Sometimes you just need to check.

Tonight wasn't a good poker night for me.  I was not on my game... Was seeing way too many flops and got short stacked early on.  Luckily I came back for a little bit.  I limp in with A,3 in middle position, and yes I know you shouldn't play Ace, Rag especially in early or middle position but it was still fairly early blinds were still 100/200.  So I limp.  Darci makes it 600 and 5 people call so of course I'm now priced in.  Flop comes A,A,8.  I'm thinking sweet trips, just have to watch out for a higher kicker.  I check then call Darci's bet.  Turn comes another Ace and everyone starts laughing and says someone is lying.  I check again and Darci checks.  River is nothing and I bet 2k.  She said if you have the Ace you have the ace... even though technically I could've had 9's or higher and still beat her since she had pocket 8's.  Although she flopped a boat and sucked out on the turn.  But karma came back to bite me in the butt... I'll talk about karma in one of my later blogs about not playing with a big alone because it's bad karma.  

So anyways... I work my way from 4k back up to 15k.  Then in 3 hands bam bam bam... I take huge hits and then the 4th I'm out.  Sometimes I need to learn to check.  I still belive in playing good starting hands, but sometimes in the blinds I get greedy and try to bet at a pot to win something with crappy cards.   I watched Harold Bluff with 4,2 then Gwen with 7,5.   I raise under the gun with A,8 just trying to buy the blinds but Carolyn called.  Flop comes out 9,7, blank.  I of course continuation bet- which I do most of the time whether I hit or not, unless I hit huge like a straight, boat, or trips then I check and slow play.   Anyways I bet 2k and Carolyn calls.  Turn we both check so I thought she was weak.  River I bet 2k again into a 6k pot so I guess Carolyn was getting 4 to 1 but with 3 overs on the board she still called with her pocket 6's.  Oh well.  Very next hand I was in a blind and had a straight draw and bet it down against Harold which I should've known better not to bet against him or at least when he calls my bet one time to not bet again because you know he's going to call you down once he hits.  So that was another 6k I lost.  So 12k in two hands put me slightly on tilt so when I look down at pocket 8's my very next hand and see 2400 in the pot I push all in for 4100.  Unfortunately Darci  had pocket 10's that hand and had to call.  I lost that hand but still had 1200 left.  Very next hand I see A,2 and throw the rest of my chips in.  I should've waited for some suited connectors or something, but oh well by that point I was tired of playing.  I once again lost to Darci's A,Q.  She hit a club flush on the river.  I had a flush too but unfortunately it was only with my duece.   So yeah, I think I need to tighten up again.  Or at least learn how to check and know when to give up.  There's some people that just won't fold a hand.