Riding the Wave

Interesting session yesterday.  After it was all said and done I finished down exactly $300, so basically that's like breaking even in a 40/80 game.  The game started short, filled up, stayed full most of the day, and then started to get short later in the evening and into the early morning hours.  I eventually got to put in an extended heads up session against Cecil.  I ran pretty good against Cecil and I could tell that he was getting a little frustrated particularly since it seemed like I flopped a pair or a draw like almost every time, and whenever I needed to would bink the 3 outer no problem.

I finished the heads up match with 23 and 1/2 stacks for a cashout of $4700.  Now I can't totally recall what I started with when we started our heads up match, it was either 11 stacks or 6 stacks.  I think it was 11, but I'm not totally sure.  I just recall Helen running hotter than the wind as usual, particularly when were playing 3-handed with Cecil and I.  Some more Helen delights, 3-betting me with KTs out of the SB when I had AK.  Don't worry she binks a T on the turn.  QJo against my 88, where she held a singleton diamond against my 8 of diamond.  Board runs out pretty bad for me and she gets the maximum as the way the hand played out, she's never supposed to have an unpaired hand there on the river when the 4th diamond hits, but apparently when Helen tilts she literally have any two sometimes.  She got another guy really good with T6 suited for a big pot too.  Playing 3-handed she pulled off an animal raise with 22 on a 6555 board.  I opened the button with AK, she 3-bet the SB, Cecil folded and I 4-bet.  She check called the 655 flop, and then check raised the 5 turn.  I am really regretting not 3 betting her on the turn, in any case I called.  River was a 2 and she fired, and I snap called.  Cecil and I both think, that she thought she was bluffing on the turn, and that the river card "improved" her hand, when in reality her hand could not improve further after the turn.  I had 7 outs for the win and 3 outs for a chop.

In full ring play I got up as much as 2 racks or so, but then went on mini-tilt or as I like to call it raiseitis, and started raising a few too many hands.  I eventually got cured of that but ran into some cold decks.  KQ versus AQ on a queen high flop, turn Q.  I opened preflop, got 3 bet by the button, check/raised/called a 3 bet on the flop, and then bet/3bet the queen turn, and fired the river only to get looked up by AQ of course.  I even announced AQ good after getting called on the river so quickly.

I got to check raise Cecil with A4 against his AQ on the river on a like a a 87284 board.  I opened short handed he correctly 3-bet, I called.  I check called both his flop and turn bets.  Then I check/raised the river and he snap called, and then I wasn't sure that my hand was good.  At the time I thought I had a good value check/raise until he called so fast, but my hand was still good.

Later on in the evening playing I think 5 or 6 handed I pulled off a masterful river check raise.  Lam open-limped UTG, I over limped with 87dd, Helen limped, Cecil raised the button, can't quite recall if one of the blinds called or not.  In any case flop comes Q79 one diamond.  Checked to Cecil who oddly checks behind.  Turn is an 8.  Lam now bets, I call, Helen folds, Cecil calls.  River is a king.  Lam now checks, I check, Cecil ponders for an unusually long time for him and then bets.  Lam calls, I raise, Cecil frowns and calls, Lam hates it and folds.

Also, someone tried to buy me a beer and I had to respectfully decline otherwise Cecil would have pounced and collected his free $50.