Been at the poker table so much over the past week that I struggled to find time to post.
It felt like a months worth of poker though, because I experienced so much over the past week, both the highs and lows of the game (came out with decent profit).
Last Thursday was the first of the trilogy - started the night off getting disgusting cards 8.2 off, 7.2 off, for the first hour or so i grinded it out winning the few hands I did get involved in, patiently awaiting my "Premium Card Run". It came soon enough, because I was so quiet in the beginning it allowed me to keep a tighter style and letting loose occasionally to snatch up the pot with a bluff.
The next Monday, I arranged a session earlier than normal in the week because I'm going on a little vacation with my girlfriend. This was the most frustrating of nights, card dead and unlike the previous session the cards never lightened up for the most part. However there were two 'highlight hands': Middle position AsKs. I preflop and get re-popped by two players; Smelt trouble and folded! The players had a showdown with AA and QQ. I was glad I got out of the way. Another highlight hand was with a board A 4 8 4 J. Showdown on the river saw QUAD 4s vs Bullets [AA]. I thought the Quad 4s played the hand brilliantly and got maximum out of it. I also hit quad Aces on the flop earlier in the night but didn't make much on the hand because nobody hit the board hard enough to pay my quads off. For the rest of the night I busted out on flush draws, got rivered a few times, still cashed but not enough to cover my buy ins. Very disappointed and determined to recover from the dismal performance.
Yesterday afternoon, the boys called an afternoon gathering, we sat on the balcony soaking in the outdoors while we played some serious poker. I started off like house on fire. Literally! Got about 5 full houses in the first hour, and unlike the previous session i was hitting my flush draws. Having established a substantial chip lead early on allowed me to call medium size bets to see a turn card and hit a runner on the river. The poker gods were watching over me - there were times i made a loose call and miracle hit a 2 outer on the river. I crashed out 3 of the 7 players, until we were 4 handed (one more KO till we called it a day). Then a wild unnecessary bluff got me trapped against the 2nd high stack this damaged not only damaged my chips, but my pride and momentum as well. I allowed it to affect me so much that I just tightened my game up so much which rationed my hands and the amount of pots I found myself involved in.
>> The moral of this entire story is that sometimes a slow and steady start is better than an initial quick burst. In day 3 even though i had the majority of the chips it was unnecessary for me to bluff hands, especially with the cards I was getting, I SAW TOO MANY FLOPS. When you experience day 2, don't let it damage your confidence and morale there is no need to reassess your entire style, even the best of pros are card dead and are challenge to win pots.
It is very important to remember that the actual aim of this game is GET MAXIMUM OUT OF WINS, AND KEEP LOSES TO MINIMUM! That's the only way to come out on top!
