I've not blogged for a while, as I have been on a decent run. I took my Full Tilt account from $5.00 up to $55.00 by grinding away at the 0.02c/0.05c Rush 9-handed table. This took about a month, playing about 3-4 times a week.
My average profit per session is about $3-$4 and not once in any of those sessions did I go completely bust (from my initial $5 buy-in). I did reload a couple of times during some sessions when my stack dropped a bit low, but always managed to grind my way back up to level or ahead; until today. My good run definitely came to an end as my bankroll this took a bit of a hit; I managed to dump $12.00 in just under 1 hour - this is how.
Hand 42:
I've picked up the ladies, in mid position. The guy ahead of me min-raises (0.10) and I 3-bet (0.25). It gets folded around and he 4-bets (0.55). I smile to myself and think 'O.K. I've waited over 40 hands without getting involved, have I really run into AA or KK?'.
Perhaps I should have just cut my losses and folded, but I called. The flop came down Ah-Kh-6c and I am easily prepared to dump this hand to any bet, but he checks. I check back and the killer card comes on the turn, Qs. I now have a set and my opponent instantly pushes. He has me covered and it's going to cost me my entire stack to call. I look to the heavens and pray to the poker gods that he has A-K before making the call. No such luck, he flips up Aces and I am down to a 1-outer, the case Queen on the river. Instead, it's the case Ace, making him Quads.
I sit back chuckle to myself and decide that it was inevitable that I was going to run into something like that sooner or later, I'd had a decent run and this was one setback. I'll reload and see if I can get the initial buy-in back.
Hand 81:
I literally fold everything for another 35, or so, hands (including dumping pocket 4's to a raise and reraise - when normally I'd go set-mining). I pick up another pocket pair (5's) and min-raise from the cut-off. The button and SB fold, but the BB 3-bets to 0.25. Out of impatience I decided I am not throwing away another pocket pair and make the call. The flop comes down 5c-5h-Qh, for flopped Quads. Now, can I get paid?
The BB leads out for 40c and I wait about 10 seconds before calling. The turn is the Ad, which I think is a great card, as if he was re-raising pre-flop with a decent Ace (or even pocket Aces) I'm going to get action. I lead out for 0.80 and he insta-folds. He probably had JJ, or something - but I fail to really capitalise on the Quads, only making about $1.20.
Hand 92:
About 10 hands later I pick up AK in mid position. Before I can pop it the UTG pushes his last $1.25 (or so) into the middle. I just flat-call and it is folded around. I'm in great shape as he shows Ad-Js (I was at least expecting a race against a pocket pair, so I am delighted). Not for long, though. The Jack arrives right on the flop and I never catch up.
Hand 134:
I've got As-Qs in the hijack seat and there is one pot-sized raise before me. I make the call and the flop comes down Ac-4h-6c. The initial raiser leads out for half the pot and I decide to push (maybe a bit aggressive, not my usual play, but I couldn't see him having hit 2-pair on that board and I believed my Ace was probably best). He takes an eternity to call and I almost thought he was going to fold. When he does call he turns up Ad-Kd and I couldn't be in much worse shape. Needless to say I don't catch up - another big pot lost.
Hand 153:
Another pocket pair, this time TT in mid-position. There is one min-raise ahead of me and I make the call. 4c-6c-5s board would have been scary if there had been more limpers, but I feel my overpair is good. He leads for 0.10 and I raise to 0.20, he calls. 2c is a scary turn, puttinf straights and flushes out there. He leads for 0.30 and I call. 2s on the river and he makes it 0.40c, again I call believing an overpair is good, and it is, but it wasn't mine - he had Jacks. Again, a player with just that little bit better hand.
Hand 173:
This was my last hand of the session, after this I gave up. I've got Ad-Td in the hijack and I min-raise. This is called from the button and the BB pops it to 0.20. I make the call, as does the button. The flop comes down 9d-jh-8d - as soon as I see it I know all my cash is going in the middle, with up/down straight and nut-flush draws. The BB insta-shoves for about $1.80 and I call, as the button has me covered - but the button also comes along (the pot was a decent size, by now). The 2h is a blank and both the button and I check. The river is Ts, and I have missed all my draws, but spiked 2nd pair on the river, which might be good against A-K, but is losing to any Q.
The BB shows Cowboys, but amazingly we've both been had by the button, with 6c-7c who hit the idiot end of the straight on the river.
I came to the conclusion that I was not going to recover my losses in this session and decided to call it a day. You expect to run into big hands every now and again, as well as missing draws and being out-drawn. But today, every hand that I had more than a couple of big-blinds worth of cash in the pot, I lost. Just gotta shake it off and try and win it back later.
