July Stats

Definitely not a good month for me...but when making 1K at your "hobby" is a bad month...I guess I'll take it. I'm taking close to a week off now and will use this to recharge both poker body and mind :)

4/8 (Cap): TP = -$160 TSP = 2 Hrs 30 Min
4/8Kill: TP = $490 TSP = 45 Hrs BB/Hr: 1.36BB/Hr
9/18: TP = -$248 TSP = 4 Hrs 30 Min
8/16: TP = -$110 TSP = 5 Hrs
1/2 NL: TP = $375 TSP = 12 Hrs $/Hr: $31.25/Hr
10/20: TP = $330 TSP = 4 Hrs BB/Hr: 4.1BB/Hr
15/30: TP = $425 TSP = 4 Hrs BB/Hr: 3.54BB/Hr
O8 5/10: TP -$70 TSP = 1 Hr

July Overall: TP = $1032 TSP = 78 Hrs $/Hr: $13.23/Hr

I'm Running Terrible; Sessions 37 and 38

Two sessions at Cache's 4/8 Game

-115 in 5 hours or so night one
-20 in 4 hours or so night two


Night one featured a slew of coolers...one set over set, one two pair vs a set, and aces cracked in a Kill pot

Night two I didn't win a pot until I was almost two hours into the night. Luckily I got my aces cracked during the promotion and went on a bit of a tear to swing from down $240 or so to only losing $20 at the end of the night. I'm glad July is over...because aside from Vegas...I didn't do so hot.

Maybe not the best idea...but I plan on playing alot more at the 9/18 level. Hopefully I start running/playing better than I have been.

Vegas Summary (July)

Well I went to Vegas again and here are my overall stats for the trip. I played considerably less and did a lot more "normal stuff" around Vegas this time around (aside from drinking...cause I'm a square ;). Anyway, I'm going to do what I did last time and blog about each session as though they happened in real time...so scroll down and read each one.

Sunday
Bellagio 8/16: TP = -$110 TSP = 5 Hrs
Planet H 1/2NL: TP = +$510 TSP = 5 Hrs

Monday
Mirage O8 5/10: TP = -$70 TSP = 1 Hr
Mirage 10/20: TP = $330 TSP = 4 Hrs

Tuesday
Venetian 1/2NL: TP = -$155 TSP = 4 Hrs
Planet H 1/2NL: TP = +20 TSP = 3 Hrs

Wednesday
Bellagio 15/30: TP = +$425 TSP = 4 Hrs

Session No. 36 Bellagio 15/30 (7/25)

15/30: TP = +$425 TSP = 4 Hrs

I woke up Wednesday a bit disappointed with my trip. I was only up $500 or so, which was considerably less than my last trip. Granted I hadn't played very much so far...but that in itself was disappointing.

So I ventured over to the Bellagio and decided it was time to test myself at 15/30. The trip was almost over, my flight was leaving in roughly seven hours, so why not just play for a few hours, just to test the waters? I put my name on the waiting list and then paid close attention watching the table.

Finally my name was called after 20 minutes or so, and I took my place in the number four seat. I only bought in for one rack ($500), but had plenty of sufficient funds to reload a couple times if need be. I was going to go for it in this session: no playing scared, no holding back. If I dropped $1K, so be it, the learning expeience would be worth it.

I remember posting my BB, having it get raised and then three-bet, folding it, and then thinking, "Oh wow...this is poker." My SB was also three-bet so I folded, and already I was down $25 just in blinds lol. I wasn't really thinking of the blinds as $25 though for the record...I remember thinking "if this was 3/6, I'd only be down $5."

I don't remember in what order the following hands were, as I am just now blogging about this session here on Saturday night (7/28), but here it goes.

The first hand I really remember is A9 from the small-blind. An early position player open-limps, somewhat weird for him, as he has been raising quite a bit, but this was probably the third time I saw him open limp...must be a small PP or a couple face cards? It folds to the cutoff, who only calls. I look down at A9 and complete my option (the BB is $15 and the SB is $10 in this game), and the BB checks.

