Signs of spring?

No, far too soon for that. But at least some green in the record books. Of course it helps when the deck is hitting you hard ($25NL as usual):

• KK with position on QQ, flop turn and river all random low cards.


• KK against shortstack A7 who decides to call my preflop raise, and then push over my bet on QQ9 flop. Yes I'll pay off a Q here. I'm a calling station.


• AK on the button against QT in the cutoff. Flop of K74 gives him a flush draw, he bets 1/2 pot, I raise enough to kill the immediate flush odds. Turn an offsuit 10. He checks I bet 3/4 pot. He calls again without odds. River K! He bets! I push! He calls! (That's about as excited as I get.)


• AQ in the SB with a big pot preflop (four in for $2.75 each -- I'd called $1 and then had odds to call the BB's raise). Flop comes QQ6 rainbow. I break with habit and check. Mister 67 offsuit decides he must be good and bets $3. I check-raise, teasingly, to $9. That looks weak to him and he takes the bait and pushes.


• AK wins a race against $10 stack's QQ.

But it wasn't all beer and skittles (nor should it ever be of course). I overplayed a couple of AK's (a leak of mine, which I'm working on). I had a lovely 33 hit a 357 flop, and a 5 on the turn, only to lose to mister 57 offsuit! And finally, another AK hand:

UTG+1 raises to $1.5 over UTG's limp. Folds to me in the SB and I call with AKo. Heads up on the flop of 569, two clubs (I have A♣). I try to knock out another AK with a $2 bet, called. A♦ on the turn pleases me. I bet $4 also called. I'm pretty sure now that I'm up against a big ace. River is a slightly worrying T♦, except I don't think AT makes the initial raise, though TT might. I check to induce a bet (and secondarily control the pot). He bets $5 and I call, to see the big Ace all right -- AA. Oops.