Okay, so I win the satellite, I’ve been playing well lately and everything’s going great, right? Um…In the words of Charlie Murphy…”Wrong. Wrong.” After getting some good cards at the right time AND playing aggressively when appropriate to win the whole thing, the world quickly plunged into a downward spiral. It all went bad. I could regale you with stories of bad timing, misreads, coolers, stupid people, stupid me, and an empty bottle of Ketel One but let’s just say I found every way possible to lose in every game. Hold ‘Em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, big game, small game, drunk players, sober players, good players, bad players, player haters…it didn’t matter I couldn’t win. I lost almost $700 in 4 sessions of poker, mostly at $.50 - $1.00 blinds or lower. I hadn’t lost that much in the previous 3 months combined if you added together all my losing sessions. Highs and lows. One minute I’m riding high, psyched for AC, riding the range, punchin’ them dogies, and being the most wanted outlaw in the land. Next minute I couldn’t beat a 3 year old in a game of Uno.
I had long winded detailed explanations of pot odds and situational strategies that I was going to bluster on and on about. I had all sorts of ways to justify and learn from the myriad plays that I put into action only to end up with empty felt. I was gonna tell you all about it. But the fact is you don’t want hear it anymore than I want to tell it. Plus it was over a week ago and frankly, I really don’t remember much of it. But there is a lesson. The lesson here is….wait a minute, there is no lesson. Either an amazing 4 month run of luck came to a horribly violent end (some people I play would probably say that) or…I lost patience. A little bit of both combined with a bad run makes a recipe for bankroll depletion. And questions. What was it? What did I do to fall so swiftly from my precarious perch? Was it the misplaced hubris of dumping almost a grand of poker winnings into my beloved dirt bike (I can show you pictures, the thing is beautiful)?..Was it the overdue Time Warner cable bill (screw them; those DVRs DO NOT cost $400!)? Did I gun down Doyle Brunson’s grandfather in some spectacular past life Wild West shootout? It doesn’t matter. When you fall off the bike, you gotta get right back on the horse and keep trying.
And try I did. The Steelers beat the Rams, I hit the over for 20 bucks (details of the last few weeks of NFL betting soon to come, I’m sure I lost), and I played a patient solid game and started to put in place the rebuilding blocks of my decimated bankroll.
It was going okay. For one night. And then it all went to the dogs.
I had long winded detailed explanations of pot odds and situational strategies that I was going to bluster on and on about. I had all sorts of ways to justify and learn from the myriad plays that I put into action only to end up with empty felt. I was gonna tell you all about it. But the fact is you don’t want hear it anymore than I want to tell it. Plus it was over a week ago and frankly, I really don’t remember much of it. But there is a lesson. The lesson here is….wait a minute, there is no lesson. Either an amazing 4 month run of luck came to a horribly violent end (some people I play would probably say that) or…I lost patience. A little bit of both combined with a bad run makes a recipe for bankroll depletion. And questions. What was it? What did I do to fall so swiftly from my precarious perch? Was it the misplaced hubris of dumping almost a grand of poker winnings into my beloved dirt bike (I can show you pictures, the thing is beautiful)?..Was it the overdue Time Warner cable bill (screw them; those DVRs DO NOT cost $400!)? Did I gun down Doyle Brunson’s grandfather in some spectacular past life Wild West shootout? It doesn’t matter. When you fall off the bike, you gotta get right back on the horse and keep trying.
And try I did. The Steelers beat the Rams, I hit the over for 20 bucks (details of the last few weeks of NFL betting soon to come, I’m sure I lost), and I played a patient solid game and started to put in place the rebuilding blocks of my decimated bankroll.
It was going okay. For one night. And then it all went to the dogs.
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