The flop came: AK7 rainbow

I checked, BB checked, EP bet, LP folded, I raised, BB folded, and EP only called. I was almost positive he didn't have an Ace, and if he did, my kicker was probably better (I'm almost positive he'd raise AK-AT here everytime). The turn was a nine. Bet, call. The river was a four. Bet, call. I show and win the hand. I thought before this hand started that EP was a bit of a weak player, and this confirmed my suspicions.

This next hand is probably the most interesting. UTG+1 open raised, he was very aggressive, good player, but probably too aggro. A couple cold callers, I look down at 88 OTB and call. Both blinds also call, so we're 6-way to a flop of 334 with two spades.

Good flop for me I think. UTG+1 bets out, two folds, I raise, two folds (so now we're HU), and he three-bets. Hmm...big PP or a flush draw? At this point I'm a tad confused and almost give him credit for a big PP. I only call.

The turn is an Ace. Eek...I'm about ready to give up on the hand, but then villain checked to me. I check behind and now have the guy on a PP bigger than mine. The river is a ten. Again the villain checked...so I think for a second, decide that if he does indeed have a PP he's going to look me up, so I check. He says "well I think you have me" and I reply with "I have a pair" and he mucks his cards saying it was good. Cool...I wait for the pot to get pushed and then throw my cards face down to the dealer. UTG+1 says "Meh..I got what I wanted with that flop three-bet. I wanted a free river...I had spades" so I guess he had something like KQ of spades. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done had he led out on the turn, but I might have folded.

That's all for now...I had a good run and built my way up to +600 at one point. Unfortunately I went on a bit of a cold streak and hit +350 on one point, and then decided to bounce once I was up over $400 again. I walked away content and ready to fly back to Sacramento with another good showing in Vegas under my belt.

Session No. 35 Venetian and PH 1/2NL (7/24)

1/2NL: TP = -$155 TSP = 4 Hrs
1/2NL: TP = +$20 TSP = 3 Hrs

I'll just pretend this day didn't happen...card dead for both sessions...luckily I made money my last session at Planet Hollywood before the game broke.

In other news, I saw the Blue Man Group, and they were awesome. My first and only Vegas show...very cool...check them out if you have the chance.

Session No. 34 Mirage O8 and 10/20 LHE (7/23)

O8: TP = -$70 TSP = 1 Hr
10/20: TP = +$330 TSP = 4 Hrs

So I slept in a little bit Monday morning, screwed around with Nick and Em for awhile Monday afternoon, and found myself playing at the Mirage Monday evening. When I got there I put my name on three lists: 6/12, 10/20, and 5/10 Kill Omaha 8. Their O8 table was the first table to open up, so I played that one for about an hour. I didn't win one hand...

I had a deathlock on one hand where the flop was A29 and I had A245 double-suited. The turn was a Queen and the river was a Queen and some lady with AKxx took the pot. So weak.

After that my name was called for 10/20 so I rebought for $400 more and sat down with about $530 total. My first hand of the 10/20 game I was dealt A9 in the BB, flopped a pair and held. Good start. A couple hands later I lost with TT, but one my BB came back around, I flopped a boat and won another decent pot.

I had J6 in the BB and it was limped in four spots to the SB, she completed, and I checked my option. The flop was J66 and I think I wet myself a little...

The SB led out, I called, UTG called, and one more LP player called. The flop had two spades, so I figured someone had a flush draw...too bad they didn't hit. The turn was a four. SB fired again, I called, UTG called and LP folded. The river was a non-spade deuce. SB bet out, I raised, UTG folded (she looked like she was going to do so before I raised, and the SB folded as well. Weird...oh well, no need to show the flopped boat.

My next big hand was AQ of hearts from the button. A couple limpers in front of me, I raise, BB calls, as do the limpers. The flop comes Ace-high with two hearts. All players check to me, I bet, two folds, and then I get Check-raised by an old-man in seat eight. He was a good player, and we had tangled a few hands earlier in a blind versus blind situation. He "doesn't chop" so he raised my BB from the SB and I called with A8. The flop was 983 and he bet out, I called. The turn was another three. He checked this time, I bet, and he folded. I was intending to raise his turn bet...had he bet. Oh well.

Anyway, he check-raised me, and I three-bet. He called. The turn paired the lowest card (A944-two hearts); he checked, I bet, he called. The river was a ten of hearts. Check, bet, call. I showed my hand and took down the pot.

