Thanks to a BS comment (aka a backdoor way for some advertiser to get a free link), I stumbled across an old blog post of mine from 2005. Reading through it quickly, I saw a horrible play in a cheapo $20 max NLHE game online, but also a refreshing account of where my head was at at the time. I was still mostly a home game player, and I was planning to play in my buddy Mikey Aps homegame, filled with serious players. I stated, paraphrased, that I was keeping my confidence up by focusing on a recent tourney win and my overall poker acumen. More importantly, I also said that confidence is key to success, second only to chance, and since I couldn’t control chance, I needed to focus on confidence.
These blogs are amazing things, an almost constant time capsule, available for viewing at any time. Ironically, I think that post, albeit not including the bad play, was pretty spot on for some of the issues I’m facing today. Confidence is key if I want to move up a level (2/5), and if I play scared, I will lose.
Going back to another parallel, on my first casino NLHE attempt, I started with AA on my very first hand, played perfectly according to Doyle Brunson’s Super System, and lost to TT’s flopped set. My recent attempts at 2/5 saw me start with 77 only to double up a player with AA when I couldn’t believe my opponent. I suppose on the first go-round (AA v. TT), I had the better of it, so the situations are somewhat different, as far as context is concerned. But the more immediate parallel to me is that in both cases, I faced an initial scare and the question is what do I do with it. In both instances, the obvious and smart conclusion is that I will learn from my past experiences, so that they are not wasted. In the AA v. TT hand, the lesson was that you could play perfectly and still lose (or perhaps to be wary that AA does not always win). In the 77 v. AA hand, the lesson is to play solid poker and gather information before going to war. I could’ve lost $20 on the 77 hand if I were smart instead of $345
I was playing a $27 Turbo 45-person SNG on Stars tonight. I guess without noticing it, I chose a game that’s good practice for Vegas. I hope to hit at least a few tournaments and the 45-p SNG has many of the same features as the live tourneys in Vegas.
Boy, I can taste Vegas. I’m already texting Poker Peaker randomly to discuss the weekend, and mentally, I’m probably spending 30% of the time just planning things out in my head or basking in the elation of another vacation so near my New Orleans trip.
On a very unrelated note, I played a couple of online games last night. The first was a $27 turbo 45-person SNG, where I was able to take 5th for a little over $100. The second was an 18-person $13 6-handed SNG, where I busted early. The third (simultaneous with the 2nd) was a $27 turbo 18-person SNG, where I took second for another $100 or so. Overall, not a bad evening for such limited play. It got my bankroll back past the point of my last withdrawal, which is always nice going into Vegas.
In contrast, before last night, I was suffering a string of obnoxious suckouts. I don’t like to belabor them, though, because what’s the point. If you are an 80% favorite, it still means you are bound to lose 1/5 of the time. But these next two hands give a better reason not to get upset.
We were pretty deep into the 45-p tourney, with two tables left and 7 spots paying when I suffered a shitty suckout. I held QJo in the BB with les than 10x the BB, so I was in push or fold mode. One player in particular was playing too many hands and pushing way light, so I called with my QJ only to face Q6. I figured that was one player downa nd a decent stack to boot. But this happened:
I was mildly feeling sorry for myself when I was dealt A6o in the SB on the very next hand. A player pushed from MP and since I was so short, I figured I had not choice but to call. He had me dominated with AK. The result:
Boomerang kharma, baby! Granted it was not against the same player, but but it does illustrate the simple point that sometimes you’ll be on the receiving end and sometimes you’ll be on the giving end of the ole suckout. So it doesn’t make much sense to sweat the losses.
Until next time, make mine poker!
