And BINGO was his name-O

7:45 $200 - Walked into the Motor City Poker Room, and immediately got seated at a $1/$2 table. Not much money on this table. A few stacks under $100. The biggest stack is $450, and is two seats to my left. (I'm in Seat 8. He's in Seat 10)

8:00 $210 - I raised to $7 with QJ on the Button, and took it down on the Flop. The Big Stack is a LAG-tard. He raised with 73o in Mid position, and turned Two Pair to wipe out a small stack. Since he's got position on me, I will keep a close eye on him to pick up some patterns.

8:30 $197 - Big Stack is now over $650. He's playing 80%+ of the hands. The bad news is that he's actually got some talent. He made a very sweet Value Bet ($30) on the River with just 88. The good news is that he seems to be telegraphing his intentions preflop. Things like grabbing chips early to raise. Hopefully, he will keep it up.

9:00 $250 - Big Stack cracked AA with T7s. He raised UTG, called the AA 3-bet, and flopped Top Pair & Flush Draw. When you're having a good night, things like Pot Odds don't seem to matter. Oh, and I won two pots.

9:30 $317 - I won a decent pot involving Big Stack that will be a future Hand Of The Day. Big Stack also won his third pot of the night with 73. At least, this time it was suited.
Also, we had the first Quad Straddle (to $10) that I have ever seen in a casino. Later in the session, there were a few Double Straddles to $6. I have never seen a casino that would allow this silliness.

10:00 $444 - Got my first pocket pair of the evening, 44, in a straddle pot. I flopped a Set, and turned a Boat (T94 9). I even got paid off by saying, "Call". Big Stack is up over $800. Someone overplayed a baby A with just Top Pair. Big Stack had him outkicked.

10:30 $445 - Big Stack just left the table with a little over $900. Only one guy on the other side of the table seems to be an action guy. A few new players have just sat down.

11:00 $374 - I decided to shift gears, and step on the gas. This was not a good idea, since I should have waited to see how the new players are playing. This table has turned into a Bingo table. A helluva lot of limping. Any small preflop raise is called by everyone. Pots with less than six players are rare. Bluffing and C-Betting are a terrible idea.

11:30 $319 - I've gone into Bingo mode in late position (Button, CutOff, & Hyjack). Unfortunately, I'm really card dead. But if I get hit a hand, I should get paid off by these guys.

12:10 $257 - I picked up my 2nd pocket pair of the night, QQ, and they got cracked. I raised in Early position. Five players saw a Flop of 9 6 4 rainbow. The player in front of me bet $20. I raise to $50. It folded back around to this guy, who goes All-In for $109. I grab the extra $60, and pause for a minute to think. He's been sitting here for a while. He's been playing Bingo like everyone else. But what hand would he lead out with, and then 3-bet All-In? I have to think that I'm behind. I'm getting the proper Pot Odds for Two Pair, which is 3-1 (25%). But against a Set, I'm crushed. So I decide to fold. He didnt' show.
I did get some money back with AJ on an A high Flop. I bet all three streets, and got called.

Since I worked all day, I was planning on ending at Midnight. So I cashed out with a tiny profit that doesn't even cover the buy-in for tomorrow's tournament at Greektown.

I have to admit that I'm not sure how to play at a Bingo table. This is my second straight session at one of the tables, and my results aren't good. Both times, I had a good stack that got bled away.

Basic Poker Theory states, "Play the opposite of the everyone else at the table." Since everyone else is playing loose & passive, I should be playing tight & aggressive. And I think I am mostly. I'm not limping in Early and Mid position with marginal hands. I am still raising preflop, even though I know it will be called by many players. I am playing loose in position (Button, CutOff, and maybe Hyjack). Because any good Flop should get paid off.

The problem is that I just don't hit hands like that. I am not a Lucky player. I'm not saying that to bitch, whine or moan. I'm just stating it as a fact. There are player that I play with regularly who play all kinds of crappy hands, or rely on Luck too much. And some days they hit really big, and some days they dust off a few buy-ins. The Big Stack tonight is a good example of this.

But as I've already said, I just don't get lucky like that. It is so incredibly rare that I go on a sick run of cards, or just have one of those magical nights. My record cashout for a $1/$2 table is only $720 (Oct '08), and I've had two other session over $600. My record at Dave's Poker Pit, a $1/$1 home game, is $550. That was the last "Magical Night" that I can remember (April '09). At least 2-3 times a month, a player will cashout over $1000.