Contagious Stupidity

So all good things must come to an end... my lunch-time bank run is finally over! I guess $300 isn't too bad for a little extra lunch money. It brings me up to $800 profit for the year! :)

I considered not going today - why press my luck? Save the cash a long weekend session. But being the gambling addict that I am, those sane thoughts were shook from my psyche faster than a... (insert your own witty analogy here)!

The table was really passive today, and I should have stepped up and been the aggressor... I think I played with a bunch of idiots for too many days in a row, as their stupidity seemed to have rubbed off on me. I didn't steal pots that were wide open for the taking; I paid 3 bets to chase a gut-shot straight; and my worst (and final) play... A6s on the button. Flop comes 789, none of my suit. I call a bet, hoping for a 5. Turn comes a 5! Yes, I have a straight, the ass-end of it (as 12-yr old Miami from TILT would say), it gets bet and raised before me... and then I STILL call. Yes, someone is holding JT for the nuts, and I can only shake my head in disbelief of myself. WTF?

I think I got put on tilt just a few hands earlier when I had AKs and flopped 4 to the flush and the straight - I bet out on every street and got called all the way. The guy was holding 99 and still called on the River with two Ts and a Q on the board. I guess that's why it's not such a great idea to play so short-term... I've got this guy pegged as someone who can't let go of a pocket-pair, and I can't stick around long enough to take advantage of it next time I do have him beat. Luckily I left just after my run of stupid plays so no one could try to use it against me!

I really can't point the finger at anyone else, or even curse at the horrible cards I got all hour. I played poorly and it cost me, bottom line. If nothing else over the past few months (and even more so in the past few weeks); I'm beginning to see when I make bad plays and can admit that to myself, rather than blaming everything around me. Live, learn, and move on to the next game!

On the PokerChamps front, not much to report. Tried out two entry satellites on Saturday - one with 12 and one with ~20 registrants. Finished 5th and 10th. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, nothing but pure stupidity on my part. I was in 1st at one point and sat out for awhile. Then I get JJ in LP and it's folded around to me. Should have just let it go and kept waiting, but against all better judgement, I raise it and get called by the BB. Flop is all undercards, 8-high, so I push and and BB calls. His A8 catches trips on the River. All downhill from there.

Unfortunately, the last Satellite is at 5pm PST during the week (when I'm at work reading and writing!), and the weekends are obviously more packed. I tried playing some $.25/$.50 and $.50/$1 games, and made enough to cover the previous Satellite buy-ins. It's going to be a weird transition, trying to play online. Sitting at a real poker table in a casino kind of forces you to pay attention to the game and the players. But playing at home on a laptop in bed, with the TV blaring and the kids screaming and dinner cooking... yikes!

Thanks to A.D. "CoolDog" for being my first affiliate! Drop me a comment or an email and let me know how you do! PokerChamps has a whacked out bonus and affiliate program... check out the complex diagrams they have at the bottom of their FAQs!

I don't plan on playing much, if at all this weekend, as we have outings planned with the kids. But if the wife suggests going to play (even jokingly), I for sure won't say no!

Maybe I'll get a chance to win some of my brain cells back!