Running badly.

Busy weekend... expensive weekend.
Friday:
21:00 - Will's annual birthday bash
22:30 - Suite 34
23:30 - fairly incoherant
2:00 - sleep
Saturday:
6:00 - wake up, go to Toronto
15:00 - Football game won, Drive back for Canada day
19:00 - begin the festivaties
21:30 - Pier 21
22:00 - Incoherant
23:30 - ??????????
3:00 - Zak's Dinner
4:00 - Sleep
Sunday + Monday:
POKER

I though friday and Saturday were draining but nothing takes it out of me more than loosing at poker. Especially the way I was loosing - I usually dont complain about bad beats and cold cards but hell, this is my blog and I'll do what I want to.

I started my two days of poker by playing some multitable 0.10/0.20 - 4 hours into my session, im down about $40, which is alot for 0.10/0.20. The cards have not been coming my way in a big way - Runner, Runner - Kings run into aces, queens run into kings - very frustrating but meh, bad things happend. I decide to step away from the cash game and go back to my bread and butter, Sit and Goes.

I like to do a few 15-20 player, $5-$20 StGs at a time - Ive had alot of success playing these, I think its because I allow myself to play much more aggresively. Anyway, after 10 $5, 15 player SnGs - Ive won 2 ($75), finished 2nd twice ($45) and bubbled 3 times for a profit of $70. You think I would be happy, im not, I have been keeping a running tally at this point and I have now lost 11 races in a row. 11! For all of you who dont understand how unlikely that is, the chance of someone loosing a coinflip 11 times in a row is 1 in 250 000 - not very likely.

Anyway, I probably should have taken a break but I instead decided to head over to the PokerLoft to play in their sunday $100 tournament. 21 players showed up. I cant say that I had bad cards, but I had cards that I had a really hard time playing. I was getting alot of middle pairs, 8s, 9s, 10s, Js.

First hand I played, I was the button, 2 callers in middle position, I call, small blind raises 100(5xBB) - folded around to me - I fold my pocket 8s. Im not sure what the move is here, im probably ahead, but its a race - if I call, the only flop im confortable with must have an 8. For 5xBB i think this is a good fold, the only flop im getting paid on is 8/A/x - even if the board comes all unders, if he comes out betting, I might be beat.

I took the blinds down by playing my 10s and my 9s agressively then this hand came up. Adam(http://fishbones11.blogspot.com/) raises 3xBB in middle position, cutoff calls, I call in the small blind with Qs/Js. Flop comes J/8/4 rainbow. I make a pot size raise, Adam thinks for about 20 seconds and comes back at me for double my bet. I think for about 2 minutes(I take a long time to make decisions) and let it go, putting him on a big pair. This hand really set the tone for the rest of my tournament - I dont know what it is, maybe I was giving out a tell but people were constantly coming over the top of me and I never had a hand I could make a stand with.

Shortly after that hand, our table got broken up to form two 10 player tables. I think one of my problems was that I did not know alot of the players I was playing with, I wasent sure who was likely to make a move on me so I had to play it safe and give people credit.

A few hands in im dealth J/J - its folded around to the cutoff, he bets out 3xBB, I reraise the pot on the button hoping to take it down right there, both blinds fold and obviously the cutoff comes over the top for about 1/2 my stack. At this point im not ready to race(best case) all my chips, so I fold after someone puts the clock on me.

At this point the average stack is 2900 and im sitting on about 1900 - so im shortstacked but not in desperate shape. I play another hand, im on the button with A/Q, 2 limpers ahead of me, I raise 3xBB, limper #1 short stacked pushes all in, limper #2 calls. I quickly throw away my hand. Limper #1 shows A/K and limper #2 shows A/K.

Im dealt 9s again - im in early position, I raise 3xBB, middle position calls, everyone else folds. At this point im in pretty desperate position and I know im pushing if no Ace of King. Flop comes 10d/8d/4c - Perfect. I push all in for about the pot, he insta-calls. Damnit, im thinking that im completly cooked, A/10 or and overpair. Alas, he shows Ad/Qd and I have a chance. Its a race, turn comes a brick and river comes the 4d. Sigh. Lets make that 12 in a row, not a classic race but its 52% - 48% so im counting it.

That was enough poker for me that night (I rarely say that) - so I headed home, watched some scrubs I downloaded and went to bed.

Sunday afternoon rolls around and im really feeling like playing some MTTs. I start by playing a $35 buy-in $65,00 guarantee. I finish about 4 places out of the money when my kings run into aces - that dosent even upset me. What upsets me is my poker program crashed when I was dealth Aces which means, yes, I folded Aces preflop to no-raise. I have never been that upset ever.

After breaking a few things, I decide to play a $20 buy in, $12,000 guarantee. 5 hours later, im 4 of 31 with 24,000 chips when this happens. Im dealth A/Q, I raise 3xBB, Big stack calls on the button. Realize, blinds are huge at this point, 1000/2000, very bingoish. Flop comes A/Q/9 rainbow - im so happy, I check, big stack raises 6,000 and I push all in. Insta-call. hmm, A/K?
A set of 9s... I go out in 29th place... Not even in the money, only payed top 20. Just not my weekend.

Theres always tonight, althought I believe I was getting fairly unlucky, my game needs a tune up, I think im gonna read a book before I play some more poker just not sure which one. Maybe Harrington on holdem volume 2, volume 1 was amazing. If you have some suggestions, feel free to post them.