Highs n lows

Played for 6 hours last night at Ladbrokes and Interpoker for a whopping $8 profit.I played a few Mtt's for a change of pace and managed to get quite deep in a couple but not to the money.I learned my lesson from previous posts and pushed with my JJ with 82 left ( top 40 got paid) but ran into the chip leaders AQ and he hit a Q on the flop to send me packing.

Moved to Interpoker to see if the poker gods would be kinder to me there and found the answer initially to be no!

To be honest I hope yesterdays post didn't seem to be laidback about my downswing.Sure I can be as philisophical as I like about it but I was feeling on a real poker downer.Almost as if I could do no right at the table and every decision was either wrong or cursed by bad luck.

I managed to reach a new low at Interpoker losing $360 in a couple more hours of poker hell before taking a break and telling myself to forget pathetic self pity,get a fucking grip and start playing MY game again.

Its strange but I still find it it hard to describe my game at 6 max accurately.I'd like to think I'm more than just a camp for monsters player but recently I've found when I try to dominate the wild tables I'm at or match the constant aggresssion it just doesn't suit me.At a passive table perhaps but when I get too fancy too often I pay the price.Playing very tight poker at 6 max almost doesn't feel right with all the family pots and big bets going down but as I won my way back up the ladder last night I realised apart from some terrible luck I really hadn't done myself any favours with my play either over the last few days.

There's a state of mind I deem as patient which comes nothing close to my usual actual patient tight state of mind.It didn't seem like I was being loose.Its 6 max.I have A8 and probably the best had so I'm raising 4bb.Its loose so I get 2 callers and miss the flop but bet out and get raised.I reraise and get raised again.Ooops.

On my normal game I limp unless on the button or cut off with only the blinds left and yes if I hit an Ace or 8 I may bet or raise but otherwise I treat A8 like the average hand it is and not like I've found the holy grail.

I also watched some more live ( 10 min delay) Internet poker.Here's the link for anyone interested.It shows the hole cards of online games and are showing an MTT just now.Go to the link and click "Watch Pokerzone" to see the show. Internetpoker live
I mention that because one aspect of the game I'm working on is betting amounts.I wont change my basic "bet big or go home" mantra but its important to judge how much will buy the pot at the table of noone has much of hand and to risk more than required.Watching the $2-$4 nl on the pokerzone has helped me here.


Back to my session and the turning point was a marginal hand at a 6 max 0.50-1nl Interpoker table.I'd only been playing one table at the time and had the player to my left down as a maniac loose player who liked to raise with any 2 painted cards.These are usually my favourite type of player to play against but in my fragile mental state I was feeling wary about putting my stack on the line again for any odds even if they were in my favour.

He raised it to $11 preflop and I called with AJ suited. Flop came 10 7 7 and he bet out $13 into a $24 pot which seemed weak to me.I also doubted he had the 10 or especially the 7 and reckoned my call would slow him down.My table image was tight at the time and I hadn't been seen to put any money in without a hand so that was also a factor in my thinking.I went all in and he called with KQ and with blanks on the turn and river I took it down and the villan left whilst 2 other players told me "well played" in the chat box. Was it though? Was I in that pokerzone where everything is clear and I'd outfoxed the villan with my cunning genuis?Had I actually been a bit loose and tilty and been lucky the villan never had a pair or even AQ instead of KQ as KQ is one of only a few peflop raising hands I could have been ahead of?

Before that hand though I honestly contemplated quitting the game I've been hooked on for over a year now.I felt sick to my stomach over some of the luck I'd endured and hobbies are supposed to be fun not misery after misery.

Part of me still hates my self pitying tone.If I cope with winning $1k in one night then I have to learn to cope better with losing $800 over a few nights.Maybe if I had a naturally easy come easy go attitude to money I'd be a better player but I usually find my strong chip preservation tight ass qualities help my game not hinder it.

After the hand described above I really started to relax into my natural game.Recent losses can feel like a huge weight on your shoulder.Every small win is put in context against that -$800 and getting out of the "chasing" mindset is not easy even if you feel free of it.

I did turn a $360 deficit into a $27 profit at Inter and that felt sweet .Hell I even had an early night and was tucked up in bed for 4.30am!

Lessons from the last few days?

1) Variance can be nasty

2) tilt can be more subtle than all out chip dumping.If you think your being tight and patient is this really the case? Be honest with yourself.

3) Calling down a couple of bluffs doesn't mean you've been declared Sheriff and every big bet from now on is a bluff which requires calling.

4) It's a thin line between poker genius and poker chumpery.

5) Don't play when hungover,very tired,looking to kill time or in either to negative or too cocky a frame of mind.If you don't feel like playing then don't.

6) Start with one table and get to know it first before opening another.

7) take breaks to keep your concentration focussed on the game.

8) In cash games there's always another hand.When you slow play trip Queens and the river brings a possible straight and the villan who has been calling until now suddenly goes all in think about it before calling!

9) Don't get too emotional.I've noticed myself clenching my fist when winning last night.After the last few days thats possibly understandable but a cold clear ( well smoke filled) head usually allows me to make better decisions.

10) fuck it.Just go all in with any two cards.Works for those fishy fuckers I've been playing...


On other stuff saw my Grandson Josh last night when Mrs A's boy ( 26) came round.Strange being a kind of Step Grandad at 33 but the wee man is very cute and very funny and it was great to see him again.Mrs A's boy is in the army based in Cyprus.He was in Iraq but is due to come back to Scotland permanently from about April.

My mate Wee Stu is friends with him and indeed that's how I met Mrs A.Wee Stu took me to a Millenium party and after meeting Mrs A's boy I was then seduced by his mother and lured back to her den!( where I stayed till day before I was due back to work).

Going to watch the Merseyside derby tonight between Liverpool and Everton.Not really bothered who wins but ( sorry Mr Speaker) but an Everton win would mean Chelsea are in a strong position so I should probably go for them.Liverpool to win by 2 or 3 is my prediction.

Watched Rangers draw 3-3 with Dunfermline on boxing day.They equalised with a soft penalty in the 4th minute of injury time after there were only supposed to be 3 mins played! If that was the other way around the tims would have been demanding inquiries etc into it.But then they are paranoid aswell as bitter and smelly on the otherside of the city!

Got to work tomorrow.How crap is that.I suppose its only one day and I'm off until the 9th Jan after it but its still crap especially as the Donkeys Always Draw tourney takes place tonight at Pokerstars at 2am Gmt.See Jordan,Garyc or Tripjax for more details. I don't plan on playing what with work and all but despite the time if I am still up I'll be there in a flash as getting round the table with these guys is always a laugh.Good luck to all taking part if I don't make it and f.u. all and good luck to me if I do! ( thats the Xmas spirit eh)

Jings did I really write all that and more to the point did you just waste 5 minutes of your life reading it? If so then thanks.If not then go back read it over and prepare for government...