The main reason, funnily enough, is that I imposed a ban (on myself) on smoking inside the house. I am the only smoker in the household and decided that it was my moral obligation to not inflict this on everyone else. So, at the worst time of the year, as the nights were drawing in and getting colder and wetter, I restricted myself to outdoor smoking only.
Amazingly, this had the knock-on effect of stifling my poker playing, as I was accustomed to sitting at the table, in front of my laptop, chain-smoking while I played. The first couple of times I tried to play, smoke-free, I found I couldn't concentrate for any more than 5-10 minutes and my game really suffered. So I took a break, not a definite 'I am not going to play poker for 6 months' type of break, but just some time away from the game.
I track every online game I play, keeping track of every buy-in, so I can see my weekly, monthly and annual statistics regarding profit/loss. In the preceding 6 months, up to September 2009, I had participated in 386 different events including SNG's Tourney's and Ring Games. Now, this probably does not sound like a lot (just over 2 games, per night) but I tend not to play speed or turbo SNG's, so some can take over an hour. So, that's 2-3 hours a night, every night, for 6 months.
Since October of 2009 I have played a grand total of 33 individual games, with 13 of those coming this month. That's an average of just over 1 game per week.
I've decided to change my approach to the game and have a serious go at just playing cash ring-games. Too many times in the past I spent an hour in a $5, 9-seater, SNG to finish 3rd and pick up $10. Playing cash has also helped me to open up my game more and, I know it's early days, but I am enjoying playing again.
I've been playing 10c-20c on 6-seater tables at 888.com's PacificPoker. I'd had an account there for quite a while and had been given a starter $50 bankroll that I had virtually never used - so I thought I'd see how far it can take me.
I played 2 sessions last week and (so far) two this week, each with an initial buy-in of $20, and have finished with a profit on each session (S1 +$12.28, S2 +$9.19, S3 +$17.05, S4 +$20.55). Last week's two were uneventful as I hit cards at the right time and came up against some very loose aggressive players; this week has been a different story.
I decided I would re-buy if my stack fell below $15, and in Session 3 my initial $20 investment turned into $35 pretty quickly as one or two hands didn't go my way. But I managed to claw it all back (and more) to show a healthy profit.
Session 4 (last night) was by far the most frustrating and infuriating session yet; and things started so well. I turned my initial $20 into about $29 in just a few hands, but then I lost half my stack chasing a straight-flush draw that did not materialise.
I topped-up my stack by $5 to keep my self level with others at the table, but this dwindled back down to $14, so I added another $5 (so, my total investment at this point is $30 and my stack is $20).
A serious LAG had joined the table and is sitting opposite me. I noticed he bought-in for half the max ($10) and quickly doubled this when he picked up pocket Kings and pushed, getting called by AQ. His cowboys held up, and with another couple of small pots he now has $28 in front.
Then came hand number 140 of the evening:
I am in the small-blind and Mr.LAG has limped in, I call with 3d-6d and the BB checks. The flop comes down 5c-4s-4h, so I am open ended. I am first to act and lead-out for the minimum. The BB folds and LAG just calls. I hit gold on the turn as the 7c arrives and I bet half the pot (48c). Mr.LAG raises me to $1.60. I immediately re-raise to $5.60 and he min-raises to $9.90.
With the paired board I have to be slightly worried that he is holding 4-5 or 4-7, but I am working on the assumption that he must at least have a 4, and my straight is quite well disguised. So I push the rest of my stack in ($20.22) and he insta-calls, turning over Kc-4d.
He's not dead, far from it, but he is behind and drawing to one-4, three-Kings, three-5's and three-7's. I am an 77% favourite going to the river, but things are never that easy.
This is the first time in any of the four sessions I have played that my entire stack is on the line, and the bombshell falls on the river, when the 5d arrives, completing his full-house.
It takes me a few seconds to comprehend what has happened as my stack sits at 0.00 and the screen pops up asking if I want to re-buy.Bad beats are part of the game, and after taking a step back and analysing it, it wasn't the worst I've ever taken. I was a 1/3 favourite, but one in every four times I am going to lose.
