So today I dropped $375 playing cash games at 2/3. Bought in for $200, got all in preflop with QQ against AK on the second hand. Board comes KKxxx. Bought in again for $175 (all the cash I had on me at the time but still not that short since the max buy-in is $200 at 2/3NL). Ran it up to about $360 through winning a bunch of small pots and getting a third of the stacks in preflop with AQ against KQ against a short stack with about $60 then getting the rest in on the KQx flop and hitting an ace on the turn. After that, I lost a few small pots then got involved in my only truly interesting hand of the session

I’m holding As Qs UTG with effective stacks of ~$300. We’re 8 handed.

I raise to $12 (standard raise at this table and i’m opening a lot so I don’t look super strong), two loose/bad stations call, strong LAG who seems like an online player and has made a sick multi street calldown with one pair against another good player and 3bet light multiple times since i’ve been at the table makes it $35. Why so small? I haven’t flatted any 3bets so I decide he’s trying to isolate one or both of the weak players behind me which means he’s light as in A8+ KJ+ 66+ type of light. This means I can’t fold. I can’t really 4bet either with the stacks since it would commit me and I can’t get it in profitably against villain’s 5bet shove range so I elect to call, which is something I basically never do out of position with AQ. I’m fairly sure villain doesn’t have AK though since the 3bet would be a bit larger since he doesn’t want 3 callers if he has AK. With that in mind, I feel like villain’s most likely holdings are 99-KK, A9-AK, KQ with a very small chance of AA, QQ, AQ (due to my holdings) or having some sort of air or low PP/suited connectors(which is also possible). Villain covers me easily.

Anyhow, the two awful weak players also flat (they’re both under $200 and with ranges as wide as Q7s, KTo, 54s, etc) and we take a flop with just under $150 in the pot.

Flop:

Ad Tc 3s

I check with the intention of jamming over any reasonable cbet from any of the three players. The two weak players check. Villain (he’s either CO or BTN, i can’t remember) bets $85 which is actually quite large for a cbet into a 4 way $150 pot for live poker. I move in as planned, the weak players fold and villain tanks (??) so i’m thinking he has KK and is worried i’m bluffshoving (he’s seen me bluffshove before) or some sort of ace rag type hand. He calls and turns over AT and I brick out to lose my second $700 pot in two days.

I’m actually going to post this hand in NLHE cash strategy to get some input. Am I supposed to fold AQ which has probably 55-57% equity against villain’s 3bet range simply because i’m OOP here? The whole hand seems pretty gross and it feels like checkshoving the flop may be bad since he’s snapping with AK+ (well, apparently not) but may not pay me off with weaker hands; then again if I lead the flop I may simply get three folds if he doesn’t have an ace (or induce a bluffshove from villain) and if I checkcall the flop I give him a free chance at a likely two outs and he isn’t going to pay me anyway when I continue on the turn or river. My shove is significantly less than a full pot raise so I think it’s okay. It seems gross to flat a 3bet OOP though and lose 100bb when I hit, although I guess i’m probably just overanalysing things because if the flop is A93 or AJ3 I end up getting his stack instead of him getting mine.

Anyway

Cash: -$375
Tournaments: $0

This trip is in danger of going into Vegas trip territory from a financial perspective if I don’t cash in the $1100 6max or Main though.

I’ve also decided if I bust everything from here and drop 4k or whatever for the series then i’m done with playing poker professionally for the time being, i’ll be on a close to 20k downswing and my roll will below 20k for the first time in about a year and i’ll have to drop down slightly and regrind for a while as i’m working full time.

Or I can just win the Main Event. Either way.