I got back a little of my $150 last night in my $.50/$1.00 no limit game. I was probably up as much as $150 at one point, but I got smacked around by one of the players. He must've took me for about $120-$150 throughout the whole night. He took enough from me to throw me off of my game, that's for sure. I still ended up winning though, so that eased the pain a little bit. I'll explain the two hands that this guy took me for: 1) I had TT in the big blind with one spade. Everyone folds to the button, who raises to $8. I'm the only one who calls. The flop comes J-J-7 with two spades. I check and he checks as well. The turn bring a 3 of spades. I bet out $8 and he raises to $30. After taking a little while to think, I call his $22 raise. He has $28.50 left. The best that he could have is AJ. I may have the best hand and if I don't, I can catch a spade to make my flush. The river brings another J. I check and he takes a second, then goes all-in. I call. He shows quads! Bad Read. 2) I had T8s in early position and raise it to $5. Everyone folds to the small blind who calls. The flop comes Q-9-3. I'm looking at a gutshot here. The small blind bets out $5, I raise it to $10. He calls. The turn brings a 6, giving me a double gutshot. He checks and I bet out $10, he raises to a total of $30. Now, I'm not sure what to think. This was the same guy who I doubled up when he had quads. I decided to call his $20 raise because 1) he might be bluffing and I have position on him, 2) if I catch one of my gutshot cards, I'd have the rest of his money ($63). The river brought a T, giving me second pair. He quickly goes all-in for $63...before the river card is even flipped over. Even though I didn't hit my gin card, I was pretty certain that he didn't have a strong hand because of his quick all-in bet. Unfortunately, I chickened out and folded. He showed 7-7 and rubbed it my face! Bastard. Anyways, I hate getting beat down like this. I made the mistake of letting him put me to a decision both times. It's easier to put someone else to a decision versus making the decision of calling someone else's all-in bet. The logic being, "I can lay this hand down and wait for a better spot". Unfortunately, I laid down the best hand and called on the wrong hands. Even though I won last night, I didn't feel satisfied with my performance. I made some nice calls and even laid down a King high flush to an Ace high flush, but I want to make the right call EVERY time. I know it'll never happen; I'll always make mistakes, but man do I get bitter when I lay down the best hand. Oh well, I guess there's only room for improvement. Stock Check:I bought NTO at 2.68 on Friday. It's been making a new high and holding the previous day's low every day, so that's a good sign. There's strong support at the 2.6 area. My initial target is 2.78. 2.78 is the 61.8% retracement on the fibonacci lines. That's probably when I'll sell my shares. Boogster

Source: Boogster's Poker Blog