Battleship Down

Meh...had a bad day yesterday and lost $300. Basically a SUPER AGG. player who was raising about 6xbb SH almost every hand limped and called my 5xBB raise when I had AQs. Flop came
7d Js Ks and he checked and I bet $15 and he raised to around $70 and I pushed vs his K7o. So I had 12 outs for a straight or flush and if I hit a Ace or Queen on turn I had 17 outs to improve on river. Well none of my outs hit at all, so IGHN.

Only times I seem to hit my draws is when I dont need it. I have been tracking my 12 out draw hands recently and I am so far 7 misses with 3 hits.

Even stevens

Worked it back to even for the week which is always comforting...I hate being down. Still trying out Short Handed (SH) play but this time cutting out some of my donkey aggression with hands like AK and the such. It certainly keeps the juices flowing more than the usual tight as a nun 9/10 man tables.

You can slowplay with a lot more comfort SH and you can also be quite agg. when you suspect the other of holding TP and you have better. TP is basically the nuts and you will be paid off with better unless the board is scary. Bluffing of course becomes a big part of the game now and as long a I use controlled bluffing I will be fine. You can actually be somewhat patient in your agg. betting but you have to keep it steady.

Lets see how I am doing by the end of the week...it can definitely still go either way.

Speaking of volatile...

Playing shorthanded I ran into the downside of this game. Go on a bad run and you can lose a lot of money...a lot! I lost $800 for the day. I donked off about $300 and ran into hands and river suckouts for the rest. I am down about $400 for the week which sux but such is poker. I havent given up on short handed play but I have dropped down to $0.50/$1.00 while I am still learning and you can actually still make good money at this level in a day.

Lets see how this pans out.

I am back!

Its been just over 3 weeks since my last update. The reason was I got down over the state of my run at the tables. March was a tough month and I ended up losing money for that month. Hasnt been an easy slog since but I have recouped and the year is still looking good. I just completed 3 weeks in a row with gains which is most likely the reason I am here again. My nemesis hand at the moment is KK. I shit you not the last 7 times I have had it I have lost every single time, often with all the chips in the middle. The week just been was a see-saw week, I just couldnt get ahead or make it happen and everytime I got my nose in front KK would come along and bust me down. I got tilty/frustrated several times which is what motivated me to change my game. Whenever I get mad I want to play shorthanded so I can play more hands and be more aggressive. This fits the mood I suddenly find myself in. So over Friday, Sat. & Sunday I find myself playing shorthanded games with 1-4 opponents. I turned an even week into an $1100 profit from these games. Although I would lose some big hands I never had a session that I was down in. I believe there was 5 or 6 sessions. I only play 1 table when I do this as I am involved in play so much more and paying attention to your opponents becomes significantly more important. I thoroughly enjoyed the action, the aggression and hitting hands and busting donks. I do my best to avoid anyone I think may be a challenge...why play someone good when there are plenty of donks?

Now one thing I am aware of and have yet to be burnt over is this type of game will be way more volatile than my tight 9/10 man table game. You are pushing harder with less than nut hands. TP is now a strong hand and can be played as such. Hitting a hand can be paid off handsomely as a TP hand is less likely to be folded against you. The key for me was being aggressive PF and on the flop but knowing when to fold. So far it has worked out and I will continue to try it out for this week. Definitely a more active game and if I get good at it I will two table and I think there is a greater opportunity to win money quicker. Downside is I will also lose money a lot quicker too. I have already lost plenty of $200 hands, luckily I always recovered. I can certainly see my self losing a bundle in any given day...ah well. Going to give it a shot. Wish me luck.