This was a great early run, but unfortunately I would cool off and only float around +$300 for the rest of the session.

The game was pretty soft for what I expected of a 10/20 game. There were three very soft players, and they were "regulars" apparently. Besides those three, there were a few players who were decent, but made noticeable mistakes, and then there were a couple solid guys (the old man and a younger guy). Toward the end of the session though a couple of the regulars were replaced by some noticeable Tags. The game quickly became a foldfest where there was a lot of chops and late-position raises stealing the blinds. Basically what I'm trying to say is that the game was no longer as profitable as it once was...time to eat :)

Session No. 33 Planet Hollywood 1/2NL (7/22)

1/2NL: TP = +510 TSP = 5 Hrs

Whoa...the Santi plays NL? Since when?

Haha, anyway, after the Bellagio I took a break with my friends Nick and Emily (the whole reason I went to Vegas in the first place was for Em's 21st Bday). We were staying at Planet Hollywood, so I decided to play in their poker room until I got ridiculously tired, then I could wander back up to my room and crash without much chance of falling asleep on Las Vegas Blvd somewhere...

So the session started out innocently enough, one drunk English ~kid (26 or so) pointed out to the table that I had yet to limp into a pot after an orbit of play, so I was afraid I'd get the nit label. Soon enough I got dealt T8 of diamonds and limped in behind some players from the Hijack. The drunk English guy limped behind me, and then the SB raised it up to $15 total. It was called in a couple spots, I called, and the English guy called. $75 total in the pot.

The flop came: J93 with one diamond. Hey, nice looking flop huh? If this was limit I'd probably jam it up, but since this was NL, I wasn't entirely sure what the best line would be. The SB bet out $20...oh yeah, I forgot stack sizes. I had $200 or so when I started the hand, and everyone else has me covered except for the guy about to fold acting in front of me. So Sb bet out, one caller, one fold, I call, and the english guy called. $155 in the pot.

The turn was the A:d:. Uh oh. OESD and now a flush draw? What the hell do I do now? The SB checked, the next player checked, I checked (wrong play?) and the english guy checked behind. I really felt like I should have bet my hand here...but oh well.

The river was the K:d:. Boom. I had the second highest flush possible (only a Q-rag suited diamonds would be higher). It gets checked to me, I bet $50 or $60, and everyone folded. Lame...couldn't get paid off. Still, nice pot.

After that I floated around $300 in chips for awhile, the table almost broke after the two drunk English guys left, but instead we combined tables with another 1/2 game and we were almost full again. The guy who decided to sit next to me was a young Middle-Eastern cat (obviously Americanized) and he proceeded to crush the table and add to his big stack. He was a donk...but a donk who could catch cards. He went from $600 to almost $1100 in about an hour. I wanted a hand for this guy to double me up with...because he was very capable of doing so.

An hour or so passed by and soon we found ourselves 6-handed at around 4am. I was running pretty well, as my stack was about $450 or so. I had flopped one straight and turned another, and the middle eastern dude was paying me off one red stack at a time. I was feeling good.

At about hour number four, I was dealt two Aces in the SB. The middle-eastern guy had just lost a pot, so he jokingly said "I'm steam-raising" and made it $12 to go from the button. I opted to just call, as the BB was a new player who had proved to be somewhat aggressive already. I thought perhaps he would try a squeeze play and re-raise (His stack was about $150). The middle-eastern guy would call because he was on life tilt (I failed to mention his stack had free-fallen to below $300 at this point), and then I would probably shove and might get a call from the aggressive asian kid because he too was nearing life tilt.

Instead, the asian kid just called and we saw a flop of QTT. Whoops, perhaps this is why don't just call pre-flop with Aces. We both checked to the middle-eastern guy (we'll call him Fred), and Fred bet $10. I called, as did the Asian kid (we'll call him Chuck). The turn was a 6. Again me and Chuck checked, and Fred fired out a $15 bet at this time. Ugh...I still don't know where I am, and what could Chuck be calling here with the whole time? We both know Fred is a shitty player, but he knows I'm a good player, so yeah...I called, Chuck called. Shitty plays I'm sure...don't give me shit, I'm a limit player lol...

