Mark's Poker Blog

July

July was an up and down month for me. I started out bad, losing a bunch at a small game when my straight got smashed someone who called with 2 pair and hit a full house. After that though, I was on quite a tear. I really didn't have any losing sessions the rest of the month. I played in my game and a couple of 2/5 games.

Perhaps another reason for a good month is that I didn't play in any of the bigger games, including those that are pure holdem (10/20 NL) and mixed (10/20 PL holdem and 5/10 PL high/low). I like those bigger games. I like the people and the action, but I suck at omaha and am a small fish in those bigger games. I am getting more comfortable, but it is still a learning experience.

Comfort Level In Games

As I have reported, I started playing in some bigger games this year. These include 10/20 NL holdem and 10/20 PL holdem+5/10 PL omaha. While I have done ok in the pure holdem games, I have sucked in the mixed games. Part of this is the omaha and the other part is that the games are still a little out of my comfort zone.

I have been playing maybe 2 years and I recall being pretty lost even in the smaller games. I remember being sort of lost in the 2/5 games at first, but over time, now those games seem really small. You get to the point where instead of being the fish, you are the person people try to avoid. I think if I only played in those games, I would consistently win.

I will occasionally go play in smaller games for recreation. Assuming I don't drink too much and play like a goof, these games are even easier to play.

I guess it is just a natural progression - over time you get more experience and get comfortable playing in bigger games.

June turned out ok

We the month of June started out badly. I lost $1700 on Jun 1 and it was up and down for a while. Thanks to the tournament, I ended the month way up. Probably the best month I have had - around 12K. I did well in one previous month, when I won a WSOP seat, but odds are that money won't yield anything. The other months unfortunately were up and down. Hopefully July will be good.