Focus on one table

I have played all week at $5-$10, and have played pretty well too.

Although I have got involved in trying to start new tables, I have concentrated on playing 10-handed. At this level, there are quite a few players taking a shot on a short bankroll (even shorter than me!), and they tend to play scared for a while and then get married to a hand after they are sick of being pushed around. You can almost tell when it is coming: they sit down with $500, call a couple of pre-flop raises or raise/c-bet and fold to the flop-raise; then, next thing they check-raise all in with tpnk or worse!

My bankroll is small, but I always try to play true to the level I am at ie. I sit down with the max and play aggressive (tight or loose depending on the make-up of the table).

This week has been a good one: I have won $1425 and been lucky to the tune of $1155 (mostly attributable to a big pot when shorthanded with JJ v AA), so the bankroll at the end of the week is over $6k, even after withdrawing $600 on Wednesday.

A few observations about $5-$10 full ring:

- play is generally fairly tight, with the occasional total donkey sitting in
- regulars are fairly predictable
- sometimes quite a few short-stackers, generally very tight, looking to get all-in PF
- too many players call raises out of position
- too many regulars call first barrel and fold to the second.

My sample size is very small in this game (only 1500 hands) but I am feeling reasonably comfortable so far. I've only played 10 big pots and the money has gone in OK so far (+10% return).

What has been encouraging has been the very positive flow from small pots. This probably shows that I have been picking my spots carefully, reading the players well and showing just enough aggression to pick up more than my share of small pots. In fact, in the last 2.5 hours of play I have managed to win over $500 without getting involved in a big pot at all.

This level of play, and good luck, needs to continue or else I will need to drop down in stakes or risk going broke. I know I am capable of winning if I continue to play well: I've just got to force myself to do it.

I was given a confidence boost earlier in the week by finding out that my Poker IQ is 125, which is pretty good (ie. good enough to win at levels up to $1000NL). I took the test on http://www.donkeytest.com/ and found this to be a very rewarding exercise. However, one thing struck me about the IQ. It is actually your maximum potential Poker IQ (ie. assuming you play your 'A game'). So, although I was encouraged to find out I scored a 125, I realised too that to achieve the success that this IQ suggests, I need to play my best game (or close to it) all of the time.

To that end, I am looking forward to receiving the new Alan Schoonmaker book this week. It should be an interesting read.