The 5/10 tables were finally good yesterday so I mostly played there. Unfortunately I didn't run very well and couldn't make hands against the fish. I reviewed some losing hands before the session and I think it helped me tighten up and play more solid poker. And I played well with a couple of notable exceptions...

When Pots Odds Don't Matter or Avoiding The "Awww Fuckit" Call

Pot odds are great in limit and small stakes no-limit where opponents can't or don't bet size properly to deny odds to draw. But in medium and high stakes they're most often used as a rationalization for bad calls.

1. Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: $5,114
SB: $1,000.75
Hero (BB): $1,274
UTG: $768.15
MP: $2,682
CO: $4,887

Pre-Flop: 5 4 dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls $10, 2 folds, BTN calls $10, SB raises to $66, Hero calls $56, 2 folds

Flop: ($152) 9 4 K (2 Players)
SB bets $100, Hero calls $100

A raise and get it in here is good too I think.

Turn: ($352) K (2 Players)
SB bets $150, Hero calls $150

Weird small bet here from a reg. Looked to me like he was trying to induce? If that was my read I should have folded because 4's are prob no longer outs and I may be drawing dead to 99. I really doubt he has air or a flush draw with this bet size.

River: ($652) Q (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $450, SB raises to $684.75 and is All-In, Hero calls $234.75

And now for the awww fuckit call. My thought process... sweet, I hit my flush! He won't believe I'm a chasing fish, I'll get some value from K's here. Check/raise all-in? WTF? Only $200 more, I'm pot-comitted, awww fuckit CALL! This last sentence goes through my head in about 100 milliseconds, approximately the amount of time it takes for my finger to twitch and click the mouse. Obviously I'm never good here and would really improve my winrate if I could fold and save myself 25bb. Sigh.

Results: $2,021.50 Pot ($3 Rake)
SB showed Q Q (a full house, Queens full of Kings) and WON $2,018.50 (+$1,017.75 NET)
Hero mucked 5 4 (a flush, King high) and LOST (-$1,000.75 NET)

2. Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: $2,000
MP: $1,572
CO: $4,600
BTN: $419
Hero (SB): $3,888.50
BB: $4,078.50

Pre-Flop: 5 6 dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG raises to $35, 3 folds, Hero calls $30, BB folds

Flop: ($80) 5 J 5 (2 Players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $55, Hero raises to $220, UTG calls $165

Turn: ($520) 8 (2 Players)
Hero bets $400, UTG calls $400

River: ($1,320) J (2 Players)
Hero bets $850, UTG raises to $1,345 and is All-In, Hero calls $495

After the turn I put him on AJ/QQ+. The river comes and I'm pissed, but I don't want to miss value from QQ+ so I put in a bet. It might be a little big, but I'm not sure. Then he shoves and my heart sinks... did he really hit his two-outer? I can't fucking believe it. Well I'm getting 7:1 CALL! Such a tilty dumbass call in another spot I'm never good.

Results: $4,010 Pot ($3 Rake)
UTG showed J K (a full house, Jacks full of Fives) and WON $4,007 (+$2,007 NET)
Hero mucked 5 6 (a full house, Fives full of Jacks) and LOST (-$2,000 NET)

Hope you learned something from my spew. Actually I hope I learned something from it! I'm going to try to slow down in big pots today and even take my hand off the mouse when faced with decisions like these. My rational mind would never make these plays but my impulsive mind reacts first. I need to play more like Spock.