BACK DOWN TO EARTH
I write 5 minutes off the back of a $1400 cash game loss. I’m having to really motivate myself to put pen to paper because I feel so deflated, but I thought it’d be interesting to discuss my thoughts so soon after being crushed by the world of online poker.
There’s a real sense of embarrassment in reporting losses. You’re happy to shout about any wins, but if a bad day arrives, you tend to keep it under your hat. However, if I am to be successful at poker, I can’t hide from my losses. I need to be realistic and face my bad days head on, otherwise I may never rectify any of the errors made.
(i) So how did I lose $1400?
A mixture of bad play and bad beats. The worst possible combination! Every time I hit top pair, I was reraised by trips. None of my pocket pairs made a set. My suited connectors failed to er… connect. If I bluffed a flop, I was called or reraised. If I hit 2 pair, four of the same suit arrived. Etc etc. It was just one of those nights where everything went wrong.
It all kicked off when AJ rivered my QQ, all-in preflop. Ouch! And so began the first of several beats. I won’t bore you with the stories, although I’m dying to go into great detail, but let’s just say that I was dealt a firm kick in the testicles on more than one occasion.
(ii) Did I play badly?
I’ve played worse, but that doesn’t say much. Speaking honestly, I’d have to say that I let the bad beats effect me. I didn’t do anything too ridiculous, but I called a few hands I would have normally folded. I carried on playing when I didn’t really fancy it, and I was reluctant to accept my loss. Although it’s part of my game, I’m pretty sure I raised preflop even more than I normally do. I was too eager to reduce my financial deficit, and this resulted in me trying to force through too many bluffs.
(iii) How do I feel?
Not too bad actually. I’ve had worse losses, and there’s no point in dwelling on what’s already happened. I won £300 at the Gala on Wednesday and I was previously $1200 up for the week online, so it’s hardly the end of the world. In fact, I’m still up for the last seven days. It’s just excruciatingly frustrating when you undo all that hard work. I’ll get it back, it’ll just take me slightly longer than it took to lose it. There are too many more important issues in the world and I’m not willing to worry about one bad night of poker.
(iv) What next?
I’ve decided to take a few days off. My last few sessions have been way too long, and I don’t want to reach the stage where I’m bored of playing. So, hopefully, I’ll return fresh and revitalised. I want my game to be in top form every time I log on, no excuses, and if this means taking time off, then so be it.
My first month of full-time poker finishes on Wednesday, so I’ll write up a progress report. I know I’m up, so I really can’t complain.
So, there you have it, I’ve been brought back to ground with a thud. Not a happy chappy, but as Eric said, ‘Always look on the bright side of life.’
There’s a real sense of embarrassment in reporting losses. You’re happy to shout about any wins, but if a bad day arrives, you tend to keep it under your hat. However, if I am to be successful at poker, I can’t hide from my losses. I need to be realistic and face my bad days head on, otherwise I may never rectify any of the errors made.
(i) So how did I lose $1400?
A mixture of bad play and bad beats. The worst possible combination! Every time I hit top pair, I was reraised by trips. None of my pocket pairs made a set. My suited connectors failed to er… connect. If I bluffed a flop, I was called or reraised. If I hit 2 pair, four of the same suit arrived. Etc etc. It was just one of those nights where everything went wrong.
It all kicked off when AJ rivered my QQ, all-in preflop. Ouch! And so began the first of several beats. I won’t bore you with the stories, although I’m dying to go into great detail, but let’s just say that I was dealt a firm kick in the testicles on more than one occasion.
(ii) Did I play badly?
I’ve played worse, but that doesn’t say much. Speaking honestly, I’d have to say that I let the bad beats effect me. I didn’t do anything too ridiculous, but I called a few hands I would have normally folded. I carried on playing when I didn’t really fancy it, and I was reluctant to accept my loss. Although it’s part of my game, I’m pretty sure I raised preflop even more than I normally do. I was too eager to reduce my financial deficit, and this resulted in me trying to force through too many bluffs.
(iii) How do I feel?
Not too bad actually. I’ve had worse losses, and there’s no point in dwelling on what’s already happened. I won £300 at the Gala on Wednesday and I was previously $1200 up for the week online, so it’s hardly the end of the world. In fact, I’m still up for the last seven days. It’s just excruciatingly frustrating when you undo all that hard work. I’ll get it back, it’ll just take me slightly longer than it took to lose it. There are too many more important issues in the world and I’m not willing to worry about one bad night of poker.
(iv) What next?
I’ve decided to take a few days off. My last few sessions have been way too long, and I don’t want to reach the stage where I’m bored of playing. So, hopefully, I’ll return fresh and revitalised. I want my game to be in top form every time I log on, no excuses, and if this means taking time off, then so be it.
My first month of full-time poker finishes on Wednesday, so I’ll write up a progress report. I know I’m up, so I really can’t complain.
So, there you have it, I’ve been brought back to ground with a thud. Not a happy chappy, but as Eric said, ‘Always look on the bright side of life.’
posted by snoopy1239 @ 4:33 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
chin up snoop - there will be more ups than downs, i'm sure! Sounds like you can recognise tilt signals so keep making sure you respond to them accordingly. practice what i preach not what i do :-)
Thx, Greg.
Fortunately, it was my first losing day, so I can't complain too much.
ps. Keep your blog going. I enjoy reading it.
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