Solid Results End--with a resounding THUD
Why is it that whenever I make certain plans to make regular withdrawals from my poker accounts, I have to endure a day like I did yesterday? I cashed out a bunch of extra money (>$700) from my winnings since May 1, then I decided to play yesterday and took some of the worst beats I have ever taken in a single session of poker. Not to whine about bad beats, but these are Hall-of-Fame-quality taken alone, but taken together, that they all occurred in one session is absolutely stupefying:
Remember, these hand segments I'm showing you are from the SAME SESSION:
1) 8d8c vs. QsJc--flop Qc-9c-8s, turn Js (I'm an 86.5% favorite to win here), river Jh--he rivers a bigger boat. He had outs from the flop (4 T's, 2 Q's), and picked up the other two J's as outs on the turn, but flopping a set and losing is frustrating, especially when you 3-bet him on the flop.
2) KsQh vs. QsQd--I really can't complain here, but in this hand, I cold called two bets pre-flop (yes, I know that whenever you cold call, god kills a puppy...), and outflopped him on the K-4-5 flop. He led out and I raised, letting him know EXACTLY where he stood (I was a 91% favorite here). He check-called the 9c turn (and I was a 98% favorite at this point), and of course, spiked his two-outer Q on the river to win.
3) 99 vs. 98s--He was UTG, limped and called my MP raise (because, you know, somebody who plays 14/9/3.5 raises with garbage in MP). He flopped a pair of 8's on the A-8-T flop, and I knew he didn't have an Ace. I led out (representing the ace), and he called. I'm an 86% favorite to win here, and he, of course, spikes another two outer (same guy as in #2 above) to win the hand with trip 8's.
4) TT vs. AJo--I open raise with TT, and my opponent calls with AJ from MP. Flop is K-T-3 rainbow (despite his gutshot draw, I'm 86% to win here). I lead out on the turn with the 5s. This makes me a 91% favorite. The Q hits the river, I lead, he raises, and I make the crying call to see his rivered straight.
We're not done here yet--this one may be the most brutal yet...
5) AA vs. AJs--I open raise in MP2, and the player in the CO calls with AJs. This is the same player as in the last three hands. I lead out on the 2-8-6 rainbow flop. I'm a 95% favorite to win on the flop. He calls. The turn brings the 7c. I lead, he calls, he IMPROVES to only a 4-to-1 underdog. The river completes the flush. I led out, he raised me for the last $6 in front of me, and I called to see his friggin' runner-runner flush.
Unbelievable--and if you were wondering about a cashout curse...
So, I decide to drop back down to 3/6, after being down $247, thinking maybe it will help. Think again:
1) QJo vs. AKo vs. T9o--First off, UTG had AK and LIMPED it. UTG+1 had the T9o and LIMPED IT. 6 players saw the Q-J-7 flop. Yahtzee. I'm a 59-28-13 favorite here. Mr. T9 bets, and I raise--correctly. Only two fold, so four players see the turn of 3c. Now I'm a 76-17-7 favorite. River card? You guessed it, the Kd. Another crying call to see his straight.
A couple more 3-to-1 favorite beats, some tilty hands, and I end the day down $347 at Stars. I even lost $23 playing PLO8 when my turned full house lost to a higher rivered full house (yes, I pot out the turn)...
Bad days like these make me wonder. Is it something in my own makeup that I want to make money that forces me to push more than usual and make incorrect decisions? I think you'd be hard pressed to find more correct decisions than those listed above. Maybe I could've saved a bet or two, but when cards are stacked against you like that, combined with the fact that no matter how much you bet-bet-bet or raise-raise-raise, these calling stations (yes, all of these players had Aggression Factors of 0.8 or less) just won't fold, I think I was "destined" to lose that money regardless of what I do. The AA vs. AJ hand was just brutal, and it seemed as though no matter what I would do, someone would catch a miracle card on me. I know it happens. I've been playing long enough and I'm smart enough to know that not only does it happen, but we, as profitable players NEED it to happen. The fish and other idiots are how we derive our income. But damnit, it's just really frustrating when the beats come like this.
