Roller Coaster

I've finally come to the understanding that my particular style of play is going to result in sometimes large swings, even within a session. I play a lot of speculative hands. I splash around in a lot of pots. I take stabs at a lot of pots. I give a lot of action. And, in return, I get a lot of action. When the big pots come around, though, I'm typically the one holding the goods.

Case in point:
Saturday night, Tulalip Casino. I'm on my 3rd $100 buy in due to pushing some big draws and bricking out. Standard.

I limp in on the button with 3h5h. 6 of us see the flop:

924, rainbow.

Checks to me, I just check (OESD? Sure, I'll take a free card, esp. with BB's propensity to check-raise).

Turn: [924] A

Boy, I'm hoping somebody's got an ace, maybe even an ace-rag 2 pair. Checks to me again, I bet $10. Both blinds call, others fold.

River: [924A] 6

Well, my straight just got bigger. I've got the nuts. Checks to me, I put in a bet of $30 ($40 in the pot). SB grudgingly calls. Then the BB min-raises to $60. I've got about $250 left; there is about $160 in the pot. He likes his hand, and I know he'll call a raise, only question is how much.

Though it's a little risky, I go in for the kill and OBFV: all in, baby!

SB, as expected, folds. BB, who is a very good player, one who I mostly tried to avoid at the table, thinks. And thinks. And thinks. He tanks for a long time. I'm tempted to call clock, but I don't want to scare him into folding. He's stared at the board long enough that he should see the possible straight, but isn't talking about that: he's worried about a slow-played set. Which of course means he hit two pair on the turn.

Eventually, he calls. I say "the nuts" and show, he flashes me A2 for top and bottom pair.

Total win from this trip: $659. I had almost $1K in chips at the table. The last $1/$2 game broke up around 7am. I was tempted to keep playing, and sit in the $3/$5 game, but after 15 hours at the table, I didn't think my decision-making abilities would be top-notch, so I decided not to try that.

I will be taking a shot at $3/5 sometime in the coming months. I've played 3/5 before, and was comfortable playing there. I'm just trying to be more prudent about my bankroll, because in all honesty I wasn't bankrolled to play 3/5. And even my 1/2 bankroll is slightly short because I keep using it to pay for things like tuition and school books and stuff (yes, I'm paying my way for my chemical dependency professional certification with poker winnings... some may call that slightly ironic). But once I hit a certain mark I'm going to take $600 and sit at the 3/5 table (that'd be 2 max buy-ins), and see how it goes.

On a side note, Grandpa goes in for surgery Tuesday at 2:30 EST. Think good thoughts.