Hella Hold'em

Besides my nose, I've discovered a bit of a leak in my play lately. My stats don't show it; my VPIP in PokerTracker is right where I want it, and I've begun concentrating on my post-flop aggression as opposed to obsessing over preflop aggression. It has been working.

BUT...

I'm getting involved in some hands I shouldn't from bad position. The Negreanu favorites have leaked into my favorites (T-8s, 9-7s, low to mid suited connectors), and I'm playing them from early and mid position. Not usually the best plan. I shouldn't even play them from late position if there aren't already a few limpers in the pot. I'm not going to stop playing those hands altogether, as they're my "mix it up" hands (if you've seen me play, I'm a bit rock-like), but I need to be more wise in when I choose to play them. To my credit, I've been very good with counting odds and outs, and only chase viable draws when I have odds to do so with those hands.
However...

Another leak: I'm being too optimistic sometimes in my counting of outs. If there are 2 of a suit onboard, and a bunch of people in the pot, I need to consider the chance that my out of that suit is not really an out. Same with all coordinated boards. I'm not properly discounting my outs based on flop texture, and I think it's leading to some chasing that shouldn't be going on. I've also been lured into chasing overcards - such as, I hold KQs on a board of 2-5-10, and I'll call a small bet to see the turn. Granted, on an uncoordinated board, sometimes I'll have odds to do this (6 outs to top pair/good kicker), BUT... I have to avoid doing this on coordinated boards, and when I am heads-up and don't have appropriate odds to call the small bet.

I've also concluded that I must play a minimum of 3 tables when playing online - preferably 4. Otherwise, I end up surfing the web, or reading a book, or watching TV in between hands, and for some reason, that's when I start chasing and making bad decisions. With 4 tables open, I am required to be completely absorbed in the games I'm playing, and I tend to make better decisions. From now on, when I'm playing poker, I'M PLAYING POKER. End of story.

I'm so excited at how well I played yesterday (ran up $100 profit at 1/2 limit, to boot) that I kind of want to just play online today. However, Empress calls out to me, her wiley ways luring me back to the felt. How lovely it is to shuffle chips, watch people, and marvel at all of the fishy Sunday afternoon goodness that can only be a 5/10, 11-handed game at Empress.

Off I go. Here's to plugging those leaks and playing my best game!