Nasty Night
Last night was one of those nasty poker nights I hope I can quickly recover from.I lost $300 after 4 hours of play but in truth probably shouldn't have been playing at all.Mark had text me to say he may not be up for our weekly ps2 fest and I was still feeling truly exhausted from the weekends fun.
My attitude was all wrong.Greed kicked in and kicked my butt.In all honesty my thoughts before starting were that I didn't feel like playing but that if I can make $185 in a few hours the night before I can easily do it again.
To be fair to myself I've not had a bad run of cards like it for a while either.Highest pair was QQ which was busted by an Ace on the flop.Didn't make one set from any pocket pair until I'd folded 66 to a raise and reraise only to see a golden 6 on the flop and a huge pot grow.
From experience I know that kind of situation is my worst tilt trigger.I believe Pokerroom use continuous auto shufflers but depsite knowing that when I see that my folded K10 would have flopped a straight and a huge pot and I'm already down I need show much more mental strength,brush it aside and move on.
I thought I'd managed to get back on track when I went from -$177 to -$88.Looking back that was when I should have gone to bed but greed and thoughts of pulling the whole deficit round took over and by 1am I was stuck $300 and went to bed as I realised I was simply getting more and more desparate to make up at least some of my losses.
In fact at that point of realisation I felt like I did years ago when I used to play slots and had just spent my bus fare home and was hunting round the floor of the arcade for enough change for one more game.It was the kind of feeling I feared when I first started playing poker with a £50 per month budget last October and though thankfully that kind of run is rare for me taking a glance into the pit of despair will probably do me good in the long run.
I should say that I don't want to give the impression I was into slots in a big way when I was younger because thats not true but age 15-16 when you feel the world owes you a living I learned that quickly from playing slots that it doesn't.
In many ways that early gambling experience probably means I have less gamble in me than most.I very rarely play slots these days and while I like the odd flutter on the football its only a couple of pounds a time and for fun more than profit.
At the poker tables I'm almost always the one with the made hand v the drawer rather than the other way although I will chase where I get the right odds.In many ways lack of gambool makes me bet bigger than most to protect my premium hands and as I play at low levels I make my money from the donkey drawers who call without odds.
The good news from last night is that I earned 135 player points and I'm well on my way to clearing my $96 bonus by Dec 20th.I also got an email from Interpoker who have scrapped their playing points system and are converting them to cash today.I have 4000 so that's an extra $20 in my account.
Patience,mental toughness,skill and bankroll management are the keys to good poker and thankfully the last part I seem to have got right and that means that while last nights loss was a nasty experience it doesn't dent my overall bankroll by too much and indeed part of the reason for keeping a decent size roll ( for the levels I play at) is to be able to deal with the swings that come with No Limit and in particular the 6 max game.
Last nights losses were at full ring tables and while 2 tabling does help with the folding I was still too eager for action and to get involved.I can see 30% of flops at 6 max and be the table rock but at full ring $1nl camping for monsters means seeing aprox 20% of flops on average for me not the 35% I was seeing last night.
I mentioned at the start of this post that my attitude was wrong and I've not changed my mind.It was almost as if I had a part time job and wanted to phone in sick but had forced myself to go to work as the money is good.Suggesting to Mrs A that she could give up her part-time job if I'm still doing as well by the end of April probably made me feel its even more of a job than the enjoyable profitable hobby it should be viewed as.
I'll probably be back at the tables tonight but will stop if I lose $100 not that I'm planning on that!
Last piece of advice to self: The $300 is gone.Last night is gone.Let it go.
posted by Littleacornman @ 12:21 pm
10 comments
10 Comments:
Our actions are sometimes dictated by how content the mind is. If you are losing, then you try to find opportunities anyway possible. It may come in the form of suited cards, two cards 10 or higher. But what we really are desperate for is a win! And sometimes any two cards or a cheap flop is all that you need.
The worse part may come after the flop when you catch a lower pair and try to see just one more card to try to hit a monster.
Just curious, do you use PokerTracker? Wonder what your VP$IP% is. If you're playing more than 22% of your hands then you may need to play a bit fewer hands than you are now.
Sitting out hand after hand is painful when you're losing. But if you don't have the patience to find a good opportunity then perhaps the PS2 is a good alternative. Pick a fun video game that you KNOW you can kick butt in and play that for a while. That will re-energize you and you'll have a better mindset for playing poker.
I did use PT until I wiped it recently by mistake but my vp$ip% was hard to judge due to about 1/2 of my 33k hands being at 5 max.( never did learn how to separate 'em)
Hopefully I can put it down to one bad night.
But your right about the Play Station.If I start playing poker tonight and my mindset doesn't feel right I'm gonna blast some aliens!
cheers,
Acornman
hang in there dude. there's a light at the end of the tunnel...and this time i don't think it is a co-worker with a flashligh bringing you more work.
strangely POE says you have 45% flop seen! which is impressively high. Rose reckons that you strength is your player read, whilst i reckon your strength is selective agression and of course being a jammer *! Until this post i was wonder how variance doesnt seem to effect you BR. My BR seems to have periods where it climbs steeply and then its levels out for a bit and then starts to climb again. But dont worry. Just remember Butroz and all are relying on you to show them the way to fortune and glory!
no pressure.
Thanks guys.I can see the light!
I do have big swings Juice but when you play for 14 hours on a Sat night so long as you finish ahead thats what count.I did a few semi live Sat night posts a while back to show how crazy it can get.
$200 down at 2am and $450 up a few hours later on some nights.
45% of flops seen is way high btw but if thats all at .10-.20 then thats because I do like to gamble it up there a bit more ;-)
Anyways up $135 tonight and buzzing again!
I struggle to buy a bag of crisps with my poker income and you are already 100 dollars up!
Pah! ;-)
Im going to focus my chi at the ladbrokes tables
incidentalyl the edge would like to know what hands you would consider going all in with?
At present I've tried going all in with AA-QQ.
You'd be able to buy a few packets of crisps with your nl profit over the last few weeks Juice!
All in hands? Preflop?
That depends.I was all in with 1010 v a maniac a couple of weeks ago( he folded) but usually only AA and KK.
AK is sometimes tempting in a preflop raising war because at least if your all in you get to see all 5 community cards to hit but again it depends on the situation and who is raising.
That's why fixed starting hands/all in hands are not a good idea imo.So much depends on other information.
That's why fixed starting hands/all in hands are not a good idea imo.So much depends on other information.
But when you're a guppy like myself the other information might not be too reliable. All I know that if I go all in with AA-QQ then I'll be protecting myself from being outplayed on the flop.
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