Been experiencing an extended, demoralizing losing streak that has taken a serious chunk out of my bankroll. Part of the problem is I've been dabbling in Stud and Horse games, but that's just a minor part of it. The main part is that I can't seem to win a tournament to save my life. Most of the time over the past few weeks, I've been dying on the bubble, which I think is due to over aggressive play and being a tiny bit too loose. The problem, though, is that if I tighten up too much, I get blinded away and then end up having to go all-in with crap hands. In other words, I've been having trouble finding the correct balance between"too timid and too tiger" as they say. Occasionally, I've moneyed in a game, but even in those instances I can't seem to close the deal. Usually, it's been because of bad beats and unlucky draws hitting, but it also feels like no matter what I do, winning just isn't meant to be. The lady Karma has it out for me. Take yesterday's game for example:
I'm in a $2 turbo SnG and things are actually going right for a change. I'm reading people well, I'm balancing aggression with caution, I'm picking good spots to attack... in short, it feels like I'm on my game. In fact, going into the bubble, I have a gigantic stack of T10,250 chips, vs. a few thousand divided evenly between the two opp. In other words, I'm a big favorite to win the thing.... until disaster strikes: my internet connection dies.
ARGHGHGHGHGHGH!
Five minutes later, when I get reconnected, I am down to a little over T6800 and I'm heads-up against a stack that is basically the same as mine. The opp has just pushed on me again when the screen goes active. I have JTs, and it's clear that my opponent is pushing on every hand to get me to fold. He evidently didn't see that I reconnected, because he he just pushed all-in again when I woke back up. (Lesson: when you get someone on the internet ropes like this, don't push all-in to get the fold; do just a min-raise and get them to fold without risking more of your chips than you have to. As my friend Alex says: bet the minimum to get the desired result; you never know when the opp is going to reconnect.)
Anyway, in the state of total frustration that I was in, I basically said, "screw it" with my JTs when I reconnected and called his all-in. He turns over T3, and I have him oh-so dominated. But, of course, a 3 flops, and I'm down to T300. Miraculously, I build my stack back up to T3500 by pure aggression and luck, but then get squashed a few hands later and go out again in second place.
I guess I can't complain too much. Second place is better than third (and much better than fourth, of course). And I can't fault the opp for attacking me while my internet connection was flaking out; I've done the same thing to others a number of times in the past. But still.... damn, why can't I seem to be able to win one of these things?
As I type this, I have another $2 Turbo going in the background. Let's see how I do. Hold on a sec....
Okay, I'm back. Yes, I played good poker. Yes, I had a commanding chip lead going into the final three. Yes, I got all my money in with the best of it heads-up (ATs against KJo). Yes, the opp sucked out a K and a J on the turn and river. Yes, I died shortly thereafter. Yes, argh.
My bankroll is suffering and my confidence is shaken. Guess I just have to tighten up and keep trying.... or maybe go volunteer at the local homeless shelter to get my Karma bank filled back up. Sigh.
All-in for now...
-Bug
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