Two big pots in one day

Another good result at Graton. In the last 23 hours played I have won at an
$89/hr clip. That should be a big enough sample size to prove that I can sustain this pace. So I am going to quit my job and go full time!
Obviously not. Despite the result, today provided more proof as to what a complex game this is. Not just position and stack sizes, equity and steaming, but discovering that playing a premium hand in a bloated pot when you and opponent are deep has its own complexities.
Two hands stand out today. Both results were through luck mostly. But first here is a small and silly hand:
I had started off limping along with no results, so I decided to open pots, only to fold to re-raises. Eventually I was a little anxious and when I opened to $20 with
65dd and got shoved on by a super-short stack for $70 total, I called saying, "You might be mad if I win". Long story short, his AK hit TP on the flop, but I went runner-runner for the flush.
Finally TTJ arrived. As mentioned, he is one of the best players I've seen there. He is in seat 5 and I am in 9. He wants to move and eventually I agree to switch. I usually want him after me, but at that time there were two loose guys to my left. I was still hesitant because I did not want to watch TTJ make 2k in my previous seat. As usual, after a slow start he stacks a guy and he's up $200. I take a break to return some calls and 15 minutes later he is sitting on $1300! I call him "Max" now because he always gets max-value.
Despite everyone seeing the 65dd winner, my raises are getting a lot of respect. Therefore, opening with 75 seems like a good idea and I get called by those two loose guys.
Flop($60): 752
Nice but precarious flop. One check to me and I make it $50 and one guy calls. I start with $450 and he has me covered.
Turn($160): 7
Hello nuts. He probably has a combo draw, and I want him to get there so I again bet $50. He quickly calls.
River($260): 8
This must hit his range. I bet $145 and he insta-shoves and loses with A7dd. I can't put him on a 7 just like he can't see me with one.
So with a $900 stack I raise to $45 after a straddle and a call with two red aces. Gets to TTJ and he's now thinking something over. I do my best to look like I am attempting to not notice he is staring at me. You see, TTJ is one person who knows I am actually capable of bluffing. Back in the day I would fool around getting aggressive with 7-2 and mostly he would sniff this out. Now he 3-bets to $110. Was hoping for a bigger raise, but regardless, I am way ahead. I do not want to blow him away, but I need to raise here - not just for value but to try and define his hand even more. Also, I want to give him a chance to re-pop it. I settle on $250 total which he just calls.
Flop($520) 433
He checks. Still way ahead, but that brings up a new challenge: What is the right play now in a bloated pot and both playing deep?
(1) I could check, but my thought was that I do not want to give him a free card.
(2) Bet small.
(3) Go for gold, but I do not know if TTJ would have trouble folding kings or queens here like most rec players would.
I choose (3) and bet $300 and he folds after a little contemplation and states he had queens.
Reviewing this hand later I realized my probable error. An experienced player would know that by holding the A that TTJ could not have AKdd. would he put $250 in OOP with KQdd? No. Therefore the a third would be meaningless as he can't credibly rep a flush. So the profitable play would be to check and induce a bet on the turn. $250 profit from aces is nice, but I left value on the table.

limp/calling 65o is def a mistake, even at a happy 6 max table where u think u can outplay postflop. Considering u describe youself as a tag/nit u shouldn't be doing much limping at all. I assume u also limp aa/kk/qq utg to balance?
Do u think u could flat IP pre with aces against this type of player, as by 4 betting u are telegraphing your hand to kk/aa, not sure if he even puts u on ak here as he might expect u to flat with being so deep. Against weaker players in this spot i 4 bet all day and make it a bit bigger.

As played I think check>bet small(40-50% pot)>bet standard

Check seems best as u are likely only going to get 2 streets of value max from a smaller pair and with the ace of diamonds u aren't too worried about a third diamond hitting as u can comfortably call if he leads turn and re evaluate river, and obv that flop does nothing for his range.

Thanks for all the helpful input Shane. I do appreciate it.
I will only slightly rebut one statement:

Under normal circumstances you are correct of course. With this particular hand I stated this in the preamble:
The goal was to experiment. Granted, I could have done this with a hand with better potential like KJss, but I was going to run something with just about any flop, and happened to get lucky that it was a good one for 65o.
with normal goals I am never playing 65o for a limp.

No problem. I'm not a cash game specialist by any means, still learning tons of stuff myself and have splashed around a bit in the past when I've played live low stakes cash, however am looking to tighten up and consider range constructions in more depth when I play in the future.

