Subdued Session
So I took my usual trip to the Muck last night to get in a little poker action. The big game in Seattle $150/300 was going again. This is becoming a regular gig in Seattle to my surprise, but was full when I got there(again?). I got a late start yesterday because of work so I had to work my way up the fish ladder to get into the game. I almost did not go yesterday as I was tired, but I went anyway.
I was actually having fun playing in the lower limit games as I was walking up to the big game. I started in $10/20 and was just goofing around in the game. It is amazing, now that I have been playing almost exclusively above $100/200 for the last two months both in LA and Seattle, how easy that game seems to be. Super easy to read, and really soft action games. I really had fun in that game. I then moved to the $20/40 game and played with a few friends that I have not had the opportunity to play with in a while. Two friends from LA who are in town for a bit were in that game. That game was fun too. I made a few more dollars and went to the $50/100 game. That game was good. Some good players mixed in with a bunch of weak ones. Most of the sharks have all moved to the $150/300 game so that left this game with most of the weaker players that want to play big, but not that big. I had control of the table, was able to bluff and make moves and was feeling really good about my game. I actually thought about staying in that game, but I wanted to see if I could make some real money and took my seat in the $150/300 game when it opened up. The game was only full for about 30 minutes after I got there. We busted two people and one quit and soon we were 5 handed.
I went just absolutely card dead in that game. Up to that point I was feeling good, but when I got in that game I was feeling really passive and subdued. The mood was exacerbated by the fact that I was getting nothing to play and there was one player who was just raising every pot and playing 75% of his hands. The problem was he was hitting them as well. Every time I picked a spot to play he would either suck out on the flop and I would dump or he would river me and I would lose a big pot. I tried a number of things to change my luck, took walks, changed seats to the direct left of the aggressive player to get position and isolate, but nothing worked. I could just not get any hands to play. I gave back what money I had made in the fish ladder, $1,000, and then some more. Right at the end of my night a complete fish player sat in the game and short bought in for $1500. He proceed to lose that in one pot. Then he short bought in again for only $500 and lost that in a pot with 9 high. Of course not to me, as I was not in either of those pots. I then picked up JJ in MP and he had raised in EP, I three bet and he called. Flop came 10 high, he checked I bet, turn a middle card like a 7 or 9 and he checked, I bet, river an A. He checked and I bet again. He showed me A,8, for the three outer. He may have picked up a gutshot draw on the turn, but I am not positive. Either way, that was the last straw. It was not going to be my day so I packed it in early.
One other aspect to this game is that it is not all that much fun. I was having fun at the lower limits but at the $150/300 limit there is too much pressure. There is too much money on the line and I don't like swinging $5000 a night on a normal variance. Hell if you have a standard large variance night of down 30BB you lose $9,000. Not fun, not really what I am looking for on a weekly basis. I may not even play in that game next week. I may just stay in the $50/100 game as that is big enough and I can have fun at that level, like I was last night until I moved games. So final tally another bad night of -$5,947 which puts me back into the red for the year. Crap now I have to start digging myself out again. Hope you are all winning. Talk to you soon, I can smell the WSOP from here....SJ
I was actually having fun playing in the lower limit games as I was walking up to the big game. I started in $10/20 and was just goofing around in the game. It is amazing, now that I have been playing almost exclusively above $100/200 for the last two months both in LA and Seattle, how easy that game seems to be. Super easy to read, and really soft action games. I really had fun in that game. I then moved to the $20/40 game and played with a few friends that I have not had the opportunity to play with in a while. Two friends from LA who are in town for a bit were in that game. That game was fun too. I made a few more dollars and went to the $50/100 game. That game was good. Some good players mixed in with a bunch of weak ones. Most of the sharks have all moved to the $150/300 game so that left this game with most of the weaker players that want to play big, but not that big. I had control of the table, was able to bluff and make moves and was feeling really good about my game. I actually thought about staying in that game, but I wanted to see if I could make some real money and took my seat in the $150/300 game when it opened up. The game was only full for about 30 minutes after I got there. We busted two people and one quit and soon we were 5 handed.
I went just absolutely card dead in that game. Up to that point I was feeling good, but when I got in that game I was feeling really passive and subdued. The mood was exacerbated by the fact that I was getting nothing to play and there was one player who was just raising every pot and playing 75% of his hands. The problem was he was hitting them as well. Every time I picked a spot to play he would either suck out on the flop and I would dump or he would river me and I would lose a big pot. I tried a number of things to change my luck, took walks, changed seats to the direct left of the aggressive player to get position and isolate, but nothing worked. I could just not get any hands to play. I gave back what money I had made in the fish ladder, $1,000, and then some more. Right at the end of my night a complete fish player sat in the game and short bought in for $1500. He proceed to lose that in one pot. Then he short bought in again for only $500 and lost that in a pot with 9 high. Of course not to me, as I was not in either of those pots. I then picked up JJ in MP and he had raised in EP, I three bet and he called. Flop came 10 high, he checked I bet, turn a middle card like a 7 or 9 and he checked, I bet, river an A. He checked and I bet again. He showed me A,8, for the three outer. He may have picked up a gutshot draw on the turn, but I am not positive. Either way, that was the last straw. It was not going to be my day so I packed it in early.
One other aspect to this game is that it is not all that much fun. I was having fun at the lower limits but at the $150/300 limit there is too much pressure. There is too much money on the line and I don't like swinging $5000 a night on a normal variance. Hell if you have a standard large variance night of down 30BB you lose $9,000. Not fun, not really what I am looking for on a weekly basis. I may not even play in that game next week. I may just stay in the $50/100 game as that is big enough and I can have fun at that level, like I was last night until I moved games. So final tally another bad night of -$5,947 which puts me back into the red for the year. Crap now I have to start digging myself out again. Hope you are all winning. Talk to you soon, I can smell the WSOP from here....SJ
posted by Seattlejohn at 3:00 PM
2 Comments:
There is something to be said for playing at a level where it is fun as well as is somewhat significant. For me, that's $15/30 live. For you, it might be $50/100. I think at the bigger limits, players are better and can subliminally attack players who are bumping up in stakes. I don't mean collude, but they can sniff out the players counting how much money these chips are. One man's opinion...
I think that's why I've been sticking with the 10/20 game. It's fun and fairly profitable.
The 20/40 is also fun, but I'm not sure if that's just because I've been winning. Ask me again after a few consecutive -30BB nights.
Just an observation - I have fun when I'm winning and I play better when I'm having fun. I know if I get stuck early, I'm in for a grind.
-DrC
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