New Year Tastes Like Skunked Beer

Nothing worst than feeling lost when your playing poker. You just know every move you make whether right or wrong just isn't going to work. That has been the ongoing case for the past week or so for me.

Was hovering around breakeven for a couple weeks and then BAM. I feel like I have been kicked in the nuts so hard. Losing at this pace and this frequent just can bring your demeanor down at certain times. But you have to just stay positive, fix mistakes and work hard and you will get what you need.

I have been getting priced into so many hands in awkward spots I normally wouldn't play and if I am ahead they almost never hold up and the same can be said when I am behind. The games have been so good at times. 4 limpers etc and I am getting like unreal odds to play some trash hand like q6ss from the blinds. I flop a flush draw with a pair. I never make it. I flop top pair they make a better top pair. I flop middle pair they have top pair or catch up.

Honestly tonight I have flopped 5 or 6 sets on relatively dry boards and maybe 1 has held up for me and the pots added together are at least 3k alone. Lost AA to 85 etc etc etc. u know the drill.

Most of the terrible run bad started the other night when I was in a ring game and raise JJ from MP buddy of mine 3 bet 22 from the small and we were off to the races. flop was k102 and he led and I called. Turn was my jack and he led and I raised and I think he 3 bet and I capped or he may have just called it I cant quite remember. But the river gave him quads and it filled me. We got in 6 or 7 bets on the river and I was dumbfounded. Hadn't been blasted with a one outer in a while and didn't expect him to roll over 22. It is not a play I would make but this guy has made a lot of money playing this game so I am not going to question it. More I think of it his hand is very disguised there and looks more like a monster. If you ran that situation with 22 vs a random open I would guess long term the 2s get get crushed but in certain situations it can work vs the right player.

About 75 hands later I was involved in a 3 way capped pot preflop with jj. Flop jj9 and I think we got 3 bets in a piece. turn was x and we got 4 bets in and the other guy folded after 2 bets. River was the 3rd 9 and I got CR and he had the nine obv. I should have thought and prob check the river more I think of it. He could have had aces there but the way the hand was played it was more weighted towards 9x. But a lot of time when your running a little bad you can get that quick trigger finger and over the past 2 days that finger followed me a round and I lost some coin because of it.

But in the grand scheme of things the cards just aren't coming for me and playing in games filled with multiple limpers usually you get one of these scenarios.

1. You crush them and bank when your hands hold up

2. One of them makes a hand and cracks your hand


When #1 happens we can't get much higher. When #2 happens you lose money and you get that sick feeling.

Another thing that has been hurting my game is this hectic schedule from the holidays. I have been playing later in the day when I am not focused and have been playing 2 hrs here and 2 hrs there and I just can't get into a flow where I feel totally locked in. I probably should have taken off 2 weeks or so but I never take time off. So only thing to do now is correct the mistakes and they are easily correctable.

1. Think EVERY play through instead of clicking on gut reaction. This habit has cost me a lot over the years. Playing that way you can develop a lot of bad habits and possibly give away some click tells as well

2. I need to play early in my day. I need to get in a workout (which I have been failing at)of at least 45 minutes then right to the table every day. That is mandatory shit right there. This is something that I have been neglecting a lot because I have had so much going on over the past month because of holidays and birthdays etc.

3. Play in the best games. I have been playing in mostly good lineups but here and there I will play in some not so great games and that can be a bankroll killer.

4. Max of 2 tables and not neglect HU play. Sometimes i will get so wrapped up in these 6 max games which can be lucrative but at the same time even a game as little as a 4-8 game you can make a quick 100-200 and this adds up rather quick.

5. need the doomswitch turned off. I don't believe in these things but if there was ever a doomswwitch it has been turned on but I know it won't last forever. Going to start weekly blogging again so will report back in a week to see how things go. Need to practice EXTREME discipline in all areas or I wont be where I want or need to be.

China