57th...
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
57th...
...plus 900th = 957th place for yours truly in the PokerStars Blogger Tourney. It ended up being a tourney - and subsequent day - filled with frustration throughout as you'll soon find. Sorry for the trickeration on the placement, but so many bloggers were using where they placed for their title, and 957th just didn't type very well.
Things started off well enough as I got 44, JJ, 10 10, and KK in my first 10 hands (with the 4's and the J's coming in the first 2 hands). Unfortunately, I lost or conceded the pot in every one except the 10's where I pretty much made the minimum. This put me down from the get go and it was difficult to grind my way back up to above 2000. However, I was able to do so though I can't remember what hand did it for me. I think I peaked at around 2500 before things just went wrong.
For starters, from hand one I was having connection problems. I would lose connection and it would take about 20-40 seconds for the connection to recycle back. This isn't the first time it has happened, but it has been sporadic lately. The first time it happened was while watching GCox in a shootout on PartyPoker a few weeks back. This was discouraging to find my connections to poker sites piss poor, but I was hoping it was just a temporary problem. No such luck.
By the first break I had lost connection at least 10 times and had a few comments from people at my table that I was holding the game up. Nothing mean or pissy, just letting me know that my connection was acting screwy. The connection resulted in numerous hands folded that I may not have folded had I been around to see the cards. But wouldn't you know it, it was my connection keeping me in a hand that ended being the beginning of the end for me.
We were after the first break and, during one of my many disconnections, I was fiddling with my wireless settings to see if anything needed to be repaired. As I was doing this I noticed the pop-up box advising that I was being reconnected to the table/game. I clicked on the PokerStars window at the exact second it reconnected and unfortunately for me I clicked in the exact spot where the raise button was. By the time I could figure out what was going on I was steaming. Turns out I had K-8 offsuit Under The Gun with the blinds at 75 - 150 so my raise was to 300. Not at all what I wanted to do or would ever do. UTG +1 called and everyone else folded.
Now here is where an honest mistake becomes a bad play on my part. I'm still steaming for even being in this situation when the flop comes down with K rag rag rainbow. At this point there is 825 in the pot and I only have about 1500 left after the 300 bet to start the hand. I throw out a 400 bet and get a long pause before my opponent calls. Another rag hits the turn and with 1625 in the pot I go all-in for my last 1100+/-. I get insta-called by KQ offsuit and my game is over when the river doesn't help.
I hate my all-in on the turn there. The reason I hate it is I went into this tourney with a couple of ideas in my head. First, I wanted to play tight and play strong. I figured with the amount of no-shows I could steal some good pots, but also wait for good hands to get into battles with. Up until that hand I had done just that. I folded great starting hands early on because I knew they were losers. For instance, that KK I had early on was beat when an Ace hit the board and I got re-raised. I could have been a donk and stayed in the hand, but I would have been out way, way early.
Second, I did not want to lose all my chips on a 2nd best (or worse) hand when I didn't have to. My play above was exactly what I did. Sure I shouldn't have even been in the hand in the first place, but I violated one of my main rules by pushing all-in there. I won't even try to Justify my play because I could go either way as to my turn and river play, but in the end I went with my gut and my gut lost. Simple as that. Can't blame connections for that.
~
In my head I got this idea that the Instant Messaging system I was using to chat with other bloggers might have been the reason for my disconnections. I looked back and everytime I had been playing and having problems I was also on IM. So during the tourney I logged off of my IM service and did a reboot on my computer. For a while there I thought I was good to go, but of course the connection problems continued as is obvious from my writing above. To the bloggers I had to drop out of chat with due to my paranoia, I apologize. I again went with my gut and was wrong.
~
It was not long after getting knocked out of the PokerStars tourney that I started to feel a tad under the weather (see previous post). Still I hadn't had my fill of poker after the anticipation that the tourney brought with it. Therefore, I decided to try my hand at BoDog with high hopes that the disconnection problems would cease since it was a different site. Bad.Move.Asshat.
I was playing Pot Limit Omaha (not 8 or better) and doing pretty well with my initial buy-in as well as clearing my PSO bonus. Of course, that wouldn't last long. My first and last disconnect at BoDog that night happened on a hand that still hurts right now. I had Ac5d6d5c in the big blind and the flop came down 5s4d7d giving me a set of fives and an open ended straight flush draw as well as a baby flush draw. As I waited for the small blind to make a decision I noticed it was taking way longer than it should. That's when I realized I had lost connection. By the time it came back I had been folded, put in sit out mode, and the next hand had already begun. I was disgusted and couldn't even look at the history of the hand for fear I would throw my laptop. I just logged off and called it a night. A night which quickly went horribly wrong when I was shivering with a 102 temperature and some serious head pain. So how was your Sunday? GCox need not answer that question after reading his blog.
~
Speaking of G, I'm glad you aren't in some hospital or worse. I couldn't figure out what happened to you, but I'm glad to hear it was nothing serious. Although, for you, I know the PokerStars tourney (and poker in general) is serious bitness. Sadly, I lasted past the first break, but still could not beat G or Jordan, who didn't play one hand in the tourney. Ouchie to ego.
~
I would like to thank a few people for wishing me luck in the PokerStars tourney. First, Dragonystic found my table and wished me well. That was very cool. LittleAcornMan also dropped by to tell me hello and wish me luck. Unfortunately that was right around the time I went bye-bye. Also, at the table - of which I knew no one - a guy with a screenname of ArielSanchez (I think) said he had read my blog and wished me luck very early in the tourney, then gave me well wishes on my way out the door. That was very cool of him. If you are reading this Ariel, thank you. If I forgot any one, I apologize. Of course all the guys I chatted with wished me luck, but I've already mentioned them....
~
I have more to write about, but I'm pretty much spent. After a full days work I realize I am no where near back to 100% from being sick. I have no high temp any longer, but I am weak as all get out. My body and mind just don't want to click right now. Therefore, apoligies if none of this post made sense.
Until next time...
posted by TripJax @ 8:24 PM,
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