did i miss the memo?

You know the one that says limp or min raise with AA/AK.

I started me session off by running into 2 players who did this and stuck me :-( I dont really mind so much, b/c on many occassions I have been in the bb and flopped 2 pair or a nut straight and busted these fools. I never limp with AA unless I know for a fact my opponent will get aggro on me. I dont have enough of a history with these players for them to know I would pay them off, but I did.

Not necessarily the best plays on my part either. I guess I was just a little too confident that my opponent would lay down a weaker hand.
Hand #32238071-9392 at Alexandria (No Limit Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet Started at 11/Jun/06 11:38:54
Gargoyle37 is at seat 0 with $4.
sonny102 is at seat 1 with $3.75.
Stan da man is at seat 2 with $6.40.
pokahplay3r is at seat 3 with $6.
ebayqueen is at seat 4 with $8.25.
The button is at seat 1.

Stan da man posts the small blind of $.05.
pokahplay3r posts the big blind of $.10.

Gargoyle37: -- --
sonny102: -- --
Stan da man: -- --
pokahplay3r: 7h Ks
ebayqueen: -- --

Pre-flop: ebayqueen calls.
Gargoyle37 calls.
sonny102 calls.
Stan da man calls.
pokahplay3r checks.

Flop (board: 6s Kc 9s):
Stan da man checks.
pokahplay3r checks.
ebayqueen bets $.50.
Gargoyle37 folds.
sonny102 folds.
Stan da man folds.
pokahplay3r raises to $2.
ebayqueen calls.

Turn (board: 6s Kc 9s 2c):
pokahplay3r goes all-in for $3.90.
ebayqueen calls.

River (board: 6s Kc 9s 2c Qc):
(no action in this round)

Showdown: pokahplay3r shows 7h Ks.
pokahplay3r has 7h Ks Kc 9s Qc: a pair of kings.
ebayqueen shows As Ac. ebayqueen has As Ac Kc 9s Qc: a pair of aces. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hand #31223228-20630 at Texas City (No Limit Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet Started at 11/Jun/06 11:41:54

bondy123 is at seat 1 with $13.95.
pokahplay3r is at seat 2 with $10.
Dumpling_King is at seat 3 with $4.95.
Worker6600 is at seat 4 with $10.95.
The_Addict is at seat 5 with $9.85.

The button is at seat 5.
bondy123 posts the small blind of $.05.
pokahplay3r posts the big blind of $.10.

bondy123: -- --
pokahplay3r: Jh Jc
Dumpling_King: -- --
Worker6600: -- --
The_Addict: -- --

Pre-flop: Dumpling_King raises to $.20.
Worker6600 folds.
The_Addict folds. bondy123 folds.
pokahplay3r re-raises to $1.10.
Dumpling_King calls.
Flop (board: 5s 4s 9h):
pokahplay3r bets $2.25.
Dumpling_King goes all-in for $3.85.
pokahplay3r calls.

Turn (board: 5s 4s 9h 2d):
(no action in this round)

River (board: 5s 4s 9h 2d 6h):
(no action in this round)

Showdown: Dumpling_King shows As Ad.
Dumpling_King has As Ad 5s 9h 6h: a pair of aces.
pokahplay3r mucks cards. (pokahplay3r has Jh Jc.)

Hand #31223228-20630
Summary: $.45 is raked from a pot of $9.95.
Dumpling_King wins $9.50 with a pair of aces. ----------------------------------------------------------------
No worries though I was able to grind back to the black after another 300 hands :-p

Last night I played a little more, and ended up getting into a high variance situation with a super aggro player when our table broke and we were heads up. It cost me a little bit, but had hiden EV. It made me realize the importance of table selection in cash games. There is no reason why I should be sitting at a table that has a marginal EV for me when there are plenty of other games available where I have an edge.

I decided to run some poker tracker quiries and add some friends to my ultimate buddy. ultimate buddy is great, you can add notes to the players and with a couple of clicks be sitting with them when ever they are online.

I only added players who I had over 100 hands on, and that I have played with in the last 45 days. Unfortunately, I was playing $25-50NL in the last 45 days, and am now grinding out the $10NL tables. I have picked up a couple of new friends and hopefully will find more in the future. I dont necessarily mind the high variance of playing with aggressive players, but right now I am better bankrolled for a steady grind, rather than headsup with players who are a little more skilled than the avg. player.

Another feature of UB is being able to see when my "friends" are online. Even if I am not playing I can open up and get some more stats on them (and the other ppl in their game), so that when I am playing I have a little more info on their game. I dont rely exclusively on stats, but they can be helpful. I usually keep my own notes in addition to the stats, but every little edge helps.

I probably wont play much more today. Taking the family to a movie, and when Ireturn I have some yard work to complete. I am just happy to be able to say that I am runnign better. I also am releaved to beable to see that even some online pros run bad.

Here are a couple of blogs from the guys at cardrunners who talk about thier recent bad runs.

muddywaters blog
green plastics blog

Obviously I dont gain any enjoyment out of seeing other players that I respect run bad, but it is reassuring to know that even the best players have tough times. Hopefully I can keep on top of my leaks, and keep the variance down for a while.

anyways, good luck!