Two maddening sessions of razz where I dropped over 20 BBs sandwiched around a horrible misplay of AA in a $50 NL ring game, and the second razz session was downright cruel. I folded my first 15 hands and then caught the following three hands in a row.
Hand No. 1 - Q brings it in. I complete with 5-3 / 6. x-x / 4 raises me. Bring-in CALLS (?), so I make it 3 bets (this is clearly correct, as I most certainly have more than 33% equity even if the 4 has started A-2-4) and the 4 caps it. The idea is that we have somebody taking far the worst of it trapped between us, so pumping the pot is +EV for both of us. Bring-in CALLS (?) and I call.
x-x / Q-7
5-3 / 6-T
x-x / 4-6
The 6 that my opponent catches is a really bad card for me, but with so much money in the pot on third street, I can't fold here. 4-6 bets, we both call (I'd love to raise the Q and make him pay for his idiocy, but I don't have enough equity to do it this time with that ugly T on my board.)
x-x / Q-7-7
5-3 / 6-T-7
x-x / 4-6-8
Not sure what the right play is for me here. The Q is so far behind it's laughable, but my other opponent most likely has a made 8, as I doubt either the 6 or the 8 paired him. If I give them A-2 and A-3, respectively, my equity is about 25%. I guess a call is ok? (Pot: 9.5 BBs when action gets to me, and I will have to call 3 bets to show down the winning hand - unlikely that the Q will raise any street.)
x-x / Q-7-7-6
5-3 / 6-T-7-J
x-x / 4-6-8-4
I suppose the Q has picked up a 7 draw now. I'm now extremely far behind with my own rough seven draw, but there's no way to fold as there's 12.5 BBs in the pot by the time it gets back to me. Getting 12.5 to 1 on my money, as a roughly 7 to 1 underdog. The river gives me a 9; I check; the 8 checks; and the queen bets? I have to fold, as I can't beat the made 8. He calls. They show:
A-2 / 4-6-8-4 / 8
2-4 / Q-7-7-6 / J (?! Does he really think the 8 will fold to that bet? I don't understand how he could come on third street. Even if we have the worst possible starting hands, 6-5-4 and 4-3-2, he's still taking far, far the worst of it. Simply a dreadful play by the bring-in.)
No major mistakes on this hand for me, but it wound up costing me 4.5 BBs and I was behind the whole way.
THE VERY NEXT HAND:
I pick up 6-A / 4, AND two aces, a four and a six are the other low door cards. Awesome! An ace limps before I complete. A four behind me raises, the limper calls and this time I just call (probably should have pumped it again, but it wasn't clear that I had the best of it so I just called. I think this one is debatable.)
x-x / A-K
6-A / 4-T (here we go again!)
x-x / 4-3
The 4 bets, folding the king. I call. This is almost definitely a bad play. I need to fold here.
6-A / 4-T-5
x-x / 4-3-A
I like my hand, but I know the ace didn't pair him up. He might be paired on the 3, but he's most likely sitting on a huge draw (2-3 / 4-3-A or 3-5 / 4-3-A) or a made 6 or 7. If he has the made 6 or the unlikely wheel, I'm practically drawing dead; otherwise I'm either slightly ahead or slightly behind. By calling on fourth, I've gotten myself in trouble by having to come again on fifth.
6-A / 4-T-5-K
x-x / 4-3-A-5
There's too great a likelihood at this point that I'm drawing dead. He could easily have two pair, but he could just as easily have a made 6 or a wheel. I fold in disgust. Net loss: 3.5 BBs
THE VERY NEXT HAND:
I am last to act with 8-4 / 6. It folds through to the last low card before me (a 3) who completes. I raise. He calls and we are heads-up.
x-x / 3-4
8-4 / 6-J
He bets and I make what has to be a colossal mistake by folding. I think pot odds dictate I come again, especially since he may not have started with 3 good ones, but I need to re-read that section of Sklansky. Net loss: 1 BB.
That's 9 BBs in 3 hands. In razz, that's a huge swing. Add in the fact that I folded my first 15 hands (completing one on a steal that I had to fold), and that's approximately another 2 BBs. Total loss: 11 BBs in 20 hands. Oy.
Yah, I know there's this concept of variance, and I know the amount lost isn't much in the grand scheme of my bankroll. But given that I was playing small stakes all night, it was like a punch in the gut. I had finally gotten my small-stakes playing FT bankroll even for January, and then kaboom, we're back at the bottom of the hole. Total loss for the night was $220.
Kicked in the junk for sure. Though, some of it was self-administered.
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