This Journal thing seemed like fun so what the heck. Currently I am on a bit of a cold streak and I'm actually down for the first month since march last year. Firgures that the week that I take time off from my job and all of a sudden I cant win. In my last 31 hours of play I have run into AA with KK 3 times, havent flopped a set or a straight. I went 5.5 hours in my last session and won one hand.

As for online, I am clearing a bonus at paradise at the time being playing $.50/$1.00 O8 kind of a nice stress reliever from playing higher level no limit. I am up $60 in the past two days and have cleared $80 of bonus. When I clear the bonus I think I'm going back to NL and maybe will give gaming club a shot.

I'm confident your streak will end soon.

At least I hope it does. Only so much of a bad streak I can take.

Well I guess its good that we got these poker journels so I have a place to vent. I am really begginning to hate this game. I played for less than 4 hours today live and its still the same BS. I cant make a hand when I need to, my big pocket pairs get cracked by underdogs, or I get sucked out.

Hand 1. I limp UTG with QQ, played in the SB is a total maniac, I havent seen a flop in 30 min because he has raised every pot. 2 playerLimp, player on the button makes it $20. Maniac just calls and its to me. I make it $100, raised calls all in for $90. He has AJ flops two pair, turns another A, I'm drawing dead.

Hand 2. Same loose idiot on the button raises to $20, I am in the BB now with AK suited, I want to play him heads up o I make it $60, another loose player calls in from and maniac calls. Flop is K44. I am first to go, there is almost $200 in the pot, both other players are now under $100, I push all in. Get called by the first player maniac folds. J on the river makes him a bigger 2 pair with KJ. ByeBye buy in #1

Hand 3 : I'm in the BB with Q/6 4 players limp I check. Flop J64 2 diamonds, I check , button leads $10. I decied to call he is a calling station so I think if I make 2 pair or trips. I get a big pot. Catch my Q on the turn, he leads $50 I raise to $100 he calls all in and turns over 44. I miss the river and he wins with his set. Bye Bye buy in #2

Hand 4 I have Kh/10 CO, flops is 1094 all hearts. It checks to me bet out $20, two callers,
another heart on the turn. It checks around. Blank on the river it checks around again, I fire $50, utg makes it $100 i call she has the Ah.

Hand 5 I am now down to $75 of my 3rd buy in. I again am BB with 5/3 off. It is unraised I check flop is 1053 2 clubs, I check bet is $10, 2 players call. I got all in for $65 more. 2 players call which is a surprise to me. Turn is of course another 10. One player bets $50 the other calls and I am drawind dead, player A has k/10.

These are just the hands that I lost, the best one of the day is still to come.
I am on the button with 10/9 diamonds, the maniac makes it his usual $30, there are 4 calers by the time it gets to me so I call, the BB comes too so there is now $150 in the pot. Flop is great 876 two diamonds. I flopped the nut straight with a gut shot straight flush draw. The maniac fires $30, player A raises to $100. I have about $250 to start the hand. I just call. Maniac folds. 9 on the turn. Player B thinks about it for a minute and checks. I bet $50, he thinks again and says you couldnt have called that with a gut shot and goes all in. He turns over 54, river is a 10 and we fukn chop.

I dont know what the hell is wrong. I still havent flopped a set we are now looking at over 40 hours since i flopped a set, I havent had AA in 26 hrs of play. In the last 46 hrs of play I have run into AA with KK 3 times. I havent had the nuts after the river in over 8 sessions almost 55 hours of play. I sit at these tables with a bunch of morons who are giving away their money and I either cant make a hand, run into a monster with my big hand, or get sucked out. I know TUP says you dont always need cards to win, but when you sit at a table with a bunch of weak tight players and calling stations , you usualy have to show down the best hand to win because they won't fold anything.

I really dont know what else to say, I guess it is obvious that I am really frustrated. I am now down $1400 over my last 42 hours of play spanning the last 4 weeks. Looking at all the BS that has been happening its not hard to see why. I think I am going to take a couple of weeks off and see how, I feel then. As of now the thought of playing sounds about as much fun as banging my head into a brick wall.

Man, tough break. Hang in there or take a break to clear your head. Remember the article from iceman about losing streaks. Just double check that this isn't happening to you.

I have a question about hand 3. You said a calling station is who bet on the flop. In my experience, calling stations normally check and call and only bet when they have a pretty good hand. Therefore, I wouldn't have chased 2 pair feeling that confident that it would be the best hand.

Every other hand makes me sick thinking about it if it happened to me in a session, let alone over many sessions.

man, that is tough. Perhaps a break for a week or so will do you good, I know it helps me when I can't be bothered playing. Don't do anything you don't want to do.

Sounds to me like you're still playing well enough to beat your game easily, but these horror runs do come along now and again. Just be strong enough to get through it however you see fit and I promise you you're a good enough player to start hammering this game again. All you need to do now is to make a decision as to how best to snap your losing streak; a period of rest and reflection might do you good, and make sure next time you sit down you're in the correct mental zone to play.

