I'm trying to encorporate knowledge into playing the best I can at Low Limit Hold'em taking what I have experienced at the tables and keeping it in mind the next time I go out.

At 3/6 LHE, no one is thinking. You might play a week straight and find one guy who has an actuall grasp on what is going on, but making plays on anyone except those guys who are talking about their strategy and reasoning out loud exactly why their folds are good and smart. Example: I was playing Saturday night and everyone around me was either a CS, a CS, or a CS. No reason to bluff ever. Then, our table gets a new player, a nice black guy, about 35-40, who seems to think about the game, and even claims, "I don't gamble, I play poker" over and over again within the first couple of revolutions. I get in MP, and after two limpers, I limp. One more caller, and the black guy limps OTB, blinds come in, and it's like 7 way. Flop is . Checks to me and I bet. One fold to the button who raises. BB cold calls the two bets, and it folds to me. I decided while the action was getting to me that this guy would suspect I had a really big MADE hand here if I 3-bet(plus I did have a monster draw), so I did so immediately. Button looks at me, and says "Hmm, you must have a set". This is actually understandable because most people at the low limit will bet their monsters fast. Right there, I put the button on a weak 8. Turn came , BB checks(a person I definitely have on a draw, because she would bet out with TP or better and she has folded the river on missed draws a bunch of times already), I bet and the button folds(figuring his top pair can't be good). This literally was the only guy I could make a play against and it worked out...I'm glad I thought it through quickly too...took me about five seconds to decide what to do from the moment he raised. Sadly, I didn't win because the hit the river, BB checked, I bet, she called and showed . Obviously, here I was pretty much crushing here with my draw and I scared the button because of how he thought. He even commented on the fact I scared him out with my flop 3-bet which was the plan I concocted...even though I still didn't win the pot, I thought I played it as well as I could given the constraints that are placed upon me playing at LLHE.

OTOH, I played another player, a woman who seemed to be raising two or three times a round which is alot for anyone in any game, let alone 3/6 LHE. I got really involved with her without the good once which makes me think I use my brain badly too many times. I saw her raise Q8 and J9 OOP(in the SB) as well as a bunch of other weak hands. So, when she raises it again in the SB, and I had I repopped. I wasn't raising at all, getting no premium cards to speak of, so I figured that I was showing good strength. I actually convinced, with that raise, to have the two limpers fold(somehow that happened at LLHE), She then 4-bet me. I called this and the flop was . She bet, I raised, she 3-bet, and I called. Turn was a spade and she checked. I bet, and she called, river was meaningless and she said, "I have a medium spade." She checked, I checked and she took it down with . Two things were learned(or reinforced) into my head after this play: 1)Don't get into a raising war(or play tricky) without the good in LLHE, 2)Don't get into a raising war with a CS. She wasn't going to let go of here hand at any point...and even with a paired board and overcards she was willing to see a showdown at almost any point in which she raised, unless she had hit absolutely nothing by the turn. Just wait for your spot to take a pot from here and mine here chips...don't get involved with a mediocre hand just because the person to your left has been showing speed because at this limit, they while follow you down to the river if they hit anything or they have a made hand in the hole(which stands for PP 66+).

FPS is a disease at this level of play...rarely will you have a spot where your 'ingenious' plays will work. Just get the cards, and fill the pot up.

After playing like a tard at that table(where I couldn't get a PP other than one hand of KK, not even a better ace than AT), I moved to another table and won a couple of quick pots and left breaking just above even for the day. +$6 in 4 hrs.

I'm trying to encorporate knowledge into playing the best I can at Low Limit Hold'em taking what I have experienced at the tables and keeping it in mind the next time I go out.

