Five day stew

Not a vintage day or night. Why has the woman with the very hot body got all interested again, now that I have got back with The Girl I Am Seeing Again?

Pub with friends. Not great fun, although it was quite hilarious watching the worst NFL game I have ever seen. The Cowboys and Bears combined to produce more incompletions, fumbles, hopeless running plays and general mediocrity than I thought possible. 7-7 at half-time and one of the TDs was an interception return. I’m lucky to be a Patriots fan at the moment.

But let’s get to the cards. I contemplated going to bed and letting my refreshed bankroll breathe for a few days. But knowing I face FIVE pokerless days proved too strong a motivation to get an hour or so in.

Ninety minutes later my pathetic bankroll was another ninety dollars lighter, and I went to bed in a state of frustration, irritation, disbelief, anger and regret.

I went behind early, then built back to even and slightly ahead (the usual two tables of 6-max PLO by the way). At this point perhaps I should have gone to bed, with a small (tiny) win. Nah, stupid attitude, I was playing well. Then I caught a JJ2 flop with my QQJ3. I raised the pre-flop raiser’s bet. He called and then a short stack went all-in for fractionally more and it was back to me. I was yet to be entirely convinced the pre-flop raiser had a J (he was capable of calling my raise at this stage with AA and/or the nut spades draw) so I went all-in. I’m not playing guessing games here and getting knocked off by a scary card and bet on turn or river…

Turn was 3, making me nut full. River was 10 – one of my opponent’s six outs to take the $96 pot. I was 50% to win the hand when the money went in on the flop, and 68% to beat the eventual winner for the $57 sidepot even if the small stack had hit his (weak) flush draw. And, irrelevant but all the more galling, I was 83% once I filled up on the turn.

These things are just not going for me at the moment. I am making broadly profitable decisions, but the maths ain’t co-operating.

Mind you, there is an argument that I should have played that particular hand far more cautiously. At the time I was putting my money in, I could have been drawing very slim indeed. I should probably be avoiding those sorts of situations while my bankroll is in such dire straits. But if I am in such situations, it would be really nice to actually win one. I’ve lost the last four big pots I have been involved in, and have only been a dog in one of them.

Anyway, besides the whining, I have to admit to tilting a little after that pot, with the booze fuelling me too. I’m pleased that I had the wherewithal to recognise this fact and quit before the loss started going into three figures and who knows where.

This morning I keep telling myself it will turn. That I have to stay focussed on the right decisions, not the results and the vicissitudes of fate. I wish I could play sooner, as I have the bit between my teeth now. I may phone the hotel where I have to stay Sunday/Monday nights and see if I can use my laptop there. Doubt it though; at least not without paying through the nose.

This losing run has really hurt, because I had quite specific plans especially for December. I intended to keep the bankroll chugging along at my usual watermark level, drawing upon it on a more regular basis to pick up Xmas presents, a couple of personal treats, and so on. Instead, I am now forced to try to play my way out of a deep, deep hole before I can even consider withdrawals. And now I have to stew for five days before I can even get started. I need to use some of my annual leave from work (5 days left) and put some serious hours in.