$25 NL 6 Max

Yeah, you heard me right, $25 No Limit... you know, the game I'm supposed to be avoiding. More on that in a bit, but first, a hand history:

Table Table 25413 (6 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 5
Seat 2: GantosHolla ( $62.4)
Seat 3: ALIEBERMAN ( $27.25)
Seat 4: coolhandvade ( $17.5)
Seat 5: ME ( $58.06)
Seat 6: sling6575 ( $32.5)
ALIEBERMAN posts small blind (0.25)
coolhandvade posts big blind (0.5)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to ME [ 5h, 5s ]

Now this is the kind of hand that I feel very safe playing... I'm looking ideally for a 3rd five on the flop, and if I get it, I'm likely to win. If I don't get it, then there are only a few situations really where it will feel right to continue (like if every flop card is under a 5, giving me an overpair and wheel draws, or maybe if the board pairs and the other players actions feel right). Really though, the benefit of a hand like this, is that you're either going to make a lot of money, or be able to get away from it easily.

ME calls (0.5)
sling6575 folds.
GantosHolla raises (2) to 2
ALIEBERMAN folds.
coolhandvade folds.

So I got raised to $2, and if I call, we'll be heads up. At this point, I can honestly say that I have been watching my raiser for a while, and he does a lot of pre-flop raising. I've seen him raise it to higher than $2 with decent pocket pairs, and as far as I can tell with the few hands I've seen his cards, a $2 raise usually means just about any ace, though I distinctly remember AQo and ATs. I know where I'm at, and exactly what I'm looking for here. Let's see the flop.

ME calls (1.5)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Ad, 5c, Jc ]

I can't even imagine a much better flop than that. I've nailed a very deceptive set of fives, and I'm almost 100% positive that my opponent paired his ace, and maybe even his ace and a jack. The two clubs are a little scary, but at this point, I still feel safe checking to my opponent. If he checks behind me here, that'll give me an idea that maybe he totally missed his hand, has a jack and fears the ace, or is looking for a club or a broadway. If he has the ace, he'll likely bet.

ME checks.
GantosHolla bets (1)

A reasonable bet... he has what I know he has. Now, I can just call, and see what the turn brings, hopefully stringing this guy along for a beat at the end... or with top pair decent kicker (or even two pair), my opponent is probably going to call any reasonable raise here. Plus, on the (what I think is a) minor chance he is betting on a flush or straight draw, I need to push him out.

ME raises (3) to 3
GantosHolla raises (4) to 5

Well now my adrenaline is pumping. The first thing to go through my head (and rightly so) is "Could he have trip aces or trip jacks?". In a few seconds I run through the hand again, remembering his pre-flop raise, and that my instinct was an ace, maybe AJ for two pair, or maybe AK for TPTK. I know I'd probably raise with top two pair. Whatever he has, he raised pre-flop, got check raised on the flop, and STILL re-raised. My instincts are telling me two things: 1) I probably have him beat. and 2) This guy is in love with this hand. That led me to do this:

ME raises (53.06) to 56.06
ME is all-In.
GantosHolla calls (51.06)

Oh the humanity. Why doesn't Party show your cards when 2 people are all in again? I'd really like to know what he has ASAP.

** Dealing Turn ** : [ 5d ]

Nevermind! Whatever he had, it wasn't quads. I still think I had him beat from the start, so that case five is probably just some extra piss in his pudding.

** Dealing River ** : [ 3h ]
Creating Main Pot with $114.87 with ME
** Summary **
Main Pot: $114.87 | | Rake: $2
Board: [ Ad 5c Jc 5d 3h ]
GantosHolla balance $4.34, lost $58.06 [ Ah Kc ] [ two pairs, aces and fives -- Ah,Ad,Kc,5c,5d ]

Sometimes, I feel like I'm starting to understand this game.

ME balance $114.87, bet $58.06, collected $114.87, net +$56.81 [ 5h 5s ] [ four of a kind, fives -- Ad,5h,5s,5c,5d ]

*************

So I've been playing $25NL 6 Max, recently, despite my promise to just stick with the safe SNGs and avoid the high variance. Up until this last week January had been a wild month for me... doing very well in the $10 SNGs, but losing those modest winnings back at both Limit and NL cash games. I also recieved a $50 tell-a-friend bonus, and pretty much lost that as well. But in the last week, I really feel like something has clicked in regards to $25NL, and not just because I've been winning at it. Just for the record, in my last 4 sessions, I profited $75, $85, $15, and $70. That's +$245 in about 5 hours: $49/hour, 98 BB/hour... almost doubling my Empire account in 4 days and taking January into the positive.

I think my current protective strategy for $25NL is the key to this. I tend to limp with anything playable (and a lot of hands are playable 6-handed, right?), occasionally raise pre-flop (to defend a big pocket pair), and play very tight on the flop, which I think is what really seperates the winners from the losers. Almost every table I sit at I can find at least one or two people who will chase just about any draw, and at almost any price.

As usual, the name of the game is patience. You just have to fold and fold and limp and fold until you flop something decent... and if you flop a monster, tend the pot and maximize it any way you can... if you don't have the nuts or near nuts, avoid any serious confrontations and keep pots small. Simple strategy, but very effective I should think.

There are definitely fish in the NL pool. Although I've had a wild ride playing $25NL, I think that experience has been very good, and a lot of the wildness of the ride was due to my wild play earlier this month. Experimenting... raising with draws... maximizing pots when I should have been minimizing or folding altogether... results being more important than performance... lots of mistakes. I'm don't plan on abandoning my SNG roots anytime soon (and with the success I had there this month, doing so would be stupid), but I'll be playing $25NL again soon, for sure, because I can't ignore the success I've had there either.

Any NL strategy posts, links, thoughts, opinions, or tips are more than welcome.