Thursday, November 7, 2013

A letter to the poker Gods

Dear sirs (or ma'ams),

Please know that I am repenting for whatever misdeeds I have done in the past.  Please be assured that those acts are behind me now - whatever bad poker behaviors and plays that I've made that you disagree with.  I'm trying to reform to become a better poker player in your image.  The cold decks and suckouts are starting to really get to my psyche.  Do you really have to drop two pair on me on the river when we're all in on the turn?  Yes, I am humbled by your power to conjure up the worst possible cards in the deck.  Yes, I respect the fact that you can do this even when I'm not all in.  I also acknowledge the fact that the pendulum swings both ways; I shouldn't draw to straights or flushes even when I'm getting proper odds to do so - I should just fold 'em.  FWIW, I do so much appreciate you letting me win the pot with AA vs. 66 AIPF, but please stop allowing the fish to runner runner backdoor straight draw me on the river!  So please turn off that doom switch that you have in the "on" position and let me run like a normal person.

Thanks!

Poker Meister
Posted by The Poker Meister at 11/07/2013 04:17:00 PM

5 comments:

  1. Memphis MOJONovember 7, 2013 at 8:46 PM

    Poker gods love to see you grovel.

    ReplyDelete
  2. lightning36November 7, 2013 at 8:51 PM

    I think I have offered a sacrifice or two in the past.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AceNovember 15, 2013 at 3:12 PM

    Hello Poker Meister,

    I was involved in the following two hands and would like to hear your opinion on the matter. You explain your thought process well so I'd like to see what you think.

    1st hand: Game 1/2. Starting stacks: Me $200, Opponent $54, Third Guy $100. Opponent is in the big blind, 3rd guy acts after him, and I'm last to act. It’s checked to me, I am dealt A,K os, and make it $16. Opponent, in the big blind, calls and 3rd guy calls. So we see a flop with $49 in the pot. Flop is 2,3,6 os. Opponent goes all in for $36, 3rd guy folds, and I am left to act. Opponent lost a lot of chips during the last two orbits. His play has been standard. What would you do?

    2nd hand: Game 1/2. Starting stacks: Me $400, Opponent $900. Opponent is UTG and I'm sitting to his left. It's checked to me pre flop, I have a black Ace and the Ten of hearts. I bet $12, big blind calls and Opponent calls. So we see the flop with $37 in the pot. Flop comes 3,4,T two hearts. It's checked to me and I bet $15, small blind fold, Opponent calls. Turn is a black 4, Opponent checks to me and I bet $30. He raises it to $110 total and I'm left to act. Opponent has been playing almost any two cards. He is the biggest stack at the table by far and is trying to bet bigger and push the table around a little bit. What would you do?

    Thanks in advance!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Poker MeisterNovember 15, 2013 at 5:16 PM

    xdex - Hand one: you're paying $36 to win $85 - 43% for a likely ~25% odds of winning. I give it a bit more than 25%; you may be slightly ahead in fact - he could hold a 5x hand. However, I probably fold this here as I think you're behind more often than ahead and not getting odds to make the call.

    Hand two: Really feel like it's read dependent. If he's ATC, then it's possible he's hanging onto a 4x hand. Anything is possible, right - particularly ATC. I also find that players like this love to pay a ton for draws but want to protect protect protect when they know they're ahead. I probably let it go, assuming this is the first time I've seen him check / raise turn like this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AceNovember 15, 2013 at 8:01 PM

    I folded the first hand and he didn't show. I also folded the second hand and he showed Q,2 of hearts. I believed I was ahead but with his stack size and a river to come I felt he was not done betting. Overall, avoiding a stack battle served me well.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Blog Archive