Two weeks into my little personal challenge, things were going just swell. I had built my $2 up to over $36. I thought, Hey why not try a higher level? I'll play it super tight and if things don't go well I'll come back down to these 2 cent tables. I think you know where this is going. I took $5 to a table and waited for a good hand....and waited...and waited....finally I got dealt pocket sixes - the kind of hand I like to play. (If you want to know why I like these hands, read Small and Medium Pocket Pairs). Someone raised ahead of me so I called and the flop could not have been better: Kd 6c Jd. I bet the pot and the other gut re-raised. I re-re-raised. He's all-in. I call. He turns over pocket aces. Ha! The fool! With only two outs he's up the creek! The turn is another king. And the river is an ace.
Well that sucks.
So. I go down to the level I belong at, right? Um, no. I go up another level, bringing $10 with me. I am determined to win that $5 back!
The very first hand I'm dealt QQ and some idiot makes a monster raise in front of me. Perfect! I re-raise. He goes all-in. I call. He shows....AA. Oh, damn. No miracle saves my from my foolishness, and my bankroll goes from $36 to $21 in two hands.
So. I go down to the bottom level again, and that's where I've been for the last four days, grinding it out. I'm happy to say I've got my bankroll back to $37. It's taken me about seven hours of poker over those four days - and I've had to play about 1,600 hands of poker to win back what I lost in only 2.
The question is - will I ever learn?
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
The Dumbest Poker Hand Ever Played On Earth.
Last year I played some poker at Cowboys Casino during Stampede, and I was blown away by the craziness. If you've ever played Zynga poker for fake money and found yourself wishing that real poker could be like that, then I would highly recommend playing poker on the Stampede grounds during the Calgary Stampede.
I went down there Saturday night and played for about four hours. Even though I left with a modest win, I still felt mildly nauseous about the out-of-control gambling I had witnessed. I had built my $100 to about $500 in three hours, whittled it back down to $400 in half an hour, and then I participated (and lost another $100) in what can only be described as The Dumbest Poker Hand Ever Played On Earth. Remember that hand in Casino Royale when everyone has Full houses or Quads or Straight flushes? Well, this hand was the exact opposite - with every one betting like they had monsters but no one had a hand at all.
It starts, of course, with a $5 stradle. A Crazy Asian Dude (who had lost about $300 in the last 20 minutes) calls. (Oh, I should mention we're playing $1/$2 NLHE). Next to act is a guy whose stack is down to $60 - and he pushes that $60 in. The next player folds. I'm next to act. I've been dealt pocket 10's and I figure I'm quite likely ahead of the all-in. I know this sounds dubious, but I've been at this table for hours and I know that pocket tens is good against this guy's range. But then the next guy calls the $60 bet, and so does the next guy. What the heck is going on? The guy in the small blind raises to $100...and the big blind calls! Then the stradle calls!! Then the Crazy Asian Dude Calls!!! The pot is now well over $600, with four guys betting $100 each ahead of me, and three more with $60 in and the option to call (or raise!) behind me. I know that somebody, probably more than one person, must have AA or KK. Nothing else makes sense. I also know I have to call - the pot odds are so great. So I put in another $40 and call. The three guys acting after me do the same.
So eight players have each payed $100 to see the following flop: 9d Qh 4s. Well damn, no set. With the crazy pre-flop action, I'm sure AA and/or KK is still out there, and now QQ AQ and even KQ are possible hands someone might pay to see the flop with. There is really no way my hand could be good. Or, so I think.
It checks to Crazy Asian Guy, who sticks in another $100. I fold. The next guy (who just sat down- this is first hand) calls and the remaining four guys fold. The pot is now exactly $1,000.
The turn is a 6c, making the board 9d Qh 4s 6c.
Both players check.
The river is a 3h, making the board. 9d Qh 4s 6c 3h.
Crazy Asian Guy thinks for about thirty seconds, then bets $100.
The New Guy calls with his last $100.
"Turn'em over," says the dealer. The New Guys flips over Ad 4d - he has a pair of fours!!!!!
The Crazy Asian Guy throws his hand in the muck.
Oh, and what about that guy who went all-in with $60 to started this whole crazy thing? He had KJ - so he lost too.
And some donkey with a pair of fours wins a $1,200 pot.
I went down there Saturday night and played for about four hours. Even though I left with a modest win, I still felt mildly nauseous about the out-of-control gambling I had witnessed. I had built my $100 to about $500 in three hours, whittled it back down to $400 in half an hour, and then I participated (and lost another $100) in what can only be described as The Dumbest Poker Hand Ever Played On Earth. Remember that hand in Casino Royale when everyone has Full houses or Quads or Straight flushes? Well, this hand was the exact opposite - with every one betting like they had monsters but no one had a hand at all.