Anyway, the river was an Ace. Boom. "Okay, enough fucking around" I told myself. I made a sizeable bet ($50) and prayed one of them would come over the top of me...or hell, I'd be happy with just a call. Chuck folds (shit), but Fred grabs two stacks of reds and shoves them in the middle. I snap call him and show him AA. To his credit, he laughs it off and says sincerely "Wow man, that's a great hand. Very good hand" as he pats me on the back and shows his T3os. Oh wow...I felt sorta bad for the guy, especially since he had been nothing but nice/funny/polite at the table while donating his $1100 to us, and here I am sucking out a two-outer and stacking the poor guy. I soon realized that in my attempt to not slow-roll the guy, I had left him with $30 behind (the least I could do for being a luckbox I guess). He shoved and was ko'd a couple hands later...and I made my exit soon after. With the biggest fish at the table gone and my NL skills definitely in question, there was no reason for me to sit at that table any longer :)

Session No. 32 Bellagio 8/16 (7/22)

8/16: TP = -$110 TSP = 5 Hrs

This session was just brutal. It was my first session back into Vegas and I was hoping that my bad run wouldn't follow me there from Cali. Unfortunately, I found myself starting off the session ice cold. My first big hand was KK in LP. It was raised pf by someone in MP, I three-bet from the Cutoff, the BB called, and the original raiser only called. The flop came ace high and I probably lost the minimum when I got to see villain's AQ at the showdown. All I had to do was raise the flop when he bet into me and it was checked down from there.

The next hand I'll talk about was a huge pot and was entertaining for pretty much the whole table.

Before we get to any pre-flop action, two players are posting behind the button for $8 each, so I jokingly thought to myself "great, I'll probably get AQ and have to raise in front of these morons (these two were like the typical 4/8 player). Sure enough, I look down at AK of spades and open from MP. Both players that posted called, The SB three-bet, The BB called, I four-bet, and one of the blinds capped it! There's already $200 in the pot ($40 x 5 players) and we haven't even seen the flop yet. At this point I'm really hoping for some spades...

I get my wish as the flop comes out Q:s:9:s:3h:

Boom. SB leads out, BB calls, Hero raised, Two LP players call, SB three-bets, BB folds, Hero 4-bets, Two LP players call again, SB caps, All call.

Wtf is going on here? How can we all have a piece of that flop? At first I thought SB might have been going nuts here with AA or KK, as he was a bit on the aggressive side, but now I'm really starting to fear QQ. No matter, I'm drawing live and just need to avoid the board pairing. Any spade is good and maybe an Ace might be good for me at this point.

The turn is a 5:d:. Yuck. Blank. SB bets, all three of us call.

The river is a black five...the five of clubs. Blech. I already hated the fact that it was a five...and because it was a club...well, that just sucks more obviously (or so I thought). The Sb led out again, I showed the guy next to me my cards and folded, and one of the late-position players goes into an absolute tirade (she's an older asian woment btw, who has been frustrated the entire time I was playing with her). "What are you doing? You cap every street and now you can't call? How you play like that?" I just laughed and said, "well hey, that's how I do it I guess" as she and the other LP player called. Sure enough, the SB showed QQ and took down a huge...huge pot.

See, if The Santi was running well, no way The Santi misses that flush draw...no way ever. Oh well.

After that I swung all the way down to -$350 or so, but hit a nice rush to finish the day only down $110 or so. Gotta run for now, I'll finish this up later.

Vegas Again

Well I'm off to Vegas in a couple hours, going for Emily's 21st B-day. I'll probably play some cards, but definitely not as much as my last trip. Won't have a computer to update from, so sorry bout that. Take care guys, wish me luck, and good luck at the tables.

Session No. 31 Capitol Wednesday (7/18)

9/18: TP = -$290 TSP = 3 Hrs 30 Min

This is not good. Really not good. My first hand I was dealt JJ. I flopped a set and rivered quads...would it be a sign of things to come? Fuck no.

