Running Hot in February!

Hey folks. Well, I know February is not technically over yet, but I am riding high after a nice day today so I figured there was no time like the present to post to the old blog. I will probably lose 20k in the next 2 days, so I will pre-empt that by talking about the month's results to date instead!

It was another nice one for me. I managed about 45k so far this month thanks to a 12k day today. I ran well over all-in EV today to the tune of about 8k, but you'll never hear me complain about having good luck. I made a few nice plays, including a hand that played out this way:

I had TTKK and raised UTG. I had the Ks. CO, BTN, and SB all called and the flop was Ts9s7d. The sb lead into us for the pot. He was a straightforward player, and I was sure he had J8. I called, and the button called quickly. The turn was a 5s. The sb checked immediately, I checked, and the button checked really fast. The river was a 6d. The sb checked again, I contemplated a bluff, but didn't want to sb to be pot controlling a J high flush or something similar. Maybe I should have bluffed here, but I didn't. The button instantly potted it. The sb folded quickly, and now I am thinking...he can't have the A high flush. He would have bet the turn. I have the Ks. Is he really potting a smaller flush than that? If he had a straight, he would just check and hope it was good...so I called. He had KQJ2 and I was good.

In another, I raise button with Kd4d8s9s, and the sb and bb calls in a PLO cap game. I've been experimenting more with PLO and having a pretty good time, btw. So the flop comes 4c, 7s, Td. The turn is the 2s, and the sb checks again. The bb now insta pots, and I call. The bb is a bluffy donk, and the sb is straightforward. I figure if the sb had anything, he would have bet. He folded. The river was the 7c and the bb instantly bets around 1/2 the pot. I didnt think he would do this with a 7(he'd bet more), and i didn't think he'd bother to bet with a T. And if he did, I think he would at least think before betting. I was a little worried he'd bluff a better hand than mine, but I was getting a good enough price that I called, and he had 9845 and I took it down. There are a lot of fun hand reading spots in PLO, and I am really enjoying them.

The thing I have been most proud about this year is my diligence in playing. I've played nearly 100k hands in 2 months, which is just a ton for me. The motivation of the kid being on the way has helped a lot, I think, as I have wasted far less time doing nothing during the day. I'll play about 2k hands every day from 10-2 or so, and that still leaves me plenty of time for my house-husbandly duties. It's amazing what a little motivation can do for your game, as I've been studying more, talking to people about poker more, and just focusing more in general. I honestly think this blog has helped a lot, since I don't want to come back here with my hat in my hand explaining away a losing month while secretly knowing it was due to me playing bad. I encourage you guys to have someone to hold you accountable to playing a lot, or not tilting, or whatever. It has certainly helped me a lot, and I've been at this 6 years now.

Til next time!

JD