Don't Rain on my (Poker) Parade
Rain, Rain Go Away! Come again another day.
We have had rain for the last five days. It has stopped enough to allow me to play some golf and mow the yard but has been pretty steady otherwise. We really needed the rain but enough is enough. The fields are filling up and the golf course was even pretty wet. It has been a mixed blessing, though. The more it rains, the more poker I can play as I won’t be out golfing. That is good and bad because Variance has reared its ugly head again and I am having a difficult time finishing in the money at my SitNGos. I have had numerous 4th place bubble finishes and throw in one last place (Pocket Jacks beat by a Flush. Raised preflop 5 times big blind and raised over ¾ of the Pot after the flop of all rags [no overcards] but two hearts. Turn was another rag and I went all in only to have one caller with Queen/Eight of hearts hang on and get the Flush). A bad beat? Maybe just a little as he did not have pot odds to keep calling but……..Jacks aren’t greatest all in hand, either. I have also had some fifth and sixth place finishes when I just couldn’t get the cards or when I did someone happened to have better cards that hand. All in all it means I have lost about 10 out of my last 15 SitNGos and the only ones I have finished in the money are the .60 cent games that I dropped down to just to give my ego a boost and to let me know it isn’t always my game or me but it’s the cards lots of times. My bankroll has taken a small hit of about $15 in the last week. You other players may laugh when I say that but I have a very small bankroll. I don’t have any “extra” money to throw at poker so my bankroll dropping $15 is a pretty good hit to me. I hope to build it back up in the next few days. I am going to step back and take a couple of days off and try to reevaluate my game to see where my leaks are. I am going to reread Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book of Poker and try to get some inspiration and some ideas for playing a better game. I am sure that I have slid backwards in my game as I am at the point where I am getting pretty cocky and thinking I am pretty good at this. Absolute is just humbling me so I will find out where my shortcomings are and, hopefully, grow from them.
Golf Ramblings
Rain let up enough today to play 18 holes of golf. I played match play with my friend Terry, and beat him 1 up. It was a good match for the first 14 holes then it went downhill a bit as we both screwed up the 14th hole and then we got back on track to finish out the round. I am working hard on my putting. Putting is my Achilles Heel of golf. I am a terrible putter and if I could putt worth a lick I would consistently beat Terry and score in the 80’s constantly. As it is I am putting a lot of work into my putting. I am reading and rereading articles on the internet and have changed my entire set up. The results are mixed at this time but I am feeling better and better about it. I just have to practice and play more to get it down. Right now I am not elated about my putting but I am optimistic as I have a direction and a goal to work towards. I feel if I work hard enough at it I can become a good putter. Probably never be a great putter but I should at least be a good putter. My goal is to have several rounds of 18 holes where I don’t have any 3 putts. If I can accomplish that I will be happy.
We have had rain for the last five days. It has stopped enough to allow me to play some golf and mow the yard but has been pretty steady otherwise. We really needed the rain but enough is enough. The fields are filling up and the golf course was even pretty wet. It has been a mixed blessing, though. The more it rains, the more poker I can play as I won’t be out golfing. That is good and bad because Variance has reared its ugly head again and I am having a difficult time finishing in the money at my SitNGos. I have had numerous 4th place bubble finishes and throw in one last place (Pocket Jacks beat by a Flush. Raised preflop 5 times big blind and raised over ¾ of the Pot after the flop of all rags [no overcards] but two hearts. Turn was another rag and I went all in only to have one caller with Queen/Eight of hearts hang on and get the Flush). A bad beat? Maybe just a little as he did not have pot odds to keep calling but……..Jacks aren’t greatest all in hand, either. I have also had some fifth and sixth place finishes when I just couldn’t get the cards or when I did someone happened to have better cards that hand. All in all it means I have lost about 10 out of my last 15 SitNGos and the only ones I have finished in the money are the .60 cent games that I dropped down to just to give my ego a boost and to let me know it isn’t always my game or me but it’s the cards lots of times. My bankroll has taken a small hit of about $15 in the last week. You other players may laugh when I say that but I have a very small bankroll. I don’t have any “extra” money to throw at poker so my bankroll dropping $15 is a pretty good hit to me. I hope to build it back up in the next few days. I am going to step back and take a couple of days off and try to reevaluate my game to see where my leaks are. I am going to reread Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book of Poker and try to get some inspiration and some ideas for playing a better game. I am sure that I have slid backwards in my game as I am at the point where I am getting pretty cocky and thinking I am pretty good at this. Absolute is just humbling me so I will find out where my shortcomings are and, hopefully, grow from them.
Golf Ramblings
Rain let up enough today to play 18 holes of golf. I played match play with my friend Terry, and beat him 1 up. It was a good match for the first 14 holes then it went downhill a bit as we both screwed up the 14th hole and then we got back on track to finish out the round. I am working hard on my putting. Putting is my Achilles Heel of golf. I am a terrible putter and if I could putt worth a lick I would consistently beat Terry and score in the 80’s constantly. As it is I am putting a lot of work into my putting. I am reading and rereading articles on the internet and have changed my entire set up. The results are mixed at this time but I am feeling better and better about it. I just have to practice and play more to get it down. Right now I am not elated about my putting but I am optimistic as I have a direction and a goal to work towards. I feel if I work hard enough at it I can become a good putter. Probably never be a great putter but I should at least be a good putter. My goal is to have several rounds of 18 holes where I don’t have any 3 putts. If I can accomplish that I will be happy.
posted by Wolverine Fan | Monday, May 15, 2006
1 Comments:
Hey, WF.
Thanks for your comment in my blog. I really appreciate it.
Absolute SnGs (especially the $1 and $2 levels) are weak-tight central. I find myself having to "wait out" the other players more often than not. How aggressive are you when you play? If there's a lot of checking down of hands, then start swinging your weight around more. I found that there's more aggression at the .60 tables than the $1/$2 levels (probably because the .60 feel they have less to lose, maybe?) if you believe it.
One thing you can look at doing is playing in freerolls on Absolute to increase your bankroll. They usually have one per hour or so and they're a great training ground for learning different games (they do Stud/8, O8, LHE, and Omaha freerolls as well as NLHE) and they pay 18 places. That's how I started my bankroll at Absolute. Check them out if you're interested.
One of the ways to improve your putting is to go play mini-golf. I know it sounds goofy, but go play mini-golf and put yourself in your "golfer's mindset" and you'll be amazed at how much it can help you with putting.
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