Here's a running list of most of the hands I played:

- JJ quads
- QQ in the BB cracked by rivered OESD (Big pot, 5 player pre, two called bets on the turn)
- TT flopped a set rivered by a Royal Flush draw (KJ of clubs with AT of clubs on the flop) that hit his flush. Lost a ton of chips in this hand.
- 99 EP raise wins a small pot
- JJ in the BB wins a small pot
- AQ OTB raise pf misses everything and folds to aggression
- T6 BB special win
- TT UTG raise wins decent sized pot
- 88 spewed a little, definitely overplayed this hand
- 89 hearts called from LP missed flop
- QQ wins a small HU pot
- AJ of diamonds raise pre, flop the nut-flush draw (T92 board) and 67os catches a 6 on the river to pair up and beat my whiffed nut-flush draw + overs.
- AA holds in 3-way pot
- 89 hearts misses again in a multi-player limped pot
- A7 suited hearts raise 6-Handed in LP wins 3-Way hand
- J9 suited in a KP multi-players limp in the CO I limp also and miss my OESD
- AK loses when I flop TP vs bottom two (K87 board with two diamonds) Villain had 87, but he had been playing his flush draws fast so I had him on the flush draw. Flop capped, I called down turn and checked behind on the river

That's all I had written down (logged in my phone...most of the players must have thought I was a text-msg fiend haha)...and I can't really remember more. Out of all those hands I just listed off, I think the only hand I misplayed was the 88 hand. I tried to iso-raise a flop against this opponent who had been a bit loose but then I got 3-Bet. In retrospect the board was a little too coordinated for me to be able to raise out all three of the other players.

I dunno what else to say really...I guess this is just one of those swings that have to be weathered. Sitting at the table last night, I saw many opportunities other players were getting to maximize their winnings, and I really wish they could have happened to me. One lady was fortunate enough to get 3 bets in on the turn in a kill pot with a set of Aces vs Two pair and a flush draw ($36 x 3 bets x 2 opponents)...and here I was winning small pots and losing big ones. I guess no one can turn a winning session when that's happening to them.

Wish me better luck next time or pray for me or something...cause I don't like running bad.

Oh, and a final note, apparently I got fucked out of $400 last night by some moron who doesn't know anything about Bad Beat Jackpots. The "4/8 Superdonk" went and played at Cache Creek last night, and long story short, he should have gotten $1700 from the Bad Beat Jackpot for having the winning hand in a BBJ hand.

Quick rundown:

Superdonk has A8 with the Kill button
Villain has QQ

Final Board: AA26A

Superdonk shows A8, villain flashes Queens to everyone around him, then mucks his cards. After a long ruling, security has to declare the hand dead and no jackpot is rewarded. Why do I care so much? Well, besides Superdonk being my usual partner in crime and I'd be happy for him to win some money, we own 25% of each other if either of us hits any kind of jackpot. For smaller ones (High Hands, Royal Flushes), the other person must be present to receive percentages...but for the Bad Beat Jackpot, no attendance is required. I would have collected roughly $400 (after tip it would have been a little less), so my whole terrible session from a couple nights ago could have been monetarily erased had it not been for some moron. Check out the Superdonk's blog in a couple days for full details...I'd like to hear the story in full as well.

It sucks...I still manage to run bad, even when I'm not at a fucking table :)

Wish me luck, hopefully this shit turns around fast.

Session No . 30 Cache Monday (7/16)

4/8 Kill: TP = -$175 TSP = 7 Hrs

What's going on here? Ugh. So since I'm off three days this week from "real work," I decided I might as well get some more playing time in. Me and the Superdonk headed up to Cache during the day to play some cards for a good 7-8 hour session.

The session started off baaaaad, and only got worse. I was quickly down $140 and didn't even sniff "even" for the rest of the night. I ran terrible. My big pairs were cracked a bunch of times, I missed a couple Nut flush draws in kill pots (I play aggressively, so of course those are going to cost me when I miss), and some woman actually called my UTG/EP raises with 72os (not making this up...72os) and cracked my AK/AQ/TT, in that order. Not to mention she cracked my UTG raise (AA) with her 86os by flopping a damn straight. Wtf right?

I was seriously questioning whether I was stuck in this horrible nightmare for the entire session. The final hand that seriously sent me overboard and forced me to lose my composure was this hand sometime around hour number six.

Hero is in LP with AJ of clubs. The flop gets limped in a couple spots, I raise, BB and the two limpers call.

