Poker is...

... a Muthaf___a!

Recently I recently heard a great professional poker player and keen wit, Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu say this about the problem with poker amateurs; "When they are winning they think they are good and when they are losing they think they are bad."

I caught this hand... this week!
Four Aces for my first time ever I think.

The beginning of July, I started tracking my tournament results using notes on my calendar.  Here's how it stacks up. In the past five weeks I have finished in the money 12 times including a couple of "chops" (ties) for first. This translates to 12 top ten finishes among a field averaging 80 or more players. Twelve for 28 and I am money ahead yes, but not enough to quit my day job. Yet, in the past two days I have had my ass kicked and that has happened many times before. Whenever it does happen, I leave the casino like most players in that situation; head low, muttering; "School let out early today and my grade wasn't good." and second guessing my play. 

I will be back in school on Sunday though. I'll be hoping to cleverly use just the right combination of loose, aggressive and tight play to befuddle my opponents and make them call when they shouldn't and fold when they shouldn't. I will be shuffling chips, sipping coffee, checking my iPhone, studying player faces (I hardly ever get anything out of this), and looking for "tells" (I know a few but am not sure what to do when I see them). When I am winning I will think I am good and when I am losing I will think I am bad just as Daniel says but I love it just the same. That's why poker is a Muthaf___a.

For additional amateur insight, see Pocket Aces - "Dat Metaphor" and  "Poker - more on "Dat Metaphor".

For info and a preview about how we got to this point click here: "Travel On"  

Update: 7/23/2018 - Seven years later and nothing, I mean nothing has changed. I continue to catch good and bad runs and play as before. Last week was so bad (How bad was it?!)...it was so bad I have to write about it to bleed a little figurative ink. In three successive tournaments this is what happened. In order:

1. Two sets, Jacks and nines "cracked."  (In poker vernacular that means beat...beat by bigger hands.
2. Pocket Kings, then Tens, then Queens cracked.
3. A set of ducks (deuces), and pockets Aces twice(!) cracked.

That is what is called a "bad run" folks. All players hear stories like this from their fellow players to the point they are tired of it. This is why I hesitated to write about it but I just couldn't help myself. Sorry. Not.