7/17
Tonight I worked until 12 then headed over to the room across town while my usual game was shut down for renovations. It's reputation is that it's a much tougher game. I encountered 1 or 2 good players at my table and the rest were similarly bad to the majority of players I'm used to. When I'm on my game, I can beat this room I've decided. I'll go there for breaks from the other place I think. It's not as profitable as my usual place so there's no real reason for me to cut into my profits. It's a nicer environment but I'm not about to lower my bottom line to play there.
As for the session, I don't think I played very well. I barrelled a couple of times in spots that had little hope of success and paid for it. I also played one hand particularly bad. It's an interesting one so I'll post it.
CO- Old dude, who plays relatively tight, but has opened a few hands. Covers me.
SB- Solid player with big stack. He knows what he's doing, but does seem to play a little too much from OOP. I think he's beginning to notice that I'm an aggro player.
BTN- That's me. I have $196.
Folds to CO who raises to $10. Hero 3 bets QQ to $35. SB 4 bets to $101. CO folds.
Now in my head, I somehow convinced myself that he'd do this with TT+. This is ridiculous. He's never going to 4 bet those vs. me AND CO. If it was HU, maybe I'd believe it. However, in my mind I decided he could be wider even though he has not 3 bet preflop once so far in ~1 hr. He's flatted AKo in SB vs a donkey. No reason to believe hes getting out of line. His raise leaves me with just $95 back. I know he won't call a shove with TT,JJ so I just call hoping for a low flop to get it in.
Flop A
K
7
($214).
SB checks.
He's doing this with his entire range. I check back.
Turn A
K
7
8:spade ($214).
SB checks.
He's still probably doing this with his entire range, although I'm starting to feel better about things. TT+ is pretty much his only range now.
River A
K
7
8
2
($214).
SB shoves.
Now it's combo counting time. I'm beat by 6 combos of AA/KK. I beat 12 combos of TT/JJ. Chop with 1 combo of QQ. And I'll throw in 3 combos of AK that played it weird.
I am ahead of 12/20 combos or 60% of his range so I call.
Obviously, my range was way off. His range was QQ+, and that's about it. IF he was capable of 4 betting me with TT+ then I think the hand was played great, but that was a grave error preflop. That should have been an insta fold.
I had something happen today that is kinda bothering me. I went and played cards anyway, and the key is that while I played, I never thought about it. If it had intruded into my thoughts, I would have had to get up and leave. That's the lesson here. IF you're upset about something AND it distracts you at the table, then you shouldn't play. This game is tough enough to play with 100% focus. Anything less is a losing proposition. For me, the game is a way to escape problems for a time and just concentrate on the competition. Not everyone can compartmentalize that way however. So, learn to say no to playing on a particular day.
I'll be playing again on Friday at the Casino. I've played there before. It's a much different game than the ones I'm used to. It's a chance to open up and aggres because the players are a different kind of bad: weak tight.
-$228.
Roll: $881. Can't seem to get over the hump right now. Misplaying hands for stacks may have something to do with it. I'll consider it shaking off rust from the lay off.