THAT'S POKER
Last night proved to me what a rollercoaster of emotions poker can be.
With the transferral of the blonde poker cardroom to the Playtech network, I thought I’d deposit a couple of grand and hit the virtual felt again.
2k went down to 1.7k after the first couple of days, and last night, I found myself another several hundred down. I’d reached my credit limit of deposits and couldn’t play my usual four $2/4 tables, so tried two $3/6 tables.
After being cleaned out on one with 8d 7d vs. A-Ko on a 6d-Ad-9 Flop, I focused on just the one table (not much choice really), which, after a baron spell, slipped down to just $400.
I was missing everything, playing badly and feeling demoralised, but I noticed a few weak players on the table, so decided to continue playing, even though I was restricted to a paltry $400.
A couple of hours later I was on $2,850 after doubling up 6-handed and cleaning out an unknown player heads-up. From somewhere, I’d found a second wind and was playing some excellent poker against a player who was more than capable – but I had his number and simply outplayed him.
The final hand that took me from 2k to my final figure was a fortunate one in some ways. Pre-flop, I raised it up to $21 in position with 9-5 of hearts and called a re-raise of $66. A loose call perhaps, but I put him on an overpair and thought that if I hit, the mood he was in, I was going to stack him. Flop came 9s-6s-2s, he bet $108, I moved all-in and he called for his remaining $658.90. I overbet because I wanted him to think I was on the flush draw, but it was he who had the Ace with As-Qh – so it was a slightly suspect call from him. Turn Ah, River 4c. For a moment I was worried about A-9 or something, but when the money sailed my way, I punched the air and watched my opponent scarper.
This wasn’t my biggest pot ever, but it may be one of my biggest swings to date – going from $1,700 down to $400 and up to $2,850, a monetary span of $2,450. If I sound sombre, it’s because I’m tired and have to get up for the GUKPT Cardiff early tomorrow. However, the session was rather sobering, and I am in reflective mood.
I have no shame in confessing that while I was on $400, I began to write a blog entry in which I shared my woes and told of how I wasn’t going to play until after the World Series. However, as I wrote, my fortune changed and my account rose. My mood went from despair and frustration to delight and elation. It was truly bizarre.
As a result, it’s made me think. Yes, work is getting in the way, but the key is to modify the way I play online poker. The basic fact is that I don’t have enough spare time and I’m rarely alert enough to give it 100%, but if I lessen the length of my sessions, avoid forcing results and be more selective when I play, I will enjoy better success.
I think last night was a good lesson. It reminded me just how much of a rollercoaster ride poker is, but more importantly, that it’s not the end of the world. The poker tide turns oh so quickly, and you just have to accept it as a part of the game. As tikay said, “Lose 2k tonight, win 4k tomorrow. That’s poker.” I once possessed that mentality, hopefully I can rekindle it.
With the transferral of the blonde poker cardroom to the Playtech network, I thought I’d deposit a couple of grand and hit the virtual felt again.
2k went down to 1.7k after the first couple of days, and last night, I found myself another several hundred down. I’d reached my credit limit of deposits and couldn’t play my usual four $2/4 tables, so tried two $3/6 tables.
After being cleaned out on one with 8d 7d vs. A-Ko on a 6d-Ad-9 Flop, I focused on just the one table (not much choice really), which, after a baron spell, slipped down to just $400.
I was missing everything, playing badly and feeling demoralised, but I noticed a few weak players on the table, so decided to continue playing, even though I was restricted to a paltry $400.
A couple of hours later I was on $2,850 after doubling up 6-handed and cleaning out an unknown player heads-up. From somewhere, I’d found a second wind and was playing some excellent poker against a player who was more than capable – but I had his number and simply outplayed him.
The final hand that took me from 2k to my final figure was a fortunate one in some ways. Pre-flop, I raised it up to $21 in position with 9-5 of hearts and called a re-raise of $66. A loose call perhaps, but I put him on an overpair and thought that if I hit, the mood he was in, I was going to stack him. Flop came 9s-6s-2s, he bet $108, I moved all-in and he called for his remaining $658.90. I overbet because I wanted him to think I was on the flush draw, but it was he who had the Ace with As-Qh – so it was a slightly suspect call from him. Turn Ah, River 4c. For a moment I was worried about A-9 or something, but when the money sailed my way, I punched the air and watched my opponent scarper.
This wasn’t my biggest pot ever, but it may be one of my biggest swings to date – going from $1,700 down to $400 and up to $2,850, a monetary span of $2,450. If I sound sombre, it’s because I’m tired and have to get up for the GUKPT Cardiff early tomorrow. However, the session was rather sobering, and I am in reflective mood.
I have no shame in confessing that while I was on $400, I began to write a blog entry in which I shared my woes and told of how I wasn’t going to play until after the World Series. However, as I wrote, my fortune changed and my account rose. My mood went from despair and frustration to delight and elation. It was truly bizarre.
As a result, it’s made me think. Yes, work is getting in the way, but the key is to modify the way I play online poker. The basic fact is that I don’t have enough spare time and I’m rarely alert enough to give it 100%, but if I lessen the length of my sessions, avoid forcing results and be more selective when I play, I will enjoy better success.
I think last night was a good lesson. It reminded me just how much of a rollercoaster ride poker is, but more importantly, that it’s not the end of the world. The poker tide turns oh so quickly, and you just have to accept it as a part of the game. As tikay said, “Lose 2k tonight, win 4k tomorrow. That’s poker.” I once possessed that mentality, hopefully I can rekindle it.
posted by snoopy1239 @ 7:38 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Hey snoopy, well done on the turn around the other night, would love to have seen it or be able to know what you were thinking as you started to turn it around, you said you saw the weak players and also that you had the guys number
was it anything specific you spotted or were doing?
good luck in cardiff, look forward to the updates, also you stories bout what goes on at these events very interest both on the poker front and the social side!!
PK69
hi snoopy, i've included your blog in the poker verdict blog round-up here:
http://www.pokerverdict.com/home/563/poker_blog_roundup_23_march.html
enjoy
that link should read:
www.pokerverdict.com/home/563/poker_
blog_roundup_23_march.html
Hi pokeking, in cardiff now and it's pretty hectic stuff. Long days with not too much sleep, but it's still fun!
Yeah, I was on the verge of cutting my losses when I was down to $400 because I was getting a little tired, it just wasn't going my way and I couldn't deposit any more money (frustratingly), but then I began to realise the table was really soft, and that if I just waited for a hand, I'd have a good chance of being paid off. Only problem was that the longer it went on, the less money I had at the table - and I wasn't able to refill.
But then I got a double up, which put me back up to 800. Everyone left, except this one guy, and I was only going to play a few hands and then cash out, but I kept winning small pots against him. Whatever he did, I had his number, so I thought, I gotta stay and see what happens! He did win a few nice pots off me, but I'd just grind him down again until I was back where I was before. I didn't outdraw him once to get that $2,850, it's just a shame he stopped refilling and left.
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Lol, thx chimney, I'll do my best with the juiciness from Monte Carlo.
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