Winning consistently in a tough game.

I have played 296.5 hours in the $3/$5 NL $200 max buy-in game at the Commerce and I have come to a conclusion. It is a really tough game. Now, anyone who has actually sat down and played in this game will think I am crazy for that assertion. But the truth is, this game is a lot tougher then I use to think. It's not because of the people who play in it but for the way that the game is designed.

1. In a game with a BB of $5 you should be allowed to buy in for a max of $500. Why? Any game you sit down in, you should be allowed to buy in for 100 BB's. If you sit down in any game in Las Vegas, this is how it's going to be. In Vegas, when you sit down at a $200 max buy-in game the blinds are going to be $1/$2. The game at Commerce is a short-stackers game and it forces you to play a little tighter and with a little more discipline. As a result, there is a certain way that you should play this game.

For a very long time, I was playing my loose style but it does not work when you are only buying in for $200. If you miss a couple flops, you are going to be short-stacked very quickly. A bad beat here and there and suddenly you are playing from behind. It has taken me a while, but I have finally found a somewhat optimal way of playing this game. Table selection is critical and hand selection is even more important. I hate to say it, but you need to play tight when you are first sitting down. You probably should not open your game up at all until you have at least $400 in front of you. Although, I haven't played nearly as much, my results are starting to improve as a result of my better hand selection.

2. This one is an even more important factor then the last one. The rake. The rake at Commerce is terrible. For a $200 game they rake $6 per pot. $5 for the house and another $1 for the jackpot drop. Lately I have been very observant of stack sizes and I have noticed that there are very few people beating this game. Every table I sit at, there are a few stacks under $200 and the stacks that are over $200 are usually in for more then the minimum. The last few tables I have sat on, there have only been an average of 2 players actually beating the game. This alone has made me realize how hard it really is to beat this game on a regular basis.

I am proud to say that in my 296.5 hours of play I am up $8653.00. I am only now starting to realize the significance of that number.

My most recent session went well and I was able to make a nice hit and run.

On only the second hand, I was dealt K K and I feel I played it to perfection. There were several limpers and I made it $30 to go in the SB. Unfortunately all 3 limpers called. Prior to the flop, I checked in the dark ala Phil Hellmuth and the flop came

J 2 3 rainbow.

The first player to act made it $100 to go and the others folded. I hate having to do it on only my second hand but I put the rest of it in and he called and showed A J. I held up and more then doubled up.

A few hands later I found A A in the BB and 3 bet to $100. Everyone folded and I picked up another $50 in profit.

I left an hour later with a profit of $276 and am now up just shy of $1500 for the month.

Although, I have run much better more recently, I still credit my hand selection for my success. I am not playing as many of my stupid hands and I generally have more chips to play with when dealt a real hand.