RAINING SEVENS

Things were good for awhile and now they are not so good. That has been my pattern for years and I still can't find the consistent winning streaks that I am hoping to discover as I improve my game, temperament, and money management.

I had been doing well in cash games this month, but after a day when winning came easy, I opened up four tables to quadruple my income, only to find the magic was gone. I thought back to the day before: what was so different? Then I remembered two hands that came up within five minutes of sitting down the previous day. First, I called a raise from the bb with 75s and the flop came 864. It turned out that the raiser had AA, a bigger stack than mine, and to top it off, an ace fell on the turn. All of those things need to fall into place for a sure double-up. I massaged the pot and the money only went in on the river when we were both sure we had the nuts.

A few hands later, against a different opponent, I took 44 against AK and found the glorious AK4 flop, ensuring another double up, or almost, as I now had a bigger stack than he. So, I quit a couple hours later with $600 profit, but it was all made in the first five minutes. The rest of the way was pretty much break even. Actually, I was up even more but a hand towards the end cost me about $150. I had been raising a lot in position, so when an opponent check-raised me, I didn't know if he anything or was just making a move. I had top pair so I called. He made a pot-sized bet on the turn but I had picked up an open-ended straight draw to go with my top pair, so I called. I picked up two pair on the river but we both checked it as it was also the third diamond. It turned out that he was making a move on the flop, but he hit his straight on the turn before shutting down on the river, so that hand cost me some.

Sunday was a bloodbath. I contributed $1200 to tournaments and cashed zero. I kept getting close, but I couldn't get past the bubble. The most painful eliminations came in the two $100 satellites I played, trying to earn a $500 ticket. In my first attempt, I got it in with AK but lost to AQ, always painful. In my second attempt, it was an even uglier exit. It was three-way action. I raised on the sb with A9. I had raised the previous two times in this spot, both times legit, and both times he folded the bb. This time, I expected him to play back and I was ready to go with it. He merely called. It looked like a move because of the size of our stacks at the time. If he had a hand he loved, he would have shoved, no question. I think he was banking on the 2/3 chance that I miss the flop. So the flop came Q63 and I put in a weak continuation bet. He instantly shoved and I instantly called. I was dead if he had a queen but I thought there was a good chance he didn't. He showed 97. He was dead to a seven and proceeded to catch one both on the turn and again on the river.