In the first hand I had AA in the small blind and decided to call a $10 raise from the button to disguise the strength of my hand because if I 3-bet the fact that I was playing few hands would probably fold everyone out, MP calls and original raiser calls. Flop comes A J rag I check MP bets $10 button min raises to $20 and I call and MP folds. Turn brings a J so I fill up with a lock on the hand, I check button bets $20 I call. River a blank I bet the rest of my stack, $38, button reluctantly calls and shows AQ so I double my stack and that is why I ended up $51.
Second hand I called a $7 raise from middle position with J10 unsuited and flop top 2 pair but the board is all spades, I call a $10 raise with 2 others in the hand, turn bricks and it checks around, river brings another 10 so I fill up and lead out for $25 and get no callers. Other than those 2 hands it was slow going, other than the AA I had 88 twice, 55 once, no flopped sets.
The hand which caused the most intensity was when I picked up AK unsuited utg and raised to $8, it folded to the button who 3 bet to $24. The button was a young man who looked competent and aware so he knew I would not be raising utg light, which meant he was likely 3 betting with a strong hand. Blinds folded and I had to decide how to proceed, at this point my stack was $175 up from a starting stack of $75, button had me covered so I knew I might be playing for my stack with this hand. I took my time and had to decide first if I should raise, and if so, how much. The absurd idea of pushing all in flashed into my mind and I dismissed it quickly, I would be risking $175 to win $20, not a good strategy. If I raised to $65 I would be left with $100. If button calls I am out of position and if no A or K on the flop and I check I will get the pot taken from me and if I c bet most of my stack would be gone. I did not like the option of raising and folding did not seem correct although maybe a fold with AK out of position against a competent player who was holding a strong hand may have been fine. However, I decided to call the $24 and saw a flop of J 5 3 rainbow. I took my time and studied the board, if I checked to quickly it may give the button confidence to c bet with a hand like AK or AQ, by going slow I give the button time to sow seeds of doubt in his mind, after checking the button checked and we saw a turn of the A of spades. I hit my card and decided to lead for $35 and the button called. If the button were to re-raise I had decided to call but fortunately the pot was not getting overly bloated and I still had over $100 in my stack. The river was a 3, so I now had AA33 with a K kicker, a strong hand and I guessed the button was holding AQ or AK with a slight possibility of a monster JJJ33, I decided to check so as not to get re-raised for my entire stack and was willing to call off a large river bet and after the button bet $60 I called with the idea that we were most likely chopping and the button showed AK for the chop. He gave me a slight smile and I was relieved not to have lost my small profit for the session and soon after left to go home.
The way I ran today is average for me, my wins are usually small and I have to know when to quit when I am running bad so that my losses remain on a similar level to the wins, I do not want to be what Tommy Angelo calls "a player who eats like a bird and shits like an elephant." So the small win feels good because it increases the poker funds and allows me to play another day.
I plan to play the $130 buy in tomorrow if my energy is good. Felt sleepy at the table today, probably because I woke up at 5:00am and walked 6 miles along the Lake Shore Path
| 03/22/19 | $1/$2 cash game +$51 gain | |
| $647 + $51 = $698 |