Getting Better. Even if it means reading a book.
Posts tagged No Limit Hold Em
Latin Ballroom or Pass the Trash
Jan 17th
I’ve been married for 10 years, have 2 kids and almost no time to myself. If you count my internet porn babes as company, then I do in fact have no time to myself. When I get a call to join a neighbor’s home game on a random Wednesday night, I think to myself, “What would I rather do? Watch the finale of So You Think You Can Dance with my wife, or hang out with the guys smoking pot, telling lies and acting like a 15 year old.” Hmmmmmmmmm
I arrive at the game a bit giddy. This night is going to be fun. Buy in is $80 and it’s dealer’s choice. Everyone hates NLH at home games. It’s too slow, too restrictive…requires too much talent! I know this going in. We are going to play games that are just a hair above roulette in skill level. Shit, I was going to be watching Tiffany and Raj do the Latin Ballroom, even if I lose $80 at stupid games of chance, I’m a winner. I’ll gladly play 3 hours of “Pass The Trash” if I can escape the suffering of a round of comments from the faggy dancing judges about how much Raj extended his arms during the pirouettes. Not that I have a problem with gay or dancing. But really? Is this even a contest?
Tonight I am catching bad cards. Couple that with missing some of the “subtleties” of Pass the Trash and I am thru my first buy in. It’s only 8:30. Raj is still doing pirouettes. RE-BUY!
At 9:07, my second buy-in is gone. Raj or chips? Raj or chips? Raj or chips? It’s a tough one, but at this point I need to acknowledge the grace and beauty of Raj’s dancing. He actually does have a place in my life. When all the money is gone and there is absolutely nothing left to do, Raj is the answer.
I come home. My wife remarks that I am home early. Bad night. I take my place on the couch and manage to show some enthusiasm when I ask, “Hey did I miss Raj and Tiffany?” “Nope“‘ she says, “just in time.” I force a smile and say, “Great! Can’t wait to see them really nail this Latin Ballroom.”
Sometimes I play poker to postpone the inevitable.
Why do you play? Let me know at stories@whydoiplaypoker.net
Replay Hand — Curse and Blessing
Jan 14th
“Man, you should play online. If you don’t play like a dick, you can win some cash. I turned $50 into $1500.” This is my uncle talking. He’s a retired hippy from the 60s. Now he’s a tattooed poker player who tells everyone at the casino that his nephew, that’s me, likes to pack fudge. If I hear him say this, my retort is that I only do it with him when he begs for it. But I digress. I took his advice about online poker and haven’t looked back since.
He was kinda right. I turned $50 into $600 in losses. Then I made some changes to my game and now I am a winning (only by a bit!) online poker player. Here’s how it went down.
I put $50 into a Full Tilt account and played $1 sit n gos. They were ridiculous because no one cared about the money. So I decided to go big, to the tables where my bets would be respected. That’s right, the $5 sit n gos. I have to admit, even at those low stakes my heart would pump like mad. I play for higher stakes in live games, but this just felt different.
It’s so easy to press the all in button. If you win, you can jump up and down and celebrate. If you lose, you can curse the screen and throw your mouse across the room. Better than that, there is no walk of shame. No awkward moments when you avoid eye contact with the players after a miserable defeat. No insincere, “nice hand”. You can click yourself off that table with those fuckers and click right into another game.
Needless to say the $50 went fast. But I was really getting off. People say online poker is rigged. Sometimes the beats are so unreal, I want to place the blame on something out of my control. Shit, it couldn’t my sucky play! More often than not, I made some fundamental error that put me in a bad spot. I know this because I am a big fan of the replay hand button. Watching me be a donkey, over and over again, as I replay hands hurts me ego in a big way, but it sure doesn’t hurt my game.
I play poker because I love learning and studying. Other than my family, nothing teaches me more about myself than poker. It forces me to stare in the mirror and ask, “Who’s the bitch now?”
Why do you play? Let me know at stories@whydoiplaypoker.net
I just read a new poker book. I’m bracing myself for the inevitable losing streak.
Jan 11th
I know that’s it’s not supposed to work that way. I would prefer to be able to read a poker book, preferable just the back blurb, and go on some endless winning streak. All of the game’s mysteries unlocked in one key paragraph. For about an hour’s worth of leisurely reading I think its only fair that I become invincible. I would like to sit down at the poker table and announce, “I want you to know I’ve skimmed through some of the Harrington books, please give me the contents of your wallets.”
It definitely doesn’t work that way for me. Actually, it means the exact opposite. Finishing a poker book kicks off a three week losing streak.
Even with that knowledge, I still love a new poker book. Sure, most of them say pretty much the same stuff, but every once in a while someone really changes the way you look at the game. Or at least, one aspect of it. Like three-betting an under the gun raiser.
So what do I do? I work the price of the losing streak into the cost of the book. It’s an education I believe is worth paying for. The whole point is to get better, right? If I’m going to keep playing the same mediocre game I should just get out of my seat and stop playing now. You have to get better. And I do. Slowly.
I play poker to get better. To possibly someday rule the table regardless of stakes.
Why do you play? Let me know at stories@whydoiplaypoker.net
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