Temperature Drops And Decks Get Cold

It’s gotten cool enough at night here where I can actually run my heater. Finally maybe the power bill will take a dip down since I won’t be running the AC all day and night trying to stay comfortable. Unfortunately no amount of heat I pump has been enough to warm the deck of cards up for me, which has been absolutely frigid these past four or five days. The good thing is that the bad run came at the best time, if there is such a thing, right after I withdrew enough cash to cover rent and a bill.

How cold has it gotten for me? Put it this way, only one--yes count it-- ONE cash finish over these past few days in tournaments. The saddest part is that one cash was done without ever getting as much as bottom pair the whole time, nothing but bluffs and catching others bluffing with worse nothing than I had. Over this little span the best hand I have managed has been two pair. Considering that I see a good many hands every day, over a five day span it’s pretty sad. And it all began on a huge suck-out a guy pulled on me. I won’t detail the hand in full, but when the money all got in after the flop, I was 97% to win the hand. The ONLY way I could lose was if the turn AND river were the same card, limited only to 99, 10-10, or JJ. Needless to say a chair is now damaged thanks to running tens hitting me hard.

Since then it hasn’t gotten any better. A few times I’ve gotten pocket aces, each and every time I’ve had them someone else has had KK that found another king at some point. Several times I’ve gotten KK, and each and every time they have been against someone else’s AA-- and I fail to improve. Same deal with QQ. I half expect it if I slow play it, but I’ve been very obvious with my big hands and have consistently been getting my money in with the best of it (with the exception of running up against aces), only to find pots stolen away by some freakish hands. Amazingly AK has held up well for me though, but usually it’s against a shorter stack and I win with ace high. Any low pocket pair does not connect at all, unless I make a good fold after a bad flop. If I fold the card I would have needed seems to always pop up on the turn or river. Same deal with straight and flush draws… if it happens to be worth chasing- it misses. If they bet enough where it’s not smart to chase and I make a correct fold, my cards come a runnin’. Been a very sad time that almost brings tears to your poor little Sacky’s eyes.

The positive is that I have managed to minimize the loss. In what has seemed to be the worst run I’ve had to date in my poker career, I really haven’t lost much at all. It’s gotten to be borderline at times, but I’m finding ways to keep up during the dry spell. For instance: as I write this I sat down at a cash table. The reason being that if I’m running bad in a tournament, then that’s it until I either get lucky or start a new tournament-- risking another full buy in. On a cash table I can afford to see more hands without risking much, hoping to finally catch a monster eventually. Even though it is actual cash money for each flop I do see, I dropped down a level from what I normally play, giving me a) affordability if I have a bad session and b) the option to lay back as long as I want to without it hurting me. The result thus far has been only 4 hands that I considered playable, and only 2 of those connected at all. But those 2 hands got me good pots and I have doubled my original buy in- which in turn has made up for some of the losses in tournaments.

It’s been a tough balancing act, but I do know that making it through a truly horrible run will make me a better player. And if I manage to get through without too much damage it will be a good boost to the ol’ confidence factor, which is something I really need kept up right now.

And an update on the session: thanks to more risk taking than I like to do, I caught a bluff or three and have managed my way back up to nearly my normal “minimum” bankroll give or take a few dollars. Overall I’m still not getting many big hands, but making the most of what I’m getting. Hopefully by bedtime tomorrow I can be back on the plus side of things, and back to doing what I do best… winning.

damn it's cold in hell,
Sack

sack@pokergreed.com