A Rant on a Hand
 

Thanks in advance for listening. The hand:

One limper to me on the button with Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] and I raise to 4bb, limper calls. Flop comes 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] and a blank. A check, and I fire a 3/4 pot c-bet which gets called. Pot is $10 and the turn comes a blank. Check to me and I check behind. River is another blank, and the limp-caller checks to me. He's now checked to me 3 times... he's got nothing. I fire $6, villain thinks for a second, then calls and turns up KJo, unimproved.

I say "awesome call". He says "You bluff to much". I make a note on him that he thinks I'm always bluffing, and think no more of it.

But I can't get it out of my head! My game has fallen apart over it!

I proceed to run ice cold for a long time. Seriously, I've rarely seen anything like it. I can't remember the last time I won with AA, I can't remember the last time I got any action with KK (oh yeah, it was when I stacked off to a set on the flop), every flop I whiff gets called or raised, and $0 goes into any pot that I make any sort of hand. 3-outers, 5-outers, and 2-outers hitting against me are the norm. I can see the cards before they come now (A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] all in on the turn against A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] on a A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]X[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]X[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]Xx board? Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] ldo, says my brain. Oh, never mind, it came Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]) And just to twist the knife the only two big pots I HAVE won over the last 10k hands were ones where *I* sucked out. I've played a lot of hands in my time, and this run is truly something.

So I tighten up until it comes back. My 16/13/3 game had turned into 14/10/2. The lack of aggression is the worst. I feel like I have no FE anymore, *ever*... so I don't bet without the nuts and I calldown all comers when I have a hand. This is losing poker, and its starting to show. I used to bluff to much. Now I need to win a hand at showdown. Over the last 20k hands I'm down 5 BIs.

I know what you're thinking... 5 buyins? Thant's nothing! And you're right. I'd be the first to say it if it was someone else complaining. Heck, I took a 6 month hiatus from online poker and only returned in October, and in my first 3 days I was down 16 buyins, and I could just shrug that off. I was playing badly and I knew it, I put my game back together, and pulled out of it to end the month up online. It was, however, my first losing month in over a year, given that I bled money at live games in a combination of tilt and bad luck. Its so hard to say, because the sample sizes are so small but the dollar values are so big for live poker, but even though I'm on a live downswing, I consider it meh.

But of late, even though the $$ isn't "monumental", I can't get ANYTHING going. I feel like my cards are face up for everyone to see. I'm lost in every hand. I get no value. I suck out and I'm up a BI, but then 3k hands go by where I don't win a hand. Almost literally. And now I can't find "it" anymore. I feel like I haven't won in two months.

I *know* how to play this game. I've studied my ass off for years. I played hundreds and hundreds of thousands of hands. I get the maths. I've got a proven track record in the games I'm playing (where do you think all this money I'm losing came from?). I'm not being conceited when I say I have a great foundation in poker. But I've lost "it". I can see the pieces, but not the whole. Nothing fits together.

Frankly, I'm a wreck.

Re: ***Official November Chat Thread: The Golden Duck***
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'd be interested for a weak or two as well, but as mentionend, I suck at poker. Plus I guess if people really become racist then rather against me than against you hklm...
BTW: where do live? A friend of mine is from Quebec...

[/ QUOTE ]



cap rouge, québec

Re: A Rant on a Hand
 

Kurt,

Try something different for a while just to get a fresh outlook. Try learning MTTs or STTs or a different game like Omaha. I mix MTT's and cash and switch back and forth when I run bad at one or the other.

Re: ***Official November Chat Thread: The Golden Duck***
 

[ QUOTE ]
So...LA/LV summer house? At this point, it looks like I'm going to be in between leases this summer (current one ends in May, and the new one probably won't start until August), so I'm in. Are enough people interested in it for it to be doable?

[/ QUOTE ]

Kos, I'd be very interested so keep me informed. I don't check this thread too often though, so pm me if anything develops please.

Re: A Rant on a Hand
 

Ok, Kurt, first thing: calm down! Relax man, breath easy. Then, really think about taking one or two days off. If you don't want to do that drop down in stakes. Maybe play some 6max or Omaha, something that will help you get at least some of the fun back (I know when you grind like 4 - 6 hours a day maybe 5 days in a row, it really becomes more work than fun) cause that's why you started playing poker in the beginning, right? But really, take a day off if possible. Next day do some PT work, if I had a bad day it always helps a lot if I find out that I actually made good decisions most of the time. Hope that helps a little for the beginning, I'm sure you're getting back in track very soon!

Re: ***Official November Chat Thread: The Golden Duck***
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Am I missing something or is there some incentive for the following year to finish this year at supernova?(other than having the first month of next year as a SN)

[/ QUOTE ]

Once you reach Supernova, you maintain that status for the entire next year.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is this new? The last time I checked you still needed to get 10k vpp/month to keep it and could only miss one month. I hope they changed it.

Also, pokerboy, I would think that you ould move up to NL200 and do something like 35 hour weeks of 20 tabling and be able to hae like 4 weeks off and still get SNE. I haven't done the math, but it seems like it would be far far easier there.

Re: ***Official November Chat Thread: The Golden Duck***
 

I'm interested in the summer house, but it depends on my bankroll 100%. I think I need $30k+ to make it feasible (b/c I'll have to pay rent and stuff out of my roll given that I don't have other money to fall back on). I really don't want to work next summer nor do I want to live at home really. Something from the first or second week of June until the middle of August will be what I want if I have the means to afford it.

Re: ***Official November Chat Thread: The Golden Duck***
 

[ QUOTE ]
this is the most confusing thing ever.

he says damn queen, then calls. hahaha what the hell.

[/ QUOTE ]
Obviously Futilewar thought the Q cost him more money against a flopped straight. Standard.

Re: ***Official November Chat Thread: The Golden Duck***
 

Im never playing Full ring again, that is all rediculous just rediculous. [censored] you nits.

Re: ***Official November Chat Thread: The Golden Duck***
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Am I missing something or is there some incentive for the following year to finish this year at supernova?(other than having the first month of next year as a SN)

[/ QUOTE ]

Once you reach Supernova, you maintain that status for the entire next year.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm 99% sure you're wrong.

When you reach supernova, you are a supernova for the rest of THAT year.

Next year, you will maintain that status as long as you get 10K VPP per month, and you are given two "free months." Once you pass 100K VPP's for the year, you are supernova for the rest of the year again, and the cycle begins.