All About Poker...

So....it was kind of a strange 2 days of playing poker Friday and Saturday.

Friday, I ended up getting ahead $600 to $700 pretty fast.  Then....I couldn't get a hand for quite awhile....and found myself only ahead $100 to $200.  I then was involved in a small pot where something happened that hasn't happened for at least 15 years....

I was in the pot with one other person after the flop and I bet the pot the entire way.  When the hand was over I had 3 eights and was about 100% sure that I had the best hand.  I placed my bet after the last card had come out....and here's what I ~thought~ happened....

I saw my opponent flip his hand face-up and toss it towards the dealer.  Since I had not seen my opponent put his money in the pot to call, I assumed he was conceding...and flipped his cards face up, so that people could see he was making a great laydown....  I threw my cards to the dealer face down and waited for the dealer to push me the $320.00 pot.

As he started to push the chips to the other person.... I said....  "Wait...wait...  What are you doing?"
The dealer said "I'm pushing him the pot...  you threw your cards in."  I
I said, "He didn't call the bet though, did he?"
He said, "Yes.... He did call the bet."

I knew there was nothing I could do about it at that point so I watched dejectedly as he stacked up the chips that should've been mine.

I had thrown away a winning hand after the hand was over.  Things like that happen and I've seen it happen personally probably at least 25 times over the years.  The last time I had done it, was at least 15 years ago....and I swore to myself, I'd never let it happen again.

So....after that pot, instead of getting my win back up to a few hundred, I found myself behind $100 or so....  I was still mad at myself for allowing it to happen.  I just never saw him put his chips in the pot and there wasn't anything I could do about it...  It was a done deal....

I decided to take a break for 1/2 hour or so to make sure I'd go back into the game without being so disgusted that I'd start throwing money away....
I sat outside until I felt I was ready to go back in and play my best poker again....

**On a side note....  One of the things that kind of helped me get over this fast, was a phone call from a guy, right after I had went outside to take my break, that resulted in him placing an order for a $325.00 pipe.  I just told myself that I'd gotten my $320 back....but I'd just have to put some time in making a nice pipe for the gentleman.  :)

I went back in the poker room, bought another $500 in chips and sat back down....and ended up putting a pretty long 9-1/2 hour session in.  I tried to play my best and I did end up winning over $1000 bucks by the time I left.... but in the back of my head, I was still saying to myself:  "It should've been about $1400 instead of $1000.

I equate a mistake like this to be pretty much the exact same as taking $320 out of my pocket and lighting it on fire.... and watching it burn.  There's simply no way you can ever get that same money back...

By the next day, I had put it completely to rest.  I was over it and was determined to play some great poker and hopefully make a couple thousand.  I was rested and ready to put in a nice long session.

This was Saturday and the game always starts early.  I was up bright and early and ready to go by 8:00 AM or so.  I got to the card room and we ended up starting the game 3-handed at about 9:00
I had a great omelet and felt really good.

Saturday pretty much started out horribly....  :)
I just could not win a pot and I took some horrible beats where my opponent could only hit 1 or 2 cards to beat me.... and it seemed like they all hit them just like clockwork.
After less than 3 hours, I found myself stuck $1700
Now my loss limit typically in the game I was playing is $1600 so I already was over that limit.

Again....I took a short break and tried to decide if I wanted to keep playing and invest another $1000 or so to see if I could get something going...  I told myself that I had to play really lock-down poker and not try to get all my money back right away....  I would just have to chip away at it and hope the cards (and other players) cooperated.

One of the things that influenced my decision is that I was well rested, I had just ate, and it was nearly 120 degrees outside, so I really didn't want to get back on the motorcycle in that heat.

So, I went back in, bought some more chips and felt determined to play the best poker I could play.
I ended up losing a couple of more pots and found myself stuck almost $2200
I had already decided I was NOT going to put anymore than $2500 in the game, so I knew it would have to turn around very soon, or I'd be on my way back to the apartment.
I was/am still playing on my wins from when I first got into town....but I still hate getting stuck that much.
If I lost 2 more pots without winning any, it would go in the books as a very bad day!

I told myself that I just needed to get $500 in front of me again....  which would only take winning a small pot without losing one.  I managed to do that....and then I won another small pot...and I found myself $1800 stuck and starting to feel a little better about my prospects.

I then told myself to just try and keep playing good so I'd have $1000 in front of me....
I managed to do that, after winning a few pots.... and losing 1 or 2.

By this time, I'd probably already been playing 8-9 hours, but I did still feel good.  The game was good and the pots were getting bigger.  I knew it could still go either way, pretty easily.

I ended up winning a nice pot about this time and found myself with $1500 in front of me....
About this time, I was starting to feel like it was possible that I could get all of my money back if I was willing to put in a nice long session.

Once I got to the $1500 point, I had a hard time getting any more than that.  I'd lose $400, win $200, lose $300, win $400 and a few hours later, I found myself exactly at this same point with $1500 in front of me.

I'd probably been playing 11 to 12 hours and took a dinner break and enjoyed some great fried shrimp.  I decided to go back and play for an hour or so to see what would happen.  Even if I didn't win any more money back, it would still be a 'not-so-bad' day, when it could've been a terrible day financially.

An hour later, I found myself with $2000 in front of me and feeling 100% confident that I could get the rest of my money back.  I was playing great and I was in a game where 7 of the other 8 people were playing horribly.  I just had that feeling that it was all going to work out.

To shorten up the story.... it did all work out..
At 11:29 that evening, I won a pot that put me over the $2500 mark.
At 11:30 the new dealer came in and it was time for all the players to pay their $7.00 for the next 1/2 hour.  It also happened to be my big blind, so it looked like the perfect time to quit.

I stacked my chips and cashed out exactly $2519 which equated to a $19.00 win.
It was my smallest win of the year, but it felt like one of the biggest wins of the year!
I'd put 14-1/2 hours in (which equated to a little less than $1.50 per hour) and I felt like a huge winner.  :)

I believe it was also the longest session of the year.  I rarely put in long sessions like that anymore....and I was glad it all worked out for me on Saturday.

I went back to my apartment and realized how tired I was.  I was up until about 2:00 AM, just unwinding and trying to relax....and I did end up sleeping like a log....

I had a nice relaxing day on Sunday.....so I think I'll be ready to hit it again tomorrow....
I'm looking forward to a great week ahead!