Mediocre to Solid
My final 5nl session was a little horrific last night, most due to one single opponent who seemed to be in collusion with the deck, and managed to take is starting stock up to just under $50 before leaving the table, quite a feat when your playing Q2 in a raised pot. This session has sealed my win rate into negative territory for the first time so far, but it does give me something to post about.
Several hands in this session, I believe show the distinction between mediocre play and what I would call solid play, If I handled these situations better my win rate would likely climb to closer to the target I am aiming for.
This is probably the clearest example. I find QQ in the HJ, after MP2 raises a few limps. In the hand this already stood out as odd, it wasn’t the fact that he raised, but the amount was suspicious giving villains tendency to make weak and min-raises in this spot with drawing and weak hands. That in itself was not enough for me to decide can only set mine profitably, and without accepting that I needed to narrow the filed so I re-raise.
MP2 calls, and I’m grateful to avoid over cards. Villain checks to me, which makes me a little more suspicious, because of villains tendency to check is strongest hands on the flop, so now although unlikely I’m starting to think about the possibility of TT out flopping me. On the turn villain open shoves, I automatically rule out any Ace high holdings, which narrows villain range I beat much further, its unlikely villain is doing this with AT, has he has a tendency to lead the flop with such hands… I deliberate some more and make the call.
Given what I know about villains tendencies and how the hand has played out, I believe this call was a mistake, a mistake that when made consistently will hold me firmly in the ranks of mediocre players. I talked myself into the call because of generalizations about the limit, and justified it because QQ is often good here, but in this specific situation I should have accepted I was beat and took satisfaction it not paying villain off when he pushed.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?3421372
Here I find QQ again, and once more face a raise from the player on my immediate right. The flop brings an Ace with 2 to a flush, its 3-way and MP min bets into me. Perhaps frustration was getting to the better of me here, I completely disregarded the pre-flop action and the fact that I am 3-way at a 5nl table and almost ignore villains DB and c-bet. Given the price I am being offered, folding is clearly wrong here, yet building a pot when I could easily be behind, especially considering villains pre-flop open was unlikely to be much better. It wasn’t a good spot regardless really, as a call declares I don’t have an ace and allows either villain to bluff me out, it also offers amazing odds for any draw to beat me, yet in this spot, I think keeping the pot as small as possible and getting out to further aggression would have been the better line. The turn goes check-check and villain makes an inviting lead on the river I expect to be beat, but can’t turn down the odds.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?3421435
Not all disasters are accidents... Buy the Sole Survivors Club, by Zoe E. Whitten
