PhantomMut

Okay, now I'll talk about it.

Three wins I'm happy with: I bluffed Grydon off of a decent pot early, I got paid off after hitting a (regular) wheel, and I got Fisch to call me down to all-in after I'd hit trip Aces.

Stuff I'm not happy with:

• I actually managed to misread a board, and thought I'd caught a straight on the turn when, in fact, the seven I saw was instead an eight. D'Oh!
• I paid off Ari's rivered flush when slow-playing a flopped set of jacks.
• I paid off Grydon's flopped straight with top pair, open ended straight draw.
• I disbelieved a read I had on Ron Ladd, and paid off his trip Queens while holding two pair.
• I folded a jack high flush draw when the turn paired the board; the river would have given me the flush; two pair won.
• I slow-played bottom two pair into a rivered pair of the board, counterfeiting me. (At least I had the grace to fold that one when Rod Ladd bet the river hard.)

Anyone see a pattern here?

Besides for the embarrassment of misreading a board, and the STUPIDITY of not trusting my read on Ron holding the trip Queens, a case could be made for how I played each of those hands. (The folded flush I don't feel so bad about; pot odds weren't right.) I can even forgive myself for misreading Ari's flush, because I didn't have her on that; I had her on aces up, and table chatter was "Ari's hit her flush" and when she bet out, I thought she was representing a better hand than she had.

There's little doubt in my mind that if I'd played many of those hands more strongly at the flop, I could have won them. There is also little doubt that the people who did win them caught in order to do so.

So the question becomes, make the money fast or slow? Trap or take it down early?

The hand where my deuces and fives were counterfeited when the turn/river came king/king is a good example. Ron Ladd had A9, giving him top pair, top kicker after the flop, and he had position. (I actually had him on A9 or tens, jacks, or queens). I think he had me on A5 for middle pair, top kicker. If the final card comes anything other than an 9, K, or A, I think he pays me off on a big bet representing a bluff. As is, he hits what he needs to bet strong, and I fold. I muck face up, he shows. So I lose a healthy investment.

That's a hand I'm going to think about.

The hand against Fisch had the same characteristics. He missed his draws, but didn't believe my big bet on the river. So I won a nice hand.

There was some donktastic playing on my part, but some not-totally-unconsidered plays as well.

Bottom line, though, I left down $80. There goes the good karma from the previous three sessions.

Lesson: there's a decent poker player in here somewhere. I just need to figure out what was boneheaded play and what was simply bad luck, given that the difference between the two is extremely situationally dependent.

Oh, by the way, last hand, right after the counterfeiting by the turn/river Kings, I catch pocket Aces, throw out a disgusted five dollars, flop is a King and rags, I go all-in (representing tilt perfectly), I get a totally expected call from Angry Guy, his Kings, Queen kicker turns into trip Kings on the turn, and I'm felted. I actually feel as good about that hand as any, because again, I had someone feeding the pot while I was ahead.

Whatchoo gonna do?