Anyway, I topped up to the full amount, so now my total investment for the evening stands at $50, with my stack now at $20. Over the next 80-90 hands I manage to build this back up to $28. During this time I have been dealt AA twice and KK twice, on two occasions from the BB when everyone (including Mr.LAG) has folded and on the other two occasions I raised pre-flop and everyone passed. During this time, Mr.LAG has gone from strength to strength as he has floated just about every flop with absolute junk and made the most ludicrous hands, each time lucky enough that an opponent had something just worse. From his original $10 buy-in he is now up to nearly $80.
From UTG I pick up Pocket Jacks and pot-raise to 0.70c. This is called only by the player to my immediate left. The flop comes all low, 4c-8h-3h and I lead out for half pot. This is flat-called and the river brings the Th. I am slightly concerned now that the flush draw has arrived, but I lead out again for half-pot and this is just flatted. The river is the 9d, so now there is a possible straight. Perhaps I should have check-called the river, but I bet $2.80 hoping my opponent has something like A-8 with the Ah. No such luck, she min-raises to $5.60 and deep down I know I am beaten. But the pot is too big to let go, it's another $2.80 to win $15, I am getting 4/1 on a call - so I make it. She turns over 4h-5h. WTF! Not exactly the nut-flush. It amazes me how people can re-raise the river with anything but the nuts.
Anyway, an hour of hard work has been undone, and I am back down to $19. Over the next dozen, or so, hands this dwindles even further, down to $12.50 and I top up by another $5.My total investment is now $55 and my stack is only $17.50.
Over the next 40 hands I manage to get back up to $26 when the biggest hand of the night takes place. In fact, it's the biggest single cash hand I have played, to date. I should mention that, in the mean-time, Mr.LAG (who had gotten his stack up to over $100) has taken a couple of serious hits and on one occasion was victim to an opponent hitting a full-house on the river that cost him half his stack (karma can be a bitch) and he is now down to just $33.
I am in the cut-off with pocket 10's. The player to my left limps and I pot-raise to 0.90c. The SB folds and the BB pumps it up to $3.10. This is flat-called by Mr.LAG and I almost considered folding. It was $2.20 to call and the pot was now over $7, the odds said I had to call.
Bingo! The flop comes down 10d-Jc-7d. The SB bets the pot ($9) and this is called by Mr.LAG. It's one of those times where you just know there are massive draws out there and I could already be losing to 8-9 or pocket Jacks. But the way the hand has played I put the SB on AA, KK or QQ and I am beating all of those - also with Mr.LAG just calling I put him on one pair and perhaps a draw. It's a no-brainer really; after calling with my 10's and hitting a set I have to go all the way, so I push my last $23 into the middle and sit back (nothing more I can do). I know that both are going to call. SB pushes over the top (as both she and BB have me covered) and, of course, Mr.LAG obliges with a call.
SB turns over KK, for an over-pair (exactly one of the hand I expected) and Mr.LAG turns over KQ, for an open-ender. The turn is a harmless 4c, but I still have some cards to fade.
Luckily, with Mr.LAG holding a King, SB is drawing to a one-outer and Mr.LAG has four-Aces and four-nines going for him. Luckily, for me, the river is the 4h and I complete a full-house.
I had been gunning for Mr.LAG for the best part of 2 hours, watching him build his stack from $10 to over $100 by getting incredibly lucky - but his luck ran out in the space of half-an-hour, as his entire stack was gone. I scooped $75.55 on that last hand to get me out of jail for the evening and actually show a profit of $20.55 (after buying in for a total of $55).My entire session consisted of 296 hands, played over 2h 50m. I had to be incredibly patient and ride some bad breaks, as well as getting over making some bad decisions. I am just glad that Mr.LAG didn't decide to cut and run when his stack hit $100 (I would have been out of there a long time before that) and I was able to get some revenge. I would have been happy to double-through him at the end, but also busting the Kings was a big bonus.
I am definitely enjoying the ups and downs of cash-ring-play more than SNG's, at the moment and long may it continue.