The problem with small connectors, even when suited, is that u aren't connecting with the flop often enough to make it profitable long term. It's great to see a cheap flop IP or completing out of the blinds when getting a good price with the likes of 65s, if u pick up a straight or flush draw u have decent equity then to play it in many ways depending on the situation. But of course when u hit a single pair on a low board it becomes tricky, and if you're planning on taking lines that include full blown bluffs, with little to no equity in your hand strength, just because your perceived line looks strong, according to board run out,there's a good chance your opponents will start to pick off these crafty bluffs somewhere down the line (excuse the pun) in the future.

Best to construct your ranges so that your line representation includes hands with decent semi bluff equity.

I feel my occasional bluffs, and not experiments, fall in this category. Betting lines are important, and I go for value-looking lines when a good card comes.
As far as opponents starting to pick these off, I feel that my player pool does not contain many thinking players. The deepest most go is opponents image plus what boards they are betting and how much. And I will limit my semi-bluffs to better/nittier players as they are more likely to find a fold.

Best session to date

Cashed out today with an extra $1230. I had a couple of $1k days in 2012, so now this is the tops.
Some standard big pots:
$240 from one guy in hands fairly close together with AA and KK.
$400 from an older reg where I did a good job to maneuver the pot to get him calling off his final $150 OTR with AA when I flopped a set.
The two that took a little more work involved squeezing:
This was a loose-passive table where most stacks were in the $300 range and lots of limping going on. About an hour into my session and I was down over $100. Four limpers in from of me and I make it $35 OTB with QJ and get four callers. I flop TP and it get two streets of value vs a draw.
Later on I raise to $30 in the SB multi-way with KJ and get three callers.
Flop is J72
Long story short, I get three streets from TTJ when he limp-calls with a weaker jack and comes along for the ride.
Now I realize that it was a big bonus to flop good when I squeezed. On the button when checked to I know I have to bet just about any flop. With KJ in the SB I think I am pretty much fit-or-fold. So this bring up a good question of was this a good table in which to squeeze out of the SB? I think the button play is fine, but if I figure that, despite my perceived image which usually allows me to succeed with these kind of moves, limpers are still calling here, and it is a long term loser to squeeze out of the blinds. And yes, a big factor there is making the raise much bigger than $30 isn't it...

Nice chip porn and congrats on your biggest ever profit.

I am a similar age and on a similar journey.

About opening up your range, the reasons you do this must be very clear from the outset imo.

You don't do it for hand value or for the times when you open 65 and the flop comes A65.

You do it to:

1. Get in situations where your opponents will make mistakes post flop that you can exploit eg where you have picked up that a player bets flop, checks turn, folds to a bet.

2. It makes it harder for your opponents to put you on a hand

3. It helps your image.

I think it is great that you are experimenting with new lines but you seem not really to have formed a post flop plan for them.

If you are interested in being shown some common examples of HOW to use the lines you are working on, I recommend that you read Playing the Player by Ed Miller.

My predictions for this Blog:

1. You will keep improving.

2. At some point, you will at least think to yourself, if note write in a post, "I used to think that TTJ was a good player".

Will subscribe. GL at the tables.

Thanks aaaces.

100% true. Big pot, small pot, every one of them about which I write has that theme. My biggest weakness is obviously bet sizing, especially for value. You might think I am betting scared, but I am not. I'm thinking what size this opponent might call vs me in conjunction with the board, but I believe I stay to close to the bottom end. I need to have more faith in my opponents ability in continuing to make those post flop mistakes.

Interesting comment.
I have almost 3 years of watching him play on which I base my opinion. Maybe a better description is that he his the best out of this player pool. Might be that he gets crushed outside of Sonoma County, but in the end the goal is to take the most from bad players and that is what he does.

How did you fair on the weekend?

I am sure TTJ is solid but I am being optimistic... you will improve so much that you will be able to exploit his leaks in the future:-)

I don't mind your thinking in the KK hand but the bet amount was exploitable by that particular Villain and it is a good example of adjusting to each player, ie, most players in your game look at the amount bet in absolute, dollar value terms, but this Villain does not. That is something to look at.

Thanks for asking.
Last week has been very busy, so I have not been able to play. This week will be Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Looking ahead, from the 29th to Feb 25 I am targets at least 60 hours at the tables which Is a significant increase in hours.

