Leaks and Fishy Play

If you do anything today, read Tao of Poker. You will find a fantastic article about writing and about a writer who inspired many with his introspective analysis of the human condition. I honestly hope that I will achieve but a fraction of this conscious self-awareness to advance my literary being.

Here is a question. If I open push with an OESD after the flop, is it a fish move? To set it up, I have a medium stack with 7 players left. Chip leader limps in, as does the small blind. Flop come T73 rainbow. I hold 8h9h and make a pot size bet after the small blind checks. This bet commits me to the pot. Chip leader pushes, small blind calls all-in, as do I. Chip leader has two pair but I river a 6 to win the pot. My thinking at the time was that this was a good spot for a semi-bluff. If they don’t lay it down I have at least 8 outs and/or they may have missed they flop and wouldn’t call me down. Is this fishy? I don’t think I would have called with this hand but I think pushing it is OK. What are your thoughts?

On another note, I’ve noticed that sometimes when I first get to a table that I get involved in hands I should throw away. Not every time, but it does happen. This invariably causes me to lose part of my buy-in but also induces me into an unwanted aggressive attack mode that increases my downward slide. Eventually I regain my focus but have to scratch and claw my way back to meager results. I think the cause of this leak is my competitive nature. I’m the type of guy who will keep pushing my opponents weakness until they break or the game is over. There is no letting up until the verdict is at hand. This personality trait is not what is needed for optimal returns. I need to put the game back into perspective as a long term climb up Mount Everest and get away from the sprinters mentality.

Even with the leaks in my game I’m continuing to grow my insignificant bankroll.

The one MTT 7th place finish clearly skews the results in my favor.

Here is the chart I like.

This chart forecasts my results into the future. It represents a similar win rate with adjustments made for increased limits. At this pace I’ll reach my goal on December 7th of this year. We’ll see.