Oh, the Pain!

Here's the list: TripJax, High on Poker, Otis, WillWonka, Poker Gnome, all with some nice things to say about CC. It's a bit overwhelming to be the Blogger Spotlight by TripJax, to see these guys (and ladies) that you and I read all the time take notice. Thanks a bunch. Here's hoping I don't start pressing--like George Mason, I'll try to just bring my A-game.

WPT Reno event now down to 27, with Liz Lieu, Barry Greenstein, and Carlos Mortensen among those still fighting. Disturbing mess out of Duke with their lacrosse team. In case you haven't heard, "...two black women were hired from an escort service to dance at what turned out to be a lacrosse party..." Allegedly, the escorts fled amidst racial slurs, were convinced to return, then raped. No comment on any of this here, but you can hear the 911 call at the site I provided.

So does this happen to you? I'll call it Downslide Tension & Frustration Ache (DTFA). This isn't really a headache but more of a tension in the forehead and shoulders. It is caused by zigging when you should zag, by the downward spiral of a night that we've come to know and love. A quick recap of the causes: AK vs 99 and small cards, 97 top pair sb flop vs. overpair and rivered A, QJ top pair vs. KK, Td9d called bb raise with nothing (somehow I called JA4T board vs QQ and AK), Jd9d flopped top pair vs. turned higher KT pair, AK vs something better on no-paint board, AK vs Q8 on board of JKT59, A5 raise vs K4 bb (563KT), Ac6c on board of Kh8cJc7sKs, KQ bb vs 85o (we called pre-flop raise--54J64 board gets me called down).

DTFA started hitting me seomehwere around the J9 and AK hands, but I can't really recall. It's a noticeable condition, as the boys asked why I felt bad when we had to pick up my wife's minivan from the shop (they failed to produce a promised loaner, then they failed to fix the car). Of course, that's because my wife told them I felt bad. DTFA isn't really a headache, more of some mix of tension frustration. It's mainly in the shoulders and in the forehead--I guess I said that already. So Session I that brought this on knocked me down $128/188 hands playing $5/10 on Stars. So what do I do after putting the Little Guy down to bed? Donk off another $368 on Stars over 216 hands of $5/10, adding a cherry of $200 on $10/20 (for those just starting out in poker, it is always an excellent idea to take your last chips and move up in stakes--heck, you might quadruple up or something). So my $750 Stars bankroll gets zapped down to $50. I won't bore you with all the second session's hands (no draws coming through TPTK vs. AA or KK four times). One great hand will illustrate my condition: I check raise a turn with KQ and all undercards, which is called (I raised and bet flop, then check-raised turn). J hits on river and I'm called by AJo, who then types the beautiful "not tonight" into the chat box.

188 hands later on $10/20 Party and I've had a +$508 session bringing the day's loss to $188. It sucks that I've wiped out my Stars bankroll as I've liked it as my 2nd choice to play. A bad run coupled with bad decision making and playing too many hands (28.5%) will do that. So, is DTFA a signal to change things up? Should I have bolted somewhere in the middle of the 2nd session, even though there were two >45% luckboxes at the table? DTFA combined with a rough run and less than meaningful limits are not a good combination for me, as my chases don't come through, I see way too many speculative hands. Part of it is trying to get unstuck, part of it is trying to erase the frustration, part of it is absolute stubborness and arrogance on my part. I mean, hey, I'm a good player, I can not only beat this game but I can surely beat this table. Mainly, another data point in the differences for me between live and online. Again, I don't want to get up, switch tables, take a break like I would live. I want to beat these guys loaded into PokerTracker at this table. DTFA isn't the cause but should be a warning sign for me and my play, alerting me that things are different. And I need to then take some new action, either hit an SNG, play stud, something. Do you suffer from DTFA at times or anything worse? And what do you do? I'm all ears.

One or two more addendums to come from the Relationships and Poker series, either Friday or Monday. Again, thanks for spending a little time here this week. Thanks for the comments as chiming in is always the best to keep me motivated. Have a good day.

QUICK ADDENDUM: Some great stuff on Go Fug Yourself, including a big rant on the new artsy statue by Daniel Edwards of pregnant Britney giving birth. Priceless stuff.