Same old same old

Apologies for the unplanned hiatus.

I have a couple of entries written - about the World Series, and sit and goes - but flew off to Canada again without finding time to put them up. Whilst away, I bought several poker books and had the opportunity to think about the game in detachment for a change, since I wasn't playing.

I came back today feeling absolutely full of confidence ands determination. Indeed, I still AM full of confidence and determination, but I'm writing just to vent the steam of yet more shitty, fucking awful luck. Again.

I made an okay profit by winning one of a set of three sit and goes, but was pissed off to go out of another in a large pre-flop pot with AQ versus KQ, the usual 3-1 favourite that is losing for me over and over again at present. More frustrating by far, I am currently down a little at a PLO8 table where I have played my socks off. I have been in two big pots in the session, each well over a buy-in in size. The first was a pre-flop all-in where my AA2Q somehow got scooped by 88JQ. The second, the dude tried to knock me off on the turn when I held a weakish flush and second-nut low. I called with my fingers crossed, but it turned out he had just two pair and I was sitting on 95% equity. I had the low locked up and he had just four outs to get half the pot.And of course, that is precisely what happened.

I'm not discouraged in my play, of course; I'm playing a little higher and p[ushing my chips into extremely profitable situations. But I would be lying if I said I am not a little discouraged by this seemingly never ending inability to have a hand stand up any time the pot reaches a significant size. A free-roll with 95% equity sounds pretty good to me, and I just despair that I can't even get over the winning line with a hand like that.

This shitty run dates back to my return from Canada almost two months ago, and is certainly the longest (in both table hours and on the calendar) that I have experienced in my four years or so online.

It has me pondering the nature of luck, sometimes. I'm quite lucky in many areas of life - health, and a lack of personal tragedies spring to mind - and a run like this gets you wondering if there is some kind of cosmic apportioning of fortune whereby there is none left for my card-playing.

Of course, I don't really believe that kind of shit. But when seemingly every massive favourite goes down in flames while I can't even fluke a winner as a 40% shot, it sure messes with my mind.

I am going to try to stop moaning in here from now on. Coming very soon, my current thoughts on sit and goes, the World Series and the new books I got.