I've been playing a bit more this month, not only here in Tucson, but also visiting the poker rooms at the Wild Horse Pass Casino and Casino Arizona. The Wild Horse is located just south of Phoenix off Interstate 10. Casino Arizona has two locations (I saw two anyway) and the one I played in was located on Indian Bend Road at Loop 101 in Scottsdale.

The poker room at the Casino Arizona is huge. I played on a Saturday night and they had over 50 tables going, spreading every game imaginable at various stakes. It's a non-smoking room, a plus, and very roomy. The Wild Horse is a smoke-fest, however. I signed a petition to turn the room smoke-free, so I imagine it will become a non-smoking room soon. I played on a Friday night and coughed my way through a haze of smoke to make some nice money (the players at my particular table were horrible).

I was going over my recent play and trying to figure out the leaks I have in my game. What I came up with was this:

1. I try to buy too many pots, hoping my opponents will fold. I've got to remember that at the lower limits most players are either a.) too poor a player to know they are supposed to fold, or b.) don't mind spending a small amount of money chasing after a miracle. I've been too aggressive trying to buy pots from bad players. Therefore, to correct the leak, I will check or fold on the river when I'm beaten rather than try to aggressively buy the pot.

2. This is related to number one above: I've got to know when I'm beaten and be willing to fold. I don't "chase" after miracle cards. I use pot odds, implied odds, and pot equity help determine when to seek a river card. However, I sometimes try to push my luck and think my hand is stronger than it really is. I need to do a reality check on the turn and river and ask myself, "Is this hand really that strong?"

3. I need to count the number of bets in a hand more consistently. Sometimes I get lazy and generally know how much money is in the pot, but I need to accurately count the number of bets and pay more attention to pot size. Counting bets (instead of figuring dollar amounts) is the best approach because this skill can easily be transferred to higher limit games without any trouble. I count the number of small bets preflop and on the flop. Then convert them (divide by two) into the number of big bets for the turn and river. When I'm not in a hand, I practice accurately counting the bets and congratulate myself by telling the winner, "Hey, nice pot...you just won $74!"

4. This leak is probably my worst: I have a big mouth. I've got to watch my attitude and mouth, especially when I lose to a bad player who has just sucked out to crack my Aces. I must control my emotions and my tongue. No one likes a sore loser or sour attitude. I don't want to be a Phil Hellmuth disciple and have people despise me. Most people don't mind losing to someone they like. I want to be liked so bad players will continue to give me money and not feel bad about it.

5. In general, I need to be more aggressive with raises preflop. The value you receive by raising rather than calling makes aggresive play more profitable. Most limpers will call a raise, so you can easily double the preflop pot size by just raising one bet. The one problem to avoid, however, is to build such a huge pot that you price players in who have straight and flush draws. There's a balance to be found there, somewhere. For example, if I've got suited cards and want to justify chasing a flush, a preflop raise may be a good idea. Raising for one bet with six limpers automatically guarantees that you have seven big bets in the pot preflop. On the other hand, if I have KK or AA, I may want to just call rather than raise. Playing "small" preflop with monsters will delay the pot odds for anyone looking to hit a straight or flush with their connectors and suited cards. With position postflop, maybe you can force players with draws out of the hand with a two bet reraise.