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Sigh, what a harsh week - just got back from playing 1-2 cash at the bellagio and am just getting reluctantly punished by cards.

Heres an example of one of the hands from today:

1-2 cash, the table is pretty basic and easy to read

I limp under the gun with AQ offsuit, i don't want to raise for a couple of reasons:

Firstly I haven't raised yet so people will instantly put me on a big pair or AK/AQ (making me easy to read),
Secondly AQ is a pretty dangerous hand and cash gets expensive fast, best to keep the pot small until you hit,
thirdly there is a lot of players to act behind me, so I have no info on any of them yet

So anyway 3 other loose players limp and the small blind/big blind also play, we all have around 200-300 bucks behind

The flop brings As9s4c - pot 10$

The small blind bets out for 20$, and the big blind folds. I figure he has either a weak ace or 2 pair holding here (49), I don't think he would bet out a flush draw he doesn't seem like that kind of player. My thoughts are that he has a weak ace and bet out to see where he was.

So I elect to just call, if I re-raise he will probably fold unless he has 2 pair in which he will go all in, and by calling it looks like I'm chasing the flush - i can also keep control of the pot size like this because he bet out pretty big and see what the other players do behind me

The limpers all fold the turn brings 4s (As9s4c), pot 50$

He looks at his cards and checks to me. Him checking his cards tells me that he has an ace with a kicker but he is unsure of the suit (unless your cards are the same suit, you remember the values but not the suits) - I know I have a black queen and am pretty sure it is clubs, but don't want to check my cards aswell or I will give of the same read.

Now I can either check or bet here, if I bet he will probably fold assuming I have hit the flush - he might persue the pot if his kicker is a spade but will probably still be worried as he can't have a high kicker because he didn't raise pre-flop.

So if I bet he will probably fold, which is no-use to me as I have the best hand - also if my read is wrong and the 4 just made his 2 pair a full house then he will re-raise me and I will have to fold which is no good.

So I check, this disguises my hand also - he doesn't know if I'm slow playing a flush or just holding an ace. I figure with this play he may bet the river if a nothing card comes thinking his ace is good (or that the 9 will split it AA449) and hence I can make an additional value bet out of him of around 25-30 bucks, it also means if he does have the full house because is small blind and could have any holding, I won't have to pay too much to see on the river bet (hence the advantage of position)

I check and last card brings 3s (As9s4s4c) pot 50$

Classic, a friggin spade - he bets out 40$

I know I can't call because my hand is now beating basically nothing (only a weaker ace), however there is an opportunity to bluff....bluffing is very tricky and requires pin point accuracy.

I start to think of his holdings, he probably has a weak spade kicker with his ace and rivered the flush, but he doesn't seem like the type of player who would fold (they are all calling stations over here) and my read could also be wrong, he may have a full house which would be very expensive for me.

I figure if I bluff I would need to bet at least an addition 60$ to get him off the hand, which is too much and I don't think worth the risk/reward ratio relative to how he would call.

I check my cards just to make sure the queen is clubs and not spades (and not muck the flush phil ivey style).....its still a club, sigh . I fold and show him the Ace Queen, he shows Ace 2 with the 2 of spades

"shudda bet the turn I wudda folded" he says, mother !@$~%@! yank !@$@

Even if i explained to him why I didn't bet the turn he'd be too simple to understand, goddamnit - just keep getting punished by the cards!!!

Meanwhile Weasal is playing at the table and flops the nuts every other hand with people going all in left right and centre, jeez - i try tell him to over value bet because they will call (if someone calls 100$ they will call friggin 120$!), he lectures me about how he is making more money...

The cards have been dropping like this for me for about a week straight now, imagine constantly having hands like that just explained 10 hours a day, 7 days in a row :(


Things are going bad with the girl I'm seeing also, the other day I was using her i-phone and stumbled accross a message from another guy who it is pretty obvious (in fact very damn obvious) from the text that she is seeing him also. I was gonna finish with her right there and then, but the logical part of my brain thought it would be best to pretend that I had never seen it...ignorance "was" bliss, as there is a lot of things she can help me with at the moment.

She brings me rolls n bagels from the restaurant she works at and can give me lifts to places like walmart / also has a lot of local knowledge, so I'm just gonna get what i need from her finish with her....reading the text on her phone felt the same as when I showed my trip 222 (with 22 in hand) on the last 2 tables of the 160$ the other night and my oppenant showed trip KKK (with KK in hand). such a rubbish feeling, i hate being with her now, i feel like i'm being humiliated. On the plus side, she's pretty useful lol

Anyway so really tough times, going to be embarassing sending the boys the results spreadsheet and the flight home next week is looking super tempting if things don't pick up in the next week, so stressed :(

the next game is at 7pm which is 2 hours, plan is to eat some dried fruit i got in the room (by the way moved to circus circus now), have a power nap and recharge my ipod ready for later. Lets hope for a big cash!