Up, down and sideways

Luck can be fickle in poker. Sometimes you have the best of it and you lose other times you’re way behind and you hit runner runner. That’s the nature of the game. You have to take the good with the bad and learn to deal with it.

Other times you’re just breaking even. Take this hand for example. I got real lucky here:

Full Tilt Poker, $0.50/$1 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

MP1: $58.50
MP2: $18
Hero (CO): $94.70
BTN: $46.55
SB: $99.90
BB: $113.20
UTG: $58
UTG+1: $99

Pre-Flop: Q K dealt to Hero (CO)
2 folds, MP1 raises to $3, MP2 folds, Hero calls $3, 2 folds, BB calls $2

Flop: ($9.50) Q Q 8 (3 Players)
BB checks, MP1 checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($9.50) 4 (3 Players)
BB bets $4, MP1 raises to $17, Hero raises to $91.70 and is All-In, BB folds, MP1 calls $38.50 and is All-In

River: ($124.50) 4 (2 Players – 1 is All-In)

Results: $124.50 Pot ($3 Rake)
MP1 showed A Q (a full house, Queens full of Fours) and WON $60.75 (+$2.25 NET)
Hero showed Q K (a full house, Queens full of Fours) and WON $60.75 (+$2.25 NET)

I’m cruising along and I’m up over $40. These stakes are kinda of high for my bankroll but I’ve been playing these stakes once in awhile especially when I’m feeling my game is on.

I have K/Q suited in the cutoff. Not such a bad hand but one that could get me into trouble. I’m facing an EP standard raise and I call. Most of the time I might be raising in this instance but you have to mix it up so I just flat call this time.

I hit the flop hard but I’m not out of the woods just yet but I’m looking good there are only a few hands that can beat me right now. BB checks, EP checks and I check also.

The turn is a 4 of hears which puts a flush draw out there. I get a raise and a re-raise. I push and the original raiser calls.

Once he calls, I know I’m beat, either he has A/Q or 88 and I’m almost drawing dead. Lucky for me the 4 hits the river and we chop. I leave soon after with my profits and breathe a sigh of relief (funny how luck can help you, ruin you or save you in poker).

I still have a urge to play so I drop down in stakes and continue to play. I get this hand fairly early on…

Full Tilt Poker, $0.25/$0.50 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

MP1: $80.40
MP2: $91.05
CO: $10
BTN: $19.50
SB: $155.25
BB: $58.05
Hero (UTG): $51.80
UTG+1: $49.50

Pre-Flop: T 8 dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero calls $0.50, 5 folds, SB calls $0.25, BB checks

Flop: ($1.50) T 3 T (3 Players)
SB bets $1.30, BB folds, Hero calls $1.30

Turn: ($4.10) Q (2 Players)
SB bets $2.80, Hero calls $2.80

River: ($9.70) 8 (2 Players)
SB bets $5, Hero raises to $10, SB calls $5

Results: $29.70 Pot ($1.45 Rake)
SB mucked T 2 (three of a kind, Tens) and LOST (-$14.60 NET)
Hero showed T 8 (a full house, Tens full of Eights) and WON $28.25 (+$13.65 NET)

I like playing these one gap suited connectors in short handed games, it seems to me that I can win some big pots by playing these hands cheaply. In this situation I limp in UTG and get the SB and BB to play.

I slowplay this hand all the way and I wind up winning a decent pot.

So I’m playing two tables and I’m doing pretty well on my 50NL tables but my 25NL table I’m struggling.

I wind up playing this hand very poorly:

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

SB: $8.55
Hero (BB): $19.55
UTG: $36.05
MP: $46.65
CO: $54.25
BTN: $68.90

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (BB)
2 folds, CO raises to $0.50, BTN calls $0.50, SB folds, Hero calls $0.25

Flop: ($1.60) 7 T J (3 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks, BTN checks

Turn: ($1.60) 8 (3 Players)
Hero bets $1.60, CO calls $1.60, BTN folds

River: ($4.80) K (2 Players)
Hero bets $4.80, CO calls $4.80

Results: $14.40 Pot ($0.70 Rake)
Hero showed J J (three of a kind, Jacks) and LOST (-$6.90 NET)
CO showed A Q (a straight, Ace high) and WON $13.70 (+$6.80 NET)

I opt to flat call my JJ while on the BB. This is a little weak but I’m hoping to disguise my hand.

It works as I hit my set but I wind up playing this hand very very poorly and I feel that I wasted a good opportunity to win this pot. I also feel that I played this too passively and allowed the villain to catch up big time.

This was a funny session. Proof that luck can save you or screw you on any given hand. In this case, I get lucky on the first hand and break even, I get lucky on the 2nd hand and make a modest profit and I get unlucky (more like I played that hand like crap) and lose.

I wind up being up for the session (about $50) so I’m happy with the result but I wonder if multi-tabling tables with different limits is such a good idea.