Hi.  I did nothing, but had a good time.  I really like the charity, and I really like Jennifer (and, yes, I hardly know her, except to talk kidney transplants once in a while — she has had two, I have had one and will need another in a few years or less). 

I lost my chips just before the rebuy/add-on period expired.  I took a rebuy and add-on and had $3K in chips, well below most at my table.  Blinds were $$100-$200, so I was not desperately short stacked. 

I picked up Jh 10h in early position and limped in, which was not an uncommon action at my table.  We ended up with six players at $200 each.  Flop was Kd Qh Js.  Pair and a straight draw, but a scary board.  I checked, as did everyone else.  Turn was 5h, giving me a flush draw to go with my pair and straight draw. 

I bet $1K (one-third of my stack) and the next player went all-in.  All fold to me.  I cannot have the best hand. and I’m getting only 2.5:1.  But I have a lot of outs against most holdings.  I called and see A-10 with no hearts.  No help on the river (I was down to 11 outs), and I was done.

The annual Jennifer Harman Charity Tournament to benefit the Nevada SPCA is Friday, April 17, at 5 PM at the Venetian.  Entry fee is $300,, with $100 rebuys (one hour), and $100 add-on.  You can get more information here. 

I will be there, as will dozens of actually famous players. 

Our cat, Princess Yulee, came from that shelter, which is a no kill shelter, and thus always has lots of animals, some of which are unadoptable and thus will live their lives there. 

If you in Las Vegas and available, come and play.  I will do a report next week.  Last time I got to the semi-final table, where I foolishly took pocket tens up against 10-9 suited. 

Oh, final table gets prizes.  Winner gets a WSOP main event $10K entry and a lovely Curtis and Co. watch.    

I am back from the cruise.  That was a wonderful trip, in which we visited Shaghai, Xaimen, Hong Kong and Sanya (all China), Da Nang, Nha Trang and Saigon, Bangkok, and Singapore.  Educational, interesting, and very tiring.

More or less recovered, I have started playing again.   I had one weak session in which I got both emotional and instinctive, neither of which is very good for my long term prospects.  I rededicated myself to focus, patience, and aggression, which are my primary edges against many of the other players at my table.  Since then, things have gone quite well.  Sometimes, you have to go back to basics.

When I get tired, which I do fairly easily, I get more patient, but lose a bit of focus and a great deal of aggression.  I get passive, which costs me bets and pots.  Here is an example of my weak play late (for me) in a session:

On the button, I open-raise with 9d 8d.  The small blind, an experience regular who plays well but thinks he plays a lot better than that three-bets.  This is a standard raise for an experienced player in reacting to a steal raise .   Almost any hand he decides to play he will three-bet.

 The big blind folds and I call, which I do most of the time, though I occasionally reraise for variation.  We see a flop of 7-6-2, which gives me an open end straight draw and two overcards to the board. 

Opponent naturally bets.  I call.  Turn is a king.  he bets, I call.  River is a king.  He checks, I check.  He shows down A-8, which of course wins.  I rack up and head for home.

Why? I try to play at some level of efficiency, and when I sense it slipping in an area that I cannot readily fix, I leave.

There is a lesson here.  Monitor your game constantly.  Understand if you are making mistakes what category they fall in.  Some “errors” are pretty much unavoidable.  Others can be fixed during the session by paying more attention, or reminding yourslef about specific things (this guy is dangerous.  I will not play any sort of marginal hand against him.)  Some, like my passive play when tired, cannot be fixed.  I cannot will myself to be less tired, and trying to be more aggressive without recognizing specific situations would be equally dangerous.  There is always another game tomorrow…at least for me.