Session 2

My second trip to Choctaw was better than my first, but there are still a lot of growing pains to get through before I can ever consider this type of thing a job.
I not once ever dipped below my original $200 buy-in. The first hand I voluntarily played won me $100 and I never looked back. I finished the night with a profit of $178, which sounds good for four hours of work but had I not played stupid my final hand I would have finished with a profit of $228.
Two mistakes took place last night. The first cost me $100 when I turned three of a kind and raised too little to get the flush draw out. The final heart came on the river and he bet a small enough amount, relative to the pot, that I paid him off with his 3-5 of hearts. I got greedy and could have won a $55 pot, but instead raised too small of an amount and lost $100. Not good poker strategy in my opinion.
The second mistake was my final hand. I was two after the big blind at a seven-handed table. I was dealt A-K offsuit and everyone was very aware that I was leaving after this hand. I had announced my departure before the cards were dealt and even had a rack in my hand as the cards were being passed around.
I raised it up to $8 and a guy behind me and the small blind, who had made the flush with 3-5 earlier in the night, called. The flop came out J-8-2 rainbow. The small blind checked and I made a continuation bet of $18, with $26 in the pot. The player behind me folded and the small blind called.
There is now $62 in the pot. The turn was a 6. Keep in mind I still have nothing at this point. The small blind almost immediately led out with a $25 bet. Without hesitating I called. Please don’t ask what I was thinking right here because I don’t even know.
The river was the worst card possible. An ace came down on the felt. The small blind again bet $25. Without hesitating again, although knowing I was not winning this hand, I called.
You may be wondering why I didn’t think I was winning with top pair, King kicker and if I was drawing for this type of card on the river why I didn’t try to win more money out of him since I should be drawing to a hand I think will win. Well, that is why I am not a professional player. Despite hitting one of the six outs I needed to give me something worthwhile, I still knew it was no good. The only reason I got stubborn past the flop was because it was my last hand of the night. I have now learned my lesson that poker is one long session, not individual short sessions. These blog entries probably should be Session 1A, 1B, 1C and so on.
The small blind flipped over pocket deuces for a set on the flop. I told him good hand, because it was, and began placing my chips in the rack. I misplayed the hand because it was my last of the night. Had I shut down after the call on the flop and folded when I knew I was beat I would have saved myself $50.
The win for the night gives me a $223 profit for the year. I made $44.50 an hour last night and am averaging $27.88 an hour thus far for the year. That's better than minimum wage. This bumps my original bankroll of $1,000 up a little higher now, but not enough to move up in levels yet.