So I've come to the conclusion that playing 1/2 is bad for my health.  It's one thing to lose to other good players, but losing money to mediocre players is really starting to wear on me.  And the amounts involved are so small that I can play all day and not have a gain or loss that I care about.  I guess I should be happy to make small amounts of money with a negligible risk of a big loss while I'm working on a few things.  But more importantly, I don't think I'm learning as much as I can from just playing my limits - the game dynamic at 1/2 Rush is just so odd.  I still have no idea how those nits win.  Normally, I like figuring things out but I'm not sure it's going to be lucrative for me to do so.  Barring some unusual lethargy, starting tomorrow I'm going to go back to the 2/4+ tables and practice there.  Since there aren't enough full ring tables during the day, I'm going to start playing some 6 max as well.  Playing 6max will also help me transition out of the graveyard shift, as there are plenty of 6max tables during the day.

I wasn't planning to start 6max until the second half of the year.  But I wasn't expecting the 2/4+ full ring games to have dried up as much as it has - the last two nights, there were only 10-14 tables.  Multi-table tournaments are still a work in progress.  I could try and play a bunch of single table tournaments, as I think I could do pretty well in those.  We'll see how things go.  I have one month before the the family Disney trip, so I want to do some serious grinding before then.

HANDS

This hand made me laugh for some reason (probably because I won).  The only hand real hands I could put villain on (who seemed fishy and aggressive) where he would donk barrel like this was 66, 2x, an overpair or a flush draw.  But a lot of people just opt for a check-raise with those hands.  And of course there are tons of overcards, missed draws, etc. in his donking range.  I really can't remember the last time I won 94bbs with just a pair of fours.  But the way Rush has been going, I'm shocked an 8 didn't come on the river.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($219.35)
BB ($188.40)
UTG ($221)
UTG+1 ($200)
MP1 ($475.40)
Hero (MP2) ($292.75)
MP3 ($1062.70)
CO ($242.80)
Button ($414.20)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 4♣, 4♠
3 folds, Hero bets $7, 4 folds, BB calls $5

Flop: ($15) 2♠, 2♥, 6♥ (2 players)
BB bets $15, Hero calls $15

Turn: ($45) 7♠ (2 players)
BB bets $45, Hero calls $45

River: ($135) J♠ (2 players)
BB bets $121.40 (All-In), Hero calls $121.40

Total pot: $377.80 $3
Rake:
Main pot: $377.80 between BB and Hero, won by Hero

Results:
BB had A♥, 8♠ (one pair, twos).
Hero had 4♣, 4♠ (two pair, fours and twos).
Outcome: Hero won $374.80