Cry real pretty for me...

Another setback on the road to poker riches. I dropped below the beloved $100 mark last night on Bodog. Down to $85.xx now. Which granted is still above the $52 starting point, so I'm still on top...oooooooooh. Whoopteefrickindoo, right?! Hey in the grand scheme of things, the paltry sum I'm up...and the small loss aren't going to make or break anyone, yeah I get it. But wow, the cards and the situations that I found myself in last night. I'm still mulling over (stewing) 3 hands in particular, wondering how I came up short.

#1 Which frankly bugs me the most. From middle position I look down at a wired pair of 3's, and call the unraised blinds, along with a couple of others. Hey this is a perfect, wait and see hand. Flop comes 3-6-8 rainbow. Sweet! I check, trying to be coy, I mean hell I want some action here, right? And there's my huckleberry. He leads out with a pot size bet. Which of course I double. He comes over the top, to put me all in. Hey, I only started the table with the maximum $10 buy-in. Of course I'm calling this. He could have lots of things, including a cooler set, but I know for this price, I'm not getting away from this hand. Everyone else out of the way, and now we flip 'em. I'm on top, with my set of 3's over his flopped 2-pair, 6s and 8s. But you can see where this is going can't you readers. Yup, you guessed it, he rivers a four-outer, with an 8. I make the inferior boat, to his NUT BOAT. We need a fresh rack over here, and a Kleenex to wipe the tears. Atta boy, back on the horse...hair of the dog...gonna be a bear be a grizzly, all that shtuff. I resign myself to this...and give it the eh...it happens. Well up until whistle dick types in the chat window..."you shouldn't slow play." What I reply is, "save your lecture." What I want to type is "save your lecture...cocksucker!" See I can show restraint! If I had pumped the All-In button, from the get go, like he would have folded his flopped two pair. Next time cradle my junk, during the suckout. Moving along...

#2 Late position A-6os. Unraised pot, with 4-5 people seeing the flop. I pair the Ace...and know it's weak. I call a .15 bet, along with another guy, so three of us to the turn...which is a Q, no real action, just a check around. River is another Ace. Okay, so my pair is now trips, with a week kicker, but like a Q and I think a 9 on the board. How bad could it be right? Small bet, from player #1, player #2, jumps in for a raise this time. Huh?! He's been making now moves at all, none...nada... Didn't seem interested in the original ace. Where's this going? Okay, I'll call it. So does player #1, who turns up his Ace...crappier kicker than mine. Player #2 displays pocket Q's. Oh yeah...that blind-sider friggin' boat'll do the job, thank you very much. Moving along...still nothing to see here.

#3 From the BB, I look down at a dismal little 3-6s. No raisey-daisey, so sure let's see a flop. It hits the board A-Q-6 rainbow. I click the check/fold button, and miraculously no action...and we go to the turn...like a 2 brick. No action...again... Sure why not. River is another 6. Okay so weak kicker/schmicker. I hit trips, with an A-Q on the board. Still I'm checkin' this bitch. Burned a few too many times, just want it to be over...and of course, the other guy bets the pot. Okey-dokey...let's just split this shall we. Uhhhh, how 'bout no. He tables his 6.....KING. Why yes that IS one card better than the friggin' Queen on the board, making my hand 2nd best. Thank you come again...

There were other hands which shaped the evening's $17 loss, and it could've been a lot worse, and at a lot higher stakes. But cut me some slack here. Let me get my head above water just long enough to take one breath, and taste the sea foam. I had SOOOO MANY pocket pairs, miss the flop big time. So many A-Ks and A-Qs that friggin' missed the whole board, and I was able to get away from. I was playing some pretty smart poker. I credit the majority of the loss to Hand #1, that I've outlined above. That one stung. I probably played a few hands that I wouldn't normally have played, BUT heck...if I hadn't, I would have been just blinded off, literally. The Big Granddaddy Hands weren't hitting. I couldn't have hit water if I fell out of a friggin' boat.

Worst of all the statistics. I was 3-tabling. I had been sitting on a 12% win per hand dealt, which I'll take. Seeing the flop 33% of the time, winning the hand 33% of the time I see the flop. And winning 67% of the time when it came down to showdown. That sounds okay doesn't it? Well after logging these 300-350 hands for the evening...Those #'s had changed to these, respectively. 11% (had dropped to 10% at one point), 32% seeing the flop, 28% winning when seeing the flop, and 57% win rate at showdown. Those %'s had been solid since I began this current calculation run, since Sept 9th. For a total of like 1,500 hands, up to last night. What a difference one session can make.

Didn't poker used to be fun? I will confess to a suckout of my own...ONCE. I was bloody and beaten, and dejected, and looked down at A-Kos, and bet pot...which is like a whopping .45 and get raised by the only other guy who stays. I get this fuckit take what little dignity I have left attitude, and reraise him. He mashes the All-In button, and I oblige. Yup...he's got the rockets, and I wasn't surprised. Seemed fitting. I hit four to the flush for the NUTS with my Ace. Buddy I feel your pain...now get outa my way while I drag this pot. Still down...not out...I'll be back for more of the flopapalooza tomorrow or the next night. Until then...

Regards,

cheer_dad