$3/6 NL

I've lost back over $2000 of my winnings in the past week by blanking in tournaments. Today, I put a few hours into the cash games, hoping to recoup some of my losses. I bought in at a six-handed table for $300 and went to work. I flopped top two pair early on and made $100, but soon lost it back plus a little. I was at around $280 when I called a raise with 76 and the flop came 865. I check/raised, but he came back all-in. I figured I had enough outs to get me to 42% or so, and I went with it, looking for a 4, 6, 7, or 9. I was right in that those were all outs - he had JJ, but I didn't connect, which sent me to the cashier.

I bought back in for $240 and grinded it out. It was a long time before the cards started falling for me, but I kept focused and played well. Things finally went my way when I raised with A4 and was called by an oppenent who then check/raised me on the 553 flop. It was a lot of money to call, but I thought he might be on a steal, so I made the call. The turn was a K and he checked to me. I bet half the pot, but he stubbornly called. The river was a deuce, which gave me a wheel. He checked to me and I bet $100, which he called with pocket tens. He didn't type anything nasty, but he sure should have.

A few hands later, I check/raised the button on a J64 flop, holding K6. He called, so I guess he wasn't on a steal. The turn was a 6 and he called my bet. When a T hit the river, I hoped it paired his kicker, so I bet out $90 and he called with his measly J7. That's not a call you want to make routinely. I guess he's hoping I show J9 and we chop.

Over the course of the session, I made some laydowns that a younger Dude wouldn't have and I managed to turn my second buy-in into $1170. As the prophet, Danneman says: folding to a raise is but a small mistake. I'm giving more credit to big raises, even from scrubs, and waiting for those times when I'm fairly sure I've got the best hand or at least a decent draw to it before making the big commitment.