When I started this blog I said I would make it a true and honest report on how to win or lose money at this great game.
Well today was certainly a lesson in how to lose that money.
I could therefore make this post one of moans of bad beats and how unlucky I have been but I am not yet sure that is the case.
The day started with my usual $200 buy in at the tropicana for an afternoon session. The table was great fun and I certainly played my normal game. I cashed out at a loss of $100, mainly due to my KK (which I held 3 times in the session) not holding up. Once I had to fold it in the face of what I thought must have been a set, or just very good play by my opponent. And twice when it went to showdown against the short stack and the short stacks won. The rest of my game I felt I played well and didn't have too many dramas or tough decisions to make. I also am happy about the fact that when 3 players decended on the table (locals I recognise from playing here last march) I realised I was going to be outclassed by these sharks and left with what was left of my stack in tact.
After an afternoon break Dave and Len wanted to play a tournament at Ceasars Palace so I thought I would go along and join the cash tables there. This has got to be one of the best card rooms on the strip. It is light and airy and the full ring table is a 9 player max which gives lots of space to relax and play.
Ceasars only hold their minimum game at $1/$3 with a max buy in of $500. I bought in for my usual $200 and played fairly solid. After approx 2Hrs I had got my buy in up to about $375 and should have cashed out there and then, but Len and Dave were still in the tournament and I was having so much fun on a table that I was beating. This was to be the mistake of the day as my hard earned profits were to be blown apart.
The full $375 went on a hand where I held top set KKK. Yes it was those kings again but not in the pocket this time. I held KJ suited on the button and was able to limp in for $3. When the flop came KKT (no helping suits) I put a pot bet in. This was re raised and I re re raised only to be faced by an all in by my opponent. I was looking at a call $195 into a pot of what was now about $550. So I was either facing K with a better kicker, K with a worse kicker or TT. I ruled out TT as the player I felt would not have limped in pre flop as he was first to enter the pot after a couple of early position folds. So now I felt I was facing a 50/50 decision on a nearly 3-1 proposition, I liked those odds so gave the call. He did hold TT and the monster pot was his.
I re loaded another $200 and played again for another 1/2 hour or so building it to about $250 when I got 78 spades in the BB and it limped around to me. The flop came 2d7h8h. I pot bet and got heads up with one caller. The turn came a Kc and I pot bet again to be re raised ... I pushed all in and he spent an age wondering whether to call. Call he did holding K8 for a better two pair.
At this point, tired and stunned I decided to call it a day for today.
Lessons to be learnt ....
I am not too sure just yet, my mind is still spinning and I am still wondering about what my table image was and whether that induced some of the play I fell foul to. Should I be folding top set? Should I be pushing all in on bottom 2 pair?
Who knows?
If it were right to fold in those two costly positions then I may well have saved myself somewhere in the region of $200 - $300. But I am supposed to win sometimes in those positions too. I would like some comments.
So time to pick my self up, dust down and back into the fray. I am limiting my buy in to just $200 tomorrow. I don't feel like I'm tilting but just in case I will just try to pay more attention to the game and play my normal strategies.
So until then here are those horrible figures:
10 years ago
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