Day 3: Getting There

All day at work on day 3 I thought through the hands I’d played the day before. I pulled out Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book and reviewed his advice. I was left with the determination that I’d played right for the most part on day 2. I had gotten my money in the middle with the best hands and sometimes people just suck out on you.

Today I play better. I decide that I’m afraid to play for money again. I play in 2 sit n’ gos for play money. I play well in the first and place 5th, I forget the beat I took there, but didn’t feel like I did anything wrong, just got unlucky. Then I play another and place second. Again I don’t remember the beat, but I’m okay with it.

Fourth Place in 18-Player Sit n’ Go

The only peek of good news is that I took 4th in a $2 + .25 2-table sit n’ go (18 players) for $9. I played it very well, but had to fold a lot of hands and went all in short stacked to race with A Q off suit against a middle pair. I lost that race.

My Straight Loses

But I had 2 bad beats on day 3. The first was this doozy on a sit n’ go table. I was all in on this with the straight on fourth street, a bet that was probably at least the size of the pot. I guess Henry didn’t see the straight on the board and thought his 6s were good because he called. Goodbye chips.

OK, I know that this begs the question, why was I in the pot with J 7 suited. And my honest answer is “I don’t remember”, but I suspect it was because I was the big blind and was allowed to limp.

My Pocket Rockets Lose the Wrong Way

The second bad beat happened in another single table sit n’ go. I forgot to take a screenshot, but here’s what happened:

I am 1 off the button and I get dealt Ah Ad. Two places off the button limp. I bet out 3 times the big because I don’t slowplay pocket aces. Never. I’ve been burned enough times. I do not slowplay pocket aces. Repeat it with me. I do not…

The button calls and 2 off the button calls. The flop comes down 8c 2s 2c. Two off the button checks. I go all in, a raise of the pot and a half at least.

So, reader, you think you know the ending, right. Someone kept a single 2 and I’m out, right? Yeah, that’s how the story should end. It was a dumb play by me because that totally could have happened. In fact, I would even have accepted losing to someone with pocket 8s. But neither of those things happened.

Instead the button folds and 2 off the button calls (leaving about 400 chips if he loses). He turns over Jc Qc. The turn is a rag. The river is 4c. I’m out in 5th place.

In the end I only lost a little on day 3, down around $10. But I am playing well in $.05/.10 cash games and the sit n’ go wins are encouraging.

I am able to deposit to Full Tilt using what seems like a big scam. I deposit money onto a prepaid phone card. Full Tilt can access the funds on that card. When I win money, I can put it back onto the card and get a refund from the card. So now I have a little more money to lose.

I go to bed and resolve to win tomorrow.