Week Two: A Good Start - I Can Play The Role of a Donkey Too!

Day one of week two went better than yesterday. I played for about an hour, much of which was very uneventful. I really only played two hands.

I started with the usual $40 buy-in at a Texas Hold 'Em 1/2 no limit table ($40 min/$100 max buy-in). It was a new table and most of the players bought in for $100. Fine by me. Let me double up and I will go home.

First hand: JACKS. Great! Another chance to go home early. I never know how to play them effectively. I was under the gun so I bet $12. Horrible bet! Two callers, none from the blinds. Now I do not even know where I am at relative to the other players. However, there is $39 in the pot so unless overcards hit the flop, I am ALL on the flop.

The flop comes TEN - SEVEN - SEVEN. F'ing SEVENS. Not again!

Oh well, I sail the $28 I have left in front of me into the pot and hoped for the best. I was fortunate no donkeys called with a SEVEN in the hole and everyone folded around to me.

TODAY'S CHIP STACK: $79. Nice!

Since I hate to go home after one hand, and because I did not reach the magical "double" buy-in amount which would, under my "rules", make me leave the table, I decided to keep playing.

For the next forty minutes or so, I managed to have a few small pocket pairs (which missed the flop), and missed the flop on one or two good starting hands (Big Slick, ACE-QUEEN). My chip stack dwindled down to $65.

I decided to put the straddle on to change things up. POCKET ACES! Only two f'ing callers (both from the blinds)... Pissed, I took my option and made it $15 on top. Everyone folded. I show the Weapons of Mass Destruction. Man, I really have to stop that!

TODAY'S CHIP STACK: $73. Not really the progess I was hoping for.

Now I am the big blind. POCKET KINGS. Awesome! I can definately use this to my advantage, especially if a few people think I am being cute after making no money on the ACES.

Two limpers around to the small blind who makes it $15 total. Now what? Raise? Call? I CALL. Two additional callers (the limpers). Stupid! Why did I just call? Now I am once again totally lost regarding where I am relative to the rest of the table. $60 in the pot.

The flop is a nightmare: ACE - SEVEN - TEN.

Worse: the small blind makes it $40 to go. No doubt he hit his ACE! Maybe I can make him think I did the same and that he has a kicker problem. I decide call. In hindsight, I should have folded or raised all in. Just calling was pretty stupid. Especially since my chip stack was down to $18. However, everyone else folded so we were heads up. $140 in the pot.

Turn card is a KING! Wow!

The small blind then checks. Unbelievable! I am thinking he must have ACE-KING and trying to trap me. ALL IN!

He calls. $176 in the pot.

River card is a TWO.

We flip up our hands and I realize just how dominated I was until the turn card hit. The small blind had flopped Aces-Up (ACES and SEVENS).

I try not to smile as I rake in the $176 pot. What a donkey!

Having doubled my initial buy-in, I played a few more hands (including my small blind which I fold after a healthy raise) so as to avoid the appearance of a hit-and-run, went to the restroom for a few minutes, and left the table quietly after gathering up today's winnings.

I love this game...

Summary:
Week One - $100 Loss
Week Two (so far) - $135 Profit (after $40 buy-in)

OVERALL PROFIT: $35.
OVERALL CHIP STACK: $75 (includes week two seed money)

Time played to date: 1 1/2 hours, or $17.50 per hour.