It starts, of course, with a $5 stradle. A Crazy Asian Dude (who had lost about $300 in the last 20 minutes) calls. (Oh, I should mention we're playing $1/$2 NLHE). Next to act is a guy whose stack is down to $60 - and he pushes that $60 in. The next player folds. I'm next to act. I've been dealt pocket 10's and I figure I'm quite likely ahead of the all-in. I know this sounds dubious, but I've been at this table for hours and I know that pocket tens is good against this guy's range. But then the next guy calls the $60 bet, and so does the next guy. What the heck is going on? The guy in the small blind raises to $100...and the big blind calls! Then the stradle calls!! Then the Crazy Asian Dude Calls!!! The pot is now well over $600, with four guys betting $100 each ahead of me, and three more with $60 in and the option to call (or raise!) behind me. I know that somebody, probably more than one person, must have AA or KK. Nothing else makes sense. I also know I have to call - the pot odds are so great. So I put in another $40 and call. The three guys acting after me do the same.
So eight players have each payed $100 to see the following flop: 9d Qh 4s. Well damn, no set. With the crazy pre-flop action, I'm sure AA and/or KK is still out there, and now QQ AQ and even KQ are possible hands someone might pay to see the flop with. There is really no way my hand could be good. Or, so I think.
It checks to Crazy Asian Guy, who sticks in another $100. I fold. The next guy (who just sat down- this is first hand) calls and the remaining four guys fold. The pot is now exactly $1,000.
The turn is a 6c, making the board 9d Qh 4s 6c.
Both players check.
The river is a 3h, making the board. 9d Qh 4s 6c 3h.
Crazy Asian Guy thinks for about thirty seconds, then bets $100.
The New Guy calls with his last $100.
"Turn'em over," says the dealer. The New Guys flips over Ad 4d - he has a pair of fours!!!!!
The Crazy Asian Guy throws his hand in the muck.
Oh, and what about that guy who went all-in with $60 to started this whole crazy thing? He had KJ - so he lost too.
And some donkey with a pair of fours wins a $1,200 pot.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Don't Play at Too High a Level! - The Jesus Challenge, Day 12
A week into the "Jesus Challenge", I had built my original $2 up to just over $18, and in only three more days had nearly lost it all.
What happened? It was the usual story - I started out very disciplined, only playing 2 cent big blind ring games. For five days I kept to this level and was a consistent winner, growing my bankroll to over $12 in six days. In fact, winning was so easy that I didn't see the harm in stepping up to the 5 cent game. This seemed like a good move at first - day 7 saw me grow to over $19 before finishing near $18 - but I gave it all back the next day and finished my first week at $12.05.
I took the weekend off and started Monday with the intention of sticking to the 2 cent game, but I got off to a bad start and then, stupidly, moved back up to the higher level to try to quickly win back what I lost. A bad bankroll decision, followed by over-aggressive play and, in my own defense, some rather crappy luck, saw my losses spin out of control. I was in a complete nose-dive but somehow found the will to walk away before I lost it all. I had only $3.33 left.
It's really hard not to throw your whole bankroll away after losing 5/6th's of it in a single day. The downward momentum is just so great, and your attitude becomes so defeatist. I tried to tell my self that $3.33 was still more than the $2 I started with, but I still felt like a stupid donkey who deserved to lose. The one thing that kept me from crashing completely was the thought of having to write a blog about what an idiot I am.
So.
So, the next day I started grinding it out at the 2 cent tables, playing super-tight and folding a lot of hands that I called with the day before. That day I built the bankroll back up over $6.00
The next day a miracle happened. I played three tables (all 2cent BB's) simultaneously. My reasoning was that multi-tabling would keep me from losing my patience and playing too loose. It worked. After about 2 1/2 hours my bankroll had grown to an impressive $30.04.
So. Here I am, very lucky to tell you how my Jesus Challenge didn't end an embarrassing two weeks from the start. And I hope I can find the discipline to keep grinding at the 2cent level.
Wish me luck.
What happened? It was the usual story - I started out very disciplined, only playing 2 cent big blind ring games. For five days I kept to this level and was a consistent winner, growing my bankroll to over $12 in six days. In fact, winning was so easy that I didn't see the harm in stepping up to the 5 cent game. This seemed like a good move at first - day 7 saw me grow to over $19 before finishing near $18 - but I gave it all back the next day and finished my first week at $12.05.
I took the weekend off and started Monday with the intention of sticking to the 2 cent game, but I got off to a bad start and then, stupidly, moved back up to the higher level to try to quickly win back what I lost. A bad bankroll decision, followed by over-aggressive play and, in my own defense, some rather crappy luck, saw my losses spin out of control. I was in a complete nose-dive but somehow found the will to walk away before I lost it all. I had only $3.33 left.
It's really hard not to throw your whole bankroll away after losing 5/6th's of it in a single day. The downward momentum is just so great, and your attitude becomes so defeatist. I tried to tell my self that $3.33 was still more than the $2 I started with, but I still felt like a stupid donkey who deserved to lose. The one thing that kept me from crashing completely was the thought of having to write a blog about what an idiot I am.
So.
So, the next day I started grinding it out at the 2 cent tables, playing super-tight and folding a lot of hands that I called with the day before. That day I built the bankroll back up over $6.00
The next day a miracle happened. I played three tables (all 2cent BB's) simultaneously. My reasoning was that multi-tabling would keep me from losing my patience and playing too loose. It worked. After about 2 1/2 hours my bankroll had grown to an impressive $30.04.
So. Here I am, very lucky to tell you how my Jesus Challenge didn't end an embarrassing two weeks from the start. And I hope I can find the discipline to keep grinding at the 2cent level.
Wish me luck.
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