Live Game Report - 9/9

I played inconsistently in my .50/$1 cash game last night. I got pocket kings early and they got cracked for what seems like the 956th consecutive time. (2 callers with an ace-ace-five board, they both have aces. Ace magnets, indeed!).

I also attempted to step up the "online-like" late-position aggression, with mixed results. Raised up K8 and hit two pair on the river vs. KQ, a nice payday (Tony will be punching me soon). Also tried a Queen-Eight in not-quite late position, then got myself in trouble with three callers and a Q-J-T dual spade board. That should have been a check-fold for me, with 3 chasers in there chasing away, but I stuck some weak bets out there on flop and turn, trying to protect a hand not worth protecting. Gave up on the river even though I hit two pair, with a four card straight and a three flush out there - it was easily the correct move as my hand was in 3rd place out of 4 by then. Wasted chips postflop by me.

After that hand, and losing with pocket tens, a strange sense of passivity took hold of me and I stopped playing well for some reason. I was dealt pocket kings in the big blind with limpers and... checked my option? Ace on the board, fold. Simple as that. I also limped with ace-king, missed, folded. Simple, cheap. Bad poker. It wasn't a sense of protecting any winnings or losses - just a mood, I guess.

If you're not playing good poker, then you have to get lucky to win money, and I did. 6s7s from the blinds hit a flush on the turn. I checked my flush to the aggressive PC, whose stack was so small that I would have had no problem paying off a higher flush, even if he checked behind and a fourth spade came on the river. He did check, but the river bricked, and I made a solid bet, which he paid off with the rest of his stack with top pair. My little slowplay earned me that value - firing the flush card would have turned my hand face up and he might have folded.

I have noticed more and more lately, though, that folding is not one of PC's strong suits once he hits a piece. He often gets away with it because he wins tons of small pots stabbing, stabbing, stabbing, and watching the table fold their nothings. But sometimes the table has something and so does PC - but PC's something isn't too strong, and he gives his chips away.

I won a nice chunk of his chips last night, but I'll have to play much better to keep it up. +55 BB on the night.