Sunday 1/29/2006

About to get started here, nothing exciting. Updates to follow.

Took a 6th and a 2nd, so not bad. I did well in the one where I placed 6th, but the unorthodox play from some of the players through me off. I knew they were not very solid players, calling preflop raises for HALF THEIR STACK with J10s. But, knowing that, I need to play a bit tighter...however, I was playing pretty tight due to the very loose calling range on these guys, but I think when I stick a 5xBB preflop raise, they just see it as a weak bet, level 1, its only 75 chips. Therefore, you see a lot of action and a lot or reraises with marginal hands. In my head, I am thinking he must have a monster when in reality, he probably has a worse holding than me. Seems like when you finally get a great hand, say QQ or KK and raise, only to get reraised, then I push and they call with their A7o and hit their ace. I KNOW, I KNOW, these people make the game profitable, quit bitching! Honestly, not really complaining about them at all, just venting frustrations.

One thing I need to learn is to deal with downswings better. Mentally and emotionally, I am not equipped to handle this sort of thing, so this will be another major hurdle for me. I have had a lot of success in overcoming hurdles in poker and life in general, but now that it has an effect on my income, it will be fun to watch my progress...and there is a great way to quantify my progress...BANKROLL BABY!

UPDATE:

Just finished up. Was frustrated early because I started out pretty cold. Mostly due to my mind being elsewhere. I buckled down and finished strong 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 1st in my last 4 to end the night up $205. I think I got a little too crazy on the 3rds. I pushed the edges a little too hard and busted when I still had a pretty healthy stack (>2200 chips). I think that got to me a little and I played a pretty loss bubble, got a big stack, and took that momentum into the money and won it. Very satisfying that I have logged my third straight winning night after my downswing.