Played yesterday and today, both 4-hour sessions. Yesterday was a grind-it-out +$235 as the table was tight. Today the table was very loose-passive and
I got caught up in it a little bit and made some dumb mistakes. I am actually lucky I only lost $345.
Early on the action went like this: Straddle, two callers, I make it $60 OTB with AKss and get five callers. Flop would come 236r and there was no way I was c-betting or winning with AK. That kind of thing happened a few times + other failed opportunities, and I was in a -$500 hole. To my credit I worked my way back to near even with some decent value bets. Then this hand where I made several mistakes:
I complete in the SB with 107os(not a big mistake, but long term hands like these in the SB are -EV). Flop is 6-ways
10-7-4 rainbow. I bet pot and get two callers, one being TTJ.
Turn($120): os9. For some reason that has to with trying to maximize value I bet $100 and TTJ seems reluctant to call but does. I put him on a 10.
River($320): 5. I bet $150. TTJ seems concerned, and I am feeling comfortable. I am happy that I've made it all the way back into a decent profit. Next works out of TTJ's mouth are, "I have a straight, but I can't raised, so I call". He shows 8-6.
I hate this because I overvalued my top-teo to the board. I never considered his range past a 10. I never considered that his call of a near pot bet OOT shows strength of more than a 10. Lastly with the board texture, I feel my bets were way to big. Basically, I was playing the role of a donk to perfection.

Oh yeah, shame on me for leaving these two beauties out:

About an orbit after the 10-7 hand I decide I'm going to bluff with 7-2. Two limpers to me and I make it $30 and get two callers.
Flop A-A-4
$30 bet, call, and I raise it to $130. One player, Cowboy Dan, a TAG player whom I've played against many times insta-calls.
Jack on the turn and he goes all-in. I ask why he thinks I can't have AK there and he says because that is what he had! That's how you light $140 on fire.
Later I check the BB multi-way with 74
Flop is 2:3::5
Action to me goes $20 bet and call. After all my bad decisions today I made myself wuss out here and just call. There is one other caller after me.
Turn is an A
Check, $50, and I again just call.
River is a brick and I chop with another 4.
Two great spots to raise and I had lost confidence.

Anyone else live the poker version of this?
My poker angel tries to guide me to do the right things like not limp in ep; Don't waste money in the SB; Don't call raises from short-stacks with small PP's or SC's; Play tight positionally; etc.
My poker devil scoffs at all this nitty play. "Get in there and mix it up! Limp-call with everything suited or connected, or gapped, or two-gapped, or three-gapped. Raise in ep with J-10o. Chase all flushes no matter what the bet. Just keep calling with any ace pre and post."
Playing for hours with nothing happening is tough. Tonight was incredible for the lack of hands. Only lost $220. Won a single decent pot. Biggest pair I was dealt was 9's, and along with 8's and 4's one time each was it for pairs. I remember one SC, and AK 3 times.
Point is that I'm trying to listen to my angel and block out the devil, but it is hard. I think for the near future I'm going to have to this out of my system, or maybe figure out how to satisfy both natures.
I was a frustrating session. The only good part of the night was that I went 2 for 3 on my Super Bowl prop bets to make some money, including hitting the "Any safty in the game" for the 3rd time in for years.

You gonna be at the 2pair series at all? I'm thinking of hitting the main event.

Probably not. I enjoy cash games with the time I have to play.
__________________________________________________ _____________

-$690 in 3.5 hours yesterday.
One hand was getting it AI OTF with KK vs TTJ's TPTK and he spiked the river. -$250

Another was squeezing big in a straddled pot with QQ after a limp, a raise, and two callers, only to run into KK. -$175.

Most of the rest was the thoughtless play from which I cannot seem to extricate myself.



Nittiness is like being in the clutches of the Tingler. It latches on and chokes the life out of you.
I hate "knowing what to do", but having little ability to execute. I want to believe that it is just from mental fogginess - and that is definitely part of the challenge - but really it is just an older guy built-in protection mode to not open up my stack too much. I closely watch the good players in my games and they all are moving chips into pots. Tightness is perfectly acceptable: Keeps your stack relatively safe and guarantees you will not lose too much long term. I do not want this to be my poker story any longer. I'm not(hopefully)going to go crazy; there has to be a plan, but starting tomorrow the narrative has to be different.

Two of the best ever at the Warriors game tonight:

$720 more down the drain in 12 hours over the last two days.