The flop comes J:d:5:d:3:s:

The BB leads at the pot and I immediately put him on a diamond draw. He had been extremely aggressive the hand before, in fact, it was downright ridiculous. The board basically had a straight showing and I knew the lady who had been busting me up with 72os had the straight. BB capped the turn with his QT of clubs just because there was two clubs showing, no other draws imaginable, and proceeded to river his flush. Oh, he had just moved from a broken NL table, so you know he has to be terrible...because well, all NL players are terrible ;)

Anyway, he leads at this with junk I'm sure, some black dude in early position raises (he had been grossly out of line so far as well), so I three-ball. The BB caps it, me and the black dude call, and now I'm kinda worried. I'm not exactly running stellar here (down $280 or so at this point) and I am very concerned about a possible set or goofy straight. The turn is a non-diamond deuce.

The Bb fires again, EP calls, and I just call. I'm seriously lost at this point and I figure just calling is probably best at this point. The river is a non-diamond 6.

BB leads out again, and now EP raises. Fuck. There is a lot of money in there, but I don't think I can call off 2 BBs here when any four makes a straight and these maniacs playing any two cards could have some weird two pair. I show my neighbor the AJ and lay it down...BB calls. EP shows 66 and takes down the pot with a rivered set of 6s. I lost complete composure at this point and let out a "What the fuck? You have got to be shitting me..." as I pushed my remaining $80 worth of chips into a pile in front of me. I was livid. I could have gotten up and punched out the entire table at this point. Here I was running absolutely terribly, watching the 72os lady river gutterballs, two-outers, outflopping me with the fucking hammer, and now this donk wants to do the same thing to me.

To my credit I actually buckled down and played well after all of this. I raised ATs in MP, flopped two pair, and managed to get paid off by the 72os lady. Finally she called me down when I had a hand. Not much else happened after that until a big hand where it was capped with five players and I ended up turning a set. After that hand I cashed out a couple orbits later and let my homey the Superdonk play another orbit or two because he was winning. I was only down $175 at this point but I seriously felt terrible and knew there was a good chance I was steaming and could make some mistakes because of it. I feel like leaving the table was a good move.

Besides, after I cashed out, I went and got a coke with the cute Filipino brush who just happened to be going on break at the time. See, even when I run bad, I run good. Unfortunately she has a boyfriend, but hey, it's always good to have cute girls willing to go hang out with you, and she called her friend from the operator room to come down with us...so I got to hang out with a couple beautiful girls for 30 mins or so as I thought about my terrible July-run thus far. Seriously...I need to run well in Vegas, or this month's results are gonna be shit.

Sorry for running so bad everyone, it's very un-Santi-like. I'll try and do better :(

Session No. 29 Cache Sunday (7/15)

4/8 Kill: TP = +$210 TSP = 4 Hrs BB/Hr: 6.56BB/Hr


Ahhh ran so much better today. I'm not sure if it's because Cache Creek was built on sacred tribal land or what, but I always seem to play well there.

So I rolled out to Cache pretty kinda late and met up with "The 4/8 Superdonk" who was already seated. I waited for ten minutes or so, talked to my favorite brush for a while, and then took my seat as they opened up a new table. I still suck at drawing cards btw...Three of hearts! Ugh...

So my first big pot of the session came when I raised UTG in a Kill pot with AJ of diamonds. Three callers behind me and the BB called. Lame...five-handed...

Flop: J:c:8:d:3:h:

Not bad, top pair and a rainbow flop. BB checks to me, I fire, and get called in two spots.

Turn: 7:d:

Boom. Picked up the nut flush draw to go along with my Top pair. I fired again, and again I was called by both players.

River: 9:d:

Bet, called in both spots. Awesome start.

Other hands I'll get to later...way too tired right now.

AQ > KK
QQ > AJ
K9s rivered club draw

Losing Streak? Ramble Time...

I'm on unfamiliar territory now...okay not really. Any serious poker player knows that swings and streaks are part of this game. Am I worried right now? Sorta. Before my $540 outing last weekend, my recent results (mid-June through early July) hadn't been all that spectacular, and now I've run two losing sessions back to back on each other. Am I playing differently? Maybe...

