SNG's suck, back to cash games

So basically, I discovered that SNG's suck, or I suck at them, or perhaps some of both, but I lost some relatively insignificant amount, maybe 7 buyins or so, after a lot of games, and am ready to go back to the cash game tables. Im going to revert to my previous plan to grind out 1/2 NL 4 tabling on FTP.

So here are two hands I played today where I wasnt quite sure what to do.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?767790

So I made two pair here, but the 3rd flush card hit, and a low set is a perfectly reasonable holding for him as well. I wonder though, is this fold too weak? I just felt like I would invest too much figuring out where I stood to make it profitable to play to the river, esp. OOP.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?767799

Here I have the nut flush draw on the flop, and am of course happy to be aggressive with it, so when he leads into me, I repop a standard 3.5x raise (since his was a little small), but then it gets wierd. When he 3bets me such a TINY amount, Im really beginning to feel like a set of 6's or 8's is his most likely holding. I think ANY two pair combo would bet bigger there if he decided to bet it (and only 68 makes a tiny bit of sense...and I dont know why a lower flush draw would bet again, but so light that it could not induce a fold... 79c is MAYBE a possibility, but Im thinking a set, and I call with great odds.

Ts completes 79c to a made hand, but is otherwise irrelevant, except that I have picked up 3 more outs (9's) against any of the set hands. When villain bets 60 here, Im getting ~3:1 to call, almost perfect odds to call with my 10 outs (Tc 8c are perhaps very bad cards), and with 150 behind him and a $232 pot going to the river, I can definitely expect some implied odds.

Anyway, I bricked out (technically hit a mid pair with TOP KICKER!!!), and folded.


Basically, Im excited to get back on the cash game grind, even if January is going to be like a break even month, Ill go from there, (although Im slightly worried about the shutting down of neteller, and other ewallets...and the effect it will have on online poker, but there is nothing I can do about that, so Ill have to wait to see how that turns out.

In other news, Im really excited about school this semester. Im taking Abstract algebra, Vector calculus, Game Theory, and a course on Social / Political Philosophy. Im having a good time and want to get a solid 4.0 this semester, since I kinda screwed off most of last semester. I know Im a loser, but theoretical math really makes me excited, and I enjoy studying it, not something Im willing to give up for poker or for anything else.

So thats about it for now, Im going to write up a Yearly update each month with some numbers in them, although this months will be kind of pathetic since I spent most of my time having fun with friends and family, and those stupid SNG's toward the end, not much cash game play, but I think it will be a good practice to start, and I think Ill put it up like Feb 1 or so.