brian8065
06-25-2005, 01:23 AM
Sometimes before I get into an airplane, I hear a little voice in my head that tells me not to get on the plane. “This one is going to crash.” Says the voice. I ignore it, and get on the plane.
I do not have a name for this voice, but for this post I will call the voice Ulysses.
Ulysses also talks to me while I play poker. I play about 80 Sit-n-Go’s a week on Party Poker I have a small, but steady positive ROI of 5% to 10%. Better than most, but room to improve. This is why I constantly read what everyone has to say on this site.
Over the past couple of years Ulysses has been trying to help me play poker. I have always ignored him in these instances too. Ulysses always liked it when I got suited gapers, like 10-8, or 9-7. He would then shout to me, “PLAY IT” I would always ignore this advice, and not play these cards. Inevitably, the time I ignored Ulysses’ advice, such as a 10 8, the flop would come A J 9, or 10 8 2. Ulysses would then tell me a big “Told you so.” If the flop was AQ4, Ulysses would say nothing, or even go so far as to deny he ever wanted me to play the 10 8 in the first place. Ulysses always maintained that his clairvoyance was perfect.
So a couple of weeks ago, I get dealt 68 off-suit very early in a Sit-n-Go. Ulysses once again screamed “Play It” He said it with such confidence and authority, that I was sure it came from the Almighty himself. I was on the cut-off seat. I called 15 chips with the 68, and trusted providence.
The big blind raised to 75 chips, and I called along with an early limper.
The flop was A9T. Now if your going to play 68, this is not an entirely bad flop. The big blind was first to act, and he made it 125. I called. I could not fold at this point. Ulysses was going nuts in my head he was so excited. He was sure this was going to be a big hand.
Then next card was a Queen. The big blind went all-in. Ulysses opined that this was simply a test of my faith. I must call this if I am a believer.
I could not expect that I had anything but 4 outs, the 4 unseen sevens. Calling this is something I would never do. Still, Ulysses has been playing with me for a couple of years. I could not go on ignoring him forever. Besides, if I hit the seven, I will surely win. I will also know that God is on my side. If I won and was challenged by the losing player as to why I made this call, I would confidently point out to him the post by Gigabet on stack sizes. I would simply tell this other $11 Sit-n-go player that I was showing him I could not be pushed around, and give myself some future positive EV next time we played, which would be sometime within the next 6 months. Possibly this player would be T. J. Cloutier himself!!
I called the bet. We showed our cards, I had 6 8, and he had AQ.
The next card was another Q, and the other player took the pot. I could immediately feel an itching sensation on the back of my neck, as several players must have took this opportunity to put down some information on my Player Notes.
There is a good side to this story though. Since this has happened, Ulysses has been quiet. I have not been bothered by a voice inside my head telling me to play crap. I lost the tourney, but called Ulysses’ bluff. For now I am cured of playing hunches, and pretending I know what the next card is. Clairvoyance is most powerful for those players with negative ROI’s. Given the choice, I will pass on the gift, and grant it to the lesser players.
I do not have a name for this voice, but for this post I will call the voice Ulysses.
Ulysses also talks to me while I play poker. I play about 80 Sit-n-Go’s a week on Party Poker I have a small, but steady positive ROI of 5% to 10%. Better than most, but room to improve. This is why I constantly read what everyone has to say on this site.
Over the past couple of years Ulysses has been trying to help me play poker. I have always ignored him in these instances too. Ulysses always liked it when I got suited gapers, like 10-8, or 9-7. He would then shout to me, “PLAY IT” I would always ignore this advice, and not play these cards. Inevitably, the time I ignored Ulysses’ advice, such as a 10 8, the flop would come A J 9, or 10 8 2. Ulysses would then tell me a big “Told you so.” If the flop was AQ4, Ulysses would say nothing, or even go so far as to deny he ever wanted me to play the 10 8 in the first place. Ulysses always maintained that his clairvoyance was perfect.
So a couple of weeks ago, I get dealt 68 off-suit very early in a Sit-n-Go. Ulysses once again screamed “Play It” He said it with such confidence and authority, that I was sure it came from the Almighty himself. I was on the cut-off seat. I called 15 chips with the 68, and trusted providence.
The big blind raised to 75 chips, and I called along with an early limper.
The flop was A9T. Now if your going to play 68, this is not an entirely bad flop. The big blind was first to act, and he made it 125. I called. I could not fold at this point. Ulysses was going nuts in my head he was so excited. He was sure this was going to be a big hand.
Then next card was a Queen. The big blind went all-in. Ulysses opined that this was simply a test of my faith. I must call this if I am a believer.
I could not expect that I had anything but 4 outs, the 4 unseen sevens. Calling this is something I would never do. Still, Ulysses has been playing with me for a couple of years. I could not go on ignoring him forever. Besides, if I hit the seven, I will surely win. I will also know that God is on my side. If I won and was challenged by the losing player as to why I made this call, I would confidently point out to him the post by Gigabet on stack sizes. I would simply tell this other $11 Sit-n-go player that I was showing him I could not be pushed around, and give myself some future positive EV next time we played, which would be sometime within the next 6 months. Possibly this player would be T. J. Cloutier himself!!
I called the bet. We showed our cards, I had 6 8, and he had AQ.
The next card was another Q, and the other player took the pot. I could immediately feel an itching sensation on the back of my neck, as several players must have took this opportunity to put down some information on my Player Notes.
There is a good side to this story though. Since this has happened, Ulysses has been quiet. I have not been bothered by a voice inside my head telling me to play crap. I lost the tourney, but called Ulysses’ bluff. For now I am cured of playing hunches, and pretending I know what the next card is. Clairvoyance is most powerful for those players with negative ROI’s. Given the choice, I will pass on the gift, and grant it to the lesser players.