In Part A I went over my first hand; here were the other six I played.
Hand #2
Pocket Cards:
A horrible hand, and I only saw the flop because I was the big blind and no one else bet. Had anyone bet, I would have folded. Everyone checked the flop (which gave me nothing) and when the other Fish Player bet on the turn, I got out.
Hand #3
Pocket Cards:
Okay, I cheated a smidge on this hand. This is technically not one of the top 24, but I was in the small blind and only had to pay another dollar to see the flop. Again the flop showed no help, so I bailed when the betting started.
Hand #4
Pocket Cards:
THERE we go, something I can play with. I called in early position and waited for the flop. A K 8; scary. I bet $20 to try and protect my pair of Tens, and right there I made the unconscious decision I was going to fight for this pot. A couple of callers, then the Turn came up Ace. I bet another $20 and everyone folded except for the other Fish Player, who called. When the River came up a third Ace I jumped in with both feet, tossing two black chips ($100). After a few minutes I got called! I didn’t expect that, but felt okay with a full house. Naturally, the other Fish Player had started with fishhooks! My AAATT was beat by her AAAJJ. Oh, well. I was badly crippled at this point, and she had the chip lead.
Hand #5
Pocket Cards:
I stayed in till the turn, calling and checking. When I had nothing by then and the betting started, I folded.
Hand #6
Pocket Cards:
I stayed in this hand way too long, chasing a straight. By the end I caught a 9 on the river and had half my chips in the pot. A pair of tens beat me out.
Hand #7
Pocket Cards:
As the big blind, I checked to stay in for the flop, which was A 4 5. I checked, the player two to my left bet a dollar, when everyone else limped in I reraised it to $10, causing half the players to fold. I’m thinking, “no one has anything, I should go all in to shove them out and build up my stack.” The problem was my stack was too small. I only had $124 left, so when I went all in I got two callers. A two pair won the pot: I had chosen the wrong time to go all in and got busted out.
In the end the other Fish Player ended up winning the game. I talked to her about it and how she liked the system, and she told me that after about half way through the game she stopped using it and just started playing on guts, while still trying to make smart decisions. It seemed to work for her. While my end result was disappointing, I won’t give up on the system yet; my goal, after all, is to find out how it works over the long run. On to the next challenge!
Hand #2
Pocket Cards:
A horrible hand, and I only saw the flop because I was the big blind and no one else bet. Had anyone bet, I would have folded. Everyone checked the flop (which gave me nothing) and when the other Fish Player bet on the turn, I got out.
Hand #3
Pocket Cards:
Okay, I cheated a smidge on this hand. This is technically not one of the top 24, but I was in the small blind and only had to pay another dollar to see the flop. Again the flop showed no help, so I bailed when the betting started.
Hand #4
Pocket Cards:
THERE we go, something I can play with. I called in early position and waited for the flop. A K 8; scary. I bet $20 to try and protect my pair of Tens, and right there I made the unconscious decision I was going to fight for this pot. A couple of callers, then the Turn came up Ace. I bet another $20 and everyone folded except for the other Fish Player, who called. When the River came up a third Ace I jumped in with both feet, tossing two black chips ($100). After a few minutes I got called! I didn’t expect that, but felt okay with a full house. Naturally, the other Fish Player had started with fishhooks! My AAATT was beat by her AAAJJ. Oh, well. I was badly crippled at this point, and she had the chip lead.
Hand #5
Pocket Cards:
I stayed in till the turn, calling and checking. When I had nothing by then and the betting started, I folded.
Hand #6
Pocket Cards:
I stayed in this hand way too long, chasing a straight. By the end I caught a 9 on the river and had half my chips in the pot. A pair of tens beat me out.
Hand #7
Pocket Cards:
As the big blind, I checked to stay in for the flop, which was A 4 5. I checked, the player two to my left bet a dollar, when everyone else limped in I reraised it to $10, causing half the players to fold. I’m thinking, “no one has anything, I should go all in to shove them out and build up my stack.” The problem was my stack was too small. I only had $124 left, so when I went all in I got two callers. A two pair won the pot: I had chosen the wrong time to go all in and got busted out.
In the end the other Fish Player ended up winning the game. I talked to her about it and how she liked the system, and she told me that after about half way through the game she stopped using it and just started playing on guts, while still trying to make smart decisions. It seemed to work for her. While my end result was disappointing, I won’t give up on the system yet; my goal, after all, is to find out how it works over the long run. On to the next challenge!
