MATH Is Hard

Played the MATH again last night. Fared a little bit better than the last time, but never got my stack past $4k. I'm not completely happy with my play - based on the hands I got tonight, I feel like I should've been able to chip up a little bit more. So, I'm going to post some hands for review; any and all feedback is welcome.

Hand #1
This first hand was the second one I played, after picking up KK and reraising fluxer's EP raise.

Seat 1: mclarich (3,090)
Seat 2: bayne_s (2,455)
Seat 3: IslandBum1 (2,635)
Seat 4: hoyazo (3,150)
Seat 5: DDionysus (3,245)
Seat 6: columbo (2,700)
Seat 7: fluxer (3,710)
Seat 8: a104l9 (3,015)
fluxer posts the small blind of 20
a104l9 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to mclarich [Ts Td]
mclarich raises to 125
bayne_s folds
IslandBum1 calls 125
hoyazo folds
DDionysus folds
columbo folds
fluxer folds
a104l9 folds
*** FLOP *** [5d 8s 5c]
mclarich bets 200
IslandBum1 raises to 520
mclarich calls 320

This figures to be a good flop for me. When IslandBum1 reraises me, I narrow his range down to 66-QQ and maybe 67. I don't see him holding a 5, and AA\KK seem unlikely given the flat call preflop. The possibilty of a flopped boat crosses my mind. Would anyone lay this down at this point?

*** TURN *** [5d 8s 5c] [Qh]
mclarich checks
IslandBum1 checks

IMO, his check on the turn is consistent with the range I've assigned him. I beat 4 of those hands, only an underdog to 88, JJ, & QQ, although those do seem to be more likely.

*** RIVER *** [5d 8s 5c Qh] [2c]
mclarich checks
IslandBum1 bets 400
mclarich calls 400
*** SHOW DOWN ***
IslandBum1 shows [8h 8d] a full house, Eights full of Fives
mclarich mucks

A more disciplined player makes that laydown, but if I'm sticking to the assigned range, the 400 is an easy call. But the fact that he's making a river bet should have signaled that 88 or QQ is a bigger possibility than any of the hands I can beat. Does anyone else lay this down on the river?

I get moved to another table with Lucko, Mookie, & Astin, among others. Only Mookie would know who I'm am at this table. I'm somewhat familiar with Mookie's style, I know to beware of Lucko, and according to others, Astin is a card rack. So with what information I have, a fresh image and new faces, I gather myself together and get back to my game.

Hand #2
Very 1st hand at the new table, I pick up another pair: 44.

Seat 2: lucko21 (3,440)
Seat 4: mookie99 (3,210)
Seat 5: Maudie (2,815)
Seat 6: GCox25 (3,045)
Seat 7: Astin (5,725)
Seat 8: jeciimd (2,780)
Seat 9: mclarich (2,045)
Maudie posts the small blind of 20
GCox25 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to mclarich [4s 4h]
Astin folds
jeciimd folds
mclarich raises to 120
lucko21 folds
mookie99 folds
Maudie folds
GCox25 calls 80
*** FLOP *** [8s 6d 7h]
GCox25 checks
mclarich bets 160
GCox25 calls 160

Of course, the flop comes all overs, but IMO this isn't a scary flop. I should be able to figure out where I stand fairly easy. GCox25's call tells me that I should be wary.

*** TURN *** [8s 6d 7h] [Ah]
GCox25 checks
mclarich checks

I'll take a free card, sure.

*** RIVER *** [8s 6d 7h Ah] [5c]
GCox25 checks
mclarich bets 240
GCox25 calls 240
*** SHOW DOWN ***
mclarich shows [4s 4h] a straight, Eight high
GCox25 mucks
mclarich wins the pot (1,060) with a straight, Eight high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,060 | Rake 0
Board: [8s 6d 7h Ah 5c]
Seat 6: GCox25 (big blind) mucked [Ad Kd] - a pair of Aces
Seat 9: mclarich showed [4s 4h] and won (1,060) with a straight, Eight high

The question I have here is my river bet. I should figure my straight is good, but being on the ass end of it, I'm not going to get too crazy with the betting. I bet 240 into a 600 pot - is that too big, or am I leaving chips on the table?

Hand #3
A little bit later, I pick up everyone's favorite: JJ

Seat 2: lucko21 (3,560)
Seat 4: mookie99 (3,170)
Seat 5: Maudie (2,965)
Seat 6: GCox25 (2,445)
Seat 7: Astin (5,675)
Seat 8: jeciimd (2,720)
Seat 9: mclarich (2,525)
mookie99 posts the small blind of 20
Maudie posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to mclarich [Jd Jh]
GCox25 folds
Astin folds
jeciimd raises to 140
mclarich calls 140
lucko21 folds
mookie99 calls 120
Maudie calls 100
*** FLOP *** [3h Th Qd]
mookie99 checks
Maudie checks
jeciimd bets 300
mclarich folds
mookie99 folds
Maudie folds
Uncalled bet of 300 returned to jeciimd
jeciimd mucks
jeciimd wins the pot (560)

With an EP raise and two people to act after me, this is a clear fold IMO. Anyone disagree? Any thoughts of a reraise to gauge where we're at? Jeciimd's is 300 into a 560 pot - based on his bet and our position, I don't see how I can call.

