Little background on me. I play at a smaller casino in a small state.

Just started playing live games in Nov '10. Played on tilt for 6 monthes or so. (have since sworn off online poker)

I started playing 1/2 because of a stake and won $400 on my first night of live poker. Yeah yeah i know people are going to say that hooked me and....well, they're right.

The biggest game at my casino even on weekends is 2/5 NL so I made it my goal to start being able to play that game or build enough of a roll to take a shot. The casino like alot of smaller casinos is mainly reg's that play tight and are all old.

I am under no illusion that in 10 years i will, like so many other be that 40+ guy screwin around on a 1/2 NL table for fun. I will not become a poker pro. Just a kid that is chasing the allure of fast easy money.

Starting this thread on advice and regular updates given. Starting with last night where a week long sabbatical.

Last night was the my second time at my casino at night. I do play more than one pot an hour but last night i couldnt catch a hand and just stole blinds and lost showdowns. Up and down around 50 and im sitting even with 200 in front of me when this hand happens.

I straddle with 8 10

Three limpers.

flop comes 8 K 8
Checks to me and i bet $10.
Guy in the BB has just joined the table and i have never played with him.
Other limper is a older gentleman that i have confidently but on a strong king calling a $10 bet.

turn 7

Checks to me again and i bet $20 knowing im beating the older gentleman. He fold and BB calls.

River comes K and i see the look of heartbreak in the older gentlemans face. High pocket pair im thinking for the newcomer who again checks to me.
I bet $50. He thinks and then calls.

Ask him if he has a king and get a "yes". (@#$%^!!!)
He flips K 2

How bad was my play on this hand?

Not happy I leave as its not 4am and I'm tired.

So now my goal is to take a week off. Get my mind right. Play 4 days a week the following week and win 50 - 100 a night and play the 2/5 NL game on the weekend to just "take a shot"

Sub'd

Play was very bad

bad play would off just check it down and move on to the next hand

check it down? he hit a two outer...

you straddled... so bad

edit: and having a 'plan' to win x amount a day isnt going to work and will hinder you, you just haveto go in playing good poker and the money just follows

Check on the river is obviously the right play there. It was a VERY bad play on your part. You now have any king beating you and a high pocket pair usually raises pre-flop in a cash game. ESPECIALLY since you have no information on him, you play it safe. He isn't gonna call $50 with Aces, with KK88 out there, so the only hands he calls with, you lose. And obviously he has the 2nd nuts on a KK88 board (only thing that beats you is 88) there so I don't know why he slow rolled a little bit.

There is a lot of fail in this post. First of all you straddled. Second of all, it sounds like you haven't even been able to successfully play 1/2 over a legitimate amount of hands (say even 50k hands... for live maybe just 10k but even that could be a heater.) and now you want to "take a shot" at 2/5... wtf? Thirdly... you bet when you can get value from hands that beat you (although I don't think you'd call that 'value' lol)... THEN he just calls (are you kidding me? did you put him all in or what?)

MY SUGGESTION: Play a 50k hand sample at 10c/25c and see if you win.

the irony is too much

I dont understand why the play was bad when I straddled?

I set a $50 a day goal as just that. a goal. If i'm running hot im not just going to leave but thats where i'd like to be at ideally.

I was thinking he has a high pocket pair with the calls.
play is around 20k hands.

All in all i am up a small amount over the past 4 months playing cash.

Lolwut. Even the fishiest of fish's are more than likely not going to call a bet on the river on a KK88x board without a K or 8. $50 bet on river is pretty stupid.

Why straddle? All you're doing is bloating the pot OOP with more than likely bad hands. Lighting money on fire.

This thread caught fire today lol

He might call with AA or high pocket pair. I was golden till the river.
If i dont bet out he, then he does and i have to fold.

i think you are missing the key element which is... why are you in the hand in the first place...

AA or 99+ probably would have not played this hand so passively. While it might be tempting to bet when he checks the river, especially in live play, it's definitely best to check it back here.

He prob would call 50 with aces but, its still an easy check on the river.

how often do you see people limping with AA...

saw a guy limp with AA when it was straddled.. got raised he reshoved n lost to KTs

cool story bro right??

seen people do it and this was like his fourth hand at this table. I play passively with aces and usually get it to three players on the flop then shove.

^ thats THE worst way to play aces

Not trying to be rude but I don't think your ready for 1/2 live. The way you played this hand was horrible. I think you should spend some time at micros online to work on your game otherwise I see you losing a lot of money at 1/2.

It doesnt make sense to the put the older gentleman on the king if he didnt call the bet on the flop with 8 K 8.

That is a dangerous strategy, and will probably leave you heartbroken most of the time. There are very few situations in which you should play a premium hand passively. Now if you happen to flop or turn quads or something, and want to be tricky about it, that's a different story. But for now, I would suggest playing fairly straight forward poker.

played a bounty tourney tonight. 3k starting.

hand I got knocked out on was the worst.
Had about 2500 at this point.

k k

bet 800 preflop (with intentions of shoving any board without a ace.)

flop come 7 8 K

yahtzee I think...shove.

Guy reluctantly shoves and has me well covered.

flips over 10 j

turn comes 4

rivers the 9

tl;dr flop trips, guy hit a gutshot

because I get rivered and am pissed about it I can't play 1/2.

You know one hand i've ever played.

I guess i'll start posting boring hands where i get it all in on AK and the another guy has QQ and we just race.

If i check the river he bets and i have to fold.

After 4 months of live play i'm even and maby a little up on 1/2 and still learning...I made this thread to see if i could do more than playing break even poker and take a shot at 2/5.

Will i probably lose...yeah...but that's why its a challenge thread...not a "im trying to do this so i can quit school" thread