Pulling Out of a Tailspin

I've been a grump lately. Last week didn't go so well. I melted down a little and got so distracted that my roll took quite a dip. But I'm back; back at the grind. One of the hardest things in poker is to take hit for multiple buy-ins and then try to get your head back together and play knowing that the next week or so will be spent just recovering the losses. I had high hopes last week for upticking to a more comfortable level. I also wanted to build up the funds to drive to Vegas to gather the rest of my belongings that currently sit in storage. But to steer directly into a nose dive and stare directly into the face of oblivion was the order of the week and now I have to deal with it. I won't reveal the details of the meltdown, let's just be glad it's over. I bailed just in time. I descended the mountain, spent a little non-poker happy time, and then hit the boat in Little River for a night of 2-5 on the high seas. I then took another day and a half to not play and monday I drove back up to Cherokee and, feeling somewhat refreshed, got back on the horse.

Let me just say that if you haven't played poker on the SunCruz casino boat in Little River, don't bother. Oh my God, the dealer was HORRIBLE. The rake is maxed at $5 but I saw this dude double cut the pot more than once. I'm pretty sure I saw him forget to cut it a couple times too, but I mean, how hard is it? If the pot was big enough for the max rake on the flop, he would grab a red chip, place it on the slide, and then drop it immediately. Then, after the river came, he'd do it again. What the fuck? The dealer should never drop the rake until he pushes the pot. But the guy had all sorts of procedural problems. He just sucked really bad. I didn't say anything (surprise) but if I planned to ever go back I would have. I played so few pots that it didn't affect me that much. I got myself stuck about $230 at one point but managed to grind it back with a $47 profit. Nothing to write home about, but it sure was better than staying stuck. The other big problem, by the way, was that smoking was allowed. Enough said.

Monday night I played a hand that still baffles me. The cards brought a cooler but it was the play of one opponent known as King Kong that had be confused. There was a lot of limping going on and I don't mind that because most of the players don't consider it when they play the flop. They don't know just how bad top pair can be on a 7 way limped flop. Anyway, King Kong limped on my right and with about $120 I limped from the button with A6o. The flop came A86 with two diamonds and the action checked to Kong. He bet out $13 and I raised it to $30. I know this guy. He's solid. He always has a big stack. I heavily considered A8 as I put in my raise. And this guy knows me too. He called me "scary" the other day. He knows I don't fuck around and that I'm there for the money so I figured to find out really quickly how my A6 was doing. Surprisingly, the kid who was in the SB on my left called. I immediately gave him diamonds. It was the only thing the guy could have other than a set, but even this guy would have raised here to protect against the flush draw possibility. With an overcall on my left, I fully expected Kong to either fold or re-raise. When he called, I was confused a little, but one thing I did was take him off A8 immediately.

To further my confidence that I wasn't being coolered by A8, an A hit the turn. At this point I knew I was good. I knew the kid on my left had diamonds and I figured Kong, based on his earlier play with AJ, had a big A or even a diamond draw himself. They checked to me and I bet $25 knowing that I needed the draws to keep paying. The SB called and Kong suprised me with a raise to $60. AJ or AQ was my best guess and I shoved the rest in and the SB called again. Kong called.

When the diamond hit the river, the SB shoved and Kong called so quickly that sparks flew off his screen. I was dumb struck when his A8 appeared. I'm still confused by it. People playing in the next state knew the guy on my left was drawing to diamonds. How in the world could Kong flat call my raise on the flop? I guess he was just gambling on not seeing a third diamond. But then, when he made the nuts on the turn, he pulled a check-raise and risked losing the draw. Maybe I'm just pissed because if he'd re-popped me on the flop to protect his hand like a sane person I could have dumped my top/bottom pair. My stack was short and I know it would have seemd crazy to dump it, but not against Kong, who also knew he was playing against me. Oh well, it caused a losing session. But I would not be discouraged.

So here I am at Tribal Grounds, the coffee shop in Cherokee. It's raining outside. The sky is grey and the clouds are hanging very low. I can almost reach out and touch them. I love that. I only wish it were snowing. I sank $167 that first night, but yesterday I pulled in $282. I seem to have my confidence back; it had waned somewhere in the smoke and confusion of last week. I was in a very special mindset last week. I lost all control and I even had one foot in the car ready to drive directly to Las Vegas. It was cloudy and dark inside, but I'm back now.

I played three sessions yesterday. Considering the latest state of my bankroll I've been hitting and running a little. I feel it neccessary at the moment and I have to do what I have to do. If I were to go broke right now, and I don't plan to by the way, I have no idea what I'd do. But let's not talk about that because it isn't going to happen. I own this game and my little puppets shall continue to pay me for a long time to come. I just have to keep the war against myself at bay and play the game the way it needs to be played. Get the money, that's it.