Small Stakes Update #2

Filed in archive Internet Poker on February 23, 2007

What goes up, must not watch the Pot Limit Omaha eight or better tables at Absolute Poker, the tables stayed the same all night. granite hard games for me this week, leaving some uninspiring play and a little less in my small stakes bankroll.

I tried being a little more aggressive then usual in my two longer sessions but picking up $.35 per steal and having to dump after being called on my continuation bets (the opponents showed better hands post-flop each time), didn't make my more aggressive strategy work. In fact, it worked against me since I was spending ~$1.50 to try to pick up a small pot, and only gaining $.35 when I stole the blinds.

Needless to say grinding out wins isn't exciting poker, nor does it help the psyche when those premium hand do get cracked by the poor hand selection skills of opponents at this level. But this self-challenge is more personal and a test of patience, versus obtaining a larger bankroll. I've found holes in my game in spots that I get too worked up in a hand and failing to take a deep breathe and realize what my opponent is telling me (like knock knock puddin' head YOU ARE BEAT!).

Here are the results for this week's sessions (not including a little $5 win playing blackjack):

Session #1:

Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better
90 minutes
$.10/$.25 blinds
6-max table
Loss: $14.22

Nothing fancy here, lost a $20 stack with a huge draw, plus a pair of aces to two pair that got stubborn. Grinded back a little but the loss was not to be recovered.

Session #1:

Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better
180 minutes
$.10/$.25 blinds
6-max table
Loss: $7.95

Boring, boring, boring. I ended up surfing the net while watching American Idol because the table was just not giving action and brought the rockish, uber-tight bets even with the stone cold nuts.

I need to have a better head for this as my patience waiting for hands waffles as the game slows to a who-catches-better-hands grind. Or maybe I should loosen up with a few Cap'n Coke and less Simon Cowell making some girls cry on stage.