Zero again

As always, when I move up, I run terribly. This is doubly painful because first you start thinking that you simply weren't as good as you thought you were, and second you lose twice as much money. Once you start to run bad, you start to play bad too.

In the first of today's 22s, I panicked on a bad bubble and made a big -EV call:

PokerStars Game #30214005607: Tournament #177652941, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2009/07/07 21:32:03 ET
Table '177652941 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 5: bryan lieb (1778 in chips)

This idiot has basically funnelled tons of chips to jonny2jabs, who is a good player, shoving every SB and button, so I lose 600 chips an orbit, but is folding his BB to shoves from tallyyayo, so I am in a terrible position stackwise.

Seat 6: jonny2jabs (7037 in chips)
Seat 7: FR Vessant (2444 in chips)
Seat 8: tallyyayo (2241 in chips)
bryan lieb: posts the ante 25
jonny2jabs: posts the ante 25
FR Vessant: posts the ante 25
tallyyayo: posts the ante 25
FR Vessant: posts small blind 200
tallyyayo: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [6d 6h]
bryan lieb: folds
jonny2jabs: raises 6612 to 7012 and is all-in

I should fold, of course, but I figure to be in a very weak position, trying to fold into third, if I do, and a decent one, able to play a bigger stack and a good shot at second at least, if I don't.


FR Vessant: calls 2219 and is all-in

So I don't, and this time the ATC shover has 77. GG me.

So the villain in this hand has been erratic and bad:


PokerStars Game #30212844089: Tournament #177653493, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2009/07/07 20:51:41 ET
Table '177653493 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: jonny2jabs (980 in chips)
Seat 2: dumbmum (2840 in chips)
Seat 3: TJ PackMan (733 in chips)
Seat 4: Ducky G 6000 (1835 in chips)
Seat 5: TomC69 (3075 in chips)
Seat 6: pieroni85 (1375 in chips)
Seat 8: FR Vessant (1697 in chips)
Seat 9: orbitahole (965 in chips)
TJ PackMan: posts small blind 50
Ducky G 6000: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Ac Jh]
TomC69: folds
pieroni85: folds
FR Vessant: raises 150 to 250
orbitahole: calls 250

It's really hard to put him on the hand he has, because this call is soooo bad.

jonny2jabs: folds
dumbmum: folds
TJ PackMan: folds
Ducky G 6000: folds
*** FLOP *** [3s Th 4c]
FR Vessant: checks

That's a decent flop but I don't think I can make him fold.

orbitahole: checks
*** TURN *** [3s Th 4c] [2h]
FR Vessant: checks
orbitahole: bets 300

I'm sure he's just taking a stab. Maybe he has a flush draw. In any case, I don't think I can fold here. Effectively, it's the same as getting it in pre, which I would have done.

FR Vessant: raises 1147 to 1447 and is all-in
orbitahole: calls 415 and is all-in

He has TT.

So a few hands later, I shove 92 on the button, expecting a lot of fold equity, and the same fish snapcalls with KQ.


Next up, I lose yet another big pot with QQ:

PokerStars Game #30214906375: Tournament #177669905, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2009/07/07 22:04:10 ET
Table '177669905 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 2: tonyandgolf (3970 in chips)
Seat 3: smallbass79 (1458 in chips)
Seat 4: Uncut Haus (1095 in chips)
Seat 6: Hymie_Weiss (1664 in chips)
Seat 7: FR Vessant (1625 in chips)
Seat 8: evilgenius76 (2580 in chips)
Seat 9: pokherfinger (1108 in chips)
tonyandgolf: posts small blind 25
smallbass79: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Qd Qh]
Uncut Haus: folds
Hymie_Weiss: folds
FR Vessant: raises 100 to 150
evilgenius76: folds
pokherfinger: folds
tonyandgolf: calls 125

Has been fairly tight but doesn't look good.

smallbass79: folds
*** FLOP *** [5c 7s Th]
tonyandgolf: checks
FR Vessant: bets 200

Nice flop for my hand so obv. I bet.

tonyandgolf: raises 500 to 700

Well, he might have a set, but you don't make money by folding overpairs against fish.

FR Vessant: raises 775 to 1475 and is all-in
tonyandgolf: calls 775

You also don't make it by running QQ into AA. GG me.

I defy anyone to fold this one:

PokerStars Game #30215110571: Tournament #177670505, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2009/07/07 22:11:31 ET
Table '177670505 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: FR Vessant (2868 in chips)
Seat 2: AKATheShark (2475 in chips)
Seat 5: DaPorKer42 (3205 in chips)
Seat 6: Dr. Baker75 (1979 in chips)
Seat 8: Uncut Haus (898 in chips)
Seat 9: Jacxxs (2075 in chips)
DaPorKer42: posts small blind 50
Dr. Baker75: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Qc Ad]
Uncut Haus: folds
Jacxxs: calls 100

Pretty bad to limp here. He's played sort of semiloose, so I definitely figure to be ahead.

FR Vessant: raises 300 to 400
AKATheShark: folds
DaPorKer42: calls 350

Has played 16/3 or something like that. His call is beyond bad with the hand he actually had. Weirdly, if he'd played it anything like properly, I would have been able to fold pre and get away from it.

Dr. Baker75: folds
Jacxxs: calls 300
*** FLOP *** [8h 6c Ah]
DaPorKer42: bets 2805 and is all-in

WTF.

I know when you see his hand you think I should fold. Isn't it obvious he has me beat? Well no, it's not. It's really hard to see how any hand that beats me plays like this.

I just happened to have the only hand he beat that would call. That's how it is for me at the moment. I'm losing a ton of money to players who are so bad they don't know that their bets are super bad.

Jacxxs: folds
FR Vessant: calls 2468 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (337) returned to DaPorKer42
*** TURN *** [8h 6c Ah] [9h]
*** RIVER *** [8h 6c Ah 9h] [9s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DaPorKer42: shows [Kc As] (two pair, Aces and Nines)

Just fucking awful. He should have AJ or a flush draw, maybe with a 6. When you're running good, that's all they have (although note that the flush draw got there anyway).

It doesn't do my fragile confidence any good. This happens literally every time I move up. I know that running bad is part of poker, but when it happens coincidentally with moving up, you start to fear that you cannot win at a higher level than the goddamn 11s. I had been getting excited about my prospects. Now they are at zero again.