It’s been a couple of weeks since my last update due to Mother’s Day being last Sunday. Well I’m still alive and kicking, but have taken a serious hit. The past two weeks have gone from me thinking I’m a poker genius to being a poker moron. As of the last update Poker Sundays – Win Money I was up $751 from the initial $200 investment. A couple of days after that post I hit a high of $1770 and then it all fell apart. I think these are the times that really make a difference between being a poker pro and an amateur. I was now playing at the $5/$10 and $10/$20 limit tables and I was still playing good starting hands, but I could not catch any cards on the flop. Players knew that I was only playing with good cards and would intentionally call my raises with inferior cards knowing that if an Ace for King didn’t land on the flop they could bet at me and force me to fold. It seemed as though I was constantly getting good starting cards, but my opponents were hitting cards on the table and I quickly lost $500.
I continued to play my style of Texas Hold’em and continued to lose. My logic was that in the long run good cards are going to beat bad cards and my luck would turn around. It didn’t happen. This past Thursday I found myself with only $230 left in my account. I had had enough. I decided Friday morning that my losing streak would end. So what did I do differently? Nothing! I continued to believe that good starting hands will beat bad starting hands. I moved down to the $2/$4 limit tables because that’s what my bankroll dictated and I played the same way I’ve been playing all along. As of today I find myself winning again, not as much as before, but winning and that is good news.
Hand of the Week
The hand of the week goes back to when I was on my winning streak. I was playing a $5/$10 limit table and found myself with a pair of Jacks as my hole cards. A very good starting hand, but very dangerous. Anyone with a Queen, King, or Ace could easily beat me so it is a tough hand to play in terms of aggression. There were 6 people at the table and I was in an early position so I raised. Everyone folded except for the player second to the button. He re-raised me. I called and saw the flop come 3, 6, J. A tremendous flop for me and I slow played it not wanting to scare him off. I checked and the other player bet… exactly what I wanted. I raised him and he re-raised me. This told me that he probably has an over pair like QQ, KK, or AA or at worst AJ. I called wanting to keep him on the hook. The turn showed another J. I had four of a kind and knew that I couldn’t be beat. I checked, he bet, I called again not wanting him to get scared. The last card was a 9. I bet, thinking he might check if I checked first, and he called to see me sitting with 4 Jacks. A great hand for me, but really had more to do with the other player’s aggression then my card playing. It was a lucky hand.
Tip of the Week – Going on Tilt
You might have heard this term before, but going on tilt means that you have probably just had a bad beat and you are so angry you lost the hand that steam is coming out of your ears. Often when a player goes on tilt they play the next hand very aggressively regardless of their cards and usually end up losing all their money. If you are playing online and someone catches a miracle card on the river, hit the Sit Out button and skip the next couple of hands to regain your composure. You’ll end up saving a boat load of money and the other players will recognize you as a player that can’t be taken advantage of.
Previous Balance: $951
Current Balance: $506
Profit/Loss: – $445
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