How Theresa Won Her Groove Back

I feel like I’m hitting my stride.  Things are starting to settle down, at least enough that I can focus on fewer things.  That makes it easier to get enough sleep and play poker well.

At first I started playing two four hour sessions each day.  It didn’t take long to realize that it was too much.  After about the 3rd hour I’m getting anxious, looking at the clock and being distracted.  I was winning the most during the first 2 hours, and then losing focus and concentration during the last 2 hours.  Mathematically, I just wanted to get as much poker in as I could – my average win rate is right about $25/hour – about $30+ at the $8/$16 tables.  So I just wanted to put as much time in as I could to build up my bankroll, and of course, to pay the bills.

Then it occurred to me that I don’t need to put that much time in at the tables.  As I mentioned, I’m winning the most during the first 2 hours – usually a lot more than $25 or $30 per hour.  If I’m losing and becoming frustrated during the first 2 hours then it doesn’t make a lot of sense to stay for the entire 4 hours while I’m on tilt, so that’s a reason to leave and limit my losses.  If I’ve tripled up during the first 2 hours (that seems to be a common theme) and I’m anxiously watching the clock waiting for my “shift” to end – there’s no reason to stay.

Yesterday I only played for 1 hour, 45 minutes at the $8/$16 tables.  I was up $297 and decided that it was enough.  Besides, it was a beautiful, sunny day and I wanted to put the top down on my car and enjoy it.  I probably could have stayed at the tables longer, but after losing focus I could easily have lost my sugar, too.

So instead of averaging $25 or $30 per hour playing long sessions, I’m thinking I’ll average more on an hourly basis, but will play fewer hours.  And the more I do this, the longer I’ll be able to play.  My goal is to always be on my A game when I’m at the tables.  Especially when this is my only source of income!

So if you’ve read some of my past articles, you know I love to talk about hands I’ve played.  Yesterday I ended up heads-up against another player who I know to be a professional.  He’s good enough that I don’t want to push a small margin with him; I want to make sure I’m either drawing to a big hand, or have something big to start with.  Not that I won’t try to bluff him.  I’m pretty sure I know what will make him think about folding, and I’ll certainly take advantage of that if the scenario presents itself.  But, on the whole I want to show down with something of quality against better players.

I limp in middle position with a couple of callers before me, after looking down at King, 9 of Clubs.  My professional friend is on the button and raises.  I know that his range of raising hands from late position is pretty wide.  He could be holding the obvious – any pocket pair, Ace King, Ace Queen, well, Ace anything to be honest.  He’s not above raising for value with marginal hands like suited connectors or Ace-X suited.

As you would expect, all the limpers call, including myself.  The flop is perfect for me.  10, Jack, Queen – rainbow (meaning they’re all different suits, making a draw to a flush a long-shot).  I have a King high straight.  The action is checked to me, and I decide to slow-play and see how my professional friend likes this flop.  Everyone checks to him and he bets.  I believe there were 6 of us in the pot, and 3 of us call the bet.  I’m going to wait for the turn and spring my trap on one of the expensive streets.

The turn is a 6 of Clubs – basically a blank that probably doesn’t help anybody.  There are now 2 Clubs on the board meaning I now have a draw to a flush, along with my straight on the flop.  Again, I check with the intent of raising.  My friend bets, and when the action comes around to me I raise.  My friend reraises!  By this point the action is down to the 2 of us – the other 2 players have folded by this time.  I believe my friend flopped a set, but there is something even more ominous – if he has Ace King, he has a bigger straight.  With the flush draw I have to push this one, so I decide to reraise and he calls.

I feel like I’m in the situation I’m trying to avoid; except his raise on the button could have been anything.  I can just as easily put him on a set as I can Ace King.  Basically, Ace King is the only hand I’m really worried about at this point, so I’m not worried.  Yet.

The river is another 6.  My stomach turns over and I wanted to throw up.  If I’m right that my friend flopped a set and the board just paired, he has a better hand than mine – a full house.  That, combined with the ominous Ace King possibility, I’m feeling very sick.  I check, he bets – looking pretty confident in his hand at this point, and I call, saying “nice hand.”

He turns over Ace 6 suited!  He turned a pair of 6s, and rivered 3 of a kind – but, not enough to beat the straight that I flopped.  He asks, why didn’t you raise me on the river?  I said geez, I thought maybe you flopped a set the way you raised on the turn.  When I left, he caught me in the parking lot and said that I scare him – I love hearing that.  He thought I was just trying to get him to fold with a straight draw.

This is great to hear – not necessarily because I “scare” a professional, but because it means I’m bluffing just enough to put my opponents, especially the observant ones, on edge.  I’m showing down quality hands most of the time, but there’s enough uncertainty that I’m still getting action enough to get paid off.

