Lessons From Tropicana 1/2 NL

[WalkingSticks]

Hey guys,

Yesterday I went to the Tropicana in A/C. I'd been dreaming of playing casino poker ever since seeing Rounders as a kid (cliché I know), and so as a birthday present to myself I went down on the bus with a buddy of mine for an all-day session. As it so happens, I got rocked. I didn't find the play to be particularly fishy at all, in fact I got the impression there were a significant number of pros and regulars. While I had a reasonable amount of confidence in my tight-aggressive style from years of homegames, I know well the saying 'if you can't spot the fish, you probably are the fish'. So here are the reflections of a beat-down fish after a $300 loss:

1) Overextended bankroll=bad . I came to AC with about $400 with which to play poker, and unfortunately the lowest limit NL at the Trop is 1/2. Having a relatively short stack and only one rebuy left me vulnerable: after losing even a few significant pots, I was at a large disadvantage relative to the rest of the table, who rebought without thinking about it.

2)Date/Table Selection Date/Table Selection. I went during the day and during the week, which I think was exactly the wrong time to go. The games were in no way the stereotypical drunk, freewheeling tourist games that I had heard of or expected. Which brings me to table selection: particularly with the first table I played at, I felt that there were at least 4 players who were categorically better than I was. This was not a recipe for making money, and I should have asked to move to a different table when I realized I had little or no edge.

3) Protecting hands at a loose table. Throughout the session, my pre-flop raises with hands like A-K, J-J, A-Q/A-J (late pos.), etc. were to between $10-12. My thinking on this was that 5-6xBB was a textbook sized raise, but wasn't so big that if I missed the flop or got re-raised, I'd be committing an oversized portion of my stack. What I began to realize, however, was that (especially as a small stack) my pre-flop raises were not being respected at all; I was frequently getting 3 or 4 callers. I think in retrospect I should have ratcheted up my pre-flop raises to about $15-20 in order to protect my big hands. This would have meant I wouldn't have had to shut down as often after missing a flop, and my continuation bets might have had a bit more success.

4) Managing pot size: I made some huge mistakes in this session by putting massive amounts of money into a pot with a fairly weak hand just because from my read I thought I was best. One particular example:

I was sitting at a pretty loose-weak table. There were 2 or 3 limpers, and I raised to $10 with A-9 suited from late position. I got two calls including one from a fairly good but loose/aggressive player. The flop came A-6-3 rainbow, both checked to me, and I bet $15, getting a call from the aggressive guy. Another 3 comes on the turn, and the guy checks. I bet $18 and he reraises me to $30. I go back over the hand, and think: he limped and then called my preflop raise, then check-called the flop so I don't figure him for a big Ace, and it would be strange for him to be on any kind of straight draw. Given his aggressive style, I would have expected him to lead out on the flop with a set. My guess at this point is that he's on some sort of pocket pair like 8s-10s, and thinks I either missed the flop or he can push me off my hand. Anyway the river comes and he checks, which I read as weakness and bet $50. He called and showed Q-3, for trips.

Now in retrospect, I don't like my play here at all, especially because I didn't properly manage the size of the pot. Even though I thought I had the best hand, I simply had no business putting $80-90 into the pot with top pair weak kicker. On the turn, a check-raise should have given away his strength. Even moreso, I should have just checked the river. The type of bet I made was stupid and pointless: any hand that called or raised me would have me beat, and any hand that folded, I would have beat in a showdown anyway.


Thoughts?

These are mostly just a catalogue of my own failings, but hopefully they can be helpful to some others. It was a good experience playing casino poker for the first time, and I think I have correctly identified some of my mistakes and can learn from them.

[miaowmiaowchowface]

soudns like you were skurred money!