Obviously some mistakes, but only one that was horrendous.
While feeling low at the end of a session I folded trip 6's with a 10 kicker to a raise and a big bet by Marsha, who is a nice older lady who also plays rather tight. She showed 7-6 which she limped in with in ep. A thinking player would have considered and found her kicker to most likely be worse than his by the mere fact that she is never limping in with J6 - Q6, and most likely not K6. It is at least a call down.

The rest of the time was typical stuff. Over time a lot of money added up on missed draws. Also hands where I raise in the HJ with A8ss and get called by the BB. I flop an 8 for 2nd pair on a ragged flop and get check-called. Turn is a Q and I get CC'd again. River pairs TP and we go check-check. He shows Q9ss which means he called the turn looking for backdoor help and hit 2nd pair and called with that. I am aware that we want those calls all day, just frustrating when it happens during a rough patch. Also fun when you raise with QQ in a straddled pot, get two out of four callers who both flop a set and check to you, but yea, obviously worse to be the won who flopped bottom set.
I got it all-in with TTJ on the flop for $250 each. I had kings vs his TPTK and he spiked trips on the river.
Mostly it is all the folding pre flop that gets me, I don't know, dejected is the apt description. Particularly tough when having to watch all these true morons toss their chips away. If you had the nut flush would you go over the top of a big bet on the river on a board of Q-5-5-Q-x? The was a complete newbie at our table for awhile today. Not a LAGtard, buy clueless. He put in many chips to call down the whole way with bottom pair-bottom kicker. He donked off $500 in short order. I beat him once in a small pot, but I had luck out on the river to due it.
Lastly and to my credit, I am value betting much better in the few spots I've had to due so.

New plan for tomorrow: I am going table bully. Player and stack dependent of course, but I need to grab my balls and put people in uncomfortable spots. I'll do it with position and hands that hold some equity.
Hopefully it will bring some fun spots to pass along.

Early live update:

Stated my intentions early when, before the game officially started, TTJ and I bet $200 blind. I hit a pair on the river, but he won with 2-pair.
The game begins and I'm raising all my playable hands pre flop, continue-betting good textures, and straddling. Image is pretty good, but I'm down $140 as I called a RR with the NFD looking to jam if the flop is a low card which gives me a straight draw, but turn was unhelpful.
A few minutes ago I limped in multi-way with 89o. Flop gave me an OESD and there were two clubs out there. Marsha, an afore mentioned tight older lady bet $20. I called with one other. Turn completed the flush. She checks. Many times I've played with her and she rarely slow-plays and always folds when scare cards come. I bet $45 and she raises! Oh well.

Small mistake?
Had A4 of hearts. Flop came 25x with one heart . A guy with $230 bets pot($30) and I call looking for redraw potentials. A heart comes on turn and villain jams his $200. I folded and I think the math makes it correct
$200 to win $500 = 40%
15 outs with one to come is 30%
However, coming to gamble today I should have called.

I have moved to a table with more money at it, but a little tougher.

Damn.
Won a nice pot vs TTJ when I raised a bunch of limpers PF with JJ. Got 3-handed and an ace hit the flop. I knew TTJ did not have one, so I bet and got thru the other guy, but TTJ called. I checked the turn and bet a harmless river and he called with 10's

Unfortunately I just had kings ran into aces for $500. That hasn't happened to me in a long time.

Lunch break. Still down. Last two hours were hard because the guy to my left was a huge LAG who also happened to be getting smacked by the deck, so I had to change gears back to nittier. Funny thing is that as he was racking up he lost a $600 pot flopped flush over flush.

Final Report

So that LAG to my left finally departed and I was able to open up a little more when the chance arose. Two hands stand out.

I limped in the CO multi-way with 65o. 5-handed I bet $15 with an OESD and get two callers. Turn is a 2 which makes my straight. Checked to me and I check because I believe that the young guy next to is going to bet here often. A bad move in hindsight because he probably folds most hands here to a CR. The river pairs the 2. I bet $50 into $70 and the kid raises to $150. Seems a bad place to open up one's stack and RR on a paired board so I just call. And again, I think I miss value by rushing to decisions. If he flopped a set I would have faced a raise OTF or a big bet OTT. Seems his actions are more of a tell towards a weaker hand. He shows 6-2o. So he called the flop with an ISH, turned a pair, and rivered trips. He definitely would have called a bet OOT. I wonder, though, how he would have reacted to a RR OTR?