Positive Changes

This blog seems to have become a chronicle of my journey to the World Series.  I have a lot to learn, and writing these blog entries helps me to sort out the lessons I’m learning, and try to apply them to my own experiences.  I’m very fortunate to have a friend who is very good at poker; he’s somebody I can bounce ideas off of, and who is honest with me about my game.  I need to give him a name, if for no other reason than I can refer to him here without giving away his real name.  So I’m going to call him “The Consigliere” since it refers to someone in the mob who is considered an advisor.  (Honest; look it up!  Pronounce it?  Heck I can’t pronounce that, what do you think I am, Italian?)

So my friend, the Consigliere and I talked today at length about my game.  I asked several questions about playing the players, as opposed to playing only on the strength of my hand.  Now most of this information I already knew; I had just gotten into the habit of not using the information.  One reason is because it is much more difficult to “play the player” in $3-$6 than in higher stakes because it’s often so cheap to call a bet or raise.  Still, you can exploit others’ weaknesses if you pay attention.

I can’t remember which it was, but in one of the books I’ve read, I believe it was Phil Helmuth who talked about improving his limit game, when he realized that one of the people he admired, tried to win every pot he was in.  In other words, I believe he meant that it isn’t enough to rely on the strength of your own hand; rather, when opportunities presented themselves, or using creative means of protecting your strong hands, you can win more pots.

I can honestly say that tonight I won far more pots than I normally would have had I played my hands solely on the strength of the cards I held.  It felt great, too.  Of course it helped that I was up $390 after buying in for only $100.  Some of that was because of strong hands more than skill.  Some also had to do with stealing pots when the opportunity presented itself, or even playing marginal hands against opponents who, more than likely were behind.

As an example, during one hand I was in the big blind, and held 8 of Spades, 3 of Clubs.  It was raised from early position by someone who I believed was on tilt.  After 5 people called and it came to me, it was only $3 more to see the flop and potentially win $42.  That’s certainly worth calling an extra $3.

The flop came 8 of Diamonds, 2 of Clubs, 4 of Spades.  I checked from early position (big blind) and the man in seat 5, who was on tilt, bet out.  3 people called, and I raised.  Tilt called, 2 people folded, and one called.  So now it’s down to the 3 of us.  I felt that if I could get it down to only me and Tilt, I would have a good chance at winning this pot.

The turn came with the 8 of Hearts.  Wow.  I now have top set, and am very likely ahead.  I only have to worry about the person who isn’t on tilt holding the 8 of Clubs with a better kicker.  My 3 would almost certainly not hold up if that were the case.  At about that time I overheard the person directly to my left exclaim in a whisper to the person next to him on his left “I folded the best hand!”  Wow what a juicy little bit of information for me!  I was almost certain he had folded an 8, which meant I didn’t really have to worry about my kicker; unless my opponent had made another set, and was holding a full-house, I was good.  And he did not appear to have had a full-house.  He had the appearance of somebody who was hoping his pair was good, but almost certainly feared the two eights on the board.

The river was a King, and I can’t remember the suit.  I bet out, Tilt folded, and I could see that the last person seemed to like the King.  He hadn’t raised preflop, so I couldn’t put him on a set of Kings which would have required him to have pocket Kings.  Most likely he hit the King to make 2 pair.  He looked at the board, looked back at me, and even asked if I had an 8.  I told him it would cost him $6 to see and just watched him make his decision.  He said “just in case, I call.”  I showed my 8-3 offsuit and said “Big blind junk hit!”  He flashed a King and mucked his other card with a sigh.

It felt so good stacking those chips.  In a way it felt like the table had reached right out and handed me those chips.  I only played for a couple of hours, but felt like I was on my “A” game for the night.  I needed a winning night; the past few nights had been almost demoralizing.

As far as finding ways to play the player, I found about an hour into the session that I had won every showdown I had played; somebody at the table had even voiced their respect for my play, so I decided to use that to my advantage.  At one point I held King Queen offsuit, and limped in from middle-to-late position.  The flop came Ace, Queen, 10 (I can’t remember the suits).  I check/raised the flop, and led the betting on every round like I either had the straight that the board afforded.  On the river I had gotten it down to one other person, who flashed two pair:  Aces and Tens, and then folded saying “nice straight.”

I didn’t show my hand; the plan was to represent the straight from the start, and try to push somebody with an Ace out of the pot.  I was extremely lucky that it worked in that situation.  I honestly think my opponent should have called on the river with two pair – actually, considering the size of the pot he should have called with an Ace!  But again, I tried very hard to capitalize on mistakes like that to my benefit.

And it worked!

I feel like I’ve broken through a barrier that has held me back.  It feels like I’ve brought my game to a new level.  I have a lot more to learn, but this has really helped.

Okay enough about that.  It feels good to have a winning night again.  It feels even better to have tried to learn to improve my game, to actively find the holes and patch them.

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