OT: Trip Report: Saturday MTT at the Orleans

[pineapple888]

So Irieguy calls me yesterday to try to get me out of the house, given my never-ending STT woes. I agree to join him at the Orleans Saturday multi, which is now a $60+$40 add-on. We didn't want to play higher given that I am effectively BUSTO, and that he was on call.

He gave the 411 to Dominic and stupidsucker, who joined us at the Asian restaurant at the Orleans pre-tournament. Dom told us about the grand opening of the Playboy Club here in town, and how he danced with Nicky Hilton without realizing who she was. Then stupidsucker showed us a Chinese fortune he had gotten which said "Do not try to push the river." [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

So, armed with that wisdom, we headed over to the tournament. Irieguy had bought me in already, and gallantly offered to stake me. However, negotiations bogged down over the split. He wanted 70-75% and I was going no higher than 50%. So I figured that things like food and rent aren't all that important and paid him back the Benjamin.

The others did a $20 last-longer, but I opted out. Irieguy said I was a fool because he and Dom were highly likely to bust out first because they are LAGs. Which turned out to be correct, although Irieguy went out on a bad beat, when he got called into work. We did do a 10% saver, though, between the four of us.

Anyway, the tournament was full of very loose idiots, as usual, and I was card dead, as usual. I managed to win a grand total of 3 pots in three hours, which got me to the final two tables (90 runners started). Meanwhile, stupidsucker had busted out as well. Then I started pushbotting and built up an OK stack. The blinds caught up, though, and I found myself sitting in the SB with an M of a little under 4, 12 players left (10 paid).

Button, who had been bullying, raises it up. I find A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and have a pretty easy reshove. But the BB calls, with just under my stack size. Button decides to call as well.

Flip them over. BB has QJo (moron) and button has KJo, no hearts for either one. Bricked flop, turn gives me a flush draw, so they are down to five outs total between them.

The offsuit J hits on the river.

Out on the bubble, 11th place, instead of to the final table in 4th or so. To a five-outer on the river. Which is exactly how I've busted out of the majority of my STTs over the past three months.

I seriously doubt there is a poker player in the history of the universe who has been more cursed on the river then I am right now. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

That's all, folks. Bummer it had to end on a bad beat, but that's standard of course.

[TheNoodleMan]

[ QUOTE ]
I seriously doubt there is a poker player in the history of the universe who has been more cursed on the river then I am right now.

[/ QUOTE ]
Pineapple, don't take this the wrong way but this attitude isn't helping you. You know what does help? Posting hands.

When was the last time you posted a hand? Run a search, its been like 2 years.

You are doing something wrong and we can help you, but only if you let us.

[cakewalk]

whaaa
whaaa
whaaa

[CardSharpCook]

[ QUOTE ]
whaaa
whaaa
whaaa

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[pineapple888]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I seriously doubt there is a poker player in the history of the universe who has been more cursed on the river then I am right now.

[/ QUOTE ]
Pineapple, don't take this the wrong way but this attitude isn't helping you. You know what does help? Posting hands.

When was the last time you posted a hand? Run a search, its been like 2 years.

You are doing something wrong and we can help you, but only if you let us.

[/ QUOTE ]

OK well reading this over it turned into more of a BBV post than I wanted, but as my housemate said if I'm going to share the good times of being a pro I should share the bad times as well.

As far as posting hands, in the early levels I almost never get my money in as anything but a huge favorite and if I get sucked out on, there's not much to say, and I have SNGPT, ICM, pokerstove for just about everything else. I mean I could post hugely read-dependent hands like others have, but I was there, how will anyone have a better read than me? Meanwhile I have people I can send HHs to and given the general amount of nonsense and static on this board certainly don't need more of that in my life.

As far as you assuming that I am "doing something wrong", well you've already made your opinion clear on that point. If truly killer variance catches up with you someday, possibly you will change your mind.

[TheNoodleMan]

I'm just trying to help, no need to get defensive.

