Time to Get Off This Ride: Session Recap (9/14/25)

I came into the session riding a two game win streak. Yes, nothing to write home about, but it was a step in the right direction. Ever since I came back from Vegas in June (read my blog about my WSOP experience), I had not been able to build any substantial momentum. In comparison, I left for Vegas coming off an eight-game win streak. 

Start of Play (8:46pm)

It was a bit of a wait to get a seat (Palace Poker). When I finally got called, the only open seat was seat 8, which is actually one of my preferred seat positions. Looking around the table, there were several stacks around the $800-$1,000k mark, starting in seat 2 and seat 3. Unlike last week, where there really was just one monster stack who could bully the table, the more even distribution or larger stacks was a little more comforting in a way because I felt like they might keep each other in check.

Big Hand #1 (9:15pm): Make Your Own Luck

I was pretty card dead for the first 30 minutes. That didn't change for this particular hand, but sometimes you have to make your own luck. I straddled on the button with Q3c:

There were three callers or so and it checked to me for ultimate last action (Dallas straddle). I checked it back hoping to get lucky with a hand I would ordinarily not be in with. The flop came K56 with two clubs. One of the other players bet $25. There was one caller before me and I also called with my flush draw in position. There's about $95 in the pot at this point. The turn is a 2d. It doesn't complete my flush draw, but it adds a gut shot straight draw to my equity. The villain to my immediate left (seat 9) bets $50. The other remaining player and I call, putting the pot at ~$240.

The river came another King, pairing the board. It checks around to me. At this point I know that I likely have no chance of winning with Queen high. It just felt like both players were weak and my only chance of winning was going to be putting out a bet. So I fired $100 into the pot praying that 30 minutes of constant folding on my part had built up enough of a tight image to scare any hero calls away. To my relief, both players mucked their hands and I won my first pot of the night. I didn't realize it at the time, but this would be the start of the roller coaster ride (think about when you're on a roller coaster and you get to that initial peak before plunging down).

Not So Big Hand #1 (9:24pm): Sometimes Hands are Too Good

This wasn't a big hand by any means, but I think it was actually the best starting hand I had all night. I was UTG with AQo:

I raised to $15 and there was one caller. The flop came a beautiful AAK, but I knew that it would be hard to extract value from such a flop. I bet $15, making the continuation bet that I would make in such a situation whether I had it or not. The villain called. The turn was a Q, giving me a full house and now making it even harder to extract value. i checked to try and tell the story that the flop bet really was just a continuation bet (maybe with a low pocket pair). But the villain didn't bite and checked behind. The river came another King. I bet $20 but the villain instantly folded. 

I Hate Bomb Pots (9:30pm-10:18pm): Going Downhill Fast

I really don't have a lot of material to provide here as it's all just a blur of despair. My plunge down the roller coaster ride started with a PLO bomb pot around 9:30pm. The truth of the matter is that I have no business being in PLO bomb pots and do not understand enough of the strategy to make informed decisions. But since when has that ever stopped anyone. Going to the river, I had a set on one board and a combo draw (straight and flush draw) on another. But I whiffed on the combo draw and then lost to a higher set. And before I knew it, I had spent $300 taking a ride down the roller coaster track. 

The bomb pot fiasco moved me from the black into the red. I topped up and then spent the next 20 minutes finding ways to lose that money as well.

Just Joking...I Love Bomb Pots (10:30pm)

Needless to say, when the next bomb pot came around 10:30pm, I was still stinging from the experience I had with the previous bomb pot. 

I was in the HJ with KJ68 with two hearts. The dealer revealed the cards and I had flopped the nut straight on the top board with my KJ and a pair of Kings on the bottom board with a backdoor flush draw. Oh no, here we go again I thought. One of the villains bet $25 and there was a cascade of callers, including me. The turn card on the top was a blank, still leaving me with the nut straight and the turn card on the bottom was a Jack, giving me two pair. It checked around to me and I said pot, which was $160. There was one caller. 

The top river card was a King, which now opened it up to a higher straight, and the bottom river card was a heart, giving me a King-high flush. I didn't have the nuts on either board, but I believe I had the second nuts on both boards. 

I potted. At Palace Poker, the PLO Bomb Pots at the $1/$2 tables are capped at $300. So the most I could bet was $110, which was slightly less than what I had remaining in my stack. The villain called and I declared that I had the straight on the top and the flush on the bottom. The villain mucked indicating a scoop and I was now back up at the top of the roller coaster.

Where Did All my Money Go (10:40pm-11:00pm)?

I can't even tell you what happened, but I managed to lose all my profit within 20 minutes of the bomb pot. There really weren't any specific hands and I was just involved in a lot of pots and was losing $20-$30 here and there. The majority of our table was straddling ($5) and with a standard raise, you were easily putting in $20 just to see a flop. The only good news is that I had only lost my profit, but had at least stayed away from being in the red.

Not So Big Hand #2 (11:04pm)

By this time in the night, I was experiencing whiplash from the constant chip fluctuations and was hoping for some stabilization.

I was back on the button straddle with KJ. The villain raised to $20 and I called. The flop came Jack high. The villain checked. I'm always suspicious of preflop raisers who check back a flop that includes a face card. So I checked back. The turn came a blank card although it did bring in a flush draw (not for me though). The villain then bet $25. I wasn't going anywhere with top pair and I called. The river brought in the flush. In retrospect, and especially with this player type, I likely should have bet for value, but it went check-check. He showed pocket eights and I won with my pair of Jacks. Not a huge pot, but I was at least out of the neutral zone.

Not So Big Hand #3 (11:30pm)

I could feel the end of the session was coming. We were starting to lose players at the table (notably all the big stacks) and I was a little emotionally spent with the major chip fluctuations.

I was on the button straddle with K9h. The villain raised to $15 and I called. The flop came 94x (rainbow). It went check-check. The turn came another 4. The villain bet $15 and I called. The river brought a third four, giving me the effective nuts the way the hand had played out. The villain checked to me and I bet $15 and he folded.

Time to Leave (11:49pm)

Two players got up to leave, including the last remaining big stack at the table. We were now five-handed, which I took as my cue to leave. I had battled back to a small win, which felt like a big win after all the ups and downs. 

As mentioned earlier, my strongest preflop holding of the night was AQ and some low pocket pairs (none of which ever hit). I mentioned that even small wins can feel like big wins and that is especially true when you manage to win without having a single premium hand all night.

It was a small win, but it's still a 'W' and I am now at three winning sessions in a row. Come back next week to see if we can make it four!