Worst. Episode. Ever

I put off writing this entry as long as I could. I hit one of the lowest points in my poker life this week.

On Sunday night I won the multi-table tournament and gave myself a really nice bankroll to play with. 72 hours later I was in the middle of a drunken bout of full-on tilt, throwing away almost the last of what I had won.

Thank heavens I finally reached the point of quitting and going to bed, with just enough money left to try to recover the next day. But overall I am disgusted with myself. I lost a couple of big 60/40 pots, sure, but overall I played like an idiot. I was trying to be more aggressive than usual, but was not clear-headed enough to lay hands down when the situation obviously demanded it.

What a waste of an opportunity.

Still, there is no point dwelling on it. I’ve been trying to put my considerable sangfroid to use ever since in trying to accept it and make a fresh start. I’ve succeeded fairly well, playing a little smaller even than usual and making quite easy, steady wins. Gently does it.

But still, what a waste of an opportunity to get out of this rut of cannibalising the bankroll at the end of each month. I could finally have grown it to a level where I could still make some withdrawals yet see it grow overall.

Now I am itching to get home and find my two books have arrived. Not optimistic, the won’t go through the letterbox and I am sure my arsewipe housemates (either unemployed, shift-working or reclusive) won’t have been able to drag themselves to the front door when a postman knocked in the morning.

Disturbing slide

I am slipping into some good habits and some bad habits. I’m working harder and feeling more motivated at work (whilst still dreaming of the exit), but I am getting sloppy living on my own; chores and such getting overlooked for another hour of fag-fuelled poker, personal hygiene standards lowering with the end of my relationship, and getting up later and later in the morning.

This disturbing slide must be stopped. Perhaps next month.

Talking of dreaming of the exit, I was chatting with a friend who has been an online pro for some time and it turns out he plays at least 80 hours a week. Bloody hell! I could most certainly make a living if I played that long, but I don’t think I could hack it. Mind you, he doesn’t multi-table much.

I really would love to return to the days I spent (about 90 of them, ha ha) playing poker for a living, only with the added proviso of actually making a profit. But going pro, making it my business - can I be bothered to draw up a health and safety policy or ‘appropriate internet use’ guidelines?

Oh, last night I played about three hours and lost a little. Damn, that’s not supposed to happen. I played the $5+1 tourney again, swaggering in as a champion and departing after ten minutes when my pocket Kings ran into pocket Aces (and King-Queen, but never mind that). I entered a PLO sit and go, been a while since I played those; I played extremely well but only managed a financially pitiful third.

I’m on a poker buzz right now because I have just ordered two books from Amazon, courtesy of a kind colleague and their debit card. I’ve gone for ‘Super System 2’ and ‘Moneymaker’. Will they find a place on my shelf, or join ‘Zen and the Art of Poker’ on eBay?

IP Freely

Apologies to anyone who saw the last entry here three times under two different titles, blogger was playing up.

I played some very mediocre snooker last night, fuelled by lager of course. Played cash for a couple of hours when I got in, one table each of PLO and PLO8. As usual I won at straight Omaha and lost at hi-lo. I really don’t know why I can’t win at 8-or-better, and I need to give it some careful examination. If it is simply not going to be a profitable game for me then I need to cut it out – this message brought to you by our Department of Obvious.

Still, I won a decent amount for a couple hours of – to be honest - fairly drunk play. I was giving it loads in the chat, which I expect masks the reality that I am a cold-blooded, dead-eyed poker assassin. Or whatever. I played quite freely, thanks to the alcohol and also thanks to having a reasonable bankroll once more.

Today I had the chance to pop into Borders at lunchtime, and was quite excited to see ‘Super System’ on the shelf, until I realised that it was the original and not ‘Super System 2’. I didn’t buy it, but might have a closer look when I have more time. There were quite a few new poker books there since my last visit, but it is quite frustrating when most books don’t even touch on your favourite game.

At the moment I would quite like to get hold of Chris Moneymaker’s book, and also ‘Harrington on Hold ‘Em’.

Final Table

I had a great weekend on the whole, although I wish I had been decisive and headed up north for a party over which I vacillated for days.

I saw a play on Friday night with my brother, then saw my football team win (an unusual event) on Saturday and went to a dreadful ‘party’ in the evening. I didn’t feel too clever getting out of bed to play football for the first time in about two years on Sunday morning, but I actually played pretty well. My body has been grumbling at me ever since.

Anyway, the crowning glory of the weekend came late on Sunday night, when I finally sat down to play some poker. (I had played a bundle more heads-up freezeouts over Friday and Saturday, with mediocre results – although it seems that I generally only lose if I suffer a beat on a key hand).

In short, I entered a $5+1 multi and finally made the final table out of 258 runners. It was an up and down ride, including losing AJ versus A6 fairly early in a pot which would have put me in the top three stacks. I got lucky three or four times myself, but generally felt I played very, very well for the entire three and three quarter hours. I’ve altered some little things (or maybe not so little) in my tournament game recently, largely based on insights from other blogs, and don’t feel it is entirely a coincidence that I finally made a final at this point in time.

I was especially pleased that I went up several gears once we got into the money (30 spots). There was effectively no difference between the money for 30th and for 10th, which seems ridiculous to me but led me to adjust my play when others weren’t. Why hang around at that point, when going out 28th is no worse than going out 10th? I chose to push for a shot at having a decent stack at the final table.

I got there about 8th in chips, but with a reasonably even spread of stacks. At this point a placing in the 5th or 6th region would have made me happy (financially at least) so I went back to a more balanced game; prepared to move up the ladder as people exited, but certainly not prepared to get overly pressured by the blinds and go out meekly.

As it happens, I ran quite hot at the beginning of the final table and was soon in the last 6 or 7 before going card-dead for a spell (I picked no better than 5-high for a run of about seven hands at one point). Ah, the details are already getting hazy because I have never been the type who remembers hands for very long.

I recall losing with AJ versus A9 for a pot that would have made me chip leader, then shortly after winning a three-way with QQ versus JJ and some rubbish. Suddenly we were down to five and I was right in the hunt and beginning to fancy myself. I believe I am competent short-handed, but I won’t deny I picked up some hands. I believe I got AA twice and AK twice around this period.

With four left, I was leader or close to it and managed to retain that status most of the time with good aggressive play. There was a strong player to my right, while the other two seemed a little more hamstrung by the now large differences in prize money for each spot. In the end things went perfectly for me, as I managed to catch the strong guy ‘at it’ once or twice and eventually knocked him out. He would probably have beaten me heads-up, but now I was heads up with approximately a 3-1 chip lead. The other guy wasn’t prepared to stand up to my pressure and I finished him off after only a few hands, to record my first ever multi-table win.

I am absolutely delighted! I get a spot in a weekly freeroll for tourney winners, which I guess I should take up, but the money from this win is so very welcome. I didn’t get around to depositing any money on Friday and hence had to continue piddling about with the micro heads-up matches over the weekend, but now I don’t need to deposit. Fantastic timing…

The pleasure from the win is also enormous, besides the cash. It is easy to believe it will never happen for you, after you have exited your fourth or fifth (or tenth) tourney in a row after losing a big pot with a dominating hand. Just making the final table would have given me a great boost plus renewed belief that I know how to play tournaments. Playing strongly at the final table and winning the whole damn thing naturally feels ten times better. Oh, and of course I know that winning a five buck event doesn’t make me Dan Harrington.

I guess I may be more inclined to play multi table tournaments now, but they will only ever be a sideshow to cash games.