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Sometimes, you just gotta hit the reset button.

I was at my normal dealer's choice ring game last night and we had a full table of 9 people. Normally we have 7 and like to keep it to a maximum of 8, but since my father was in town and wanted to play, the group accomodated. We're good like that.

We had one other new player at the table, a neighbor of the host. And he managed to put me on tilt.

Generally, the group of people we play with enjoy good games of poker. That's P-O-K-E-R. Games with ever-changing wild cards, games with the "drop if you fold, hold 'em if you stay" plays, and their ilk are not P-O-K-E-R. The new guy not only brought these games to our environment, but also managed to explain their rules so poorly that he had the remaining 8 players just staring blankly at each other, all thinking the same "What the fuck are you talking about?" thoughts.

Making matters worse, the new guy was winning. You know how the classic calling-station manages to have a winning session every now and then? Well this was an example of that.

Before you knew it, I was down over $100 and it wasn't even 10pm yet.

That's when I hit the reset button. I folded a hand, got up from the table and took a walk around the house. I grabbed a beer and a handful of snacks and just stood in another room for a few minutes while the hand was played out.

I thought to myself that with 9 players, I'm gonna need a hand. And these guys will pay me off when I get my hands, I just have to wait for them.

Over the course of the next 2 1/2 hours, I made back my $100 and then another $130, finishing up for the night. That walk I took was possibly the best 5 minute investment of time I ever made.