Ever since I decided to take the game more seriously, I determined that I would need to go into my next cash session with a plan, a goal, a loss limit, and a time limit. These would be determined by each session, with plenty of variables each time.
Fast-forward to last Saturday, when Tina, Matt, Danielle, Cuffe, and I made the annual casino trip for Cuffe's birthday. I had my bankroll planned out, and $100 of it was earmarked for poker. Last time I visited The Stone, I wanted to play poker but basically wussed out. I was determined to not let that happen again.
We arrived at The Stone just before four, and were planning on playing bingo at 6:30. No time like the present - Tina and I both decided to hit the poker room and play until then. Surprisingly, there were two seats available, and we sat right down with $100 buy-ins and got right to work at 1/2 NL. My goals:
Play smart, don't chase
100 loss limit
3 hour time limit
I ended up playing for about two and a half hours, and I was very happy with the way things went. Mainly, I didn't make any stupid plays and didn't embarrass myself. The cards were slightly on the poor side; I can't count how many times I had A/6 or worse. I had to laugh and also pat myself on the back a little bit, because if I had been playing two years ago, I would have played all of them just because of the ace, and busted in like 20 minutes max.
I recall three hands in particular:
One: I had Ah/2h, and called a pre-flop raise to 6 (not a terrible play IMO because of suited connectors). The flop gave me a nut flush draw, and thus I called the only other player left in my hand (the guy to my immediate right, who was pretty cool) when he raised to 10. The turn bricked, and when he raised 30, that was it for me - I wasn't about to piss away that much of my stack on a draw.
"30 was enough to get me out," I laughed afterward.
"Was....25 enough?" His (obviously drunk) friend to his right asked.
"30 was enough," I repeated with a laugh. In hindsight, I think this exchange established me in their eyes as someone who knew what they were doing. (I sure as hell was already ahead of the game in that regard compared to some others at the table, who were too busy having side conversations and had to be reminded when to bet by the dealer, and when they did, bet wrong because they didn't realize someone ahead of them raised.)
Two: I raised to 10 pre-flop, and got three callers. The flop came 9-10-2, and I was first to act, and raised another 10. Two people folded, but one woman thought about it for a while, then spied my stack and put me all-in for my last 24.
"You got a big pair?"
"Yeah," I said, flipping my kings. She shook her head and flipped A/8. I knew what was coming - an ace.
Only, it didn't - I faded the last two streets and doubled up, getting me back around 75.
Three: Again, I raised to 10 pre-flop and this time got two callers, including the same woman. The flop was similar garbage, and having both players covered, I raised all-in for about 40. The first to act (a young girl who was actually carded by the dealer and looked like a young Natalie Portman) immediately folded, leaving action to the same woman. Again she debated, again she called, again she asked "got a big pair?"
Again, I answered "yeah", this time flipping over queens. They held, and suddenly I was firmly in the black with just over 150.
Only one other hand stands out, my only other pocket pair of the session. I had nines, and was hoping to limp and get lucky, but the guy to my right raised 30 preflop and it was a no-brainer to fold. I did have a few other situations where I got to see a free flop, but none of them panned out.
I tightened up even more after that, and by the time Tina was ready to go (unfortunately, because she'd busted out), I had a profit of 52. Nice!
Time to break it down:
What went right:
- Didn't play any stupid hands
- Didn't chase anything
- Took advantage of strong hands when I had them
- Made decent reads on people (guy to my right was a good player, his friend was loose but seemed lucky, guy to my left was a good player and didn't play bad hands)
- Could have taken some more chances, especially instead of checking through with one other player post-flop (maybe could have stolen a pot with a mid-range bet)
Obviously, it was a good session; I hit all my goals, and most importantly, I have the confidence to get back at it again.
Total time: 2.5 hours
Total winnings: $52
Career bankroll (cash games): $60
A drunk guy at a casino? I don't believe it! Seriously though nice plan and execution. Also I would like to have seen the Natalie Portman lookalike.
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