I was going to report another average break-even night.

I had 3 sessions of limit 5 card draw.  They came out like this:

10/20:  -$355.50

15/30:  $290.50

15/30:  $174

So the night started off brutal.  I just simply couldn’t win a hand.  It was the same ole stuff that I have been dealing with all of August.  I have really been frustrated.

So I decided to fire up some $100 NL 5 card draw SNGs.  Not much luck there either as I went 2-2 for a loss of $20.

So as I was about to post on here that I only won $89 on the night (about 2 hours ago)……someone sat down to play me HU at the 15/30 table.

It was a HU marathon.  We played for just over an hour and a half.  Guess how I faired?

I ended up winning $2,322.  It felt great too.  These types of sessions have totally escaped me for over a month now.  I am on cloud nine right now.

So what was different?  I was running pretty good…..but was that all?

Earlier today when I was on the road for work, and on my lunch break I walked into a book store.  Of course I went straight back to the “games” section to see if any poker books caught my interest.  I didn’t see anything to buy, but I was skimming one book where one paragraph really hit home with me thanks to the brutal run I have been on.

I don’t remember the specifics, but it was saying something along to the effects that when you are running bad you are also playing bad.  Obviously there are times where you can’t do a thing about your losing ways, but other times your game is lacking in some area that it has caused you to lose at a quicker pace.

I had started to post over the last couple of posts that I didn’t “feel comfortable” at the tables and I knew that I was making some minor mistakes here and there.  So after the first session tonight, the one where I lost -$355.50.  I went back to the drawing board.  Went over my notes on 5 card draw strategy.  Worked on some other things that I have been curious about.  As I was doing this, I kinda had an “oh yeah” moment.

Am I going to say that this is why I won tonight?  No, not necessarily.  I did run good.  But then again I have hear the term that the harder you work, the luckier you get.  Only time will tell if it was just a fluke.

Win on the night: $2,411.50

Amount to 60k: $20,908.15

(somehow back above pace)

Now lets hope I can wake up for work tomorrow.

The way things have been going, I was just going to sit and wait for a game to come to me and not go out of my way to try to find a game.  Well, finally a game came to me.  But I just don’t understand how I can improve on a consistent basis only to have my opponent improve even more.  I would hit a flush when my opponent would hit a fullhouse.  I would hit Aces up and my opponent would hit trips.  I would be ahead, and lose.  I would be behind and improve, but not enough.

I started to let it affect my play.  I was playing scared.  I just kept thinking that my opponent outdrew me once again.  Once that happened I knew it was time to to call it a night.  After talking to another player, it basically confirmed my beliefs in that I might just need to take some time off.  So tonight, no more poker.

Lost $338.50 for the night in 44 minutes after starting off up $200.

Current amount to 60k: $18,496.65

I lost $752 tonight, fitting end to my worst month ever at the limit 5 card draw tables.  I ended up losing $666.50 for the month just at the limit 5 card draw tables.  Losing what is basically just a buyin at 15/30 I guess is not all that bad in the whole scheme of things, but this is no time to have that kind of August.  I have a goal I need to reach.

My HU SNGs have seen an awful patch of luck too.  I just get amazed by how I can not beat people that play in an absolutely clueless way only to see them catch hand after hand.  The only bright spot for me this month were a couple NLH mtts and some random PL draw and deuce-seven triple draw sessions.

All together, I made $2,863.04 in the month of August.  BRUTAL!!!!! Especially since $1,300 of that was from bonuses I purchased in the PokerStars store.

Is it possible that it wasn’t my bad run of luck and maybe I picked up some leaks?  Absolutely.  I am actually beginning to think that my brutal luck at the tables has me playing a slightly different style and is not allowing me to pick on my opponent’s weaknesses.  Mostly because for a while there, they always “got there”.

This month has really been playing games with my head.  What am I doing wrong?  Many times, not a thing.  But I am starting to pick up on spots where I missed value or shouldn’t have thrown that extra bet in the pot.  Mistakes I was not making in July.  Throw all of that together, plus a below-average dealt set of cards for me this month, and it has brewed up my worst month in specifically 5 card draw.

