History repeats itself

Remy: How would you feel if I came in your room and I started playing my music.
Fudge: I wouldn't feel anything.
Remy: Why not?
Fudge: 'Cause I'll whoop your ass. That's why.

"Higher Learning"

From my playing over the weekend, I did indeed have a few repeat performances. Thankfully my bank roll continues to grow slowly and is now just under the $500 mark again. At an Omaha $1/$2 table, I was dealt Jh9h3h2h. I had taken a bit of a beating at this table for the day, hitting trips often but never improving. Here all I could see was a striaght draw and a flush draw, but I had already taken four hearts out of the game. In early position, I considered this an easy fold. The flop comes 4h5h6h, giving me another straight flush - well, it would have if I as involved with the hand. Nevermind I guess. I made a Queens over Eights full house a little while later to put me up for the session when the table broke.

Also another little interesting hand took place as I sat down at the crazy $25NL. The very first hand I am dealt 88 and get to see the flop when it is raised to $3 and I call. The flop is Queen high with an eight and I feel good. I check and then call a $3 raise with one other comeing along for the ride. The turn is a blank and I decide to try a little play here. I'm pretty certain I am in front, and UTG I put out a $0.50 bet into a $10+ pot, just hoping it looked as bad a play as it was. One guy re-riases over the top of me for another $3 and the one in the middle folds. I re-raise back for $10 and he uses up all his time to think and call. Brilliant, I put him on AK, maybe a pocket pair but definately not a made hand. The last card is an awful Ace. There is not straight or flush out there though. I decided to check, but if he makes any bet then I am already pot committed and all in with my remaining $6 or whatever it was. He checks it and I take the pot at the showdown. What does everyone think, should I have come out betting on the river? Since I had the better hand, after the fact naturally a bet could have done no harm so perhaps. But I was a littel worried that he had AA and had hit the nuts on the river. Anyway, I got out of it this time and was playing with winnings for th rest of the night.

Last interesting hand came later on another $25NL table - again in the big blind. All my interesting hands come from the big blind. Anyway, I had 5h6h and remembering the flopped straight flush from before I thought I would see the flop for the extra 50 cents. The rainbow flop comes 347, and I check. 1 player bets $2 and I re-raised all in for $21. A stupid over bet but I believe there is method to my madness, which is as follows:

Firstly, anyone who has ever played these tbales knows what kind of idiots can reside there. People who loose to a 10 outer and then complain poker is rigged. A stupid all-in bluff is not uncommon. I was hoping that either there was an idiot at the table who would call with TPTK or an over pair/cards, or there would be someone half smart enough to think I was an idiot going all-in with TPTK or an over pair or something. The other train of though was there is already $5 in the pot, plus a $2 bet in front of me, if I take it down here then I have avoided anybody else improving and taking the pot away from me. I also loose the chance to maximise the pot, but that is the excepted risk I guess. The rasier folded and even said in the chat box "You could have made alot more of that hand". Oh well, I continue to get good cards but fail to make the most of them for now. I guess I have something ot work on.

I did get the chance to watch The Poker Geek go at it in a $10 SNG for about 5 minutes, but unfortunatly his AK lost to AA. Seeing any poker blogger at a table is exciting for me, being the time differences and all. Later that very day, myself in a $10 SNG I rivered a flush to double up into first place, then had one of the short stacks all in with Queens vs my Kings - Queen on the river. Damn, I'm back to the middle. Finally, with 5 left I am all in with AKo vs AKd, and the third diamond came on the river again. Unlucky, but really you can't complain. Nobody really listens anyway.