Bad Casino Day Again

4.5 hours, -$200. I played really, really well, but just couldn't get anything to work out. 5 separate times I raised preflop, flopped top pair and bet it, and the board paired bottom or middle pair on the turn to give somebody 3 of a kind. I got away from all of them, but not before shelling out around $60 each time. I never got above +$80 the entire time. I would win a few pots and then lose one of the aforementioned pots. A couple of times I dwindled down to around $60ish and then would get somebody to put me in on their draw and they would miss. The first time I felted went like this: My table was very tight, so I was opening a lot more pots in position with any two cards. I was in the steal position with T2 suited and I raised to $10. A kid who I had pegged as fairly decent called on the button, and the SB (a guy in his 60's who kept trying to outplay me to no avail) called, and we took a T84 rainbow flop. SB bets $15, I raise to $45, button calls cold and SB folds. The kid on the button wreaked of weakness, so I put him on JT or T9, and possibly even a draw like J9. I was positive he was not slow-playing two pair or a set. The turn peeled an 8 of clubs, putting 2 clubs on the board. I again led out $50 and he painfully thought and called. At this point, I know he has a weak T. The turn peels a 7c, making both the possible straight and a flush. I move in for another $50ish, and he goes into the tank. I expose my T thinking that he will have to fold, but he continues to ponder and calls with T9o to take the pot. He later explained that my showing the T somehow helped him, although the ensuing conversation (and his play) revealed that he was just a station that refused to lay down top pair. He said that he put me on either J9 for the straight draw (which hit and should've been an insta-fold) or a total bluff, which is odd seeing as I had only showed down top pair or better to this point. In hindsight, I shouldn't have shown him my T so that he would've had more to think about, but I still think it is a fairly decent move that would have worked better against a better player. By showing him, he knows he can only beat T7, T6, T5, T4, T3, and T2, none of which he could've put me on because of the raise preflop (because I had only shown down good hands). Oh well, expensive information.

I rebought and again wavered between $60 and $180. I had a scary double when I pushed into the old guy station on my right with KK on a flop of QJJJ. He insta-called and I thought that I was drawing stone dead, but he flipped over AT for the 4 outer, which fortunately missed. I blinded down to around $150 when a big pot came up. I had A8cc in the steal position, with only the old station limping in front. I raised to $10, a tight older lady in the SB called, and the old station called. Shocker. The flop came Kc Kx Tc. The older lady checked telling me that she didn't have a K, the station bet $15 telling me that he didn't have a K, so I just called, and the SB called. The turn was an offsuit 8, SB checked, station bet $15, I called, SB called. The river peeled an offsuit Q, SB thought and checked, station checked, and I bet $40. SB pondered and folded and the station beat me in the pot with T4dd, taking it down. In hindsight I should have raised either the flop or the turn, but again, he would have called. I knew this, so it was really sort of a dumb play, but I still don't think it was all that bad.

I feel really arrogant calling these people bad players and critiquing their play, but the reality is that they didn't have a read on me or anything like that, they're just stations. The rest of their play indicated this, as the young station on my left never folded top pair no matter what (including a top pair bad kicker with a 4 flush on the board), and the old station on my right insta-called my bet on the flop and my all-in on the turn with AT high on the QJJJ board. There are a few people who play the $1/$2 NLHE game up there that are pretty good and can actually read people, but these aren't those people. Oh well, I'll be at it again today.

On a side note, I still have yet to be dealt AA in a live cash game in 50 consecutive hours. I almost fell out of my chair when I got the KK because that is only the 3rd time I've had that in the same 50 hour period (one of those times I was against AA and lost a $1000 pot on a 522 flop). I am at least minimally satisfied that with a horrific run of cards I am only down $350 in two months, however, my bankroll is starting to look anemic, and both of us would really appreciate a nice 3 hour heater for around +$700 to put the books back in black. When I find Lady Luck, I'm going to tie her up in my basement.