Hand #4
A couple hands later, I pick up my second KK of the night:

Seat 2: lucko21 (3,660)
Seat 4: mookie99 (2,955)
Seat 5: Maudie (2,805)
Seat 6: GCox25 (2,335)
Seat 7: Astin (5,650)
Seat 8: jeciimd (3,195)
Seat 9: mclarich (2,460)
GCox25 posts the small blind of 25
Astin posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to mclarich [Kd Kh]
jeciimd folds
mclarich raises to 175
lucko21 folds
mookie99 folds
Maudie folds
GCox25 raises to 575
Astin folds
mclarich has 15 seconds left to act
mclarich raises to 1,850
GCox25 folds
Uncalled bet of 1,275 returned to mclarich
mclarich mucks
mclarich wins the pot (1,200)

From what I can recall, this is the first time I've played GCox; based the way he played the AK hand, and from what I've read on other's blogs, he's got a reputation for being tight. Knowing this, in hindsight it may have been better to see a flop, but at the time, I didn't want to play KK out of position, especially in the event of an A high flop. Nevertheless, my question is: was my reraise too big? I reraise about 3.5x his reraise, and leave about 400 or so behind me. How many people would smooth call and see the flop?

Hand #5
Later, I get another favorite hand of a certain blogger:

Seat 2: lucko21 (6,325)
Seat 4: mookie99 (3,305)
Seat 6: GCox25 (1,955)
Seat 7: Astin (5,790)
Seat 8: jeciimd (2,655)
Seat 9: mclarich (3,030)
lucko21 posts the small blind of 40
mookie99 posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to mclarich [Th 8h]
GCox25 raises to 160
Astin folds
jeciimd folds
mclarich calls 160
lucko21 calls 120
mookie99 calls 80

In position with suited connectors and just a minraise. Easy call.

*** FLOP *** [Jh 8c 5h]
lucko21 checks
mookie99 checks
GCox25 checks
mclarich bets 480
lucko21 folds
mookie99 folds
GCox25 calls 480

I'm not worried about top pair with everyone checking, so I lead out with a bet. I'm happy to take down the pot here; instead, I get a call from GCox again.

*** TURN *** [Jh 8c 5h] [Qs]
GCox25 checks
mclarich has 15 seconds left to act
mclarich bets 1,040
GCox25 folds
Uncalled bet of 1,040 returned to mclarich
mclarich mucks
mclarich wins the pot (1,600)

I pick up straight draw outs with the Q on the turn. Combine that with GCox's check, and a bet seems like the right move. Again, the question is: Is my bet too big? 1040 into 1600 is just about 2\3rds. Am I committing myself too much with that bet - would a smaller bet do the trick there?

Hand #6
This is a hand that I was fairly proud of:

Seat 1: BuddyDank (2,240)
Seat 2: lucko21 (6,860)
Seat 3: Rake Feeder (5,100)
Seat 4: mookie99 (2,345)
Seat 5: TripJax (3,805)
Seat 7: Astin (7,300)
Seat 8: jeciimd (1,995)
Seat 9: mclarich (2,820)
BuddyDank posts the small blind of 80
lucko21 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to mclarich [8c 6c]
Rake Feeder folds
mookie99 folds
TripJax raises to 400
Astin folds
jeciimd folds
mclarich calls 400
BuddyDank folds
lucko21 folds

Suited connectors, in position, easy call.

*** FLOP *** [2d 9d 5s]
TripJax checks
mclarich checks

Not a good flop for me at all - with just a gutshot, it's an easy check.

*** TURN *** [2d 9d 5s] [3c]
TripJax bets 600
mclarich raises to 1,600
TripJax folds
Uncalled bet of 1,000 returned to mclarich
mclarich mucks
mclarich wins the pot (2,240)

When TripJax bets 600 into a pot of 1040 after checking the flop, it seems weak to me. Plus, the 3 gives me two chances at a gutshot, so I take a chance and try to push him off the pot.

Unfortunately, that was the last brilliant move of the night. The wheels came off shortly thereafter. Called a raise with JJ only to fold to a CO push. Threw away 500 more chips with a steal attempt with K9 that I have to fold to BuddyDank's button push. Doubled up jeciimd with J7 when I thought my middle pair might have been good; I was way off. Topped it off when I pushed T7 into a shorty's blind, only to get called by KK and QQ.

I know I've got some leaks in my game, especially when it comes to bet sizing. It seems like in most recent MTTs I struggle to build a big stack. I'm not getting paid off on my big hands, and I wonder if I'm just pushing people off the pot too much. Once again, I appreciate any and all comments & criticism.