Off the Snide

Was feeling really upbeat about playing yesterday and had a rewarding and instructive 18 player, turbo SNG on Poker Stars. Finished 7th, but I played aggressively and was in the money for quite awhile. Of the seven-ten pots I won, the vast majority were pots that I bought. The first table was tight-passive and I worked it hard. I won a pot early and that was it, people didn't want any part of me. I think, though, I'm playing too many hands once I get a larger stack. I'm going to try to be more selective, but just as aggressive on the hands I play in these situations. The good thing is that I'm feeling more positive and enjoying tourneys more: I think that bodes well for the future.

FINALLY had a winning session at the limit tables! I did it in a probably unadviseable way- I moved up a level (.05-.10). It was exciting to see the larger pots and I think the added cost helped me focus better on what my opponents were doing. Playing one game at a time also helped. I think I played pretty well- I don't believe I made too many mistakes. I know what that means however: I made more mistakes than I think! One I didn't make, and I'm proud of this is that I quit when I was ahead. I was tempted to play a few more hands, but I was disciplined enough to realize I wasn't getting any help from the deck and that it would be prudent to lock in my wins.

The good news is that I don't believe the competition is necessarily any stiffer at that level. In fact, I owe my winning to a quite obliging call machine. I'm NOT staying at this level, however. I really want to improve my game the right way, so I'm going to go back to the .02-.04 grind. I'm sticking with one game at a time, too. I need to practice the observation and interpretation parts of the game, and I just can't do that playing two handed.

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WEIGHT CHECK!

My weight is going in the wrong direction, so I didn't exactly earn any live poker this week. Yet, I have petitioned the Gaming Commissioner and she's been merciful in her bounty. Since I have my surgery next week and won't be up for playing live for a while, I was granted permission to play tonight in the dreaded York Hardware Bar Tournament.

My readers (if any) will recognize that tourney as the one that turns me into a stupid donkey anti-luckbox. I am determined to play longer tonight. I'm going to be relaxed and not worry about making a big stack in the first orbit. Part of the problem last time was the table I was at. No one was friendly or likeable, and one of the players was involved in some drama that was carried over from the previous week. Basically, it was a mother and son who play together and a drunk asshole grabbed the mom's booty and called her a bitch. The son confronted the guy the following week and popped him in the mouth. Everyone was tense at our table because of this.

I'm also in negotiations to be allowed to play this Tuesday. One more finish in the points should at least put me in the conversation for a seat at the regional finals.