Ups and Downs
This past week at the Beau had its frustrations and its rewards. I saw some simply terrible, terrible play at the cash tables, and never got a run of cards to ruin the call stations. This is the kind of action I got to witness but just couldn't get a hand to exploit: I watched a board that ended up being double paired, three to a flush, get bet in all kinds of ways every street, three handed with only one folding on the river that was scooped by king high over jack high. Yeah.
Unless, a stu unger zombie rose up from the grave peeled the skin off a tractor salesman from Selma, wore it convincingly selling a drawl and sat dead-eyed staring at the Cincinati Kid getting his AHA "Take on Me" dip in reality in the body of an Asian Shrimper/Hip-Hop wanna-be, these guys weren't making Phil Ivy moves and seeing into the souls of their opponents and were just looking for excuses to get rid of their money.
Yet, they seemed to always get a real hand when I'd jump into the pot. Or if they didn't they'd get there by the end of it. So there was certainly money to be won. I won a little bit but not quite what I should of or could have.
In the tournaments, I'd say my play started at terrible and I maintained it. I give myself points for consistency only because I'm an optimist.
My gut was in tune, what organ my brain uses to listen to my gut, which can't be my ears because my gut wasn't rumbling, wasn't in tune. I'd feel beat and I'd allow myself to donate more to a pot. I'd feel I'd need to check a river and then I'd do the worst possible thing and bet an amount commiting myself to call whatever my opponent held.
I wasn't the only one enduring the doldrums of poker's fickle nature.
It's tough to see a lot of guys that I know, or casually know but I can see are solid people, even in a brief meeting or two, running bad. Some have had recent success in multiple tournaments and some just have gotten a taste of it. Variance is an absolute beast and it can effect the best of us. In some ways, I'm surprised to hear a number of players I have a great amount of respect for enduring the worst of it of late. And in some ways I'm not surprised.
In one perspective it's comforting, there is no magic way to keep from getting run down when you are on the bubble no matter who you are, but also it makes you wonder how much of an edge anybody has. That's the tough part of a tournament when the numbers are down as there is less of the dead money (maybe I'm one of the few) and less opportunity for guys to make runs. Lots of people I'd cheer for but the pie is a lot smaller.
Seems like every time I'm thinking about taking a dip in the Omaha waters, I get a run like this, where I question whether or not, my bankroll can weather the variance of that game. Perhaps, I need to play online omaha poker first. Anybody interested in giving lessons, you know where to reach me.
Be back soon...
www.gulfcoastpoker.net
Unless, a stu unger zombie rose up from the grave peeled the skin off a tractor salesman from Selma, wore it convincingly selling a drawl and sat dead-eyed staring at the Cincinati Kid getting his AHA "Take on Me" dip in reality in the body of an Asian Shrimper/Hip-Hop wanna-be, these guys weren't making Phil Ivy moves and seeing into the souls of their opponents and were just looking for excuses to get rid of their money.
Yet, they seemed to always get a real hand when I'd jump into the pot. Or if they didn't they'd get there by the end of it. So there was certainly money to be won. I won a little bit but not quite what I should of or could have.
In the tournaments, I'd say my play started at terrible and I maintained it. I give myself points for consistency only because I'm an optimist.
My gut was in tune, what organ my brain uses to listen to my gut, which can't be my ears because my gut wasn't rumbling, wasn't in tune. I'd feel beat and I'd allow myself to donate more to a pot. I'd feel I'd need to check a river and then I'd do the worst possible thing and bet an amount commiting myself to call whatever my opponent held.
I wasn't the only one enduring the doldrums of poker's fickle nature.
It's tough to see a lot of guys that I know, or casually know but I can see are solid people, even in a brief meeting or two, running bad. Some have had recent success in multiple tournaments and some just have gotten a taste of it. Variance is an absolute beast and it can effect the best of us. In some ways, I'm surprised to hear a number of players I have a great amount of respect for enduring the worst of it of late. And in some ways I'm not surprised.
In one perspective it's comforting, there is no magic way to keep from getting run down when you are on the bubble no matter who you are, but also it makes you wonder how much of an edge anybody has. That's the tough part of a tournament when the numbers are down as there is less of the dead money (maybe I'm one of the few) and less opportunity for guys to make runs. Lots of people I'd cheer for but the pie is a lot smaller.
Seems like every time I'm thinking about taking a dip in the Omaha waters, I get a run like this, where I question whether or not, my bankroll can weather the variance of that game. Perhaps, I need to play online omaha poker first. Anybody interested in giving lessons, you know where to reach me.
Be back soon...
www.gulfcoastpoker.net
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