Back in the green.

Yesterday I had a good prime time monster session of 3300 hands. I won $3000 but still went home disappointed. I was about to claim a 600NL record of almost 6k when I dropped 3k in just the last hour and a half due to a few suckouts and general unspecified bad running. I can't seem to shake those annoying 5 buy-in downswings this month, they seem to hit me randomly and frequently.

But nothing can ruin the happy feeling of being in the green for the month again (about $2700), and more importantly, that I felt things were really coming together for me yesterday. Now, you will frequently hear poker players say they have days of playing well, and days of playing bad, usually hinting that their results depend on their 'daily form'. For the most part, I don't buy that. I frequently have that feeling as well, but in my opinion it is mostly a function of the cards more or less subtly falling right for you. Yesterday however, was an exception for me. I felt like I was having sharper reads on opponents than usual for some reason, perhaps because it was prime time, and the level of play was generally lower than usual.

However, I was also having a lot of success in big pots against the regulars. During a long session, it is very usual to have a running battle of blind steals and 3-bets preflop against the other regulars running on many tables. Maybe it really was an instance of the cards falling right, but especially one guy, a solidly winning regular, I was really hauling his ass around the tables, forcing him into positions in which he was obviously uncomfortable. One consequence of an increased 3-betting range is that you get to play a lot of pots 3-bet preflop and then c-bet and called on the flop. That usually yields a pot of about 60BBs, and playing those well can be really tough with holdings that are often not super hands. In those hands I got far the best of it yesterday.

Also, I was more or less consciously implementing some stuff I learned from watching Stoxtrader play, and it seemed to be working. There are two things I have taken away from those videos that I am trying to use more than I already did. Those are taking initiative preflop, and controlling my bet sizes better postflop.

Taking initiative preflop:
I am trying to 3-bet a little more frequently in position with hands I might otherwise just call with. If you 3-bet a lot, you don't need to make your 3-bets as big, because you need not worry so much about giving the other guy odds to call. The logic is that since you are 3-betting a lot, you will not be holding monster hands as often, and thus he can't count on stacking you if he does hit his monster hand (a set being the classic example). And even if you have only bet 2.5 times his initial raise, he will still be very tentative about playing a huge pot out of position against what could be a great hand. I am still experimenting with this, so we will see how it turns out.

Controlling bet sizes postflop:
I am trying to be more aware of not overbetting flops. There really is no reason to bet 3/4 of the pot, when a half pot bet will accomplish the same thing. Of course, when there are draws on the board you need to price those out, but I think I have grown enough as a player at this point, to get away from more hands when draws are completed than earlier in my NL cash career. This allows me to bet smaller and still make a profit from draws, while losing less against hands that already have me beat.

These techniques are not new to me, nor should they be to any experienced player, but improving your game is all about focusing on and improving in different areas that you previously haven't given enough thought. Being able to locate the areas in your game that most needs improving is the vital part of becoming a good player.

Finally, here is an example of what I was talking about the other day: Laying down overpairs. What made this laydown tough is that I was up against a relatively unknown, but non-solid player, playing too many hands. I think it is a good fold regardless, but I do still find it painful to lay down those.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $6 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

UTG ($403)
MP ($570)
Hero ($600)
Button ($706)
SB ($636)
BB ($1122.93)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Qh, Qc.
2 folds, Hero raises to $24, Button calls $24, 1 fold, BB calls $18.

Flop: ($75) 4d, 2c, 4c (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $50, Button calls $50, BB folds.

Turn: ($175) Jc (2 players)
Hero bets $120, Button calls $120.

River: ($415) 8h (2 players)
Hero checks, Button calls $512 (All-In), Hero folds.
Final Pot: $927
Outcome: Button wins $927.