A sick sick session at Full Contact Poker
(this was written 27 June 2006)
I'll admit that I am somewhat bored with poker right now. Part of my problem is the game is a grind. I have been playing limit hold'em and $50 NL hold'em and I have been slowly winning at both. I am losing my focus because I don't feel challenged by these games anymore. Clearly, I should move up in stakes, but the paradox is... I am not comfortable playing at the higher stakes. It isn't a lack of confidence in my game, but rather it's an inability to mentally separate the bets wagered from its "real world" value. That is, I find it incredibly stupid to wager $50 or $100 on a hand of poker considering what I could buy with that $50 or $100.
Anyway, in spite of my reluctance, I bought into a $100 NL game. The table initially had only one person. First hand, I was dealt AA in the small blind (button), so I limped. He raised to $5, so I pushed all-in and he calls instantly. I never actually saw what hand he held, but when I checked the hand-history it was As 4s. Unfortunately, three spades came and I lost the hand.
Needless to say, I am immediately put on tilt. I continue to play at the table, correctly figuring that if I play my best game that I can win my money back (and then some) relatively easy. The flaw in my logic, of course, is that my tilt factor was going to prevent me from playing my best game.
I then manage to play another 100 hands or so, donking away another 1.5 buy-ins. Because I usually buy-in for half of the maximum (perhaps I should write a blog entry about why I do this), I am stuck $125. That is not a huge problem, except that I am incredibly annoyed and that my bankroll at FCP was only $300.
After quitting the $100 no limit game, I am left with $175 in my bankroll. I'm really competitive, so I want to get back on the horse immediately. What's the best way to do this? (sarcasm warning) Start playing $200 NL of course!
I win my first two hands playing $200 NL. The first I bluffed a blind-stealer and the second I made a large pre-flop raise with AA that won me a nice pot (there was a pre-flop raise plus a few callers). I then bluffed at a rather large pot with a straight draw that missed, but my opponent folded so I won. Suddenly, I have $163 in the room, which should placate my steam factor a bit, but no... I'm still on tilt.
What is the purpose of all of this dialogue? That's the set-up for this hand, which is likely the third largest pot that I have ever won (the other two were both $250, both times holding JQ). It is definitely the largest pot that I have ever won while holding ace-high.
Texas Hold'em $2-$2 NL (Real Money), #652,106,707Table jockelito's HE, 27 Jun 2006 2:18 PM ET
Seat 5: MartinAce ($72.30 in chips)
Seat 6: IGrindU ($321.50 in chips)
Seat 8: quetico0 ($164.60 in chips)
Seat 9: morspige ($263.60 in chips)
phnx666 posts blind ($1), Mar posts blind ($2).
PRE-FLOP
IGrindU folds, ME bets $7, morspige folds, phnx666 calls $6, Mar bets $15, frazwood bets $157.60 and is all-in, phnx666 folds, Mar calls $55.30 and is all-in.
FLOP [board cards 5D,JH,9C ]
TURN [board cards 5D,JH,9C,10H ]
RIVER [board cards 5D,JH,9C,10H,6C ]
SHOWDOWN
frazwood shows [ AC,KS ]
Mar shows [ AD,QC ]
frazwood wins $92.30, quetico0 wins $148.60.
Session Summary: 117 hands, +$5.65
I'll admit that I am somewhat bored with poker right now. Part of my problem is the game is a grind. I have been playing limit hold'em and $50 NL hold'em and I have been slowly winning at both. I am losing my focus because I don't feel challenged by these games anymore. Clearly, I should move up in stakes, but the paradox is... I am not comfortable playing at the higher stakes. It isn't a lack of confidence in my game, but rather it's an inability to mentally separate the bets wagered from its "real world" value. That is, I find it incredibly stupid to wager $50 or $100 on a hand of poker considering what I could buy with that $50 or $100.
Anyway, in spite of my reluctance, I bought into a $100 NL game. The table initially had only one person. First hand, I was dealt AA in the small blind (button), so I limped. He raised to $5, so I pushed all-in and he calls instantly. I never actually saw what hand he held, but when I checked the hand-history it was As 4s. Unfortunately, three spades came and I lost the hand.
Needless to say, I am immediately put on tilt. I continue to play at the table, correctly figuring that if I play my best game that I can win my money back (and then some) relatively easy. The flaw in my logic, of course, is that my tilt factor was going to prevent me from playing my best game.
I then manage to play another 100 hands or so, donking away another 1.5 buy-ins. Because I usually buy-in for half of the maximum (perhaps I should write a blog entry about why I do this), I am stuck $125. That is not a huge problem, except that I am incredibly annoyed and that my bankroll at FCP was only $300.
After quitting the $100 no limit game, I am left with $175 in my bankroll. I'm really competitive, so I want to get back on the horse immediately. What's the best way to do this? (sarcasm warning) Start playing $200 NL of course!
I win my first two hands playing $200 NL. The first I bluffed a blind-stealer and the second I made a large pre-flop raise with AA that won me a nice pot (there was a pre-flop raise plus a few callers). I then bluffed at a rather large pot with a straight draw that missed, but my opponent folded so I won. Suddenly, I have $163 in the room, which should placate my steam factor a bit, but no... I'm still on tilt.
What is the purpose of all of this dialogue? That's the set-up for this hand, which is likely the third largest pot that I have ever won (the other two were both $250, both times holding JQ). It is definitely the largest pot that I have ever won while holding ace-high.
Texas Hold'em $2-$2 NL (Real Money), #652,106,707
Seat 5: MartinAce ($72.30 in chips)
Seat 6: IGrindU ($321.50 in chips)
Seat 8: quetico0 ($164.60 in chips)
Seat 9: morspige ($263.60 in chips)
phnx666 posts blind ($1), Mar posts blind ($2).
PRE-FLOP
IGrindU folds, ME bets $7, morspige folds, phnx666 calls $6, Mar bets $15, frazwood bets $157.60 and is all-in, phnx666 folds, Mar calls $55.30 and is all-in.
FLOP [board cards 5D,JH,9C ]
TURN [board cards 5D,JH,9C,10H ]
RIVER [board cards 5D,JH,9C,10H,6C ]
SHOWDOWN
frazwood shows [ AC,KS ]
Mar shows [ AD,QC ]
frazwood wins $92.30, quetico0 wins $148.60.
Session Summary: 117 hands, +$5.65
posted by frazwood at 2:24 PM
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