Back to the drawing board. No poker tonight, as work beckons, plus it's good that I'll have a chance to clear my head of all the bad thoughts that yesterday put in there. I just ordered "Zen and the Art of Poker," and maybe that book will supply some answers as well as some ideas about playing tilt-free poker. We can all learn a little of that.
Remember, these hand segments I'm showing you are from the SAME SESSION:
1) 8d8c vs. QsJc--flop Qc-9c-8s, turn Js (I'm an 86.5% favorite to win here), river Jh--he rivers a bigger boat. He had outs from the flop (4 T's, 2 Q's), and picked up the other two J's as outs on the turn, but flopping a set and losing is frustrating, especially when you 3-bet him on the flop.
2) KsQh vs. QsQd--I really can't complain here, but in this hand, I cold called two bets pre-flop (yes, I know that whenever you cold call, god kills a puppy...), and outflopped him on the K-4-5 flop. He led out and I raised, letting him know EXACTLY where he stood (I was a 91% favorite here). He check-called the 9c turn (and I was a 98% favorite at this point), and of course, spiked his two-outer Q on the river to win.
3) 99 vs. 98s--He was UTG, limped and called my MP raise (because, you know, somebody who plays 14/9/3.5 raises with garbage in MP). He flopped a pair of 8's on the A-8-T flop, and I knew he didn't have an Ace. I led out (representing the ace), and he called. I'm an 86% favorite to win here, and he, of course, spikes another two outer (same guy as in #2 above) to win the hand with trip 8's.
4) TT vs. AJo--I open raise with TT, and my opponent calls with AJ from MP. Flop is K-T-3 rainbow (despite his gutshot draw, I'm 86% to win here). I lead out on the turn with the 5s. This makes me a 91% favorite. The Q hits the river, I lead, he raises, and I make the crying call to see his rivered straight.
We're not done here yet--this one may be the most brutal yet...
5) AA vs. AJs--I open raise in MP2, and the player in the CO calls with AJs. This is the same player as in the last three hands. I lead out on the 2-8-6 rainbow flop. I'm a 95% favorite to win on the flop. He calls. The turn brings the 7c. I lead, he calls, he IMPROVES to only a 4-to-1 underdog. The river completes the flush. I led out, he raised me for the last $6 in front of me, and I called to see his friggin' runner-runner flush.
Unbelievable--and if you were wondering about a cashout curse...
So, I decide to drop back down to 3/6, after being down $247, thinking maybe it will help. Think again:
1) QJo vs. AKo vs. T9o--First off, UTG had AK and LIMPED it. UTG+1 had the T9o and LIMPED IT. 6 players saw the Q-J-7 flop. Yahtzee. I'm a 59-28-13 favorite here. Mr. T9 bets, and I raise--correctly. Only two fold, so four players see the turn of 3c. Now I'm a 76-17-7 favorite. River card? You guessed it, the Kd. Another crying call to see his straight.
A couple more 3-to-1 favorite beats, some tilty hands, and I end the day down $347 at Stars. I even lost $23 playing PLO8 when my turned full house lost to a higher rivered full house (yes, I pot out the turn)...
Bad days like these make me wonder. Is it something in my own makeup that I want to make money that forces me to push more than usual and make incorrect decisions? I think you'd be hard pressed to find more correct decisions than those listed above. Maybe I could've saved a bet or two, but when cards are stacked against you like that, combined with the fact that no matter how much you bet-bet-bet or raise-raise-raise, these calling stations (yes, all of these players had Aggression Factors of 0.8 or less) just won't fold, I think I was "destined" to lose that money regardless of what I do. The AA vs. AJ hand was just brutal, and it seemed as though no matter what I would do, someone would catch a miracle card on me. I know it happens. I've been playing long enough and I'm smart enough to know that not only does it happen, but we, as profitable players NEED it to happen. The fish and other idiots are how we derive our income. But damnit, it's just really frustrating when the beats come like this.
Back to the drawing board. No poker tonight, as work beckons, plus it's good that I'll have a chance to clear my head of all the bad thoughts that yesterday put in there. I just ordered "Zen and the Art of Poker," and maybe that book will supply some answers as well as some ideas about playing tilt-free poker. We can all learn a little of that.
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