I can recall a couple mistakes each of the last two sessions where I have basically paid off on the turn and river when I normally don't. The old Nik from two months ago would have folded the turn easily, but for some reason, I have become a "showdown monkey" as of late. A couple BBs/session can add up, and I'm posting this here as a reminder that maybe it's not just the cards' fault I'm losing.

I really truly believe that I am very honest with myself on how I am playing. At Capitol last night, there really was nothing I could do right in the first hour and 20 minutes. Miss with AK, get a big pair cracked, get a set cracked, miss a gutty/flush draw combo, etc. I was meant to lose that first $180. After that I mounted a small-ish comeback and actually remembered what it was like to toke the dealer. Still, toward the end of the 4/8 run, I made a couple mistakes that, had I avoided them, could have made this session a little less of a loser.

The 9/18 game was pretty much what I expected. A little tighter pre-flop play from my opponents (but that's not saying much), one or two ~good players, and an abundance of 4/8 players with $3 chips in front of them. I can honestly say I had zero butterflies and zero discomfort at the table. I had been losing so far in the session, but I wasn't scared of losing more. I was angry, hungry (mentally, not physically...assholes lol) and ready to throw some chips around. I feel like I played pretty well, and had either my AA or QQ hands held, the session as a whole would have been break even or a slight winner...both of those pots were huge.

Here's my 5th hand or so at the table and the first flop I see. Winning the first pot I entered gave me some confidence.

Hero is in the CO with AQos
Villain has shown signs of maniacal-ness...but it's still early.

Pre-flop: Folds to Hero, Hero raises, Villain 3-bets from the button, SB folds, BB calls, Hero caps, Both villains call

Flop: A:d:J:h:T:d:

BB checks, Hero bets, Villain raises instantly, BB folds, Hero calls

Turn: J:s:

Hero bets, Villain raises, Hero calls

River: Hero checks, Villain bets, Hero calls

Villain showed A7 and Hero takes the pot.

Now, I don't know about you guys, but I felt like an absolute nit when I raked the pot in. Then again, after the turn raise by the villain, I all but started crying because I thought he had AK of better. Probably should have 3-Bet the flop and then when Villain caps (because he is insane), I can check/call the rest of the way? I had no real reads, so I think a call-down isn't too bad...

Anyway, I need to take a nap...

Session No. 28 Capitol Friday (7/13)

4/8: TP = -$160 TSP = 2 Hrs 30 Min
9/18: TP = +$42 TSP = 1 Hr

Probably shouldn't have gone, knowing I'd be pressed for time, but I did anyway. Ran terrible at 4/8...seriously terrible. I saw one guy stack $600 in profit in an hour as I had yet to win a hand...suprised I only lost 160 to be honest...

9/18 I was basically card dead. I won my first hand with AQ vs A8. Maniac overplayed his hand badly, but I gave him credit for AK so in retrospect I played kinda passive, but he had me convinced I was beat. Lost with AA and QQ, KK held up huge in one pot that put me up $160 in the game, but then I lost with AQ/AJ and bled out my blinds for only $42 proift. Saw one player whose game I respected (to an extent), the rest were basically garbage. I'll go back sometime next week and log a longer session. I was treating this more as an information day...by the way, two fucking hours on the waiting list.

4/8 Btw, 6-8 players to the flop was common...5 to the flop was normal. Guys called my UTG raises with KJos, QTos, 97s, etc...

Frustrated and going to work now...I hate losing

Session No. 27 Cache Monday (7/9)

4/8 Kill: -$120 TSP = 6 Hrs BB/Hr: -2.5BBBB/Hr
Overall 4/8K (since 4/14): +$3765 TSP = 120 Hrs 30 Min BB/Hr: 3.91BB/Hr
Overall (since 4/14): +$5040 TSP = 157 Hrs $/Hr: $32.10/Hr


Got stuck and my game broke...lame :(

Session No. 26 Cache Creek Saturday (7/7)

4/8 Kill: +$540 TSP = 9 Hrs 30 Min BB/Hr: 7.11BB/Hr
Overall 4/8K (since 4/14): +$3885 TSP = 114 Hrs 30 Min BB/Hr: 4.24BB/Hr
Overall (since 4/14): +$5160 TSP = 151 Hrs $/Hr: $34.17/Hr

So after complaining the other day to Tommy about how I didn't have any $500+ days in June, today was a good day. We got to Cache at around 2:30am and weren't sure how long exactly we would play. We both ran pretty well though (I came up $540, Tommy came up $265), so we played close to 10 hours. We were seated in seats 8 and 9 for the night/morning, and there was a solid player to my right who ran pretty well, so the last three seats of the table looked like a Murder's row of sorts. The majority of the chips on the table were usually on our side. I don't think anyone else except us three left the session up a winner.

