Back on track

After two consecutive losses, I headed back to the Hard Rock last night for a nice solid session. It was a Saturday night, which meant that the place was packed. It took almost twenty minutes to get into the garage, park and make my way through the crowd to the Poker Room and, once I got there, I saw an enormous waiting list (> 20 names) to play my game, 1/2 NL. Since I wanted to get to a table as soon as possible, I asked to be placed on the wait list for 1/2 as well as 2/5 and for a $60 Turbo SNG.

They called me almost immediately for 2/5 and, with a little nervousness, I made my way to the table. The 2/5 game has the same %100 max buy-in as every other one, but, generally, players come there with much more cash and gamble, so I was really going to have to play tight and careful, picking my spots before entering pots. But, when I got to the table, I was surprised to see that it was a 1/2 table after all and the brush had sent me there by mistake. Ah well.

The game went right almost from the start. I won the first two hands I was dealt with legitimate hands and stole the third pot with a continuation bet. I built a $300 stack almost immedately and never really looked back. The deck went cold for almost an hour but I hung in there and, when the cards started to come again, I was ready. I played until the table broke and left with $435 profit which more than makes up for the last couple of sessions and leaves me with a nice healthy bankroll to start the year.

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A fresh start

I’m back in Florida after a long summer vacation with my family and I am about to head out with a friend to my home room, the Hard Rock in Hollywood for what I am thinking of as the start of the 2009/2010 Poker Season. The World Series just ended (except for the Main Event Final Table, of course) and the school year is about to begin so, what the hell, let’s call it a new year on the Poker calendar, too.

My goals for this year are:

1) Serious bankroll management

I’ve heard lots of pros say that you should never have more than 10% of your bankroll on the table at any time. Chris Fergeson even councils getting up if your winnings are substantial enough to put your table stakes above 10%! I’ve seen too many of my big nights disappear too quickly and the memory of my “up 900 then down 200″ debacle is still fresh. So, this year is going to be about focusing on slow, steady progress on building the bankroll. That’s going to mean adopting a “double up and go” mentality instead of chasing the big wins.

2) Consistent play

I used to say that I wanted a card guard with the letters DPR on it, standing for “Don’t Play Rags.” That simple rule is the surest way to avoid losing big pots and I want to do a better job of mucking rags this year. No more A8s for me!

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I’ve left the Hard Rock after about two and-a-half hours of the the most fun I’ve had playing poker in a long time. My buddy and I sat at the same table and we just had a blast… the banter and fun around the table was great… which almost makes it OK that I lost my entire buy-in, with a large chunk of it going to him.

I didn’t follow my own advice, of course, with most of my losses attributable to playing mediocre starting hands that I had no business playing at any price. It sure was fun, though. From now on, I play to straighten up and fly right.

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