How Frustrating Is Poker

Being a golfer I know about frustration..... Trying to hit a ball that, is very small, exactly where you want it is hugely difficult. I'm lucky enough to be good at Golf and not to feel the frustration that some people do but even so my frustration will still be there over smaller details.....

However poker is something completely different..... you reach a level that you feel happy with and you start to believe that you can make money at and just when you reach that point to get hit back down by a bad run...... I've won money recently and am now taking a hit.

Recently I've been looking at how my state of mind and other personal factors affect my game and being tired makes a massive difference. You want to get on and start winning and end up being aggressive to the point of stupidity, which then sets you on tilt and a losing streak.....

One such hand happened to me yesterday. I'd just joined the table after being at work all day. I'd gone to bed about 4am the night before as I was playing poker and listening to the WSOP final table at the same time.

I started off well and got some great hands in succession. Pairs of 9's and 6's etc and then I get AKo. It's a good hand and one that I want to be aggressive with before the flop (as so often afterward it's worth f*ck all!). Obviously I have no player notes at this stage and just the stack sizes to go by.

I bet $2.50.... another guy raises again to $5.25 and the guy immediately to my right raises to $10..... at this stage I've only put in $2.50 and I can duck out now and wait for the next hand. The GAP concept says that you need a stronger hand to call a raise then you would to lead out with a bet. So in this case UTG (me) has lead out with a big raise, which should indicate great strength..... mid position has then re-raised..... maybe with AK or AQ or a high pocket pair. Once that's happen the guy in late position has come over the top and put in a 2x raise to make it a huge pre-flop pot.

So what could he possibly have?

I would have to assume that this guy knows what he's doing.... I haven't had enough information to prove the opposite so for now he's labelled as a good player. Therefore the only conclusion is that he has a premium pocket pair. AA, KK or QQ. So my decision now and I'm looking at his stack and he only has $13.50 more but the other guy has $40 ish. Even so I only have AK which is totally dominated by kings or aces and is only 55/45 against a pair of queens.

So what did I do..... unbelievably I raised the raiser all-in. The middle guy dropped out and we go heads up and his AA holds up to win the pot and there I am now with $30 and feeling like an idiot..........

In my head I knew I needed a break and should go watch the TV for a bit but I carried on playing and ended up losing $140 in the session.

NOT GOOD..... I've updated the figures.