60k in 60 Days: Season 2 - Day 37 and 38

[gonores]

So who did I fool? Did I have anyone thinking that I was really a good poker player? Somehow, I haven’t even put together a winning session in the past three days, and if you count my last session on Monday and stop in the middle of my first session on Thursday, I put together a ~250BB, or $5000 downswing. Well…I had two losing days in the first 33 days…can’t say I wasn’t due.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking poker over the past days, weeks, and months with people I’ve met through 2+2, and I never feel dumber than when I talk to them during a downswing. Is there really any way to come across as the consummate pro when the first words you hear from someone is “You running better today?” There are a few ways one can respond to it, but they all sound dumb to me.

Response 1: “Naw, dude. I’m still taking it on the chin.”
“That sucks.”
“Eh, oh well…How you doing?”
- sounds like I am avoiding the subject and in denial. Not putting in enough effort to work my way out of it.

Response 2: “Nope. If you like money, you better get to my tables. I’m having a firesale on my chips [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]”
- Sounds bitchy and sarcastic.

Response 3: “Nope, not running good at all, but I must say I’m surprisingly upbeat and confident.”
- Contrived response. I have a test to see if a person tilts. If that person says “I don’t tilt,” it is a surefire way to tell that this person does, in fact, tilt. This statement doesn’t pass the test.

Response 4: “Nope. I g/g”
- Says “I’m so f-ed up from this run that I can’t even conduct myself properly within the context of a social situation.”

I guess I just don’t have the tact necessary to properly convey my mindset. Honestly, it’s hard for me to come down on myself when I can look at any given day and identify what went wrong. Furthermore, its hard to get down on myself when I look back on the past 38 days and realize I still have only had 5 losing days (maybe 6…I didn’t exactly count) over those days. Like I said before…I was due.

So now that I’ve had this little love session with myself, let’s take a look at the facts. Wednesday night comes around…I am on pace to pick up 3000 hands on Wednesday, for a total of like 9500 hands since Monday when the 7 day hand challenge with fsuplayer started. Then THE hand happens. I open-raise with KJo, and am called by CO and the SB. I bet at a flop of 779r, and CO calls. When another 9 comes on the turn, I decide my best line of play is check-raise my opponent, who will certainly auto-bet if I check to him. Welp, he 3bet me, I folded, and I bring the hand up to Schneids and a few other players. I spend 10 minutes arguing with the guy, convinced that my play was correct. Finally, after Schneids et al give up on me, I stop, shake my head, and realize I’m riding the short bus. I decide to check out for the evening, take a very light Thursday, and drive out to Minnesota for the weekend, effectively conceding my hand challenge to fsuplayer. It still feels like a less negative long term EV decision. I needed to hit the reset button. As it stands right now, I doubt I’ll be able to make it 3 more weeks doing what I need to do to complete the challenge.

Running bad, however, isn’t all bad. There are certain things one can only do properly when in the mindset brought about by a bad run. For instance, I wrote an “Airing of Grievances” letter to my apartment management company. An excerpt:

“…Clearly, not only have we not received these little perks, we have not even had a satisfactory experience with (management company). As such, Andy (my roommate) has already made plans to find alternative housing at the end of this semester. If we were not certain that we could provide more of a financial burden on your company by honoring our contract and letting Doug live here throughout the remainder of the lease as opposed to attempting to opt out of the contract and allowing a more tranquil tenant to move in, Doug would certainly follow suit and move out as soon as possible.

As it stands right now, we are uncertain as to just how irreparable the damage is to our relationship with your firm. Suffice to say, given the track record, we are not anticipating much in terms of an olive branch.”

It’s hard for a 22 year old to write that when he is pulling down 10k a week. Way easier after he’s lost 5k. I won’t get into the details, but I’ll be honest and say once I get into a little better mood, I’m going to realize these transgressions aren’t worthy of an open declaration of war against my management company.

Another thing you get to do when you’re running bad: break things you were gonna throw out anyways. On Monday, I finally had it with my mouse. I’ve owned it for about 6 months, and my normal routine is pick it up and forcefully slam it down a few times after a bad beat…it’s like a stress ball. Over the months, its quality has declined steadily with every 6-inch drop it takes. So I finally go out and buy a new one on Tuesday morning. Wednesday rolls around, and I’m taking it on the chin at the tables again. I take a look at my desk and realize my old mouse is still sitting there, looking all smug and content. I get a little grin and decide that the next bad beat I take, I’m officially ending this mouse’s career. The next bad beat comes around, and I launch this unsuspecting piece of plastic into my dresser. Unfortunately, I guess I didn’t go down the pre-launch checklist to make sure all systems were go. I look down and realize my old mouse is still on my desk. So what did I throw? The new mouse. Goddammit. I suck.

It’s getting late in the day and I need to get ready for Minnesota, so I am not going to put together a synopsis of my days. Furthermore, due to the lack of responses I receive with respect to my hand postings, I am just going to take them out of the journal and begin posting them in the HUSH forum. I was down something like $1440 on Day 37 and up like $230 on Day 38, with maybe 1600 hands played on weds, and 600 played on Thursday. I am about $900 behind pace right now.

Oh yeah…eff you, poker gods. I shall continue to blaspheme. You are not powerful enough to make me fail in this endeavor.

[bugstud]

I run bad too. Meh. It's almost more fun that way, seeing how exactly the next one will hurt. Runner runner two pair to crack an overpair has been a real favorite recently. I think posting in HUSH will not only help you, it will help everyone else that's playing there.

