January 17th - Getting there.

Bankroll: ~ $30.400
Monthly goal: $6.000
Monthly win: $3.250
Hands played: 4600

I am slowly getting closer to $6.000. Money won this month in consideration of the number of hands played is closer to what can be expected. The last few months I have had an amazing winrate, and since it lasted for a number of months I was starting to hope it was a sign of me getting better. However, this month looks like it is going to take some grinding to reach my goal.

When I post hands on this blog I usually only post hands where I play poorly, for two reasons. Firstly it forces me to face and contemplate the bad elements of my game; and secondly it doesn't reveal too much about the way I play.

I have been sloppy at updating lately, so as a treat I have decided to share a hand where I make some money. I will explain the reasons for my plays and hopefully you guys can get something out of it that you can use.

AQ from under the gun: I don't want to say too much about O1eja, the player in the Big Blind in this hand. I play with him regularly and he doesn't play that big a part in this hand.
jouba007 is a Jamie Gold type player. He probably plays tournaments mostly and hasn't got much experience with post flop play. He likes to bluff and does so without sufficient consideration for the other players.
I decide to check this flop. There aren't that many draws and checking will really disguise my hand. Furthermore, jouba007 hasn't got a full stack so I do not have to lead out on the flop to get into an all-in situation with him.
The turn brings a Queen and when it is checked to me I am now confident I have the best hand. I bet out $80 and jouba007 jumps on the possibility of bluffing and raises to $180. There are a couple of indicators that he is on a pure bluff. Firstly, off course is his check on the flop, but also notice the size of his raise. If he had something like 34s or a set he most certainly would raise to $240 or just push it all-in.
Now comes the hard part. There are two hearts out there and a score of face cards will make a straight possible. However, at this point it is imperative to play scared and let him do the betting. If I push on the turn, he gets away from his bluff cheaply and I miss out on a lot of money. If he had a flush draw, a weak ace, some weird straight draw or something similar he would almost certainly just call the turn bet. He raised, so I need to convince him that a bet on the river will take it down.
I raised from under the gun before the flop, so I can easily represent something like: KK, JJ or KQs. Therefore, I let a few seconds slip by acting like I am contemplating if he has the ace or not.
He bites and fires again on the river and by allowing him to bluff I make $225 more than I would have had I pushed the turn.

I didn't learn how to fully utilize this kind of play until very late. It is pretty tough to allow a player to bluff, especially on a draw heavy board; but against Jamie Gold and Sammy Farha type players this is the way to get their money.
If you, like me, watch High Stakes poker, notice how many times even the best of players miss the opportunity to cash in on that final big bluff at the end, because they follow their natural instinct to protect their hand against an unpredictable aggressive player.