Yep, I'm Back
I have taken yet another serious hiatus from this blog because I have essentially had no poker to play. I've fished some, but not nearly enough. So, to give an update of where I have been...
Fishing
Last winter was quite fun, though I didn't get to ice fish nearly as much as I would have liked. I bought a fish-finder and my fish catching tripled, at least. I found a couple of good spots, one of which was productive almost any time, day or night.
The highlights of the winter were catching my limit of crappies in less than 30 minutes and catching three nice northerns (which would have been my limit if I had kept them) on wax worms in an area littered with tip-ups (and they all got skunked). I also caught a bunch of bluegills.
I have hardly fished at all this year. My wife and I bought a house to refurbish and that has taken up all of my free time. I went to Canada for a week and caught a ton of fish, but none are worth talking about. I did catch a 4+ pound largemouth bass in June on Lake Itasca. The house is almost finished, so hopefully I'll have more fishing to talk about soon.
Poker
This has been worse than the fishing. I had about $20 in my account for a long time, playing ultra-micro stakes. I eventually busted because I played awful. I just didn't care.
Earlier this summer, I re-deposited $100 one weekend while my wife was traveling. I tried to play well, but I didn't and I lost $80.
Since then, I have really concentrated on playing well. I slowly built my bankroll until I reached about $130. This was generally good poker, indicated by way that I slowly built my bankroll. That is, win a little at a time.
Since then, I have bounced back and forth between $80 and $130. I have repeatedly repeated a cycle where I play well... and win. I then play too high of stakes and play poorly and then I lose. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
This past Friday, however, I got lucky. Very lucky. My bankroll started at $105 and I decided to buy-in to a heads up PLO table. We both pushed all in on the first hand. I had KKXX and he had T J Q K. He didn't improve and I won $40. Yes, I know this was an awful hand.
I then dropped stakes but I was still playing heads-up PLO (and still above my bankroll). My opponent was loose-aggressive. Somehow, I managed to steal a nice pot on a bluff. A few hands later, we got it all in the middle when I have QQXX. I essentially had an overpair plus a flush draw. Neither us improved and I took it down.
To summarize, I play over my bankroll and I played badly. I got lucky, though, and I doubled by stack to about $200. That's actually a decent enough bankroll to play stakes that are high enough to keep my focus ($0.50/$1.00 limit; $25 NL).
I played a little bit over the weekend and I won a little. I didn't always play great, but I played good enough to be a winner.
This morning, though, I had another good session. Again, I had won a little when I got lucky/got hit by the deck.
In the first hand, I was dealt 99 in the small blind. UTG limped and I raised it up and both the big blind and UTG called. The flop was A K X and I led out and UTG called. (This wasn't a good play. I know that.) The turn was a 9 and I pushed and got called by A 7. He immediately complained about how I got lucky (not that lucky, though, as I was going to shut down on the turn anyway...).
Two hands later, I limped from UTG+1 with Jh 7h. The button raised and I called. The flop came 7-high and I check-called the flop, turn and river. The button had an unimproved K9o and I doubled up. In the very next hand, I limped with 8s 7s and then called a raise along with two other people (i.e., four of saw the flop). The flop came 7 7 8. I won another nice pot there.
So, to summarize, I have generally playing good, solid poker. I am playing mostly for fun, so I am not putting in long hours or playing a large number of hands. I plan to continue with this plan. Perhaps even more importantly, when I have been playing badly... I have been getting lucky and this has been extremely profitable.
Fishing
Last winter was quite fun, though I didn't get to ice fish nearly as much as I would have liked. I bought a fish-finder and my fish catching tripled, at least. I found a couple of good spots, one of which was productive almost any time, day or night.
The highlights of the winter were catching my limit of crappies in less than 30 minutes and catching three nice northerns (which would have been my limit if I had kept them) on wax worms in an area littered with tip-ups (and they all got skunked). I also caught a bunch of bluegills.
I have hardly fished at all this year. My wife and I bought a house to refurbish and that has taken up all of my free time. I went to Canada for a week and caught a ton of fish, but none are worth talking about. I did catch a 4+ pound largemouth bass in June on Lake Itasca. The house is almost finished, so hopefully I'll have more fishing to talk about soon.
Poker
This has been worse than the fishing. I had about $20 in my account for a long time, playing ultra-micro stakes. I eventually busted because I played awful. I just didn't care.
Earlier this summer, I re-deposited $100 one weekend while my wife was traveling. I tried to play well, but I didn't and I lost $80.
Since then, I have really concentrated on playing well. I slowly built my bankroll until I reached about $130. This was generally good poker, indicated by way that I slowly built my bankroll. That is, win a little at a time.
Since then, I have bounced back and forth between $80 and $130. I have repeatedly repeated a cycle where I play well... and win. I then play too high of stakes and play poorly and then I lose. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
This past Friday, however, I got lucky. Very lucky. My bankroll started at $105 and I decided to buy-in to a heads up PLO table. We both pushed all in on the first hand. I had KKXX and he had T J Q K. He didn't improve and I won $40. Yes, I know this was an awful hand.
I then dropped stakes but I was still playing heads-up PLO (and still above my bankroll). My opponent was loose-aggressive. Somehow, I managed to steal a nice pot on a bluff. A few hands later, we got it all in the middle when I have QQXX. I essentially had an overpair plus a flush draw. Neither us improved and I took it down.
To summarize, I play over my bankroll and I played badly. I got lucky, though, and I doubled by stack to about $200. That's actually a decent enough bankroll to play stakes that are high enough to keep my focus ($0.50/$1.00 limit; $25 NL).
I played a little bit over the weekend and I won a little. I didn't always play great, but I played good enough to be a winner.
This morning, though, I had another good session. Again, I had won a little when I got lucky/got hit by the deck.
In the first hand, I was dealt 99 in the small blind. UTG limped and I raised it up and both the big blind and UTG called. The flop was A K X and I led out and UTG called. (This wasn't a good play. I know that.) The turn was a 9 and I pushed and got called by A 7. He immediately complained about how I got lucky (not that lucky, though, as I was going to shut down on the turn anyway...).
Two hands later, I limped from UTG+1 with Jh 7h. The button raised and I called. The flop came 7-high and I check-called the flop, turn and river. The button had an unimproved K9o and I doubled up. In the very next hand, I limped with 8s 7s and then called a raise along with two other people (i.e., four of saw the flop). The flop came 7 7 8. I won another nice pot there.
So, to summarize, I have generally playing good, solid poker. I am playing mostly for fun, so I am not putting in long hours or playing a large number of hands. I plan to continue with this plan. Perhaps even more importantly, when I have been playing badly... I have been getting lucky and this has been extremely profitable.
posted by frazwood at 11:40 AM
1 comments
