Some Progress

I played about 200 hands of $0.50/$1.00 limit, Saturday morning and made some progress. I think I played pretty well. I seem to play better in the mornings and afternoons than in the evenings. I didn't make too many huge mistakes. Out of the 12 pots I won, 11 of them were more than $4.00.

The most I lost on one hand was $7.50. I really should have dumped that hand sooner, but the pot was very large. I called with ATo in late position. The flop was KJJ, the turn was a nine and the river was another Ace. It turns out I was up against JJ and AK. That one hurt. I should have realized I was beat on the river and folded my hand instead of calling those raises.

The biggest pot I won was $12.50 with a pair of aces. I re-raised pre-flop after an early position player raised. I raised again on the flop of 6h, 3d, Jh. At this point I was worried the the original pre-flop raiser might have had a pair of Jacks. The turn and river cards were 5c and 2s. I bet on both the turn and the river after he checked to me. He only called my bets instead of check-raising them so I figured my aces were still good. I was correct and my opponent was holding a pair of tens.

I ended up winning $15.13. I also finished off the required raked hands for my reload bonus and earned a $15.00 bonus. I am hoping to play a couple of sessions this weekend. Hopefully, I will be able to play well and get good cards.

Current Bankroll: $217.53

I'm A Loser, Baby

I played a couple hundred hands of $0.50/$1.00 limit Hold'em on Party Poker Wednesday night and I did not do very well at all. I lost another $18.00. I played poorly and made several bad decisions. The first bad decision probably was to play in the evening in the first place. I don't think I play as well in the evenings as I do in the mornings or afternoons. That means I will have to limit my playing to the weekends.

I won 12 hands but most of them were small pots that did not go to showdown and it was not enough to offset my losses.

The most I lost on one hand was $5.50 with a pair of kings against a pair of aces early in the session. I re-raised before the flop after the player to my left raised. He capped the betting pre-flop and I had a feeling I was screwed. But apparently that feeling did not last and I stayed in to see the river and the aces. The flop was 6AJ. I had the opportunity to fold right there but didn't. Then I got really stupid on the turn and bet after 'Mr. Three Aces' checked and then raised. I could have saved several bets my folding my kings on the flop.

The biggest pot I won was $9.25. I called under the gun with AJo. A player in middle position raised and I called again. The flop was AJ4, I bet and then called a raise by the middle position player. I bet and was called on both the flop and turn after a King and a three. The other player had AQ. Then the very next hand I posted the BB and was dealt AJs. I checked after only UTG called. The flop was AJ7, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I bet the flop, the turn (9) and the river (Q). UTG raised on the river and I almost re-raised but after taking some time to think only called. UTG flipped over AQo and took most of my winning from the previous hand.

Later I got very lucky and won a $7.00 pot when I thought I had an open-ended straight draw and had 8 outs, when in fact I only had 4 and did not have the odds to call. One of the 4 cards I needed came on the flop and my straight beat out a pair of nines. The dude I beat seemed to be pretty pissed and he had a right to be. Too bad he didn't have any money left after that hand, maybe he would have tilted and I could have won some more money off of him. He told me 'Nice catch' on his way out.

I plan to play again on Saturday morning. Hopefully I will play better in the morning and leave the table with more money than I brought. So far this limit is kicking my tail.

Current Bankroll: $182.90

Playing With My Own Money Now

I got an reload bonus email from Party Poker this weekend. The deal was 15% up to $75. I deposited $100 that I had stuck back for this reason and I have to play 150 raked hands to earn the $15 bonus in the next seven days. It shouldn't be too hard to earn. This is the first time I have deposited any of my own money at a poker site. Hopefully I can learn to win at the $0.50/$1.00 limit before it is all gone.

I played a couple of sessions over the weekend. One Friday night on Royal Vegas and one on Party Poker on Saturday morning. I did not do too well in either of those sessions. At the $0.05/0$.10 limit on Royal I lost about $0.60. Then I lost $10.00 on Party Poker playing the $0.50/$1.00 limit. I won a few hands but stayed in to long on too many losing hands. I will post some of the hand histories tomorrow.

Swimming With The Sharks

I played a couple of sessions on Saturday. The first one on Saturday morning, on Royal Vegas. I hadn't played Royal Vegas in a month. I played over 100 hands of .05/.10 limit. I hadn't really planned on playing Saturday morning but I wanted to experiment after reading some stuff on the 2+2 forums about playing micro limits. I did pretty well. I ended up winning $0.51 for the session. I made a few bad decisions early in the session and was down almost $2.00 after 40 hands, but I starting getting some pretty good cards and won several pots to get ahead. Right now I have $7.90 of the $10.00 Royal Vegas gave me in June to start playing. I probably should spend more time on Royal Vegas and try and win some more, but the problem is that there are not a lot of .05/.10 limit players on there so it is tough to find a good game at that level.

Saturday afternoon I took my first plunge into the non-beginner tables on Party Poker and did not do very well. I played a couple of hours of $0.50/$1.00 limit and lost $16.25. I made some pretty costly errors, but I don't feel like I played terribly.

I started off the session with a win, when I won my first hand after posting the BB. I was dealt 64o and checked after 3 people and the SB called. The flop was 35J, the SB bet, I called and one other person called. The turn was a 7, and I raised after the SB came out betting. I bet again on the river after the SB checked, he called and I won $9.50 with my straight. The SB had J9o. 64o vs. J9o

Then I lost $4.50 a few hands later after being dealt a pair of queens and a player with a pair of fives hit another 5 on the turn and made a full house. I probably should have folded that sooner, I was pretty sure I was beaten after I had called a bet and then there was a raise behind me.

I lost another $6.50 after flopping a two pair, Kings and Jacks, with an Ace on the board. I really should not have put in that raise on the turn. I really misplayed that hand and payed for my mistake.

The most I won on one hand was $12.75 late in the session after being dealt a pair of queens in the SB. The board was 45688 and my opponent had AKo. Then I lost some of it two hands later when I was dealt a pair of tens and ended making an ace high flush but was beat out by a higher kicker.

Even though I won 12 hands during that session, it was the hands that I lost with that defined the session. I didn't play very well and I held on to losing hands too long. I will have to be more careful the next time I play. I am going to start reading Small Stakes Hold'em and concentrate on improving my play after the flop. I still have a lot to learn.

Right now I have $87.70 of the $100 that Instant Bankroll and Party Poker gave me to get started in October.