It's All Going Wrong

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

I'm so frustrated. Either I suck at poker or I'm going through a tough downswing lately. It seems everything I do turns out badly.

I jumped up to 5nl to play Rush Poker (kind of like Poker on speed), in order to grind out some fast bonus points to earn a cash bonus release from Full Tilt. I'm slightly underrolled for it, but that's not the problem. Neither is the skill level, nor the setting of Rush Poker. In fact, I'm really enjoying the whole Rush Poker thing; it prevents me from losing concentration due to boredom.

Anyways... the problem is the terrible luck I've been hitting. Any time there is a big pot on the table, I seem to be on the losing end. I flop a set in a 3-bet pot, villain flops a straight. I decide to slowplay AK and hit an ace on the flop, my opponent - QQ - spikes a set on the turn. And when I finally do get dealt pocket kings and hit a third king on the flop? My opponent check/folds the flop. Woot.

I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. I'm just waiting for this swing to come back in the other direction.

Turbo Booster

I'm really starting to like these Super Turbo SnG's. They fit my schedule - I can play at least one in the time I have between my two jobs on double shift days - and I'm pretty decent at them, as well. All you need is a strong pre-flop game and an understanding of how to play shortstacked. I have both of these. I've been playing well in them so far, and I have a 50% ITM stat to prove it. I know, it's still a small sample, but I feel really good playing these.

It just drives me nuts when I play well and variance bites me in the ass. The hands that have recently knocked me out (or put me on the way there) include QQ < KTs (his flush hit on the river), A9 < QJ (queen on the river), and this gem below:

BB: t575 M = 4.79
Hero (UTG): t405 M = 3.38
CO: t790 M = 6.58
BTN: t625 M = 5.21
SB: t305 M = 2.54

Pre Flop: (t120) Hero is UTG with Kh Kc
Hero raises to t405 all in, 2 folds, SB calls t265 all in, 1 fold

Flop: (t690) 5d Ah 2d

Turn: (t690) 6h

River: (t690) Jd

[b]Final Pot:[/b] t690
Hero shows Kh Kc (a pair of Kings)
SB shows 4d 7d (a flush, Jack high)
SB wins t690

River screws me again. I mean, I know I want these calls because they make me money in the long run, but come on.

Hey, Look At Me! I'm Profitable!

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I stumbled into a little project involving one of the regulars on the Full Tilt Poker message boards. He's working on a strategy guide for a type of tournament call "Super Turbos" - basically, tournaments with fast-rising blind levels. He was giving some money to some people to test out his guide, and splitting the profits with these people in trade for the guide itself.

I somehow got involved, and it seems as if I have developed a knack for these tournaments.

Following his guide, I've so far made a profit of $8.50 from playing these tournies... an ROI (return on investment) of over 100% so far. I doubt I will be able to keep my ROI that high, but it's still a good start. I'm also having fun making a profit for someone else and making money for myself in the process. I may try and run a BAP (buy-a-piece, where other players on the boards invest in your poker game) and see how it goes.