F
287	BB	63o	-15	F PFR
288	SB	T4o	-10	F PFR
289	But	AQo	-90	Button Steal	1 caller.. J69.. I bet and get raised.. I call.. Turn 5.. I call bet..River.. 3.. Fold to bet.
290	Cut	K2s		F
291		64o		F
292		KTo		F
293	UTG	K5o		F
294	UTG	A2s		F
295	BB	QJo	-15	F PFR	no other callers
296	SB	84o	-15	C	BB raises and I fold
297	But	AQo	52.5	R	2 pl.. J95.. UTG check folds
298	Cut	QJo	25	R	No callers
299		A4o		F UTG R
300		K7o		F
301		43o		F
302	UTG	AJs	-45	C	SB raises..4pl.. QT5 all spades..I call bet and fold to raise
303	BB	87o	-15	F PFR
304	SB	Q6s	-10	F UTG R
305	But	Q7s	-15	C	6 pl.. K93.. Check fold
306	Cut	J3s		F PFR
307		KK	172	R	1 caller..A27 (isn't there always an ace when you have KK).. He check calls. Turn.. K.. He check raises.. I just call.. River 5.. He bets out and I raise.. He calls with ATo
308		98o		F UTG R
309		97o		F
310	BB	KQo	28.5	R	Fold to SB who calls.. I raise.. 59A.. He check folds
311	SB	92o	-10	F PFR
312	But	J3o		F PFR
313	Cut	K9o		F
314		A7o		F
315		J9o		F
316	UTG	K9o		F
317	BB	87o	10	W	No callers
318	SB	93s	-10	F to 3bet
319	But	86o		F
320	Cut	54o		F
321		J9o		F PFR
322		96s		F UTG R
323		87o		F
324		42o		F
325	BB	K9o	10	W	No callers
326	SB	A6s	15	R	No callers
327	But	J9o		F
328	Cut	44		F PFR
329		92o		F UTG R
330		32o		F
331		64s		F PFR
332		QJo		F
333	UTG	A4o		F
334	BB	62s	10	W	No callers
335	SB	T6s	-15	C	2 pl.. A25.. I check fold
336	But	A6o		F PFR
337	Cut	AA	297	R	6 pl.. Don't like that. Th5s2d.. I bet and get raised.. I reraise.. 3 pl.. Turn 6d.. I bet .. 1 caller.. River Qd.. Scare card.. I bet and get called with ATo
338		75s		F	Ok.. Taking my victory lap and them I'm out
339		J3o		F
340		99		F	Can't do it on victory lap.. KK or AA only
341	UTG	AQs		F	Wow… just Can't do it on victory lap.. KK or AA only