The 9 Hour Session (With no breaks)

So... I'm an idiot. While I still won today, and felt very good about how I played today, I was really tired after the sessions end. Ended the day up 1205$, but it seemed like it took forever. Hit a nice little string of pots that I didn't lose and broke the slump of being breakeven/up a little.

Something I really liked today was the fact that I got to play to my image today. The first table I sat in was a table full of nits (uber conservatives). Not very many big pots, lots of chopping (when everyone folds to the small blind and big blind, they can chop and fold their hands and take their blinds back). I was probably the nittiest of all, or at least it must've seen that way as I picked up a slew of T6o etc. Allowed me to gain a LOT of respect on my turn check/raise bluffs which I administered a few times until I moved tables.

I sit 2 seats left of Jesse, a poker friend I met online, who plays better than I do, but we do no battling today. Both of us pretty much break even for the next 1-2 hours until he gets called over to the 40/80 game where the game is actually softer with tons of action. I however, cannot afford to play 40/80. Instead I painstakingly sit there w/ ~800$ in yellow chips (my buyin) for what seemed like eternity. I somehow got string of hands where I kept raising preflop, and maybe or maybe not winning but develop this crazy asian gambler image. I probably was especially on this ensuing hand...

everyone folds to me and I pickup 8h9c, and raise 2 away from the button and RU in the BB calls.
RU is a floorperson whom I haven't seen not defend his bigblind headsup which is probably merit for just folding 89 but its ok, I have AK and he'll pay me off when flop comes 9 high.
Flop comes Ts6s5c
he checks, I bet, he raises (this generally signifies either a flush draw or some kind of pair), I 3-bet thinking a 8 or 9 will win me the pot if I hit too, and he calls
Turn 3d
he checks, and for some reason I have this sneaking feeling he's going to fold, so I bet, and yup he calls
River is 7s
he bets out, and I almost raise him but I just call, and he flips over T7 saying I rivered you.
Fortunately for me I rivered him, and someone said they folded 77 to my preflop raise giving me 1 out to win this pot, the lone 7 of spades that I couldn't even raise on the river.

The table is astonished at how I could possibly raise preflop with 89o, 3-bet flop, and bet the turn with a gutshot straight draw, no pair.

This plays out nicely on this next hand...
folds to me, I pickup 44 in MP and raise looking to steal the blinds, lo and behold RU 3-bets from SB, BB folds, and I call.
I think RU's possible holdings are somewhere like 99+, AQ+

Flop is a beauty, a tournament players wet dream
K43

RU bets, I raise hoping he has AK, he 3-bets, I 4-bet, he calls
Turn 3
RU donks (bets into the raiser in previous street), I raise, he 3-bets, and then my heart sinks a little because he could very well have KK and call
River T
RU checks now, and my 44 is freakn golden and I bet, he calls, and I bare him the bad news that AK is not good.

Still quite the tiring day, and I could've used a break here and there. Can't say I played hands perfectly (especially towards the end as I got more tired), but I'm getting a better feel for the game and feel like I'm developping more patience and adjusting to different players and table conditions as I play more and more.

Dan Low