STUCK IN NEUTRALNo, I’m not in my car…
I haven’t posted much recently on this thread. I’d hate to think that I was filling up space with, ‘today I lost this’ and ‘yesterday I made that amount’. Boring if you ask me, but hopefully some of the stuff I write about is of interest. I try not to be too specific, preferring to discuss issues that most people can relate too.
Blonde Bash was awesome. When I play £30 for such a fun comp, I’m hesitant to take it out of my live bankroll as I would have stuck 30 squid in even if there had been no prizes. Even though I only played about 2 hours worth of poker over the whole weekend, (Yes, I went out early in pretty much everything I played) I was delighted to have met so many fellow Blondeites. All great people who more than lived up to my expectations. The only blip was the quiz, when we let the Scots win something, but hey, if they're shoddy at poker you’ve got to keep them happy somehow.
But, back to the poker…
After a few terrific sessions last week, I’ve suddenly hit a wall. I’m not losing money, but I’m not making any either. It’s kind of frustrating. I’m playing well, but those opportunities and situations where you double up just don’t seem to be cropping up. I’m hitting sets, but getting no action. I’m raising with bullets, but everyone’s folding. I just don’t seem to be catching anyone.
Today I won the grand total of $6.17. I sat down for a gruelling 3-hour session. No breaks, no TV, no distractions of any kind. I focused all of my attention entirely on the small screen in front of me, determined to churn out a decent profit.
If there’d been a microphone inside my head you would have heard the following thoughts:
-- Patience, patience, patience, patience, patience, patience, patience, patience… It’ll come eventually. Slowly slowly catchy monkey.
-- Don’t tilt, whatever you do.
-- Don’t start calling with marginal hands in an attempt to outflop someone. Keep playing a tight but aggressive game.
-- If it’s not working out here, move tables. You might just find a fish.
-- Snoops, you’re the best. Love you loads.
Well, okay, not the last one, but you get the idea. I sit there waiting patiently, constantly reminding myself of the dangers of pushing too hard for action. Four tables on the go, but nothing’s happening. I win the odd pot here and there, but nothing substantial. I can feel myself fighting the urge to start raising preflop with rags. Hands like A-7, K-T, and J-8 suited suddenly look like raising hands.
This isn’t the first time recently that I’ve merely broken even. Two days ago I made $8 from a night’s play and the day before that I made a similarly paltry sum. Yes, it’s still a profit and I really shouldn’t be bothered by it, but part of me would prefer to have lost a 100 or something. At least then I would feel like I’d been in existence for the last 3 hours.
You sit down, play a chunky session, and leave with a five bob note. You didn’t particularly enjoy it and there are plenty of more constructive activities you could have been getting on with instead. Personally, it makes me feel like I’ve wasted a valuable 3 hours of my life.
In fact, this is the first time in a long time that I haven’t enjoyed playing a session. It really was a grind, and a painful one too, but I guess I just have to accept that there will be times when I play a crappy session and come out with nothing to show for my efforts.
The lack of entertainment does worry me though. Countless folk who I’ve conversed with have said things like, ‘It’s not an enjoyable hobby,’ ‘It eventually grinds you down’, or ‘It’ll turn into work’.
My response was always, ‘that maybe true for you, but I’m going to be different. I love the game, have a great passion for it and won’t let anything jeopardise my enjoyment of poker.’
I still stand by that now, and if I ever get to the point where it really is becoming tedious, then, like any job, I’ll do something else. Today wasn’t entertaining, but you can’t expect every session to be fun. I’m still loving the game and as long as I keep playing live, do other things, and so on, I’m confident I’ll be sound as a pound.
For the time being though, I’m dying to get out of neutral. It’s like having a steering wheel in my undies. It’s been driving mi nuts all week.
Snoops snoopy
Ps. Little tip. Stick ‘You’re The Best Around’ – Theme from Karate Kid, onto your I-pod. Play it before every session or live comp. It’s a real motivator and does your confidence the world of good. Failing that, you can ignore me and get a life.
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