What Goes Up Can Also Go Back Down

After my successful cash game run at Hollywood Casino I was primed to reach for the next level and hit a five digit score. My fantasy was in full bloom thinking about what I would do with all my winnings. I played most of the whole Saturday but nothing was working and after losing $1K I decided I wasn't in the best mind set and departed before anymore damage could ensue. Nothing particularly wrong but mainly coming out on the wrong side of the coin flip. After a home game on Sunday evening I decided to leave the home game and make a beeline back to the casino since Monday was a Holiday. I would tweak my game and get back that $1K loss. I should have gone home. Everything went wrong and I probably should have taken notes to review my play. Another $2K down and it was looking like my "break-even" moniker was becoming a permanent fixture. My main culprit appeared that I was playing a bit too loose and needed to tighten up my play. My last PLO hand was fun. Flop is Q9x. I hold KTx and after a pot and repot I decide to gamble and go all in with about $500. Turns out my opponents have QQx and 99x. The turn is a beautiful Ace giving me the nut straight. The river is....wait for it.... a nine. Not nice for the guy who flopped top set.

During my omaha play at Hollywood Casino I've met several of the regulars. One guy is nicknamed Prince but his actual name is Jim Boyd. Looking at his Hendon Mob page, Prince has some decent results. He is a true grinder and has played with most of the old school guys. While living in WV he would travel to AC, Las Vegas and California to play poker for weeks at a time and then return home like a traveling salesman. Dana Smith wrote an article about Jim Boyd in Card Player magazine on September 28, 2001 called "Mr. Foxwoods, aka 'The Comeback Kid'" calling Jim a modern day road-warrior. Unfortunately you have to have a subscription to read the article.

Yesterday I returned back to Hollywood in an attempt to recoup some of my past losses. Trying a different tack I bought in for the minimum which is $300. The buy-in limits are $300-$1500. I actually lost to a 2 outer and 1 outer for two buy-in's. The other three buy-in's were lost due to coin flips or other boring reasons. After my initial $1,500 investment I was actually able to recoup my recent losses. It all came about due to one hand, my biggest cash game pot to date worth slightly less than $5K. I limped with 3456 and the flop is 256 giving me the nut straight and top two pair. The last part is especially important. Redraws are an important element of PLO. First shorter stacked opponent pots, next shorter stacked opponent repot's putting him all in. Huge stack simply smooth calls. I can't ask for a better flop so I go all in for about $1,700 and the big stack calls which puts three of us all in. Turn is a six, river is inconsequential. I think I may have lost my nut straight hand due to the board pairing not realizing that I actually have a boat. Both short stacks also had the nut straight (3,4) and the big stack had 7889. Scope. Sweet.