The J-shaped Session.
I was getting very very frustrated. I had picked two very good $2/4 full ring tables full of fish, and the cards just would not come. After 45 minutes I was down 25 BB (again), with the coup de grace being when I got my KK rivered by the guy playing 85o from UTG. Home alone, I made myself hoarse shouting at my computer monitor about the injustices of the deck. In two sessions I was down nearly 45 BB.
And then everything changed.
I raised JJ from EP, and got 3-bet by some clueless condrychthes in LP. I capped it. Flop had both a Jack and an Ace, and we were OFF! The flop betting was capped, and the turn brought another Ace. When I three-bet the turn, he just called. River was a blank and he raised my river bet, but only called my 3-bet. His A3o didn't hold up this time!
Five of my next six pocket pairs flopped sets for decent pots. I was back to even. AA and QQ held up. I made a correct lay down of KK on the turn. Hit an OESD and flush draw. Even Big Slick was hitting the flop for me. I stacked (at limit holdem) two fish who left the table. It broke up, and I decided to exit the other table as well - up 25.5 BB. A 50.5 BB swing in one sitting.
I intentionally waited 24 hours to write about that session. I wanted to digest the entire experience and see if I could find some meaningful relationship on my quest for Poker Fu. I am not sure I found any. I played well and went down 25BB. I continued to play well and won back a little more than twice that. Somewhere in the middle I wasted a lot of energy yelling. I don't know what that all means yet, but it was time to write it all down. Maybe I'll figure it out later. Maybe not.
I am starting to become a firm believer that I am playing significantly better poker on two tables than I was playing four. I don't think I would have laid down that KK hand if I had been four-tabling, for example. I would not have had the read on the player that I knew had me beat - to know that I was beat. I have played profitably on four tables for a long time, but I think I may stick with just two for a while. It feels right.