Some players probably think I ran good this month.  Because funny thing is, I would have one really good session and run well coupled by some brutal luck sessions where nothing went right.  Depending on when someone played with me, they might think I am just complaining about nothing.  But I feel I have a pretty good idea when things are happenning at a rate that is no way near the norm.

Going into this goal, I was expecting to make anywhere in the range of 5-10k in 5 card draw cash games, and I needed to find a way to supplement the rest to get the needed 10k monthly quota.  I definitely missed that in the month of August.

So where do we go from here?

Well I am now almost $1,400 below pace.  Compare that to a month ago where I was almost $6k ahead of pace.  I need to just keep on plugging along.  Put in the hours, work on my game and try and look for some leaks.  I don’t like losing, though I really won for the month…..it’s a loss. I am keeping my head up though.  I know things will turn around eventually.  I just hope the traffic at the 5 card draw tables keeps up at a steady pace.  Otherwise, it will be really hard to get out of this small hole I have dug for myself.

Just like last month’s synopsis, I will try and rate my chances of reaching my goal to 60k.  I think I am a slight underdog at this point.  Probably in the 45% range to hit 60k when it is all said and done.  It’s really too early to tell, but I think I will have a better gauge on my chances of success at the end of September, which will be the half-way point.

All it will take is a couple good nights and I can be right back on track.  So although I am frustrated, don’t write off my chances just yet.

Amount to 60k: $18,835.15

There wasn’t hardly any games going tonight at the limit 5 card draw tables.  I really needed to play too.  But I did play some HU 5 card draw SNGs and some PL draw.

I won just over $50 in PL draw, but managed to get crushed in the SNGs.  Was I outplayed or did I run bad?  I am not 100% sure.  I think it was a combination of the two.

But as it stands I dropped about $50 on the night.  I needed to win tonight to stay ahead of my pace to 60k.  So this will be the first time that I will have dipped below pace.  I bought a $4k bonus from the PokerStars store with my FPPs.  So that will hopefully ease the pain.  But before it shows up on my $ total, I need to clear a bonus amount of even more FPPs.  So it should show up sometime in September.

So looks like I will be needing to post a comeback here soon.

Amount to 60k: $19,587.15

I left off the previous post saying that I was planning to play a round of golf and go out to some bars with friends to “really” celebrate my 30th birthday.  Well that idea was kinda scratched when I returned home after my round of golf to the delight of a surprise….surprise party.

Quite a few people showed up and we had a catered spread plus 2 kegs.  I really had no clue that this was going to take place.  It was mostly due to the hard work and planning by my wife.  She really went all out.  It ended up being a great night.

That was Saturday night, then Sunday…again my original plans were scratched as I forgot that I had to go to 2 different drafts for fantasy football. 

So I have played pretty much zero poker the past couple of days outside of maybe 1 or 2 sessions of less than 30 minutes.  I am hoping tonight I can get back to the grind and re-focus on this goal at hand.  60k isn’t just going to fall in my lap, I need to play!

There is one bright spot as it concerns to my poker.  The brutal month of poker that is August is coming close to an end.  Lets hope that September will bring a month similar to July.

Just played one extended session tonight of 10/20 draw.  I have been fooling around with my new Droid 2 phone, and I can’t put the thing down.

When I went to get the phone for a birthday present to myself, I was between the Droid 2 and another Blackberry phone.  (I had the Blackberry Storm 1)  Let me just say this, I am really happy with my choice.

So anyway back to poker….Since I was playing with my phone the whole session, I was just hoping to make my nightly quota of $400 and get back to my phone.  Typically setting a stop-win is not something you should do in a game like poker, but by all means should be done in a game like roulette; where you are bound to lose the longer you play.

Well, it took me longer than I would have liked, but I am happy to say that I did reach my quota as I won $444 tonight in almost 2 and a half hours.

Oh, and I did play a little last night too, while drinking, and while playing with my phone…lets just say I wasn’t playing my A game, but I still won about $30 playing 2 tables of 10/20 in 30 minutes.

So my total to 60k is now at $19,524.55, which is at an all-time high (but not in terms of ahead of pace)

I am going to play a round of golf tomorrow during the day, and go out to some bars with friends tomorrow night to really celebrate my 30th birthday…..so it is unlikely that I will play again until Sunday.