I arrive at about 7PM and take out £250 in chips. I'm seated at a tough table and immediately ask for a table transfer. Early doors I look down at KK, in late position, and raise it up to about £10 but get two callers from the button and big blind. The flop comes 6 7 8 with two spades and I don't like it. As I recall, I weakly check the flop but call the button's raise after the big blind folds. I check call the turn for £36 which is a 9 and which might well be my biggest mistake. I check the river which is a 10 and the villain throws in a large £140 bet. It's early doors; I'm looking at KK with 6 7 8 9 10 on the board and an aggresive villain who's representing a highly improbable JJ but who could have been semi-bluffing the flop with 10 J (of spades?) or the turn with JQ. Hell, he may have even made a set but just wants to push me off the pot to take it all for himself. The villain is obviously a good aggressive player who knows how to play the button. I just don't think it worth making the call and so let the hand go and my stack already has a £60 dent. Perhaps it serves me right for playing the KK so weakly but I was new to the table, was out of position, was looking at a fairly scarey board and had no real reads.
I get the table transfer soon after that and begin to feel a lot happier about the table I'm on but then get involved in another chip-dwindling hand. I look down at JJ in early position and zonk £12 into the pot. I get four (count 'em, FOUR) callers. The flop comes 7 8 2 with two diamonds and I bung in another £30 into the pot. Mr Clueless calls on the button and Mr Competent chucks in another £80! Ok, so I read him for the set and fold my hand; two more diamonds appear on the turn and river, and lo and behold Mr Competent flips over two 8s for the flush. Yep, he did make the set on the flop so I was right to fold but I can't recall whether one of my jacks was a diamond but it doesn't matter; I played the hand fine and made the right decisions.
I may have played the hand fine but, after topping up for another £50 for an effective starting stack of £300, I proceed to go card dead. My stack gradually goes down to £200 and then, after about 3 or 4 hours of play, I'm down £150 and by around 11PM have just £150 in front of me. The competent players continue to take chunks out of a big fish at the table who gets felted often and then buys back in for £100 each time - but there is just no action for the most important person at the table.
Hand #1
Luckily, my patience is rewarded with two hands that help me to finish with a respectable stack for the evening. The first of these is where I'm holding A K and see a wonderful A A x flop. Yep, there are two clubs on the board but no matter. The villain in this hand has about £70, holds an ace himself but with a rag that doesn't connect with the board. He pays me off with his stack and I'm back in the game.
Hand #2
The time ticks on to about midnight and I start to feel tired. With about £220 in chips and in early position I look down at AA. I zonk it up to £14 and get two callers from the cut-off and the button. The flop comes K K 8 and two diamonds. I check with the intention of check/raising and I tell myself that no one has got the king or the flush draw. Cut-off man checks, button boy throws in about £25 so I zonk in £75. Cut-off insta-folds and button boy goes into the tank. The more he talks the hand over in his head, the happier I'm feeling about the hand and he eventually mucks. He tells me that he held 9 9 so I congratulate him on making a good fold.Yep, my check on the flop WAS risky but the game's all about risk innit?--------------
All told, I cashed out £275 which means I was down £25 for the session. As I was very tired by about 11PM, card dead and down to £150, I have to be happy with the way things turned out. Unfortunately, getting back home at around one thirty in the morning does NOT make it easy to get up for work the next day!
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