At 3/6 LHE, no one is thinking. You might play a week straight and find one guy who has an actuall grasp on what is going on, but making plays on anyone except those guys who are talking about their strategy and reasoning out loud exactly why their folds are good and smart. Example: I was playing Saturday night and everyone around me was either a CS, a CS, or a CS. No reason to bluff ever. Then, our table gets a new player, a nice black guy, about 35-40, who seems to think about the game, and even claims, "I don't gamble, I play poker" over and over again within the first couple of revolutions. I get in MP, and after two limpers, I limp. One more caller, and the black guy limps OTB, blinds come in, and it's like 7 way. Flop is . Checks to me and I bet. One fold to the button who raises. BB cold calls the two bets, and it folds to me. I decided while the action was getting to me that this guy would suspect I had a really big MADE hand here if I 3-bet(plus I did have a monster draw), so I did so immediately. Button looks at me, and says "Hmm, you must have a set". This is actually understandable because most people at the low limit will bet their monsters fast. Right there, I put the button on a weak 8. Turn came , BB checks(a person I definitely have on a draw, because she would bet out with TP or better and she has folded the river on missed draws a bunch of times already), I bet and the button folds(figuring his top pair can't be good). This literally was the only guy I could make a play against and it worked out...I'm glad I thought it through quickly too...took me about five seconds to decide what to do from the moment he raised. Sadly, I didn't win because the hit the river, BB checked, I bet, she called and showed . Obviously, here I was pretty much crushing here with my draw and I scared the button because of how he thought. He even commented on the fact I scared him out with my flop 3-bet which was the plan I concocted...even though I still didn't win the pot, I thought I played it as well as I could given the constraints that are placed upon me playing at LLHE.

OTOH, I played another player, a woman who seemed to be raising two or three times a round which is alot for anyone in any game, let alone 3/6 LHE. I got really involved with her without the good once which makes me think I use my brain badly too many times. I saw her raise Q8 and J9 OOP(in the SB) as well as a bunch of other weak hands. So, when she raises it again in the SB, and I had I repopped. I wasn't raising at all, getting no premium cards to speak of, so I figured that I was showing good strength. I actually convinced, with that raise, to have the two limpers fold(somehow that happened at LLHE), She then 4-bet me. I called this and the flop was . She bet, I raised, she 3-bet, and I called. Turn was a spade and she checked. I bet, and she called, river was meaningless and she said, "I have a medium spade." She checked, I checked and she took it down with . Two things were learned(or reinforced) into my head after this play: 1)Don't get into a raising war(or play tricky) without the good in LLHE, 2)Don't get into a raising war with a CS. She wasn't going to let go of here hand at any point...and even with a paired board and overcards she was willing to see a showdown at almost any point in which she raised, unless she had hit absolutely nothing by the turn. Just wait for your spot to take a pot from here and mine here chips...don't get involved with a mediocre hand just because the person to your left has been showing speed because at this limit, they while follow you down to the river if they hit anything or they have a made hand in the hole(which stands for PP 66+).

FPS is a disease at this level of play...rarely will you have a spot where your 'ingenious' plays will work. Just get the cards, and fill the pot up.

After playing like a tard at that table(where I couldn't get a PP other than one hand of KK, not even a better ace than AT), I moved to another table and won a couple of quick pots and left breaking just above even for the day. +$6 in 4 hrs.

Went to AJ's again. Stayed for only about 3 hrs, but won $77 in that time. I played against some of the worst competition: a guy on a 10hr layover from SFO who had 8 Hefeweizen steins, a few CS's who only bet their monsters(one in particular who showed EVERY HAND he had), and a bunch of people just donking off money. It was a decent night...most of my raised hands didn't hold up, of course, but a few did. I think that my reads on every hand were pretty much dead on, and I didn't throw away more than a bet or two(although I did play fast twice which led to decent pots w/ a str. and again a flush. I had a pot with 99 which flopped 944, but on the turn 4, I only managed to lose two more total on the turn and river(CS was betting the whole time, and I was in the SB and checked the flop). Too bad another guy had the case 9, that whole have been a nice $8k card if it had hit(winner had K4).

Going to Tahoe Thursday it seems...can't wait for the weekend to arrive, and this means more gambling against worse opponents with a better rake, hurrah.

Back at AJ's 3/6 LHE. Won another $56 in about 3 hrs. Really slow there on Thursday, didnt know that. My table was pretty sweet until all the donators left. I had $235 at that point. Then, I was just playing the guys who bet when they are ahead. That always sucks of course.

