The sun rose at 6:52 am this morning. I know that because I
watched it. For some reason I woke up around 5:30 and couldn’t get back to
sleep so I got up and went for a walk to Starbucks. I feel a bit guilty saying
it was a bitter 45 degrees seeing that people back east are suffering through
sub zero temperatures in what is being called a Polar Vortex.
I got to bed early as I played for only an hour last night
in the $40-80 Limit Hold-em game at Bellagio and booked a nice 1k win. The game
was a short handed must-move game and when it came my turn to move I didn’t
like the main game so I decided to just pick up and book the win.
Limit Hold-em is a game of making and saving extra bets and
for the most part I think I did that. For example; in the bb in a 3 way pot
with 9x and an unraised pot, I flopped top pair and flatted the sb flop bet. I
folded my top pair on the turn when it brought 3 to a flush and paired the
board. I believe I saved 2 big bets by not calling down the bettor. In another
example I won a hand and extra bet betting the river for value with KQ on a
board of QT7 4 A and getting called. I
put my opponent on exactly QJ after he checked the river and didn’t let the
scare card Ace scare me into checking and robbing me of 1 big bet.
I did lose a bet in one hand playing tricky though. On a
board of 886 A 9 my line with AK was R/B/CK/C. I should have either bet the
turn and river or check the turn and then raise-folded the river. My opponent
ended up having AJ. It was probably losing this extra bet that had me sleeping
restlessly and got me up so early!
After playing I stopped in The Cellar, a jazz/blues bar and
listened to some great jazz while having a late night feed. You can find some
great local spots off the strip here in Vegas that are unique and really
special. It’s one of the things that I love about this city. It doesn’t shut
down at 9 pm; in fact it’s just getting going! When people come here though, so
many limit their experience to just the strip or casinos, but this town offers
so much more if you get off the strip and know where to look.
Just like poker, (even though the game is tougher then ever
to beat these days) you can find a good game if you know where to look and what
to look for. There were 28 games going at Bellagio and I usually find my way to
a No Limit game, but this night the short handed Limit game offered the best
value for me.
One of the tough challenges a player has is game selection
and not playing in bad games. It may mean you have to leave the place that is
comfortable to you. Whether that means leaving the ordinary casino you normally
play at and taking the time to drive somewhere else or learning a new game to
offer you more choices in game selection.
It’s a tough choice because as we become more and more
comfortable where we’re at, we start identifying with that position. If you find yourself in this position, consider
that what worked yesterday may not work today.
If it is not, it may be time to embrace the challenge of redefining your
strategies and/or reinventing yourself.
Enjoy the Journey,
Kenna
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