Monday, October 22, 2007

Poker Hell

Thursday night I flirted with purgatory. Friday night was a tiny slice of heaven, even if I lost and didn't catch many cards worth playing and had to lay down a set of 10s on a A,J,10 board when two players moved all in on it.


Saturday at the Luxor? Well, the first hour started pretty well at $1-2 NL. I scooped a pretty big pot by raising with A-K and getting an K on the flop and calling off a guy's stack. I got a full house with J-10. Then I overplayed a pair of 10s against an extremely aggressive players' Q-Q and lost a big pot.
The Gods saw my arrogance and decided to punish me.
J-3. Q-3. K-3. A-2. 8-3. 7-4. The crap started to come in bunches, sometimes for two or three orbits. And the table started to fill with donkeys. There was the muscled guy with a huge, hair-blown haircut who yelled at the cocktail waitress to bring him sour drinks and re-raised all in three times with A,10, winning twice. There was the guy who pushed many times with third pair. There was a youngish guy with a scruffy beard who enjoyed betting $2 into a $50 pot but would also raise with trash and blew through at least $400 after saying he needed cab fare to head to the airport. There was the guy two spots to my left who put $200 into the pot with Q-8 on a Q-high pot and his wife, who didn't even know her options after the flop came down. There was the Asian Q-8 played against, who called all that money he put in with 9-9 and got a 9 on the river and later re-raised all-in with A-Q.
And I continued to remain ice cold. J-8. Q-5. K-2. Every time I got a playable hand, like, you know, Q-10 sooted, a guy would raise and re-raise, so I'd have to trash it. So the old man who raised all in with A-4 on an A-high flop would remain unchallenged by me. So would all the others. They would continue to get drunker. I would watch with drool down the corner of my chin as they moved all in with Q-J. Meanwhile, I got 10,9 three hands in a row. I played them all three times. They didn't even hit a draw. When I got it a few times later, UTG, I pitched it, and the flop came 6-8-7, and yet another donkey pushed in $200 with...6-4.
Sigh.
You can't call in position and hope to take the pot away. Not with these calling stations. In my mind, you just have to wait for a hand. If you disagree, or know how to beat a table like this without cards, please comment and let me know because I'm stumped. I played a lot of trash in the hopes of catching something on the flop. I never did.
I've never had a more frustrating session in my life. Definitely not live, anyway.
It tells me I can beat the game. It also tells me I may have a few limitations. Whatever I did, Poker Gods, I'm sorry, because I don't want to remain in Poker Hell.

2 comments:

Jordan said...

I know that the trip wasn't the most successful, poker-wise, but at the next Vegas trip in December, we'll turn that around. I'd love to sit with you at a 1/2 table and share notes after we play. I've played a decent amount live, so I'd be happy to share any insight I have about your play.

As for the AJ hand from a couple of posts back, I would've considered a call, depending on the player. I have a feeling the idea of $50 was what slowed you down. But whatever the case, we'll work on our game in December, where we'll get you to win money by sheer force of will alone, damnit!

lightning36 said...

One of the worst feelings in the world is being at a table of donks or drunks and getting no cards. I do the same thing you did -- expand my list of hands I'd limp in with. But ... when the poker gods don't deliver, you just have to sit on your hands and take it. *sigh*