Hand of the night: 9-handed, had UTG+1. Fold, I raise, two callers, blinds call. Flop is . Checked to me, I bet. Older guy to my left raises. He's seen me bet with nothing, and I had such a good read on him that most always I could tell if I was ahead or drawing dead. When he raised, I didn't feel the strength I did the other times he flopped the straight or flush. Fold, SB(CS) coldcalls, BB folds, I look at the SB and say, "Punish coldcallers!" and reraise, they both call. Turn is . SB checks, I feel I am still ahead, at least with the best draw, so I bet, older guy call, SB calls. River is . SB checks, I check, older guy bets out. Oh, there is that feeling again. SB calls, I fold, older guy shows for the straight, no clubs, SB shows for two pair.
Hand I feel really bad about losing money on and playing horriblywas with same guy with QJ of last hand. I had no read, 4 hand at the table for him. I had . Young guy to my right raises after a couple of limpers. First raise after about 1.5 hrs of play...and he was folding alot preflop too, so I thought, BIG HAND. I coldcalled his raise, which I hate, 1 person behind calls, BB calls, limpers call, 6 to the flop of . 3 checks, and PFRer checks. I checked my ace high, and it checked around. Turn is . BB checks, CS guy bets out. BAH. Two folds to me, and I call. I hate this again. Heads up, river is a meaningless blank, he bets out again. I GAVE him $6 more because I don't like money and he turns over . GG flush draws. Absolutely should have folded on the turn because my instincts told me too...sometimes listening to them is drowned out by my logic, but without a read, in his age group, and judging by the way he bet and his demeanor, it all gave me the feeling of FOLD. And I ignored that and jumped on the pay him bandwagon. A few things I could have done differently...I could have reraised preflop, I could have folded preflop, on the turn I could have raised or folded. After calling the turn, calling the river is and absolute though on that board. But, that hand was easy to get away from at a few points or I could have isolated the PFRer. But, I had brainlock and just called. Calling is the bane of LHE in so many ways. You can tell it's the wrong thing to do...most of the time, it's what everyone around you is doing at low limit hold'em.

Still a winner though, but I want to be almost completely errorless. Still going to have to perfect that, forever.

Played Friday night, won $145. It was a pretty great table I had...people who were loose passive who would give up on the turn with nothing but would call with something that was always weaker than what I had. It would have been more, but I lost a pot and played it badly IMO. Had in the CO. 4 callers in front and I limp. Button folds, SB calls, and BB raises. This guy was pretty tight and although I hadn't played alot of hands with him, I knew he's probably only raising JJ-AA in that position. Everyone calls to me, and I call, SB folds. 6 to a flop($36) of . BB checks, checks to me, and I bet it. BB CR'es me, and one guy calls, a older black gentleman who is a CS and likes to go hunting. I 3-bet, and BB looks at me like WTF??? and calls my bet. CS calls as well. Pot is ($63), turn is . Checks to me, and ...I bet. Looking back I hate this bet because I felt at the time the BB really had a great hand, and this probably hit him. And yes, he Checkraises again! I have him on KK right now...pretty easy for me to get that one though judging by everything and his range. CS cold calls the two bets, of course, and I just call. Pot is $99, river is . BB, who only had $8 left bets out. CS raises now to $12. I hate money so I cold call, and BB calls allin. CS has which is actually completely obvious IMO but I paid him off anyway which is horrible...because the pot was so large, and I imagined some scenario where he also had the straight and was trying to push me out of the pot. Silly rabbit...that would have been a nice one.

I noticed lately I've been a little selective in my aggression near the river...and it's been hurting my valuebetting. I am going to have to rectify that in some way, but I think it's just a matter of figuring out whether my opponent is thinking about my hand or isn't. In most cases at 3/6 it's that latter...opponents are only thinking about their hands, but sometimes you run into a player who thinks about a preflop raise you made, and puts you on a range of hands which makes him make mistakes down the road. I think these players are a little harder to identify, but it could mean 3-5 big bets down the road if you do.

Also booked a flight to VEGAS! Yep, I'm going to be mizing it over there for a while with some old buddies and I will have to see if I can meet up with MVP and CJ for a little bit for some drinking and some of that poker playin'. I'll be there March 30th to April 2nd. I also only plan to be sober to watch a little NCAA basketball...the rest is up for grabs.

I was just in Vegas and I can say without a doubt that the biggest donk in Vegas flew home in the seat next to Emmasmom.

Depends on everything else of course. The 3/6 and 4/8 limit games were exactly like they are in California, with a lower rake and free booze. The tourneys on the strip all have horrible structures below $200 buy in, and the nightly $225 at the Venetian is probably the best low buy in tourney structure in Vegas (but c'mon doood, we need to hit up the $170+15 deepstacks in Oroville sometime). I heard rumors of a good < $100 buy-in tourney downtown, but who the hell wants to go downtown?? Every room had a 1/2 NL game going pretty much, but MGM had the best structure of the rooms that I went to.

I really think that you will get the most bang for your buck getting wasted and playing Limelight style 3/6 LHE (sir, it's your turn to straddle) at the MGM. KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA