Confidence and a return to live play

Hi guys, writing this blog after an interesting day to say the least. Following months of purely online play, I decided I would take the chance to head to the casino and play some real live play. After reading Negreanu's 50 tips book and taking to heart particularly the chapters about reading players through their betting patterns, and reading the value of hands, I thought I would focus on applying these two ideas in my play.
Friday night I played a home game with 4 other friends. Basic stuff, 10c/20c blinds with $10 buy-ins... by the time the clock hit 4am I was up a huge 50c and figured better up than down - especially after dropping $50 before a lucky two-outer saved me.

So I headed for a $2/$3 No Limit ring game. Sat down with $200, the maximum buy-in.
The first thing I did was look around the table. Typical poker stereo-types. One middle-aged Greek man with an angry tone of voice to my left. A bubbly Polish man to my right who loved to talk. Around the table sat a 20-something year old man who didn't say much, a German fellow with a huge stack who seemed like a decent guy... an overweight female who had just bubbled a tournament in 4th place with the top 3 receiving AAPT prizes (insta-tilt), and one other guy my age who looked very nervous in his approach. Finally, one Asian student who I would later go on to share a few laughs with.

I had my reads already.

I would target the nervous kid when I could, but stay away if he raised big time.
Tried to avoid the German.
I knew if I could get the lady in a pot when I was strong I would take all her chips.
The guys to my left and right would play tight and agressive so I had to up my play with them.
I will discuss the Asian student later.

I decided I would play tight to begin with and slowly try and build a stack. I made a quick $60 or so by stealing a pot pre-flop after re-raising from the button with .

The first sick pot came when I was holding and the flop read:

In the small blind I didn't have much of a shot at winning the pot if I was raised, so I decided to take a stab with $20.
Two players to my left called.
Turn:
Now I knew I was in deep. I'll check.
Check.
Check.
Good, free card, hopefully I can hit big here.
River:

Jackpot.

I casually threw out $50 and uttered something about splitting the pot.
First player called, as did the second.
As I suspected, one had a flush, one had a straight.
Perhaps they both played it terribly, I am not sure.

The luckiest hand of the night came later on. I knew if I was going to take someone's stack it was going to be the big lady.
In the small blind I held a seemingly disgusting .
Five players had put $20 in pre-flop, including my target. What the heck, I'm getting 6-1 on my money here, I'm up at this stage about $50.. let's have a stab.

Flop comes:

OH BABY!

I'll check it to the initial raiser.

Check - check - check - check - Lady bets $30.

Flat call that, everyone folds.

I don't even know what the turn was, but she bet $50 and I pushed all-in.

Hang on, she's insta-called. I shit my pants and flip my cards. The look on her face is something like...

River is a blank.

She mucks.

She says she had aces and berates me for my play. The Asian guy gives me a high five. I told him after the hand that I played for two reasons - one, pot value, and two, because he had been playing an any-two-cards method that was pissing me off! I was hammered for a couple minutes by the fat chick but I didn't care. I'd won a pot by playing the way Negreanu would have wanted. I could call at 6-1, and if the flop hadn't hit, I get away without losing anymore than that. It made sense.

Later in the session I was reading players as well as I ever had. I knew that the nervous kid had two aces in the hole. I knew the German had flopped set after set.

I walked out up a couple hundred bucks and was proud of my performance. It wasn't about the money. It was about seeing a development in my play. I probably lost about two or three decent-sized pots over five hours. But the hands I played I would play smart, without bluffing inappropriately as I would have in the past.

There I was laying down on a board reading at the turn after I was re-raised, something I never thought I could do - why not push him all in?. I was throwing away after hitting top-pair on the flop and getting re-raised, then showing my fold and causing my opponent to flip over his and asking me how I could fold that. Negreanu told me to, sir. I was trapping, calling at the right price despite losing the odd hand, and even calling small bets just to gather information about my opponents, knowing I could get that $10 or $20 back within 10 minutes.

I'm getting there. Slowly. I want to play more. But I know I have other things to do. I want to reduce my online play now and organise more home games. Can't wait till the holidays come, only about six more weeks...

Besides lovemaking and singing in the shower, there aren’t many human activities where there is a greater difference between a person’s self-delusional ability and actual ability than in poker.
-- Steve Badget