I'm With James Woods

I really wish I could remember the particular poker broadcast in which I saw it but too many years have passed, but simply trust me there was an interview of actor/poker player James Woods. In said interview Mr. Woods was taking time between hands in a hold'em tournament to speak with the interviewer. He was quite lively and of course playing to the camera and really having a good time. He repeatedly dashed back and forth from the edge of the rail to his seat to look at his cards and then mucking them and then subsequently returning to the interview. It was all pretty comical. On one return from the table, he was seen to be snapping a rubber band which was on his wrist... all the while saying that he was doing that to remind himself NOT to play KJ...ever. Although I'm really vague on where and when I saw it, the thought really stuck with me. KJos or even sooted, can be trouble. It's one of those hands that looks good because there are two face cards staring back at you from the felt, but the hand itself is easily dominated, while still giving you the illusion of strength. So, Jimmy Woods had taken to negative reinforcement to drive the point home to himself. A few flicks on the wrist from the rubber band associated with the appearance of the cards, were all that was needed to remind him to maintain his discipline. Now, I'm not saying that one example is proof positive of the thing, but you'll have to believe me when I say that I've seen it happen just too many friggin' times. Last night, I fired up Bodog... I had a bit of a rough patch in poker, dropping some buy-ins, and getting a little frustrated. Failing to cash at the Yanok's the other night, was okay... I was card dead in game 2, and in game 1 I over-played one hand, and ran head long into the monster AA of the shewolfe. Like the old saying, "...she used to bullets to put down a donkey." Again, I'm getting off track. Anywho, I'm trudging along 4 tabling on Bodog last night. Identifying the regulars, re-reading my notes about them to be sure, but by now, I'm starting to know them. I know which ones to be wary of and which ones make moves from particular spots. I'm waiting for hands and position in which to play 'em. I look down from late position with KK, with a couple of callers in front. I bet the pot... just cause it's easy to do. I get called by a blind, but then it goes back around to one of the original callers, who min raises me. It comes back around to me, and I still like my hand, and min raises piss me off anyway, so I re-pop it back to him. This time, the villain simply calls. One card and one card only is even remotely important, when the flop comes... another King. Yes, children cheer_dad's flopped himself a set of kings! I put out a smallish continuation bet and get raised. I've got this fish hooked, don't let him wiggle away. I wait ad nauseum to simply call. We finally get to the River, which is a blank. There's no straight or flush or anything higher than my hand even possible. Our hero has himself the nuts, as it were. So, I shove the remainder of my stack into the middle. The villain goes into the tank... he's got something, and my shove there at the end, likely does look like I'm trying to buy it. But he should know me right? I rarely get caught on the river, having shoved all my chips with my pants down. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but rare's the occasion. Finally though, the villain makes the call, for a devastating amount of his chipstack, even though he had me covered. Our hands are exposed to the world and everyone sees the set, and there my huckleberry sits with his KJos. He'd gotten into an ego battle with me preflop with the raise and reraising bit hit the king on the flop and fell in love with his hand. He couldn't get away from it. He'd called all the way down with his pair of Kings. I've tried to convince myself (sometimes successfully) that more often than not top pair's just not going to get the job done by the time you find yourself at the river. Hell, two pair isn't even a real comfortable holding when your whole stack (nearly) is going across the line. But as the chips were being shoved my way I thought about Jimmy Woods' rubber band. How the thought had stuck with me over the years is beyond me, but I'll bet my opponent in this particular hand had in fact been wearing his own reminder rubber band at the time. Granted I know it's all chicken feed in the grand scheme of things, but a 3+ buyin pot to me was nothing to sneeze at. So, in closing... thank you James Woods!

Regards,

cheer_dad