Tao of Poker

Subterranean Homesick Blues

"Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny" - Bob Marley

During my epic quest to pen the first great American novel of the 21st century... rarely do I blankly stare at my computer screen and mutter, "What the fuck?" That's the sort of rhetoric reserved for the lunacy that ensues when some crotch scratching nitwit from Altoona pushes his stack all in with bottom pair and catches a backdoor flush of running diamonds against my flopped Broadway straight.

"What the fuck?"

It makes me wonder... what do they put in the drinking water in Altoona County to make geniuses like that willingly want to lose their paychecks on Party Poker?

Bad beats don't phase me like they used to. I don't care anymore. We all know the mantra... because in the long run, guys who play less than marginal hands preflop will eventually pay for my three week hashish smoking binge at a beachside bar in Samui. Every crappy hand they play... is another step towards a comfortable state of numbness.

It wasn't a good weekend for me at the tournament tables on Party Poker. I spent the majority of my weekend doing two things... poker and writing. The writing was more fun because I didn't lose any money. I had only one decent performance all weekend after I placed second in a $30 SNG. I really should have won but I made a few bone head mistakes that cost me the chip lead and a first place victory. But there were a slew of bad beats too... the Hilton Sisters lost to K2. My AK was cracked by Q7. Pocket 10s lost twice... once to 22 and the other time to J9s.

I passed out some bad beat karma when I river'd AK with Mrs. Slick and hit my pair on the river. I wondered with all the new poker blogs out there and with not everyone knowing my Party Poker screen name, that somehow I might river bad beat some guy with pockets JJs against his Kings (which happened yesterday) and come across his blog a few days later, only to find out he was bitching about me! Makes handing out bad beats a lot more fun. "Blog that, newbie!"

I lost a $20 multi this afternoon in a tourney where folks were dropping out fast. All I had to do was fold my way into the top 1/3 and I foolishly limped then called a button raise with AJ. I flopped top two pair and lost to pocket aces. I messed up and underestimated the strength of the button raiser's hand. At best I gave him credit for AK... but figured I had him beat on the flop and moved all-in. He quickly called and I was bounced in an unimpressive, fishy 1180.

$5 Multi Table NL: 320 out of 1327
$20 Multi Table NL: 1180 out of 1476
$5 3-table SNG: 4/30
$30 SNG (5): 2,5,5,5,5
$5 Omaha hi/lo SNG: 5

Money Finishes : 2 for $112.50
Entry Fees: $205
Total: -92.50

Ouch. It was a not so fun weekend, eh?