Card dead for a while at this active table, but finally I find a decent spot. OTB I face a $15 open and a call and I have A10ss. I make it $65 and both call. I believe I am fortunate to see a great C-bet flop of 9-5-2r. Both check to me and I take it down with a $105 bet.

As 5pm approaches I'm running out of steam. After playing longer sessions this week my feeling is that I will preform better over a 5 hour period. As it was I played 7 hours minus breaks. I lost $318, but with $500 coming from KK vs AA + some bigger calls with draws, I am not to deflated by this one. Fact remains that I played 27 hours this week and did not have one winning session. I did achieve my goal today of being more aggressive and it did help the bottom line as I took down many small pots along with some medium one's with slim holdings, so let's hope I can grow on that. Next step: Take more neutral or slightly -ev chances with draws. Making by-the-book correct plays is fine and all, but I'm forever going to be a breakeven/small losing player if I can't distance myself more from the nitty grind.

I wasn't planning on writing about today's session - even though it was a good one. Timing, value sizing, c-betting, and profiling were on the mark this day as I was able to grind up a near $600 profit.
A young guy joins the table with a $500 stack. Never seen him before and nothing stands out the first few hands before the hand comes to pass.
I raise to $15 in mp with AJ and villain calls OTB.
Flop($30): 963
We both check
Turn: Q
Check-check again.
River: 3
I bet $20 and he instantly shoves for $475.
And again I'm in uncharted territory. I've never played or seen a hand go down quite like this. In some aspects the decision should be easy. I am a big believer, through lessons and experience, that a big river bluff at the $5 level is rare. Also, there is only $50 in the pot so why bother. Can't help but wonder what he plays this way? Flop a set and check for deception, ok, but the board gets scarier with that Q, and he must want some value now, so why check again? Lastly an over-jam seems like a waste of a big hand. He can't assume I have the nut flush can he? I really should fold, but the thing is I don't want to. If I'm right I'm up $1100. If I'm wrong I'm up $65...
Allow me to digress with a revelation: I have had difficulties in my life with fear of failure. Sports, women, even school. Dumb thing is that when I did get past these self-made walls, situations worked out well, especially career-wise. Point is that the poker adage is true: We play like our personalities. Hence the on-going stories ITT about me and my nitty problems. I believe over the last three years that I've finally come to understand that playing safe leads to nothing better than being a small winner. I have to break out of this shell for good. This probably isn't the best situation, but it is time I "crossed the Rubicon".
I called and he showed me 66 for a rivered boat.
Yes, a bummer to slide over that hard earned $500, but I did not tilt. I picked up where I left off and ended the day up $300.
I can't wait to get back in there.
Side note: Shortly after our hand my villain did the same over jam RR on a slightly bigger pot on a 8-9-10-J board, forced a straight to flop and showed A8. Later he min raised then called a $100 3-bet and then called a $300 AI on an ace-high flop and lost A10 vs AK. so obviously he was crazy, but I had to be the first to cross his path.

Good story.

It's pretty safe to assume that nobody bluffs $400+ on the river in your game, but sometimes a guy with a non nut flush will think he has the best hand. Still a fold tho

Do you think you are breaking out of your cautious behavior pattern? Do you think you can?

Yes, it is 99.999999999% a fold at 2/5, or any level with only $50 in the pot, and I truthfully believed that there was a small chance I was good.
Most likely this comes across as a lame attempt to deflect the fact that I made a horrendous call, but that is not the case. It has been a long inner-personal battle with so many examples of over-cautious play suffocating any confidence I might possess. Then there are the results: -$2/hr in 2011, +$25/hr in 2012, -$35/hr in 2013. Jan 2014 +$2400, Feb -$1620. Just a plain ol' nitty variance ride. I believe it is harder to delve deep into one's game when the consistent hours are not there. So now with the ability to log some real time at the tables I feel as if the journey has finally taken me through the fog. Certainly not saying that I'm going crazy, but I needed to do a couple of high variance plays to hammer home the final nail in the nit coffin: The $200 flip HU with TTJ, and this hand.
So thanks for asking. I believe I am 100% evolved as a player, and I can't wait to get back in there tomorrow. Lastly, I am not so naïve to believe that the money is just going to start pouring in, but whereas neutral and/or slightly -EV plays usually were stack-protecting folds, I now am committed to pushing the envelope.