Returning to the Live Scene post Black Friday

Well,

Its been a long time since I’ve played in a casino, and a long time since I’ve updated.  The last time I played was at the Redtooth National Finals, and I really felt on top of my game at the time.

What changed since? I made a bankroll error, and tilted off half a bankroll at full tilt.  I’m a moron, but I still feel I’m a solid good player if I can control my emotions.  Took $10 on Pokerstars and busted that to $4.  Wish I could say that was variance but I simply busted $10 from $14 playing cash badly.  I’ve since started grinding 0.25c and occasional 0.50c 45man and 90man MTT’s and enjoying a 40% ROI (rate of investment), and over the last 50 games (yeah, lolsample) I’m up to $33 with a bit of solid cash play supplementing.

But I’m not happy.  I’ve reached a plateau in my game, I’ve grafted, studied, maybe not as hard as I could, but I’m suddenly finding myself confused.  

Life was so much easier when I would happily through 3 streets of value against most players with A10, on a A rag rag board, now my mind is full of negative possibilities, I know 96s is in this idiots range, so on the board of A 8 7, and the turn peels a 5 and they donk bet it… I find myself just wanting to fold…upandcrawlunderthetable.

Now that I am implementing ranges on my villains, I’m having more trouble than ever with the idiot villains, whose range is … EVERYTHING and being very aggro with it.

What is wrong with me, I play this type of player all day everyday in ultramicro MTT’s and have no trouble deciphering their check call, check call, check call range.. its simple, play solid hands, hit flop pretty well, keep betting until they raise, then reevaluate which is usually a fold.  Its probably the most exploitable play style in the world.. but they AREN’T THAT SMART.

So we played in the Circus £1k Freeroll last night, and I ran into this very problem of feeling confused, watching confident players throwing chips around with J8s as if they have done something clever.  I started to doubt myself, maybe they are doing something clever, I am certainly not playing a 5xBB raise with something less than premium… but it seems a bit risky to shove all in, with 25 BB’s from UTG+1 with J8s.. it just … seems… dumb, but its so frustrating, because I know if I do that, they snap call me with A rag or some other rubbish.  What makes them different.

But I can deal with loose aggro players, and loose passive fish, I just need to find the inner confidence I had a few months ago.  I am feeling a little fatigued from work, and that may contribute.

We played the freeroll at Circus casino anyway, and I’ve been agonising over one particular hand.  I raise with AQs and get one caller.  Flop comes down 10 10 9, hard to hit that one directly, and I check call when he bets 66% pot (I should have been c-betting this flop, don’t know why I checked).  Turn is the 8 and I check raise his 350 bet into a pot of 1100 to 900, figuring a lot of hands have to fold, especially bluffs or semi-bluffs with 1 card to come.  He calls and I’m done with the hand, He shows A 10 after check checking river.  

I should definitely C-Bet Flop, he would call, then check raise turn, not the weak way I did it.  Either way, he was going nowhere with A 10.  Also, I don’t need to be playing ‘clever’ at these donkfests.  Especially when my brain is not thinking clever.

I did double up early, checking my BB with A4, flopping the ace, check-calling flop (okay with this with 6 people in the pot, Ace rag doesn’t play great), and spiking 2 pair on turn.  I check raised all-in and he called with A-6(!!)… no idea what he thought he was ahead of, and my shove was risky as I’m far from the nuts but never mind.. woohoo to double up.

I went card dead for a long stretch (about an hour) and ended shoving AQ into the blinds, finally 3 bet all-in with KQ with 7.2 BB’s left.  No problem with playing that tight with no hands, every pot was raised before me, so my spots to steal were just too limited.

Away to Aspers tonight, despite feeling a bit tired now, but I have a gameplan, and hopefully juice my confidence with a solid game.. don’t’ care how I finish.. I just want to stand up feeling good about the game.  I’ll be the happiest guy in the room when I get sucked out on.. I’m getting the money in ahead, and that perhaps is all you can ask for.