Burnt Offerings

There’s a thread over in 2+2 (which I’m just too damn lazy to link to right now) that discusses which feeling is worse: playing well and losing to a bad beat or playing really poorly and also losing.

On Tuesday night, as I wrote in my previous entry, I felt that I played solid poker. Sadly the results weren’t indicative of that due to a two-outer, but I was able to file the bad beat away and come away satisfied with my play.

On Wednesday night at the local Spring Hotel game, I came away from that game embarrassed with two truly horrific plays that indicate to me that I am still very far from the poker player I’d like to be.

In the spirit of full disclosure, here is the worse of the two plays in all its glory.

We have the normal $1/$2 game going on and I’m in for $500, but have about $275 in front. The forced straddle – “the rock” – is in play and I’m in the big blind with two black Aces. There are four limpers for $5 a piece and I raise. Mistake #1 was the size of my raise, it was only to $25; and at this table of loosey-goosey gamboooler’s, it frankly needed to be more.

Call, call, call, and……call. Pot size is $125.

Here comes our flop. Jack, Jack, and…..Jack. I’m behind.

I check, and it’s checked completely around and the turn brings a 7. I check again, the player to my left checks and then someone fires out $15 into that $125 pot. The player in the last position does a feeler raise to $35 and it’s my turn to act.

Just yesterday I wrote about finding a way to fold pocket Aces and look for a better spot. Just yesterday. Twenty-four hours ago. Only. I can’t describe my thought pattern here, because my mind had been issued the ctl-alt-del command. I shut down all poker circuits and lapsed into durrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…..I have pocket Aces…..durrrrrrrrrr.

Then I do it. I pushed for about $250 more.

I simply cannot offer an explanation. The guy to my left who held the 4th Jack called and I was pretty much humiliated with my self-immolation.

I read in a CardPlayer column that discussed one of the key differences between limit hold ‘em and no limit hold ‘em was that in the latter, you make big decisions to win other player’s stacks rather than smaller decisions where a few big bets lie in the balance. I am simply still making too many poor decisions when stacks are at stake. Far too many.

So when you read this blog, think back to Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men. Thank you for playing “Should We Or Should We Not Follow The Advice Of The Galactically Stupid?”