A few nights combined

Well my friends, I'm afraid I've slacked in that I've played four times since my last posting, and haven't posted any of the games. I think it had to do with the fact that I lost two of the nights and only won $33 the third. Tonight I did reasonable, and... yeah. It feels crappy to talk about a losing night, but I resolve henceforth to post regardless of wins/losses. This is supposed to be objective, but how can it stay that way if I only talk about winning? So.. henceforth. excellent.

That being said, I'll talk a bit about tonight, though perhaps not too much. The game didn't last very long, only about 4 hours, and about 1.5 of it was playing 5-handed. The table is generally always full at 10 people the entire night, and its been fun the last couple of nights to play when you're short handed. The hand requirements aren't nearly so strict, and you get to play a lot more pots, which actually in the long run contributes to more $$ earned. Still, it can give you a headache, playing that many pots and having to think so much (imagine that: a degenerate poker player like me having to THINK!! poor baby huh. shut up.)

Anyways, there was one hand in particular that sticks out to me tonight. I held Td-Jd in middle position. I limped (which means I called the $2 minimum bet, because nobody had raised the pot yet) and there were about 3 callers after me, when the button decided to get frisky and raise $12. This is the exact sort of situation that my hand does well in, since if I can catch something, it will generally win, and if I don't, it's easy to fold. So, big pots with lots of people contributing are ideal. Everyone else called, and the pot was instantly $60. The flop came 7d-8d-5c. This gave me a gutshot straight flush draw, which is a great hand. I checked, someone bet $5, someone reraised to $10, and I flat-called. The next card was 5d, giving me a flush, and letting someone possibly have a full house. I checked, the original bettor from last hand bet $10, someone reraised to $20, and I called the $20, hoping to get more action. The guy who bet re-raised to $40 more on top of it all, which basically said he was pot-committed since he only had about $28 left. He was a loose player though, and one that usually bet too hard for the hands he had. I really didn't think he had a flush, since he had been betting hard on the flop. Everyone else folded, and I thought for a long time before going all-in, knowing that if he had a full house I at least had one card in the deck that would save me (the 9d). He of course called, and flipped over Ad-5s. He had the nut flush draw and trips, so I had to avoid a lot of cards, but luckily for me, a meaningless Jc came on the river, and I raked an enormous pot. Incidentally, another player folded a 6d, which means, since the board read 5d-7d-8d-Jc-5c, if he had hit the 9d for a straight flush, I would have beat him out with a higher straight flush (he was in the hand for a long time, until the $40 re-re-raise. It was a very interesting hand, and I'm not sure if I played it entirely correctly or not. I guess someday I'll read this again and decide, haha.

Well, here are the stats for the first 3 (not posted) sessions, as far as I can tell:

First night, Second night, Third night
Plus or minus for the night: -$160, $-160, +$33
Total plus or minus for 3 sessions: -$287
Total hours played in those sessions: 3, 4, 2.5

And here are the stats for tonight, with the other ones added in:

$1/$2 NL Hold'em
Hours logged for the session: 4
Started the night with: $40
Ended the night with: $283
Plus or minus for the night: +$243
Overall cash bankroll: $1002
Total plus or minus: +$842
Total hours played: 39
Total per hour average: +$21.6/hour

Well, its discouraging to lose a few nights in a row, but I'm back on the right track now hopefully. I'll only be playing about 2 or 3 more sessions over here before we leave Iraq, my goal is to make another $500, though I'll be happy with ANY positive numbers. It's been a good place for me thus far, and I have reason to have 'positive expectation' for going a lot. Anyways, I need to go to sleep, it's a bit late and this is the only time of the day that my tent isn't unbearable to be in. Goodbye!

-Trike