... alliteration is fun!
In my last post I wrote that I wished I could be more emotionally detached - that while I no longer got too depressed after a loss, I still got very elated after wins. The truth is that it had been so long since I had a decent size win that I really didn't know if I'd be elated or not. Well, yesterday was my best day ever at a brick and mortar card room and while I was very pleased with the day, the manic elation I have felt in the past was missing. This is a good thing. I don't want to be a poker player that is motivated by chasing adrenalin rushes - that will usually end in tears.
My poker bankroll had dropped to a pitiful $300 and was in danger of evaporating entirely. I briefly considered ignoring the advice of my bankroll manager (wife) and taking the whole amount to the casino, but then I thought the better of it. The best plan was to just take $100 to limit my downside and give myself two more sessions should this trip end as badly as my other recent sessions. And it very nearly did.
Early on I got myself pot-committed with AJo (garlic!) and the flop came Ah 5d 2h. One fellow made a half-pot bet and there was one caller before me. This was a tricky spot because with so many draws on the board I wanted to bet big to protect my hand but I was not at all sure my garlic was the best hand. What to do? I decided to raise it to $40. One guy called and the other re-raised to $100, which made my heart sink. I was pot-committed now, so with a doomed feeling in the pit of my stomach I pushed the remainder of my stack in.
There was further betting between the other two players on the turn and the river, which further convinced me that my hand was no good, however when the dust cleared I saw that player A was chasing a nut flush draw and missed, while player B was holding A4 - top pair with a gut-shot straight draw, which also missed. So my jack kicker held up and I went from $100 to $300 in a heart beat.
Then an hour later lightning struck when I was dealt 33. I really like playing any pocket pair at a loose table, because when players are willing to go all in with hands like two pair or an over-pair, holding a set can win you a monster pot. The trick is you have to flop a set - otherwise you fold. Well on this occasion I flopped quads and what made it even better was that the other card on the flop was a beautiful ace. Sure enough, another fellow had AQ and I just called his two $25 bets on the flop and the turn. He fired another $25 after the river and I re-raised it to $75. He called and I made a tidy profit. Plus the casino paid me $40 for hitting quad 3's. I think I had close to $500 at that point.
Things were getting very loose. Two new guys had joined the table and it seemed they both wanted to become the "table captain", resulting in the game going from $1/$2 NLHE to essentially a $1/$2/$15 game.
(to be continued)
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