Practice?!? You talkin' bout practice?!?

It was so hot out today I barely ventured outside. Damn this heat. Damn the human body too. I’ve been on my ass for 2 days with some crazy thing. Ah well.

I played in my first live multi-table tournament Sunday night. It’s a 24 person game, top 7 cash, and it’s a double buyin, with the 2nd half of the buyin going to a final match. In the final match, chips are distrubuted based on points accumulated in the "regular season". I’m looking forward to it, and I think it will be quite profitable. I took 6th and added 50% to my buyin. I should have done better, but I’ll take it. The best hands I had were AQ (2x unsuited and 1x suited) and 7's were my only pocket pair. The competition is pretty soft, and as long as I don’t completely fall apart, I should cash on a very regular basis. It’s very nice playing NL live. Tells mean so much more than in limit. Actually, tells can be exploited more in NL. Twice I was able to get away from hands, and I felted someone based on tells. Thank you Mr. Caro. I'm playing with my girlfriend, who exited the game first. In less than one orbit of an 8-man table (sorry, 8-person), she lost with QQ and AA. Live poker is rigged. The government should outlaw it or something.

My move up has been marvelous (so far...). I find the game quite a bit softer. I don’t know if it’s the larger bets, but aggression is rewarded. There is no room to be passive. You will either let people catch up, or get sucked dry by slow players. Play fast, make people define their hands. I’ve been using the isolation play more often with middle pair. I think this is making me money. Actually, to define it better, I would say it’s losing me less money. Let me know if that doesn’t make sense and I’ll clarify. I’ve also been using the one-limper raise w/ my medium strength hands (medium Aces, KQ, KJ). This usually eliminates the blinds, and a continuation bet does wonders. A few of these plays executed properly can be the difference between a good session and a great session.

Other than the pain I’m in, today was in my top 3 earners for the year, and I played less than 1k hands. I played well, but having quads twice didn't hurt. This is a nice way to end July. August will be a difficult month with my schedule. Getting 10k hands in has been a struggle.

I’ve also been playing in $4 180 player Sit-n-Go’s. They are painful, but I look at them as a great tool for tournament practice. I had my first cash in one. Made the final table and pushed with JTc from the button and was called by AA in the SB. Oops. My bad. It was 9th place and a $12 cash. *cue that record scratching double take sound* It was 9th place and a $12 cash. That’s right, 2 big bets. Remember that Iverson sound byte? Practice?!? Practice?!? You talking bout practice?!? Yes I am.