Things That Make You Go HMMMM.......

OK get this, 182 minutes of play, $2.36 in profit for a whopping $0.78/hour earn. After the way the whole night went though, and after reviewing things in Poker Tracker, I would have to say I’m happy with it. Since there wasn’t a whole lot to report I thought I might touch base on the topic of loss limits. Early in my still infant poker career I read that loss limits should not be used in poker. Since the cards are dealt in a random manner there should be no reason for a limit, every hand is unique which makes every betting opportunity unique. That is the case, and if we were machines and played every hand the exact same way every time I would agree. But we are not machines and emotions can and often due come into play. I discovered very early on, at least for myself, that I could lose money a whole lot faster than I could earn money. “A bankroll in motion tends to stay in motion.” Emotion gets in the way of rational thought and when the dreaded ego gets involved all can be lost. It takes discipline to stick to a loss limit but I believe it has helped me stay profitable in my poker run. I don’t have a set formula, I’ve just devised a structure that seems to work best for me. For the .50/1.00 level I use the following rules:

1) I always buy in at $25 dollars so I have a structure.

2) If I lose $10 without winning a hand, I finish the round then walk away. This allows me to stop myself from getting in a bad mindset or trying to chase back my losses. Based on my history if I start off that bad I continue to lose much more often than I turn it around.

3) Never lose more than $20 at one table. This prevents me from rebuying at the table and losing track of where I am. Also my history is a factor here on winning back funds. I apply this at all times. If I build up to $40 I will walk away if I drop to $20. $60 played back to $40 and so on. This also helps me lock in profits at a table if I get a good run. I do not have a profit limit, although sometimes when I do play back the $20 I wish I had one.

This loss limit will help explain why I left two of the tables below when I did.

On a side note there is a player that I have played 250 hands against and his stats in Poker Tracker are amazing. On the 250 hands I’ve been able to track he is up 18.5BB/100 Hands. I find that staggering. I personally have only lost $.50 to him, but I saw how tight he was and generally would only play with him if I had a very good starting hand. I checked in on his tables last night and it appeared as though this type of winning is normal for him. I’m going to try to get in on his tables so I can collect more data and maybe learn a thing or two.

And back to me…

Table One (+.25BB) 47 mins. – I actually played this table well. I left because it broke up. My win would have been 3BB larger but at the end when we were short handed I flopped a pair of K’s and two pair beat me.

Table Two (+18.49BB) 167 mins. – Best table of the night for me. Good solid play. Nothing spectacular just had the right cards at the right time.

Table Three (+1.75BB) 13 mins. – Who knows what may have happened here. I sit down and everyone leaves.

Table Four (-10.75BB) 43 mins. – 37 hands, not one winner. It was time to leave.

Table Five ( -19.25BB) 55 mins. – 60 hands, one winner. Should have left earlier. I was really disappointed in my play when I left the table. After reviewing it in Poker Tracker though I can honestly say the cards were very cold at this table. I only rec. pocket pair once and that was 7’s. I did get a few good drawing hands but they never developed. The garbage I was throwing away though was catching winning hands. Go Figure.

Table Six (+11.87BB) 16 mins. – I’m not the kind to usually hit and run but it was getting late, I saw that I had eeked out a profit for the night, so I was happy to not be down and went to bed.

Bad Beat of the Night

I would have to say I didn’t have one. I would also have to say that I caused a few though J

Big Pot of the Night

Not a stellar pot tonight. The whole night was kinda ho-hum. One could even argue that I should not have won this one. It occurred at Table Two and I was already up so I had a different mindset than normal for this hand.
I’m dealt 10c9c in middle position. There are two new players at the table with forced BB.
Fold to first forced bet who checks, I call, Loosey Goosey to my left calls, Next forced bet checks, Button calls, SB calls, BB checks. 7 see the flop
Flop comes 5c7cQd
SB checks, BB checks, Forced bet-bets out, I call the flush draw, loosey calls, Next forced bet calls, button folds, SB folds, BB calls. 5 see the turn
Turn comes 4h
BB checks, FB bets, At this point I have FB on a queen but I’m up so I chase the flush and call, Loosey folds, Next two call. 4 see the river.
River shows Qc – Hallelujah, Hallelujah, now I hope FB has a queen
BB checks, FB bets, I raise, next two fold, FB only calls and shows pocket 10’s. I win the pot for $13.25. Not a huge one but that was my night.
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