RIDING THE STORM

After a heavy but ultimately satisfying stint in Vegas, I returned home with the will to actually play some poker instead of watching it and, seeing as the laptop was booted up and raring to go, I decided that it was about time I earned a few virtual bucks.

Multis have never been my strength, so it was straight into the cash game. At first, I played my usual 4 x $1/2 six-handed tables affair but, due to finding the grind too painful, I took the daring step of promoting myself to the $2/4 tables.

This isn’t my first venture into $2/4. I used to frequent these tables on a regular basis about 12 months ago but, due to a tender bankroll and the stress that a losing day caused me, I decided to drop down a level. Since then, I’ve been making a decent sum on the $1/2, and consistently, so I never felt the need to return to more adrenalin inducing stakes.

This week, however, I assessed my current situation and decided that my bankroll was more than at ease with the increased stakes and that I was of sound mind to deal with any big hits (multi-tasking can easily result in two $400 losses within minutes of one another). To be honest, it was more a case of ‘let’s see what happens’ rather than ‘let’s make some more money’.

Anyhow, a week of $2/4 it was, and what a see-saw experience it was too. My fluctuations have always been unusually large, but this was ridiculous. The snoopy of old would have almost certainly have titled from some of the losses I encountered, but I’d learnt from previous lessons and knew I had to keep my head screwed on. I ground like I’d never ground before, maintaining my cool and staying focused at all times. Of course, I made the odd hasty move and unnecessary error, but I never gave up.

Too often in this game I experience an early deficit, lose my composure, then subsequently make poor decisions only to later stumble across a double up and wonder why the hell I’d been so previously hot-headed. But not this time, I was determined to take my missed open ended straight flush draws and consecutively cracked Aces on the chin – they’re a part of poker and there’s often a chance to get your money back just around the corner.

Basically, what I’ve learnt this week is the affirmation of the tired ol’ cliché that patience really is the key. Sometimes it’s easy to forget, but if you take a hit, then you really shouldn’t worry. If you’re a winning player then you’ll come out ahead in the long-run. A bit of luck will come your way, and when it does, it’ll put you back into the black because you won’t have made any unforced errors during that sometimes infuriating waiting period.

This is exactly what happened to me. I’d been grinding it out all week, not being able to earn a cent, but not losing much either. Hugely frustrating but something that happens to all online players. In fact, on this occasion, I was a rather vomit inducing 2.5k down, until I won a series of big pots, including a lucky $1000 pot outdraw against a set of fours (I hit a third King on the Turn after moving all-in on the flop), followed by one of my biggest pots to date:


Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 10

Seat 2: Klassmen ( $920.59 )
Seat 3: changito2 ( $716.08 )
Seat 10: snoopy1239 ( $773.67 )
Seat 1: CallCuzPPwillScrewMe ( $619.96 )
Seat 5: lofuso ( $1107.50 )
Seat 4: EvilWal ( $133.90 )
Seat 7: A_Behemoth ( $37 )
Seat 9: steve54555 ( $394 )
Seat 8: KingAcid ( $396 )
Seat 6: BomboB ( $80 )

changito2 posts small blind [$2].
EvilWal posts big blind [$4].

** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to snoopy1239 [ Ts 8s ]

lofuso calls [$4].
snoopy1239 raises [$16].
CallCuzPPwillScrewMe calls [$16].
Klassmen calls [$16].
changito2 raises [$47.84].
lofuso calls [$45.84].
snoopy1239 calls [$33.84].
CallCuzPPwillScrewMe calls [$33.84].
Klassmen folds.

** Dealing Flop ** [ Qs, 7s, As ]

changito2 bets [$498.05].
lofuso folds.
snoopy1239 is all-In [$723.83]
CallCuzPPwillScrewMe folds.
changito2 is all-In [$168.19]

** Dealing Turn ** [ 6c ]

** Dealing River ** [ 3d ]

changito2 shows [ Qh, Qc ] three of a kind, queens.
snoopy1239 shows [ Ts, 8s ] a flush, ace high.

The time at which hand ended:Aug 12 2006 08:14 ET
snoopy1239 wins $57.59 from side pot #1 with a flush, ace high.
snoopy1239 wins $1548.34 from the main pot with a flush, ace high

A tasty $1,600 plus pot and I have my head back above water, wondering why I was fretting so much earlier on. Of course, you don’t get these hands everyday (especially with your opponent making such an eye-opening overbet), but they do happen, and you have to make sure that you haven’t wasted any money whilst waiting for it to arrive.

As I said earlier, patience is the key. If you possess the ability to ride the storm when you’re either grinding away for very little gain or simply running into a succession of bad beats, then this game could really become your niche. Unfortunately, as with most things in online poker, it’s easier said than done…