Tuesday 22 July 2008

I.h8.poker

I am beginning to lose the will to live. I mean, wtf. Here I'm on the bubble with a guy sitting out.

PokerStars Game #19008054802: Tournament #97205515, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/07/22 - 04:12:24 (ET)
Table '97205515 1' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: FR Vessant (2790 in chips)
Seat 7: nolimitaa (7690 in chips)
Seat 8: Grizzly68 (2030 in chips)
Seat 9: 1382oracle (990 in chips) is sitting out
Grizzly68: posts small blind 100
1382oracle: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [As Kh]
FR Vessant: raises 400 to 600
nolimitaa: folds
Grizzly68: calls 500

Wow, he must have a very decent hand, right? Because he only needs to sit out three orbits and he makes the money.

1382oracle: folds
*** FLOP *** [6h Tc 7d]
Grizzly68: checks
FR Vessant: checks

I am not cbetting in this spot.

*** TURN *** [6h Tc 7d] [Kc]

There's my king.

Grizzly68: bets 200
FR Vessant: calls 200

Keep the pot small, just in case he has KT or a set.

*** RIVER *** [6h Tc 7d Kc] [5h]
Grizzly68: bets 600
FR Vessant: calls 600

Nothing to do but call that.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Grizzly68: shows [Ks 7s] (two pair, Kings and Sevens)

WTF? How can you even consider calling pre with that? To be OOP with it for the whole hand? And of course he not only hits but so do I, so I can't even get away from it.

Here is a genuinely tough decision though, two hands later:

PokerStars Game #19008062829: Tournament #97205515, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/07/22 - 04:13:16 (ET)
Table '97205515 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: FR Vessant (1190 in chips)
Seat 7: nolimitaa (7990 in chips)
Seat 8: Grizzly68 (3630 in chips)
Seat 9: 1382oracle (690 in chips) is sitting out
FR Vessant: posts small blind 100
nolimitaa: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Ks Kh]

That's a very very strong hand. But I can just wait out the small stack. Believe me, this is the weakest hand I play here.

Grizzly68: folds
1382oracle: folds
FR Vessant: raises 990 to 1190 and is all-in
nolimitaa: calls 990

Oh noes. He has Ah2h though. So I have him crushed, 70/30. Come on one time!

*** FLOP *** [Jh 4c 5c]

OMG. He picks up draw, so he now has 7 outs.

*** TURN *** [Jh 4c 5c] [8h]

My heart is in my shoes. Now he has the FD. I know a heart is coming.

*** RIVER *** [Jh 4c 5c 8h] [7h]

I FUCKING HATE POKER.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

boot sez:

You've mastered the little language we call "English" but you'll never master the greater language called "occurrence" until you stop denying that events comprise a language and you'll never do that because you're so sure of yourself you'd implode first.

You don't hate poker in the least, you're frustrated that it's beyond your comprehension why things go as they do but it isn't beyond your comprehension it's beyond your ability to let go how you know things are regardless that they show you over and over they're not.

The biggest problem you have could be that you're too fucking smart to figure it out.

I'm passing you the figurative bong, bogart it.

Dr Zen said...

I need more practical help than "that's the way it is". I know it's the way it is. I know it's a game of chance. But I crave justice, and chance and justice are strangers.

Anonymous said...

boots sez:

"I need more practical help than "that's the way it is"..."

Oh, I see. You need someone to tell you whether to bet or fold, is that it? You need someone to tell you how to sweet talk the river so it'll give you money?

I disagree Zen, I think you need less practical help because it's what you consider being practical that's landed you where you are.

"...chance and justice are strangers..."

Chance and justice are two sides of the same coin, a coin called occurrence. Debit and credit, effect and cause, those are what draws up our cards from the river of life.

You get 'bad' cards because you deserve them. That is a good thing for you because you need only learn what in you is being corrected by chance and allow it to be otherwise.

Dr Zen said...

"you need only learn what in you is being corrected by chance and allow it to be otherwise"

What is being corrected by chance?
How do I allow it to be otherwise?

Dr Zen said...

I actually know the answer to the first question. The second is the tough one.

Anonymous said...

boots sez:

Try hanging out in event-intensive environments without hanging onto requirements as to what events you will experience. It is that kind of openness you need in order to allow it to be otherwise. Remember Murphy's Law and use reverse psychology... the more you *need* to win the more likely you are to lose. Just don't fall for the trap of thinking you can fake it.

All environments are equally event-intensive but the hard of hearing need to be yelled at. If your locale has a shortage of event-intensive environments like large chaotic bars, huge shopping malls, packed multi-lane freeways etc, you can find the same effect in less chaotic environments through self-stupification. Getting lost in the city when you are too stoned to slobber can push your perceived event level way up there.

Here in the world we are lost in apparent chaos when we allow ourselves to see it, but usually we turn tail and run either physically or via blinders. One trick to seeing through the illusion is to push yourself through the chaos barrier. Only by spending time in the apparent chaos will you learn to recognize its orderliness.

Father Luke said...

The other thing?

The best players don't always win.

The players who make the other guys
make mistakes often do.

Just saying.

- -
Okay,
Father Luke

Anonymous said...

boots sez:

FL wrote "The best players don't always win."

Yeah, they do FL. The best players always win. Every time.

But the best players are playing a game that surrounds the gambling, they're not sucked into the gambling itself.

So maybe you can say they aren't the best players if you mean best poker players, but the best players do win.

FL wrote "The players who make the other guys make mistakes often do."

You can't make other people make mistakes, all you can do is give them opportunities for it. As if they need them. Manipulation is its own punishment. Especially in gambling.

Really.