It's been quite a while since I've posted ... part of the problem is the auto spam I'm getting, which is quite annoying ... "hey love your blog ... check out my blog on (insert moronic issue)".
The bigger problem is that I'm just damn lazy.
Up until December 1, 2005, I was on a fabulous run and my bankroll was at an all time high. Then the frustration began and has not stopped. Constantly missing flops, horrendous beats, and some bad play.
I have not had a winning week since, and some of the weeks have been ridiculously bad.
Last night was a great example ... busted out of the $50+$4 at BetonBet (13K guarantee) when my JJ lost to AJ and then busted out of the Absolute Poker 15K guarantee ($10 rebuy) when my AA got cracked on the river by an inside straight draw.
Of course ring games have been the major culprit in my losses. I've been playing short tables and the variance can be bad at these tables, but this is beyond variance. I am thinking that a return to full tables is in order. I've dabbled in NL a bit and I think that might suit me as well.
Regardless, I need a change. I do believe my tournament game is fine, I haven't been playing a ton of tournaments, but the ones I have entered I invariably have been in with the best hand (see last night). I have a pretty good cash ratio, but no big scores. I did realize that I wasn't playing aggressively enough when the bubble started to get close (thanks DJK for pointing out this weakness). The good players are putting the heat on the table without regard to what cards they have.
Last night, I took this lesson and made a move that I would never have made before ... I limped with TJo from the button. That wasn't unusual, that's not a terrible hand with your good position. What was unusual was that the flop was Q83, the player in the cutoff bet out (min bet) and I reraised with my inside straight draw. The turn was a blank ... he checked, I bet out a pretty sizeable amount ... and he called. The river was a K and I have J high. He checks, and I push all in ... the pot has gotten quite large now. The other guy thinks for almost the whole time and eventually folds.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief. On the one hand, this was a big risk; on the other hand, I beginning to understand that you have to be able to make a move like this from time to time ... earn a pot here and there ... in order to be a great tourney player.
I am hoping that my luck will turn in ring games. The good thing is that I have plenty of bankroll to recover, although it is going to be a very long time before I get back where I was.
