I was running real goot the past 2 days.

A Wednesday evening session started atrociously, with my bacon saved by some suckouts. But I soon beared down and started playing solid poker. One thing that I managed to do is to keep my composure, e.g. after major suckouts or failed bluffs. I didn't let any of those mishaps snowball into bigger losses.

Conversely I had a couple of occasions where I made spewy plays and deservingly lost, and I made those plays only because I had been winning, I was about to leave, and I told myself I could afford to lose. One of my next goals is not to get too full of myself amidst success.

Thursday evening was a modest winning session. But again I left with a real sour taste in a missed high cards vs overpair scenario, and I had no one to blame but myself.

Thursday late night was hugely productive -- +$80 over only 1.5 hrs or so (494 hands) for a surreal +40 poker-tracker big bets /100 hands.

Wednesday evening hands. It all started with a couple of suckouts:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889667
Twinpsych is known to take huge stabs at orphan pots like this one, and I wanted to semi-bluff him off it. Turns out he had a real hand here, but I already priced myself in to call with the straight draw. In retrospect calling turn would be the best play since my draw was not too apparent.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889668
Villain was quite aggressive preflop, and I have once seen him reraise huge with hands like 99. But here he was not just reraising; he was 3-betting. I failed to fold my KK. However I flopped the set and had the nuts by the river.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889669
......failed bluff......

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889670
Spew. Under most circumstances I would play more cautiously (e.g. fold preflop) but I was up a bunch and I was about to leave. I gave away quite a bit with this outkicked TP hand. Hopefully I'll quickly learn that playing like this is a no-no.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889671
Trying to bluff somebody off his trips in a raised pot. LOL @ myself. =(

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889672
Sick call eh? I was putting opponent on a middle pocket pair. One thing I was right. He didn't have an Ace, and he didn't have a Queen. WTF is he doing in the hand?

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889674
AcAd never deserts me. Not even with 4 hearts on the board after I called all-in preflop.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889675
According to Pokertracker I have lost lots of money to this opponent before. Here I exacted a fair amount of revenge, as he donkishly invited me all-in with Ace-rag after I flopped a set of 10s on a AT9 board.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889676
Lately I have been underflushed a lot. Finally a role reversal here.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889677
This is such a beautiful hand -- medium-scale PWNAGE should I say? This hand deserves to be posted in its entirety. I TOTALLY OUTPLAYED a knowledgable regular on all 3 streets:

1) I called his semibluff on the flop.
2) I led out full pot on the turn to deny drawing odds.
3) I check-called his bluff on the river after he missed.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (4 handed) pokerhand.org hand converter

UTG ($42.50)
Button ($16.75)
Hero ($46.10)
BB ($26.95)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ks, As.

2 folds, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.50) Kh, 5d, 8h (2 players)
Hero bets $0.25, BB raises to $1.25, Hero calls $1.

Turn: ($3) Td (2 players)
Hero bets $3, BB calls $3.

River: ($9) 9d (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $6.5, Hero calls $6.50.

Final Pot: $22

Hero has Ks As (one pair, kings).
BB has Qh 4h (high card, king).

Outcome: Hero wins $22.

Thursday night. I ran at 21/8 and avoided major losses throughout. The happiest part for me is to win big with hands such as 64s and T8s -- these hands had been my major losers according to Pokertracker.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889859
Biggest pot for me on this night. I thought for a long while on the flop before I decided to play passively, check my combo draw and go for implied odds. Things worked out perfectly. I led out big after I hit my flush on turn, I called the all-in, and opponent's set failed to boat up.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889860
This is a hand that I didn't feel too good about, coz I was planning to call him down even if I didn't trip up my 9 on the river. Opponent was an aggressive megadonk, and I was not going to give him any credit for the Ace. He acquired a real hand on the turn, but the river destroyed it.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889862
I unwisely lost half a buy-in to this passive in-line opponent a few days ago (TT vs 99, he had top set). Here I exacted some nice revenge when my combo draw improved to a flush on the turn, he stubbornly refused to lay down TPGK and paid for it.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889863
I raised preflop with JT diamonds, flopped a flush draw, took my free card and immediately hit it. Opponent improved to 2-pairs on the turn, and he fully paid off my hand.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?889865
Another good case of PWNAGE -- opponent wasn't the most in-line player around, and I looked like a genius by calling his missed flush draw with Ace-high (and no kicker to boot)! Here is the entire hand:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (4 handed) pokerhand.org hand converter

SB ($44.65)
BB ($27.45)
UTG ($29.10)
Hero ($34.25)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ah, 2h.

UTG calls $0.25, Hero calls $0.25, SB raises to $1, BB calls $0.75, UTG calls $0.75, Hero calls $0.75.

Flop: ($4) Kc, 5c, Ks (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $2.5, SB folds, BB folds, UTG calls $2.50.

Turn: ($9) 8s (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks.

River: ($9) 7s (2 players)
UTG bets $5, Hero calls $5.

Final Pot: $19

Results below:

UTG has 3c 6c (one pair, kings).
Hero has Ah 2h (one pair, kings - ace kicker).

Outcome: Hero wins $19.