I have no excuse. I had been holding my own, playing a decent game, up on both tables, yet I knew I was on a hair trigger.
I had just lost a fairly good-sized pot when my trips lost to a flush. It wasn’t a suck-out or bad beat. The guy played it correctly and I lost the minimum amount possible. I was a bit irked, but since I had played it correctly as well, I was able to still feel good about it and play on.
It was another player at the table, a certified calling station that lit the fuse. I had been able to keep him in his place up to this point, yet it always doesn’t work out that way.
PokerStars Game #21314834412: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/19 4:24:38 ET
Table 'Rosalia' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: myerss64 ($19.10 in chips)
Seat 2: jokajon00 ($12.80 in chips)
Seat 3: Silver666666 ($20.75 in chips)
Seat 4: okutai ($25.80 in chips)
Seat 5: MELBORPON ($12.45 in chips)
Seat 6: royman0785 ($25 in chips)
Seat 7: felagund86 ($14.05 in chips)
Seat 8: image_guenni ($30.60 in chips)
Seat 9: bastinptc ($21.60 in chips)
royman0785: posts small blind $0.10
felagund86: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Qc Ah]
image_guenni: folds
bastinptc: raises $0.50 to $0.75
myerss64: folds
jokajon00: folds
Silver666666: calls $0.75
okutai: calls $0.75
MELBORPON: folds
royman0785: folds
felagund86: folds
*** FLOP *** [2s Tc 6s]
bastinptc: bets $1.50
Silver666666: calls $1.50
okutai: folds
*** TURN *** [2s Tc 6s] [3c]
bastinptc: bets $3.25
Silver666666: calls $3.25
*** RIVER *** [2s Tc 6s 3c] [9h]
bastinptc: bets $7
Silver666666: calls $7
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [Qc Ah] (high card Ace)
Silver666666: shows [Td 5d] (a pair of Tens)
Silver666666 collected $24.85 from pot
It just shouldn’t have happened that way. That’s the way I felt at the time. And that should have been my clue. I jumped into “I’m gonna git you sucka” mode.
PokerStars Game #21314854152: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/19 4:26:35 ET
Table 'Rosalia' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: myerss64 ($19.10 in chips)
Seat 2: jokajon00 ($11.05 in chips)
Seat 3: Silver666666 ($33.10 in chips)
Seat 4: okutai ($25.05 in chips)
Seat 5: MELBORPON ($15.35 in chips)
Seat 6: royman0785 ($25 in chips)
Seat 7: felagund86 ($13.70 in chips)
Seat 8: image_guenni ($30.35 in chips)
Seat 9: bastinptc ($25 in chips)
image_guenni: posts small blind $0.10
bastinptc: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [9c 2c]
myerss64: folds
jokajon00: folds
Silver666666: calls $0.25
okutai: folds
MELBORPON: folds
royman0785: raises $0.75 to $1
felagund86: folds
image_guenni: folds
myerss64 leaves the table
bastinptc: calls $0.75
Silver666666: calls $0.75
More stinkin’ thinkin’. I knew that if I called from the BB, Silver would call as well. If I hit some miracle flop, I could beat him at his own game. Nevermind that royman had demonstrated that he knew what he was doing. He wasn’t my target; he was just the vehicle.
*** FLOP *** [6d 4c 8c]
bastinptc: checks
Silver666666: checks
royman0785: bets $1.75
bastinptc: calls $1.75
Silver666666: folds
Well, shit. He folds. So much for my plan.
*** TURN *** [6d 4c 8c] [Tc]
Well, shit again. Looks like I made my flush! I may come out of this smelling like a rose, even if it is at the expense of a good player. Sorry royman.
DarkPokerTut joins the table at seat #1
bastinptc: checks
royman0785: bets $2.75
bastinptc: raises $2.75 to $5.50
royman0785: raises $4.75 to $10.25
bastinptc: raises $4.75 to $15
royman0785: raises $7.25 to $22.25 and is all-in
bastinptc: calls $7.25 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [6d 4c 8c Tc] [Kc]
With the Kc, what I suspected, I now knew for certain: I was dead.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [9c 2c] (a flush, King high)
royman0785: shows [Qc Ac] (a flush, Ace high)
royman0785 collected $48.60 from pot
addendum: So, okay, I know one can’t bluff a calling station off of a hand. It was a bad day all around, and playing poker wasn’t going to help. Funny thing was, I had just finished reading an essay at Poker Listings about this very thing. Play when one’s head is clear of externals. Poker is enough of a jones and potential emotional roller coaster by itself to expect it to make one feel better. And I went ahead and played anyway. I got slapped hard and really shouldn’t
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Silver was the call station? You fired 3 barrels into him with ace high.... ? :/
I know, I know. I'm not proud of it. I did exactly what I shouldn't have done. I know. I know. I know.
"yet I knew I was on a hair trigger"
When I sit down to play, sometimes I feel like this. Other times, I feel mellow or passive. I'm beginning to learn to recognize these "moods" and adjust for them -- hard to do, though.
Would you agree that almost all players go through these mood swings, but most (males?) are unaware of them and how they affect their play?
Well, B, it's ugly to be sure... But you knew that already.
There's not much to say except that I've been there and I understand every facet of your frustration. I've done the same silly things for the same silly reasons and ended up feeling like a donk on the other side.
It's all part of the journey. While unpleasant, illogical, and definitely -EV, it's nothing but another cobble on poker road as you get into the painful pruning stage where you hate and seriously question your own poker game before emerging strong and confident.
I will use these comments to start thinking about a post that will try to show how mindsets are illusive little things.
Post a Comment