Sometimes fish jump into your boat

BR: $29,865

Sometimes, you aren't playing good; it's just that everyone else is just playing bad.

Party Poker Pot-Limit Hold'em, $6 BB (6 max, 6 handed) converter
SB ($663.9)
BB ($648.2)
UTG ($1826.83)
MP ($702)
CO ($285)
Hero ($819)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Qc, Jc.
3 folds, Hero calls $6, SB completes, BB checks.
Flop: ($18) 3c, 5c, 7d (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $10, SB folds, BB raises to $20, Hero calls $10.
Turn: ($58) 4c (2 players)
BB bets $56, Hero raises to $224, BB calls $168.
River: ($506) 8s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $504, BB calls $398.20 (All-In).
Final Pot: $1408.20

BB has 7s 2c (one pair, sevens).
Hero has Qc Jc (flush, queen high).
Outcome: Hero wins $1408.20.

Party Poker Pot-Limit Hold'em, $6 BB (6 max, 6 handed) converter
MP ($973.8)
CO ($1506.15)
Button ($957.3)
Hero ($863)
BB ($1686.93)
UTG ($1837.1)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Qd, Qh.
UTG calls $6, 2 folds, Button calls $6, Hero raises to $30, BB calls $24, UTG calls $24, Button folds.
Flop: ($96) Qc, Kc, 7c (3 players)
Hero bets $94, BB calls $94, UTG folds.
Turn: ($284) 2d (2 players)
Hero bets $282, BB calls $282.
River: ($848) 3s (2 players)
Hero bets $457 (All-In), BB calls $457.
Final Pot: $1762

Hero has Qd Qh (three of a kind, queens).
BB has Jh Ks (one pair, kings).
Outcome: Hero wins $1762.

Party Poker Pot-Limit Hold'em, $6 BB (6 max, 6 handed) converter
UTG ($1341.6)
MP ($1682.15)
CO ($540.5)
Hero ($1768.5)
SB ($645.93)
BB ($1890.1)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Ks, Jc.
UTG calls $6, 1 fold, CO calls $6, Hero calls $6, SB completes, BB checks.
Flop: ($30) Kd, 3h, 4c (5 players)
SB bets $28.5, BB folds, UTG calls $28.50, CO folds, Hero calls $28.50.
Turn: ($115.50) Jh (3 players)
SB bets $113.5, UTG folds, Hero raises to $454, SB calls $340.50.
River: ($1023.50) Th (2 players)
SB bets $157.43 (All-In), Hero calls $157.43.
Final Pot: $1338.36

SB has Kh 6s (one pair, kings).
Hero has Ks Jc (two pair, kings and jacks).
Outcome: Hero wins $1338.36.

I made one play. It's revealed a lot of insight into the aforementioned player who I have trouble playing:

Party Poker Pot-Limit Hold'em, $6 BB (6 max, 6 handed) converter
CO ($973.8)
Button ($1777.15)
SB ($960.3)
Hero ($585)
UTG ($1686.93)
MP ($1843.1)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 9d, 9c.
1 fold, MP calls $6, 1 fold, Button raises to $27, 1 fold, Hero calls $21, MP folds.
Flop: ($63) Jc, 6h, 8c (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $61, Hero calls $61.
Turn: ($185) 3h (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $183, Hero calls $183.
River: ($551) 6c (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.
Final Pot: $551

Hero has 9d 9c (two pair, nines and sixes).
Button has 4h 7h (one pair, sixes).
Outcome: Hero wins $551.

He's of the same ilk of many players I've done very well against with passive-check-call lines; only problem is he exclusively bets the pot, which makes reading from bet-sizing impossible. I've noticed he's started to play a little more passively towards me since I've started calling down his bets.

Feeling a little better about myself now. I no longer feel like he owns my soul, and don't feel nervous when I sit at tables with him. None-the-less, notice that he probably only bet the turn because he picked up a massive number of outs. It's going to be really hard combatting this guy. High variance for sure. I mean, if you check-raise his inevitable flop bet, he's only coming along with relatively strong hands. And sometimes you get flustered and come over the top without a strong hand holding and find yourself trapped. That's probably what he relies upon, and the amount of medium size pots he takes down.

I'm sure he's a winning player; probably not as much as I thought before, since I've now noticed his aggressive style causes him to rebuy quite a lot to begin with. It's an insanely aggressive style but make no mistake it works very well. I've noticed an influx of these types of players at the PL$600s when before there were just a handful of them. It's +EV to play against them in general, but it sure takes a few stacks to figure out how to handle each type of shark.

Watching these players makes me wonder if I shouldn't try this style of repeated aggression myself. Not as a staple form of play, since it's clearly asinine against some types of opposition -- calling fish like that in my QJc hand -- but as another part of my repertoire. It would make me grow as a poker player. But what about my bankroll?

I keep having these bankroll/skill-building conflicts. On one hand, I'm crushing the PL$600s and there's a money-loving bankroll-building side of me that keeps whispering, "Keep beating this game, just keep beating this game... Make it to 20K ... 30K". And I'm still being challenged, being forced to figure things out, but if you put me in NL$600 or NL$1000 I would probably come to learn more a lot faster. I probably would also lose money to begin with, and that might be depressing -- affect my play. But I'd become a stronger player, be able to play NL 25/50$ and higher sooner. And in the long run, that's actually the greater +EV play. Isn't it? There's a certain fear of burn-out where if I overstrech my bankroll I could be crushed. But I have almost 30 buy-ins for NL$1000, so that shouldn't be an issue.

On the other hand, the truly reason-guided voice in my head knows I should stay at these limits. I didn't start playing this high until just a month or so ago, and I've had a great run, but haven't played enough cards to digest and assess whether I'm playing "good" enough or just running hot.