By Al Sousa
Posted
3/2/2007
I wanted to share something that happened to me last night. It was a serious reminder how complex and involved playing poker is. It is a lesson I know and hopefully this post will bring some wisdom to some of you.
In my years of playing I have learned that every aspect about your environment is important. Each little factor might impact your game a small amount even as small as 1%. But there are so many factors involved that if the right amount of small ones are not correct it can blow your game.
Last night I was at my house just goofing off waiting till 9pm to go to my local game on the other side of town. It was 7pm. It is a very good game that I do well at, $1/$2 NL cash. I am very familiar with the players and their styles. Usually I get something healthy to eat about 7:30 and this drive down there allowing 20 minutes at the poker house to relax and see who is there and feel out my competition. This game is 45 mins away.
Well recently I learned of a game that was 5 mins away from my house. I left a message for the game director about my interest but he had not called back. The director of the game called me up telling me about their MTT and cash game, $1/$2 NL, thats starts at 7:30pm. Right now it was 7pm. I was so happy to find a game just down the street.
Crap, I gotta move! I'd rather play in a game 5 mins from my house than 45 mins. So I got my clothes on zipped over there and on the way realized I didn't eat. Got there just in time. They had food at the game, as they usually do, and I gobbled down two slices of pizza. I entered in their MTT. I noticed the place was freezing and I was cold all night as I was playing. I ended up bubbling in the MTT, just bad luck, but I played well.
The cash game started and the director gave me a "By the ways we play 1/2 our rounds NL holdem, and half our rounds PL Omaha". I really didn't want to play Omaha because although I know how to play, holdem is where I have a large advantage. I played anyways. By the end of the night I was down $380 from the MTT buy in and playing the cash game. At 2am I decided to call it a night because of various factors, including cold cards.
Perhaps many of you are thinking "so what, you had a losing night". But what I want to show is why. The main fact is obvious to me: I should not have even gone to the game.
Food: I usually eat certain types of food and vitamins before I go to a game. Foods that make my brain sharp and awake. This night because of the rush I didn't eat what my body liked and had pizza. Pizza is full of fat that your brain doesn't like and this pizza was from Pizza Hut. It was especially bad with all its chemicals added in.
I Was Rushed: Since I had 30 mins to get ready and drive there I had to rush out the door creating a sense of urgency in myself. In poker I want to be relaxed so I can focus on the game and prevent tilt.
The Location: Since it was cold at the location my brain shut down. I could not focus nearly as well as I should have. A cold environment makes your brain slow down. In fact any extreme environment does.
The Game: I am an expert, compared to most, at NL cash games. Why on earth would I accept playing PL Omaha for 1/2 my time. I know the game, but I am not an expert. Also the game requires a much higher bankroll than I brought with me. In effect I was wasting half my time.
The Dealers and Players Were Slow: Their system of dealing and shuffling cards was inefficient. The normal games I go to have the button shuffle one deck while a dealer passes the cards. In this game the dealers were fairly novice and shuffled their own cards. Net result was a hand played every 3 minutes on average or 20 hands an hour. I want to see as many hands as possibles to reduce luck. I play better than all my opponents and want to give myself the largest chance to win the most money.
All these things are little indicators of a bad night and that I should have left within the 1st 30 mins of the cash game at the very least. The opposition was bad to below average players which I can easily beat. But I should have never gone to this game. All the factors above contributed to me making 3-4 mistakes for around $120 that night. I couldn't pay attention, I wasn't getting a good amount of hands per hour, I didn't feed my brain properly, and I was cold.
Hopefully this simple "bad luck night" story reveals the true facts that I caused my own fate. For poker you have to prepare for the game just like an athlete prepares for competition. You have to be fed correctly, be well rested, mentally prepared for the challenge, and comfortable. No one is perfect and players do make mistakes, even pros. But realizing when you are are in a bad situation and leaving is also key. At about 1:30am I made that realiztion and knew I had to leave this game. I finished playing the round of holdem, which too 30 mins, and went home knowing it was a mistake to come.
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