[pineapple888]

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I'm just trying to help, no need to get defensive.

[/ QUOTE ]

OK, sorry, maybe I'm a little touchy. Ten years of making what seemed like (and still seem like) good career and life decisions that just never work out might finally be getting to me. I'll shut up about the whole thing now.

[Irieguy]

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I'm just trying to help, no need to get defensive.

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One thing I feel compelled to add, as this topic is sort of my "thing," is that there is a big difference between Pineapple being candid about his tough spell and any random or semi-random STTFer posting about how they are the most unlucky person alive.

Pineapple became very well known among all of us who frequented the $55-$215 PartyPoker SNGs over the past few years as one of the very best SNG players out there. He was always honest about his results, and while he was posting profits of $5-10K every month... month after month, I frankly became skeptical that he was just another 2+2 wanker with a big ego on a heater. I even started to lay into him a bit in posts, and he returned my semi-veiled criticisms of his poker thinking with similarly thinly-veiled criticisms of my poker thinking. I remember one post in particular where we disagreed about how to appropriately weight the impact of impending blind increases and relative position with the other players on the bubble and that disagreement caused me to examine the topic at greater length and improve my understanding of some very key concepts in percentage-payout tournament theory.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to meet Pineapple in person and he is even more interesting and intelligent than his on-line persona lets on... and far less pompous and indignant. In fact, I would use the words "kind" and "humble" to describe him and I have had the opportunity to rely upon his trustworthiness in real life.

The point of my rambling a bit here is twofold: 1. This forum continues to be the preferred hangout of some of the coolest people I have ever met... and I'm old (in 2+2 terms) and have met a lot of people, and 2. If a regular poster who has been winning regularly for a very long time, sharing his results, and posting extraordinarily accurate and thought-provoking comments in hand threads starts to describe a horrible cooler...

HAVE THE COURTESY TO REFRAIN FROM TRITE AND CONDESCENDING REPLIES IN THEIR THREAD.

(Noodleman, this diatribe is not directed at you... it just happens that your comment was the one to which Pineapple objected. You are the nuts, too, and I would respect any honest disclosure of a particularly poor SNG run on your part to the same extent.)

One of the glaring shortcomings of this forum has always been the paucity of candid discussions about how professionals deal with preternaturally bad runs of cards. There's plenty of discussion about 'balling, plenty of talk about how high someone's ROI can or should be, and of course plenty of bad beat stories.

But as the throngs of young poker "pros" swell in number so does the need for a healthier collection of discussions about all of the things that can go wrong besides losing with AA 5 times in a row.

Perhaps the most significant obstacle preventing the development of such a collection is the sheer discomfort associated with braving those waters with the written word.

It is hard to write about losing without feeling like a loser. It is harder still if your comments are met instantly with snideness or dismissive ridicule. Now I hate bad beat stories and whining as much or more so than the next guy... but if a long term winner on this forum wants to express the pain of a cooler, I am interested in hearing about it. And that is NOT what BBV is for, as fun as it may seem to wrong-forum-police such exceedingly rare sentiments.

I am fortunate enough to be friends with a good portion of the biggest winners that post regularly on this forum, and I have heard their stories about how bad it can get. That's why my opinion about the limits of sustainable win rates are lower than what most people want to acknowledge... I like to make allowances for losing more than one would expect, from time to time.

So, Pineapple, or anyone else paying the bills with only or mostly SNGs for the past few years... keep us posted on how you get through the rough spells. It is helpful.

Irieguy

[Pudge714]

Irie,

Very nice post. Although I might change my opinion once I sober up. I agree with you about Pineapple, except by this point in time he is either running worse than anyone, or he has some leaks. Frankly it is probably both. I have not seen any of his HH's (which I would be happy to go over with a replayer), but I think realistically it is a combo of the two.

[hoyasnaxa]

Even if I begin reading a post of yours disagreeing with you, I end the post agreeing with you. You are a great writer, and should become king or emperor of this forum.