I'm sure you'll start making hands again soon; until then, just sit tight and don't tilt off any more of your bankroll than bad luck dictates.

Monk
xxxxx

Ok well I got talked into playing last night, so much for the 3 week break, I guess 8 days is close. I played at a different casino that I usually do. Overall it was a very good night. The first hands I played I lost $100 when I flopped a gut shot royal draw with AQ. After that it was smooth sailing. I flopped 2 sets in 6 hrs of play, one of which paid me pretty nice flopping a set of 2's vs AK with a A102 flop. I came out up $321 in 5 hrs of play. Not a bad night, still have a ways to go to get my bankroll back when it was but, small steps, will get me there.

Well after tommorrow it will be official, February will be my first losing month since last march After last night I am down a little less than $1000. I almost want to spend tommorow playing MTT so maybe If I can find a top 2 I might be able to escape the month up a couple of bucks.

Another frusterating day.

I had a really nice run at the 2/4 game, I bluffed a big pot when my gutshot flush draw missed, after raising with suited connectors. I flopped 2 pair with AK and got paid off nicely by someone playing AQ after limping preflop. At the end of teh game my friend Mitcheze anf I were 2 out of the 6 players left and we had 70% of the money on the table. I finally broke the table by flopping a set of 7's vs a raise with A/10. He caught his 10 on the turn and went all in, So the game broke and they asked me if I wanted to play 1/2.

I should have just gone home. The max buy in for 1/2 is $100. When I got to the table 5 out of the other 8 players had over $400 and two had over $600 and the floor man wouldn't let me buy in any more. I knew this was a recipe for disaster.

Hand 1- I have $120 in front of me look down at , I'm on the button 5 limpers. I pump it up to $20, everyone calls. $120 in the pot now and I'm not happy because I now dont have enough money to take anyone pay to draw, my all in is less than the pot. flop is [2d] . It checks around to me and I fire $50. Only utg calls. Turn is the . He checks I probably should have pushed all in. River . He bets $10, I call. He is playing .

Hand 2- Again a raise to $17 on the CO, 4 callers in front I call with , great flop for me [10c] . Raiser makes it $20, I'm all in he calls and turns over QQ. So In all of my 20 outs I cant manage to hit one and buy in #2 is gone.

Hand 3 - Like every hand at this table it gets raised to $17 I look down at . 5 callers in front of me I decided to take a flyer. I call great flop for me . Utg bets out $25, I call thinking I'm 99% all in on the turn fish behind me calls.. Turn is the . So UTG bets $100 . I call all-in so does fishy, river is a , fishy is playing A7, 3 outter costs me a $400 pot. Of course fishy piss's it away to everyone else at the table but me and busts out within 2 hrs.

One of these days when I can manage to not get sucked out by the idiots I might be able to make some real money.

That's just tough. I have played in some fishy games, but wow, that 1/2 game sounds like a real aquarium. Hang in there man, I'm sure you will get things turned around and start making big bucks in no time.

Thanks MG

Man I am in a cold run of cards, I played for 8.5 hrs yesterday without flopping a set, trips. I didnt make a sraight and only made one flush. The good news is I played well, I bluffed two big pots vs players I knew I could steal from, with my rock tight table image.

The only really exciting hand of the night - I get KK UTG raise to $30 of course I get 4 callers, the flop is 1098. I really dont like this flop. I and it checks around the board pairs 10's.
I check 2nd position bets out $15, this bet scream call me. It folds around to me I look at the guy and say Kings up no good huh. He doesnt say anything for a second. I muck and he says you didnt have kings. If you did you raise me. He shows me [10d]

I really feel like I am playing as well as I have ever played my reads on people have been dead on, but I just cant seem to make a hand. At least I have been holding on and not losing lot. Hopefully it will turn around soon.

Played a soft homegame tonight and came out up $30 shoud have been a lot more but a couple of bad suckouts made it a mediocre night.

Played a heads match in a home game, made some cards made $80 in less than an hour.

Very weird day. I made $400 so, definatly a step in the right direction. I have still yet to flop a set in almost 20 hours. I had AA 3 times today in 5 hours and no other PP larger than 8's. Two horrible players at my table which made the game very juicy. One kid had $1200 in front of him when I sat down, lost all of it plus another $600 from his pocket. One really frustrating hand, I flopped a straight vs two pair only to have my strauight get counterfited by the board pairing my two cards, this against LAG #2 who flopped two pair. Had a great adventure with AA, put almost all of my money in preflop, $150 preflop raise, got called by K9 and J9 and the flop came 9910, A on the river saved me a bad beat. Since my cold run started with my AA busted by A8 all in, maybe the begginning of my good run will be this nice suckout for me.