Switching Things Up

I've been hammering away at the Party/Empire $10 single-table SNGs lately: averaging at least 4-5 a day in an effort to prove that I can crack these things in the long run. Yesterday I had one of those moments where everything that I've been soaking up... the thousands of hands, the books, the articles... finally seemed to be paying off. Things were clicking. I was winning nice pots when I was the favorite, and losing minimally when I got outdrawn. In 4 tourneys, I took 2 3rd place finishes, a bad beat for 4th, and rounded out the set with a 1st.

The 1st place finish was the most satisfying game I've seen yet. I came into the money with the shortest stack, and then, like magic, my opponents revealed that I was the best player of the 3. They were folding the blinds to me right and left. I stole thier blinds when I was on the button something like 4 times in a row at one point. If they did choose to play, it was call or minimum bet every time with a big ace, and a raise with AK or a pair. One player even made the comment "damn, cold cards", after folding about 8 hands in a row. I just ground the tightness right out of them. Beautiful.

But then just like that things dried up for me. Today I was playing just about as good as I ever have, and only managed a dissapointing couple of 3rds out of about 10 tournaments, giving back all of the previous night's winnings. Just when I feel I start to build the roll, this kind of thing happens. So I went back to my old enemy: the low-limit ring games.

I did need a change of pace perhaps, but I quickly realized that it was somewhat of a tilt that was responsible for me being here again, and reigned those emotions in right away. Play solid. Limp with all the hands that can flop monsters. Play your position. I half expected to drop a quick $20 and split, but instead ended up a satisfying $30+ after a little over an hour. And that would be more like $50 without 2 big pots that I ended up splitting with identical straights. I did get hit with the deck a few times (like flopping top 2 pair with a Q5o in the BB), but I also felt confident; like I was in control, and could really only win because I was minimizing loss so well.

Two key points:

1. It might be a nice change to switch games or limits when you end up burnt-out or frustrated with what you've been playing... just watch the tilt factor.
2. Improved play in one game can and will translate into improved play in another game. (Assuming you can make the necessary adjustments between limits/games/etc.)