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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 

Luck Beats Me

What a way to start off my poker carreer. On a downswing.

The dreaded variance has hit me on the worst time possible. I don't rely on luck to win in poker games, i use the edge. But it seems that luck beats me. In the last few days, i have gone all in with the best hand (or at least the best hand pre-flop) and raised 5x, 10x, 15x the big blinds only to get called by worse hands and then they beat me. Because of this, i have burned through almost 50% of my bankroll.

I raise 400 with J-J when everyone limped to me, and i get called by Q-T, Q comes on the flop. He checks, i push.

My Q-T against Q-6, Q on the flop. i bet 1000 to scare away any draw, and get called. 6 on the turn.

My K-Q hitting two pair on the turn with a possible flush on the board, i bet 1000. I get called, and the river produces the 4th heart on the board, and i get pushed all-in. of course i folded.

I get J-T suited, hit top pair. Guy checks, i Bet, i get called. A straight draw comes out for me on the turn, guy checks, i bet double my last bet, i get called. River is blank, guy checks, i bet 4x, i get called. Guy flips over Pocket Aces, which he limped in.

i hate bad beat stories and i don't like telling them either. But i just had to let these out of my system. i havent made a flush, a straight, or even just a set in the last several games i have played. This is one of the worst downswings i have ever experienced ever since i have been playing poker. Not only does it suck the life out of my bankroll but it doesnt help my confidence and morale too, especially now that it means so much to me to win the games i play.

But then again, my experience has made me emotionally detached from bad beats and downswings. I come into my next game with the same mindset and the same game strategy. i will always be ahead when i pushing my chips in the middle, and i will not let the bad beats get into my head. But i have to admit, it does take it's toll. It's hard.

i just hope that my next game will be more successful. My poker life hangs in the balance. IF i still lose, i'm facing a tough uphill battle to recover the losses.

Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Stu Ungar, the only 3-time Champion of the WSOP main event, and arguably the best cardplayer to walk the earth.

"It's hard work, gambling, playing poker. Don't let anyone tell you different. Think about what it's like to sit at a poker table with people whose only goal is to cut you throat, take away your money, and leave you out back talking to yourself about what went wrong inside. That probably sounds harsh, but that's the way it is at the poker table. if you dont believe me, then your'e the lamb going off to the slaughter."

Bro, I've been losing myself. I don't think I can blame variance for it. The main reason is I've been playing badly these past few days, gotta get back a groove of some sort...

Dude, just wanted to comment on the hands that you played... (bigla nag-flow yung poker hand analyzing juices ko e... hehe)

"I raise 400 with J-J when everyone limped to me, and i get called by Q-T, Q comes on the flop. He checks, i push."

playing against fish, 'protecting' your jacks will most of the time be futile, some dork will just call his a6off with my 400 raise. Also, there was an overcard on the board. I'd bet rather push but then again I assumed you're already short? pushing preflop would've been a better move. Lastly, one of the 3 cards you don't want to see on the board came out, the queen.

"My Q-T against Q-6, Q on the flop. i bet 1000 to scare away any draw, and get called. 6 on the turn."

imo, overbet + marginal hand = no-no

"My K-Q hitting two pair on the turn with a possible flush on the board, i bet 1000. I get called, and the river produces the 4th heart on the board, and i get pushed all-in. of course i folded."

'possible flush.'

"I get J-T suited, hit top pair. Guy checks, i Bet, i get called. A straight draw comes out for me on the turn, guy checks, i bet double my last bet, i get called. River is blank, guy checks, i bet 4x, i get called. Guy flips over Pocket Aces, which he limped in."

fish limp big hands and get sometimes get rewarded but then again not in the long run :)

Goodluck bro. Hope you notch a win soon.

heyyy, i limp big hands too! :o

hand 1, i was down to about 1K in chips so i had to push after the flop.
playing tight all night eh. i was putting him on an ace to call the raise.

hand 2, value bet yan, may considerable pot na kasi madaming limpers, even with a raise of 100 or something. it wasnt much of an overbet. maybe pot sized yun or a little over. and the caller was someone i knew i can outplay, super beginner.

KQ ako, raised pre-flop, Q on the flop, i bet hard with two hearts, she calls reluctantly. King heart on the turn, i bet it hard, she thinks for a while before calling, then heart on the river, she pushes me all in. had to lay it down.

i hat it when people limp in with high pairs, and then complain that it got cracked.

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  • The best poker I've ever played has always entailed peace. A relaxed comfort. Eyes open, ears open, radar up. Absorbing my opponent's every message. Taking them as they come. Not mixing what those messages are with what I want them to be. It's like an aerial view. A view from above the myriad luck-dependent reactions of those many people who never gain such a peace. And when you gain that view, that peace - when you'd rather have the truth, no matter how disappointing, over a false hope, no matter how desirable - then you're a player. The hand you're on slips into a stream of thousands of other hands, no one of which, because of your lofty view, seems unduly important, no false fearful emotions rise within you. When you gain the peace of lofty perspective, you're a player, and when you're a player, you're free.- from "King of a Small World" by Rick Benett
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