I have always thought it would be a great idea to show up at a poker room in the early hours of a weekend morning after a decent sleep and a shower. The theory is that I'd be all fresh and sharp while my opponents would be in various states of exhaustion and or inebriation. Well today I finally tried it out and I can report that even though I lost my $95 buy-in the idea seems pretty attractive if you are serious about giving yourself every advantage.
I showed up at the Casino at around 4:30 in the morning after a five hour sleep, a shower and some coffee. I was amazed to see that seven tables were going. There had been a hockey game the previous night, which may have contributed to the crowd. I got a seat a table and it was immediately obvious that four my opponents were in various degrees of poopy-headedness; playing nearly every hand and making reckless bets and calls. Perfect. I only had $95, but that was fine as it would limit my potential loss. I had to bare in mind that there were other players at the table who appeared to be clear-headed, but I still entered more pots than I normally would as it seemed likely I'd get paid off if I hit.
I was down to $75 when I was dealt pocket queens on the button, I bet it all the way to the river as no over card hit the board, and doubled up when one of the bleary-eyed guys tried to bluff me with nothing but six-high.
All the bleary-eyed guys left a little after 5:00, but I continued to play on as they were replaced by new guys who had moved over from a table that had been broken-up.
I met my demise in a classic bad beat. I had AQ in position against an opponent who, as it turned out, had A2. The flop had an ace, and she bet and I called to the river, where she hit another 2. Terrible luck for me, but one of those things you have to shrug off. I felt good knowing I played well. Much looser than I normally would, but having an accurate sense of when I was ahead.
In fact I have never felt so good about losing.
