Hi Ho, Hi Low

Played a 45-person multi SnG yesterday again and made it to the money. Again, I should be happy, right? I mean, that's two for two in a row that I moneyed in.... yet, I can't help thinking I blew it. When we were down to 15 players, I was the chip leader, with T15,000 or so. I should have simply coasted into the final table with a ton of chips, right? Hell, I should have gotten up and gone for a walk while the final table approached. But did I? Noooo, of course not. Instead, I had to start bullying the table with my aggressive big stack. And, of course, I payed a price for it. A big price. Instead of T15,000, I had but T9,000 going into the final nine. Then, I busted out in 6th place, just inside the money, when I put my entire (medium-sized) stack in play in what was an obvious steal attempt from the SB. The BB, unfortunately, had AQs, and squashed my Q4o with little trouble. Sigh. If I had done nothing but let myself get blinded away, I would have done better than sixth, as there were a couple of stacks much shorter than mine at that point. Sigh, again. Sometimes, I am my own worst enemy.

Okay, that's the (sort of) bad news. The (sort of) good news is that I finally mustered up the courage to play some Stud Hi-Lo for real money. I've played some stud in home games before, and I've practiced online in the play tables, but this was the first time I've ever played online for real stud dough. The results were mixed, but generally positive. I played three sessions yesterday, and one this morning. Here's the recap:

First Session: About thirty hands played in total. I was up a couple of bucks for a while, but then lost a big pot when my sevens-full-of-threes boat lost to a bigger full house. I am not yet able to spot possible boats in the opps' hands, so I chalk this one up to a) my inexperience; and b) "that's poker." I mean, come on. How does one get off a full house? Net loss: $3.5

Second Session. Played forty hands or so. I played ultra tight poker, only getting involved in a hand if my three starting cards all worked well together. This was an inviolable rule I self-imposed. I was proud of myself when I folded (A-A)-9 for instance. Yes, I'm sure that this is too tight in general, but for a beginner, I wasn't taking any chances, and the results were encouraging: Net gain: $5.5

Third Session. Played fifty hands. Again, I played uber-tight and it paid off. At one point I was up $7 for so, but then donked off a few hands when I chased beyond fourth street to slim outs. In addition to solid starting hand selection, this appears to be a secret to success: don't chase beyond fourth street. Start with three good cards that work together and then continue on if the fourth helps them out. Otherwise, fold. Net gain: $3

Fourth Session. Played twenty hands. Was up $4 very fast, but then lost a major pot when my ace-high flush lost to a very well disguised full house. Again, I'm not savvy enough yet to spot these hands, so even though I lost, I feel pretty good about it. Net loss: $3

I will undoubtedly play some more stud today as it seems (knock on wood) a relatively straightforward game to play. The one book I have on stud preaches starting hand selection as the number one key to beating the game. So far, it seems to be working.... well, sort of.

All-in for now...
-Bug