Worst Rivers Ever
Is this really possible? Thankfully, I am playing on line poker and not casino poker. If the stakes were higher, I think I might have to go on a long sabbatical.
Playing at a table with Marsh, I have A,6 suited in clubs. The flop of 4,5,7 with 2 clubs gives me the open ender plus the nut flush draw in the small blind, limped pot. I check, one small bet, a couple limpers fold and I call. The next card is a spade, putting 2 spades on the board. I decide I must have the best draw and bet the turn about 2/3 of the pot. Call. The only card in the deck where I can lose all my chips hits, the 8 of spades. Gives me the straight and I discount the runner, runner flush draw that hit. I make a pot size bet, hopefully disguised as a bluff. Villain puts me all in and I call. Villain had A-5 suited in spades for the nuts.
Playing at another table, little action until the river, both fairly deep stacked at about 150BB. The final board is something like 3,3,6,7, 10 with 4 diamonds, 3,6,7 and 10 of diamonds, 10 of diamonds is the river card. I have the Ace of diamonds. Villain had bet the turn and I decide to check raise the river. I check, villain bets, I make a big check raise which basically pot commits me and villain puts me all in. My read is that it is really unlikely that villain has the house as he is an aggressive player on the button and I believe it was unraised preflop making pockets pretty unlikely. 3,6 or 3,7 don’t add up so I call. Villain had 8,9, of diamonds for the straight flush. The one card in the deck where I can lose all my chips comes again.
Playing pot limit Omaha high I have A,8,4, x with the ace suited in diamonds. The flop is A, 8,4 with 2 diamonds. I make a pot sized bet and villain calls. The next card is a 2 non diamond. I make another bet pot committing the villain. Villain calls with A,8,2, x no diamonds. All the diamonds are outs for me, otherwise likely split pot. The river card is a 2 giving villain the full house.
Playing pot limit Omaha high 6 handed I have QQ, 7, 3 and decide to just call as my hand is really junk unless a q hits without a made straight possibility. Everyone limps and the flop is Q,K low card. I bet out from the blind, I am raised and I reraise pot. Flat call. Likely either a wrap straight on broadway or a lower set. The next card is a K giving me the full boat. I discount quads as very unlikely as most all Omaha players put in at least a small raise with KK,xx. I pot commit myself, villain puts me all in and I call. Villain had KQ.
Playing another limped pot in NL Hold’m I have A,5 unsuited in the blind. Turn of a 5 makes the board A,K,9,5 rainbow. I bet I am min raised and I min raise back. Rare for me to min raise and now I know why. Villain calls. The next card is the innocuous 4. I make a pot sized bet and I am put all in. Trips don’t add up in an unraised pot, perhaps A, 9 or perhaps another 2 pair. I call. Villain had 2,3 os.
I also ran my QQ into AA. One limper and I hit pot from the button. Small blind ships for 100 BB. Very tough decision. My image is one where I am constantly raising from the button but now I have a real hand. Who would ship with AA or KK against an aggro player from the button? I call. Villain had AA and I am stacked.
I am feeling a bit sorry for myself with these results. I see the pros blog about how they can’t win a coin flip. Yesterday I could not even win when my opponent has a 3 outer with a 2 or a 4 outer for the 4 with the straight. Or one outers where I am assured to stack myself. Other than the stupid min raise in the A-5 hand, and possibly the QQ hand, I can’t see myself getting away from any of these other hands. Two very specific cards hit, the 8 of spades and the 10 of diamonds, which stacked me.
Go in for my battle or sit out for a while? Retire and find another activity? I am down to about $180, after hovering around $300 for a couple weeks. I know Marsh says sometimes poker is like breaking a few tackles and then getting hit by a spectator who shoots you but I feel like the swat team came after me with all arms drawn.
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5 comments:
Those are some pretty sick rivers man. What do you think you could have done differently in the hands?
I don't think I can fault you at the river for your decisions, but maybe earlier in the hand. Your HH are a big vague, I know you are aware of that. I will show you how to get the links to make it easier for us to evaluate.
But I think that we need to see how it is that you got to where you were. Are you raising or calling with these hands preflop? Are you in position or out? Would you be better off just mucking these marginal type hands preflop? Could you have bet differently?
I am not trying to suggest anything one way or the other (yet) on these specific hands, but these are the questions you should be asking yourself... not whether or not to "retire", you are far too good of a player for that.
Thanks Marsh. Good comments. The ego was a bit bruised for a while. Do send me the link with specific instructions for the hand analysis as I do tend to be technologically challenged.
Most of these hands were OOP limped pots from the blinds. The suited ace and naked ace of diamonds where I took the brutal bad beats were both blind hands.
send it to my home email account. I can give it to you next time will email you from this account.
Jason, didn't we turn on your hand histories last time you hosted? Go to the folder where you have your HH files and just zip them up and mail them to me. I can fish out the data for you. Or have Madster do it for you if that would be easier.
I can't believe that I'm saying this to you but...don't be too ROTty on these hands. Your style of poker is unique but you make it work for you. Just because you had a bad stretch of cooler hands doesn't mean that you need to retire or whatever. Those happen to everyone. The key is to manage your bankroll so that short term variance doesn't destroy your entire stake.
Thanks Martin. I am now a caker under the moniker bugman00. So the hand histories in FTP do not apply.
The point of the post was not to be totally ROTty. It was more to say that the session was at the time, psychologically devastating. Everyone has bad beats and unlucky river cards but so many and with really specific cards coming to stack me was troubling. After playing a gazillion hands I can take plenty of punishment but I almost went on massive tilt.
The only other session I can compare it to was when you were in Vegas flopping full houses and getting beat and then having overpairs to flopped straights. Or the Negraneau Gus Hansen hand. Watching 2 one outer river cards to stack me (I may have lost anyways but not been stacked) was something I had never experienced before. Luckily the stacks were relatively small since the stakes we are all playing on line are relatively low.
All great poker players bounce back from bad sessions, this was just one I needed a bit more time to get back in action.
Detailed HH instructions shipped to your home email Jase.
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