Do you suppose it might have something to do with the fact that I made a deposit today?
I couldn’t catch a damn card earlier tonight, and then I made a $20 deposit, jumped into a .10/.20 table, and in a couple of orbits, my fortunes changed. It was like I was finally getting all of the good starting hands that I’ve been denied for the last week, all at once.
I got AA four times, KK twice, AK a couple times. Seemed like I hit every draw by the turn. And, when others hit their cards, it was like I could see what they were playing.
Unreal.
So, I was finally getting good cards, so it was easy to sit and wait for QQWIN99. I had bought in for $2, and left an hour later with over $12. Not a bad session’s work.
And, yes, I do think there is something hinky with me suddenly catching good cards right after a deposit. It was too sudden. Like they’re trying to get me to move up another level and blow my wad. Which is why I think I might move back down to .02/.04, so it will last longer.
Screw ’em, if I have to pay for my entertainment/poker lessons, I’m gonna get my money’s worth….
I call it “The Ivey Effect”
Disclaimer: In no way do I even think I belong on the same poker playing planet as Phil Ivey.
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
Douglas Adams, “Last Chance to See”
I read the Ivey interview in Cardplayer a few weeks ago, and enjoyed the story of how he would spend all week winning enough money at $75/$150 so he could move up to $200/$400 (or was it $400/$800?). Regardless, he said he rode that rollercoaster for 6 months; win all week, give it up at the next level on the weekend.
That’s where I am now.
Not at those levels, mind you. But, I win and win and win at limit so i can try pot limit, then get creamed at pot limit. I do it because I love the thrill of the bigger bets and the challenge of not having those artificial limits in place.
But, I basically suck at it. No patience.
I can sit here and write that I am resolved to not play any more PL, but I know that isn’t the case. If I can beat the game substantially one night, it will be a psychological breakthrough that I think will help me develop the confidence I need to sit and wait.
Isn’t that funny? I diagnose playing marginal cards as a lack of confidence? Weird. Anyway, what is usually happening when I bust out is that I make a pre-flop pot limit bet with big connecting cards, then I don’t hit the flop. I try to bluff at the flop with another pot limit bet, and someone calls. So, I wind up pot-committed and drawing to overcards.
If I just had the confidence to know that I can lay that hand down and wait for the next one, I think I’ll be ok. But it just seems like I get into that “win it now” mode.
Well, they say half the battle is admitting the problem. We’ll see.
