It's Not Just Me

Took a final shot at the WSOP Satellite... I promised myself smart play, no wild Hammer bluffs this time around. I stuck to it - stole when I could and folded a lot. Won a few hands and was in the top tier for a few orbits. Then I had a complete brain fart. Limped in EP with JT, and then called April's raise from the blind. Raised her on the flop with a 10-high board, and was all-in by the Turn. She had KK.

I was kicking myself for that play, for getting involved in the hand in the first place. Then I started thinking back to all the other times I've busted out in the past few weeks, which unfortunately have been a lot. Was I really taking as many bad-beats as I thought I was? Or was I just making bone-headed plays? One guy can't get this unlucky for this long, can he?


Yea, it really is mostly a whole lot of bad luck. Last night's Midnight tourney, I fold fold fold and don't try anything too fancy. Probably playing a little too scared, but everytime I was ready to commit myself to a late position steal/bluff; someone else raised before me so I had to let go. Correct thing to do, right? I survive half the crowd and the alternates and make it to the final table. I'm one of the short-stacks at only T2000 and the blinds just bumped up to 300/600. I have about 4 hands to go before they come around to me again. I get dealt the King of Spades. I have this strange tingling in my gut that it's going to pair up. It does... King of Hearts. Then the tingling makes me nauseous as I know they're going to lose for me again.

Remember I said once I've been really good at making reads, I just can never follow through and make the proper decision based on the read? Yea, I shoulda mucked 'em. Instead, I'm all-in and SB calls with AK of Clubs. "Of course... here comes an Ace or two," I say as I stand up. First card to hit the flop is the Ace of Diamonds, followed by a whole bunch of Clubs.

Sure, it's a game of skill. But it's hard to utilize any of that when I can't even see through the torrential downpour that's constantly hanging over me.