An Open Letter....
Thursday, February 25, 2010
.......to nobody in particular or to anybody that still stops by here from time to time.
If you've read here lately, you'll remember my absolutely UN-glowing review of Rush Poker. It's down the page just a little bit, feel free to jog down there and read it first, it won't take a minute.
Here's the follow-up:
I've been playing more Rush Poker lately, mainly to try and clear that damn bonus and because I still want to play poker. Rush poker is actually a great game for my particular (non)skill-set. I can fold for hours and with Rush Poker, it never seems like hours. I can literally fold 23 hands in a row and still feel like I'm not playing that tight. The sheer numbers of hands played in a 30 minute or hour-long session was unfathomable just a few short weeks ago, at least by somebody that could not and would not tile 124 tables of $25 NL.
What I've found in Rush Poker is something that I've talked about here in the past plenty of times. I'm just not that good at Poker. There, I said it. Again.
I could bore you with story after story of getting it in ahead only to watch the inevitable runner-runner suck the pot away. That's not a dollar that I owe you as I did not call out any of the hands.
Anybody ever see this one during a Rush Poker session? I've folded for 46 hands in a row, been the small and big blind 23 times during those 46 hands and look down at A-K s00ted, again, in the big blind. Magically, I get a walk. Or, after folding for those same 46 hands, I get 8-9 s00ted in the cut-off and think, you know, I'd like to see a flop with this hand. Raise, re-raise, jam and, of course, I meekly fold.
The beats have been bad, but no worse than one would expect when playing so many hands in such a short time. I don't think the blind-assigner in the software is fair, but I'm probably not paying close enough attention. I think a straightforward game should and would make consistent money on these tables, if one can stand the inevitable bad beats. For me, it starts to snowball. I never get enough value from my good hands. It's like the other players can see my cards. My value bets are met with insta-folds and my blocker bets are met with insta-jams.
Here's another typical scenario that happened last night. I've moved over to the Omatard tables and I call a raise with J-J-10-9 double suited. I flop top set and a straight-flush draw on this flop - J-spades, 8-spades, 4-diamonds . The pre-flop raiser bets the pot and I re-raise the amount of the pot. He uses up his time and calls. The turn card is the 7 of hearts, completing my straight, he checks, I bet the pot and again, he calls after a lengthy delay. The river is, of course, another 7 and he checks again, but this time, I've wised up. I already know that this sonofabitch has 7-7 in his hand, so I check behind and, of course, he shows 7-7 and takes down a good-sized pot. (Yes, that's a bad beat story, but if you want your $1, you have to come to Okie-Vegas)
What's the moral of this story, you ask?
Apparently, I am really bad at poker and cannot win a hand to save my life. Oh, I'm going to continue to play because I like to play, but I'm done even remotely considering myself any good. In fact, I might just start jamming every draw I have and see what happens. It certainly works for most of the other retards out there.
Until next time, if I check-raise you, go ahead and call, I guarantee you'll get there.
G
posted by GaryC @ 4:19 PM,
3 Comments:
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At 11:10 AM,
HighOnPoker said...
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Oh, G. It always saddens me to hear you lambasting your play. Hell, there was a time not that long ago that I envied your game.
I don't think that you actually suck at poker. You don't. You are probably out of practice a bit, though, and perhaps that is why some of your play has been less than stellar.
Whatever the case, my thoughts and prayers are with your bankroll.
Love,
Jordan -
At 4:37 PM,
Mike G said...
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Your first mistake was thinking you could win at poker. Clearly an objective analysis would determine that this is not the case. Why not then pursue a game you can win at?
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At 5:42 PM,
GaryC said...
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Mike,
While I appreciate your candor, your mightier-than-thou attitude really makes me think that you think you know more than me. Do I know you?
Contrary to your comment, my first mistake was opening up comments so that somebody like you could stop by and give your opinion.
"Why not then pursue a game you can win at?"
The main reason I choose to pursue poker is because I have won at it in the past and I will continue to pursue it because I feel like I can win at it again.
Feel free to stop by again and actually read back a ways, because I used to be a winning player.
Meanwhile, clearly, an objective opinion would be to keep your pie-hole shut on things you obviously know nothing about.
Thanks again for stopping by.
G