Anyway, I started off the session really really slow. I felt like I was riding a bike in quicksand...pedaling hard and getting alot of action, but my stack wasn't going anywhere. Well that all changed around hour number three when I finally broke through with a few monster pots and found myself up $300+. I wish I could remember more hands from that streak...but I've been really bad at that lately...here's one, and it's probably butchered to shit.

Hero is in the Hijack with A4 of diamonds:

Limped in a few spots, I limp, button calls, sb raises, BB and everyone else calls

Flop is Q:d:8:d:4:c:

Sb checks, BB checks, Utg bets, UTG+1 calls, one fold, Hero raises, Button and SB call, Bb folds, Utg 3-Bets, UTG+1 calls, Hero caps because he's balla obv, Button and Sb call, Utg and UTG+1 call

Turn 5:s:

Sb checks, Utg bets, Utg+1 calls, Hero calls, Button and Sb calls

River: 5:d:

SB checks, UTG and UTG+1 check, Hero bets, Button calls, all fold

Hero wins the pot.

Sooo huge hand, but I really wasn't comfortable betting that river. I really felt like UTG was going to check-raise me there, but then he ended up folding. What could he have on that flop and then not even be able to make a river call? I really like my play on the flop by the way, because at the time I thought I could raise SB out of the hand (I think he had AK) and possibly open up some of my ace outs. Besides that, I really wish my friends would play their flush draws like this and cap the ever living fuck out of this flop like I did. We have so much equity with four other people in the hand on this flop...

And like I said before, I really wish the river didn't pair, but I guess I'm lucky that it paired the turn card and not any of the flop cards, cause then I might have been screwed. If Utg had led out on this river btw, I would have only called.

So after this I ran pretty horribly and didn't win a hand for about an hour and a half. My chips free-fell from +$300 down to +$120. I was visibly frustrated and close to quitting before I went on an insane rush of cards. I won a few big pots, a couple kills, all my big hands held, and my stack of chips grew and grew. I still really enjoy stacking my chips by the way...I shoulda taken a picture today, but I didn't want to rub anyone the wrong way.

I guess since I'm not going to play tonight (Sunday night), I'll probably blog about a couple more hands in the morning, but I'm out for now.

Session No. 25 Cache Creek Tuesday (7/3)

4/8 Kill: +$100 TSP = 6 Hrs BB/Hr: 2.1BB/Hr
Overall 4/8K (since 4/14): +$3345 TSP = 105 Hrs BB/Hr: 3.98BB/Hr
Overall (since 4/14): +$4620 TSP = 141 Hrs 30 Min $/Hr: $32.65/Hr


I swung up...I swung down...I swung all around. I really felt like I played too aggressively most of the night...maybe I should work on that.

Session No. 24 Cache Creek Sunday (7/1)

4/8 Kill: +$70 TSP = 3 Hrs 30 Min BB/Hr: 2.5BB/Hr
Overall 4/8K (since 4/14): +$3245 TSP = 99 Hrs BB/Hr: 4.1BB/Hr
Overall (since 4/14): +$4520 TSP = 135 Hrs 30 Min $/Hr: $33.36/Hr


Alright well Tommy and I arrived at Cache pretty late (2am) but the place was cracking because it was a Saturday night. I really felt myself playing much too loose and in a "gambling" mood early on, which is not good...need to cut that out.

Anyway, I didn't win a hand for the first hour and a half or so, which caused my stack to dwindle. Finally I woke up with a couple hands I simply can't remember and I was up. The table eventually became short-handed and I kept running into better cards. AT vs AJ, TT vs QQ, etc. Not fun.

Not sure when I'm going back...I have to go back to work tonight (Monday) and I just spent a whole lot of hours playing this last week. Maybe I'm due for a mini-break? We'll see.