Hella Hold'em

I'm having a hard time playing offsuit ragged Aces. Like - not as in, I'm losing with them - as in, I keep folding them preflop. A9 offsuit even, unless I'm in the button or cutoff.

I don't know what the deal is. I guess it will run its course. At least I'm not getting out-kicked.

After last night's little knockdown, I kept at it. Plugged away, did not tilt, did not cry... and in the hour following, reversed the damage and logged off in the black.

It felt good.

I'd love to play now, but alas, I must leave for work.

One of the areas with which I'm feeling some growing pains is in the whole "big hands, big pots - small hands, small pots" theory. Well, not in the theory itself, but in the re-classification of hand values in a deep-stack cash game (as opposed to a tourney where the blinds are a greater portion of your stack, and always rising). It can be perfectly appropriate to push all in preflop with a premium pair or even AK, but deep stacked in a cash game - well, I'm still adjusting to the fact that overpairs, top pair, two pair - even trips don't constitute hands that you really want to be playing with any majority of your stack at risk.

I took one on the chin tonight and it kinda stings a little. My opponent "followed all the rules" so to speak - he did everything perfectly to make me think what he wanted me to think. And I did. And in the process, I pot committed myself with top pair, top kicker (turned into trips on the river, where I fell into the trap and took the lead betting, and was too far in to give it up to a min-raise).

Was conscious of the fact that the pot was getting too big for a TPTK hand - it DID cross my mind. But online, so many things fly through my head, and sometimes I only truly consider what I'd thought AFTER a play is made. The pace is fast and frenzied, even with only a couple tables up. So, I acted first, considered later - and lost a little chunk. It stings a bit.

However, I know what I did wrong, and I will consider my errors while SLOWING DOWN next time...

In other news, I'm trying out Poker Copilot for the Mac. There's really no good (and currently supported) poker tracking/HUD software out there for the Mac, since Poker Tracker appears that they will NEVER get their Mac version out the door... until I found this gem. It's working well and gives me everything I need. I'll carry out the trial but this one is a likely purchase.

My dear friend Poker. I neglected thee in 2008. I have foregone the usual "new year's resolution" post, for several reasons. First of all, there is not much to look back on in 2008, save for a few random sessions online. No real study of the game. No diligent practice at my game. No real substance to my poker life.

To kick off 2009, though, I got sparked. The annual Trojan Wars game (for which I beg forgiveness for failing to produce a proper write-up... I just wasn't in the mood to take notes!) got me back into the swing of things, thinking about poker, studying my game, and really jonesing to play.

I placed 8th out of 30-something people at the Trojan Wars game, 2 paces from the Holy Land. I would not have done anything differently. I'm generally not a fan of rebuy tournaments, though I'm also generally not a fan of passing up live game opportunities. The rebuy portion of the tourney was the usual donkified push-fest, and the freeze-out portion had incredibly fast-raising blind levels (moreso in amount than time, but I'm not a fan of 15 minute levels, either). But, as a rebuy, it is what it is, and like I said, I wouldn't change anything in my play really. It's still one of my favorite games to play at, as Ryan runs a well organized ship and I can give a hearty thumbs-up to the food and drink and snackage.

I've been reading a bit and playing a little on the ring game side on Full Tilt lately. I have discovered that over the past year, my game has morphed a bit. In some ways, I wouldn't recognize it (though you'll never see me going off on some LAG-fest... it just ain't in me!) I like what it has been lately.

I read Negreanu's part in his collection-of-players poker book, Power Hold'em Strategy. I haven't read the rest of the book, but most of it did not get good reviews. I love Daniel, but this one is probably better saved for a read over a coffee while sitting at the book store.

I have to say, I've gotten the most little brain-nuggets from Gus Hansen's "Every Hand Revealed." I certainly don't play as loose-aggressive as he does, but there's math behind his style and that's what I identify with. I may even read it again for good measure - and I'd have paid twice as much as it cost for the book. Good read.

I'm also reading Harrington on Cash Games Vol I.  I'm finding that he makes some arguments I hadn't considered before, and some of those have made it to the table with me. Maybe his books are so dense that they need to be read more slowly.  That could be.

So, with all of this renewal of interest in poker (and with some much-needed reorganization of finances and - well, I got a couple more jobs to bring in more money), I've booked my first poker-centric trip to Vegas in... forever. It has been years! I will be heading out there over spring break, March 24-27. If anybody will be around, give me a holler. My cell phone number has changed since the last time I was in Vegas but email is the same - drop me a line or twitter me and I'll give you the new digits. I plan to play a lot of poker that week! And if I come home profitable, you might just see me at the next blogger event :P

Tomorrow's the big game, the annual Trojan Wars. I'm not quite sure the last time I played real, honest-to-goodness live poker - probably at last year's Trojan Wars game, since Scott stopped hosting the Diamond games (or I stopped getting invited? I haven't heard of any games, anyway).

I've done a lot of reading in the past few weeks. Some of it is brushing up, some of it is new takes on old ideas. I'm running a single table sit n go right now before bed on Full Tilt Poker. I'll probably run a couple more tomorrow. Warm-up's.

Hmmm. I wonder if my iPod earbuds are in the center console of my car. Somebody remind me to check before the game.

A lot of people with Iron Man badges on FTP seem to be... idiots. Well, I'm sure as humans they're just fine, but, I mean, they seem to make idiotic poker plays. Is it just me?

And what if you're an Iron Wo-man?

Har har har! I crack myself up :)

I prefer to play using the "confused" goldfish face (my avatar on Full Tilt)... not so much because I'm confused (though sometimes that is true... moves at these low levels can be truly baffling!) but mostly because I think that's the cutest version of the goldfish.

Refreshing my math in between hands...

I love when a flop takes all of the guesswork out of the game. FOLD!

Hmm. Didn't fare so well in that first one. I'm trying some stuff that's a little out there for me, but oddly that's not where I'm losing my chips. One more before bed.

I really wish Poker Tracker would come out for Mac. It's been rumored forever, but, sigh... looks like never.

Probably shouldn't have started this 2nd run... brain is getting tired... until next time...