The Circle of Poker

Well, last night was one of those nights for me when past transgressions came back to bite me squarely in the ass.

Last night was the last night of the "regular season" of the league I am in. Basically you are playing to earn points throughout the season, and the number of points you earn is based on where you finished in each of the 11 regular season games. The points you earn correspond with what place you finish, with some bonus points awarded for making the final table, winning the tournament, and collecting bounties for knocking out players. I was only able to play 4 of the tournaments, meeting my minimum level to be able to play in the final tournament next Tuesday (the 6 weeks of Shaun's Cash Game League and other traveling for work precluded me from being able to play more). I got knocked out early in my first league game, but was able to make the final table in the other 3 tournaments I played in, with my best finish being a 3rd.

But last night was not about the league. Last night suddenly became about November 10th. Why that day, you may ask? Well, that was the night I ended up chopping with Ken at the H.O.R.S.E. tournament at Geoff's place. How I made it to be able to chop was nothing short of a small miracle. And that miracle came back to bite me directly in the ass last night.

Back at the H.O.R.S.E. tourney, we were down to 6-handed (I think, but am not 100% sure). Top 3 paid. I am holding 8-9 suited in the BB. Kelly raises pre-flop on the button. I call. Flop comes Q-J-T. I bet, he raised, I just had enough to go all-in, and he calls. He, of course, had K-9. But as luck would have it, I went runner-runner diamonds to hit a flush. He was all but out, and I vaulted into decent shape, which I used to springboard to much better shape and survive to heads-up with Ken, where we decided to chop since it was already so late. Good luck for me.

Which brings me back to last night. I start off good. I am making good moves. I have people making moves against me that I want them to make. I have people folding to my raises when they shouldn't. I have people looking me up with very little thinking I am full of it based on previous moves I had made. Very rarely am I not getting my money in with the best of it, and if I am a dog it is not by much (or the person is short stacked and it did not adversely affect my stack to make the call). I make the final table, watch a couple of people get knocked out, and then I end up busting out "Walmart Steve" in 8th place to get my chip stack up to around $20K with the blinds at $500/$1K. I am liking my chances. One more person gets knocked out, and then comes the hand with Kelly.

I am in MP, with Kelly sitting directly to my right. He calls the BB. I look down at AA and raise to $3,500. I probably should have raised to $4,000 or $4,500, but I am thinking I want action, and this bet was good enough to thin the field to just me and one other player, most likley Kelly. I doubt the extra $500 to $1K would have made a difference. Everyone folds to Kelly, and the famous words were uttered by Kelly. "One time". Damn it.

Flop comes out TTx (I don't even remember what the third card was - doesn't even matter as you will see). For the first time all night I make a HUGE mistake. Kelly checks. For some STUPID reason I utter the next famous words "All-In". In which Kelly non-chalantly replies "I call". Over flips his T9 suited, and I get no help on the turn (in fact, it got worse as a 9 spiked the turn) or river. I go from $20K to $5K in one hand. I honestly do not know what I was thinking when I did this. It was stupid on so many levels. What did I think was going to happen? If he did not have anything, then he would fold. If he had a T, I was dead. Just insanely poor play on my part all the way around on the flop. And just to stick the dagger in a little deeper, he busts me very next hand when I go all in with KTs while he gets 44. Not only does a 4 spike the flop, but so does a K. So sick.

Just goes to show you a couple of things.

(1) You have to keep your head at all times during a tournament. One mistake and you are finished. I know, I know... people lose when they make good decisions a lot in poker as well. But how often do you hear of people losing concentration and still winning pots? Not nearly as often. Luckboxes usually get that reputation for making bad plays because they have no clue what they are doing but somehow end up getting lucky. Decent players who make bad mistakes usually get punished by the other decent and good players who know how to take advantage of those mistakes.

(2) There is karma, and it exists in poker for sure. Kelly, you and I are even, buddy! LOL.

Steak