[Sixth_Rule]

[ QUOTE ]
I take a look at my desk and realize my old mouse is still sitting there, looking all smug and content.

[/ QUOTE ]

my mouse has been looking at me funny for about two weeks now. I will learn from yor mistakes. I will kill my mouse before i buy a new one who yet learned how to laugh at me when i am loosing.
I actually think it was a mistake naming a mouse after living creatures. mine thinks it has rights and my girlfriends a vegan so its got her on its side. I can never by an optical mouse cause then it can watch me with its evil red eye. THats right i know wahts going on AND I"M NOT GOING TO LET IT HAPPEN@!!!!!!!@$!Q!!!!

[nykenny]

Doug,

cheer up, and grit ur teeth. downswings are hard, but u will get out of it. it feels bad to lose 100BB no matter how many 1000s of BB you have won in the las month... fact of life - a winner's life.

don't give up!

Kenny

[Sponger15SB]

[ QUOTE ]
Response 2: “Nope. If you like money, you better get to my tables. I’m having a firesale on my chips ”
- Sounds bitchy and sarcastic.


[/ QUOTE ]

I have the same type of response when my girlfriend asks how poker went during a bad day. "Ah I felt that I've made so much money lately that I just didn't need more so I just started giving it away to everyone at my tables, it was fun, sorta like charity"

Also, if you like throwing your mouse/keyboard. Get wireless. That [censored] is awsome, I'd say once a week either my mouse/keyboard goes flying. On my last one after horrible overplaying TPTK (no-limit) and losing 150BBs in 1 hand I hucked my keyboard into a bottle of tide sitting on the floor next to my couch and a few buttons fell off, thankfully they all slipped back on, however I wouldn't mind needing to buy a new setup.

[fsuplayer]

and realize I’m riding the short bus.

and realize my old mouse is still sitting there, looking all smug and content.

look down and realize my old mouse is still on my desk. So what did I throw? The new mouse.

thats AWEsome.


i already told you this, but keep your head up. You still have a great shot at reaching your goal of making 50% than the median annual household income in 2 months. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

effectively conceding my hand challenge to FSU player



I am running fairly well this week, which has made it much easier to play the alloted # of hands.

I think i will keep at it, more as a personal goal, since this is already by FAR the most lucrative week of my short poker career. i just want to see how high i can go.

i have played about 9500 hands so far this week with two days remaining, so lets just see how far i can take it.

Oh yeah, and BTW, not only is the round of golf not on you anymore, its on me.

I had planned on doing this in the beginning of the week if i won, as a sort of token of my appreciation for helping me with my limit transition. there is no way i would have gotten so proficient, so fast w/o your help. TPC Sawgrass baby!

(Oh yeah, I owe you one too Schneids!)

thanks and gl doug,

fsuplayer

[Pirc Defense]

Gonores,

Reading your challenge posts is awesome. Hope you make your goal.

This thread, though, has me remembering another thread about some of the things that people have done after taking a beat. Can anyone link that thread for me? It was freaking hilarious.

[jaybee_70]

Sorry about the current bad run, but dammit this is a good read. You already know it'll turn around so not much else to say but thanks for posting.

Joe

[Ian J]

[ QUOTE ]
Another thing you get to do when you’re running bad: break things you were gonna throw out anyways. On Monday, I finally had it with my mouse. I’ve owned it for about 6 months, and my normal routine is pick it up and forcefully slam it down a few times after a bad beat…it’s like a stress ball. Over the months, its quality has declined steadily with every 6-inch drop it takes. So I finally go out and buy a new one on Tuesday morning. Wednesday rolls around, and I’m taking it on the chin at the tables again. I take a look at my desk and realize my old mouse is still sitting there, looking all smug and content. I get a little grin and decide that the next bad beat I take, I’m officially ending this mouse’s career. The next bad beat comes around, and I launch this unsuspecting piece of plastic into my dresser. Unfortunately, I guess I didn’t go down the pre-launch checklist to make sure all systems were go. I look down and realize my old mouse is still on my desk. So what did I throw? The new mouse. Goddammit. I suck.


[/ QUOTE ]

I rarely laugh out loud when reading these forums. This was a rare occasion.

Stay up, you'll get it back.

[Schneids]

[ QUOTE ]

Response 2: “Nope. If you like money, you better get to my tables. I’m having a firesale on my chips [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]”
- Sounds bitchy and sarcastic.

[/ QUOTE ]

You always give me that one, I only assume because you want another big suck-out fish at your table.

[ QUOTE ]
Then THE hand happens. I open-raise with KJo, and am called by CO and the SB. I bet at a flop of 779r, and CO calls. When another 9 comes on the turn, I decide my best line of play is check-raise my opponent, who will certainly auto-bet if I check to him. Welp, he 3bet me, I folded, and I bring the hand up to Schneids and a few other players. I spend 10 minutes arguing with the guy, convinced that my play was correct. Finally, after Schneids et al give up on me, I stop, shake my head, and realize I’m riding the short bus.

[/ QUOTE ]

A little more background that you neglected to include, and only mentioned to me at about the 8-minute point of our argument: Recently in the session you played TPTK this style against the guy.

I think this fact makes your play even worse, since by check raising him on the turn with a strong hand that should make your future checks earn you a more straight forward response on the turn... The guy will become afraid you are trying to check raise him again and therefore only bet his stronger hands. Anyway, I still to this day feel you have a clear bet/fold on the turn or else check/fold. I only like the checkraise if you actually have a 9.