2011 is a new year guys, I hope that none of you lose money like the guy in the following story:
New Year's Eve is one day that I can actually circle on the calendar that the wife "let's" me basically have free reign of playing poker at the casino (other days its either a fight or back in the day its me sneaking away.)So with the family dinner out of the way and my parents in town we headed over to our local Indian casino and looked forward to a nice night. Last year I sat down with $200 ($1/2 NL) and left with $1400. Last night, after being in for $300 and down to $50 at one point I battled back and left at 4:30 this AM with a little over $700. My winning ways aren't the purpose of this thread, but instead I want to tell a story that hopefully someone will take to heart and not lose $$$$$$.
After getting moved to the "feature table" (all others were "must move" to it) I noticed a player i've seen before and know to be a pretty decent player slop housed drunk. The type of drunk where if he was anywhere but the casino he wouldn't be getting served for fear of lawsuits. I know this guy and know how he plays sober and have seen him play buzzed a couple of times and its not too far off from the norm.
Even drunk, he was making pretty decent decisions most of the night and had built up a very nice sized stack for a $1/$2 table...somewhere around $1800-2000. He had been battling with another solid player (who was steaming from loses though and was in about $900 my count) to his left most of the night. The two guys who know each other and have plenty of bad beat hatred for the other one. At about 2:00 AM the Drunk decides to grab some racks and start the process of leaving. Minus the worry on whether he has a DD or not I was pretty impressed at this point with his ability to stop while ahead, something that even sober we all have had an issue or two before.
Drunk guy is allowed to play for a few hands "out of the rack" and raises a live stradle of 5 to 16 from middle position. His adversary pops it to 32 and it folds back around to Drunk guy. At this point we have about $65 in the pot. It's $16 dollars to Drunk. He says that if he plays and loses the hand he'd have to stay? His opponent has about $400 in front of him. At this point drinking or ego or both takes over and he PUSHES. $2000 to win a $65 pot with a $16 bet in front of you. Sober steamer calls with his $400 or so and flips over AK. Drunk guy flips over AJ off and is eventually high carded I believe to lose the pot. WHY? If you want to play the hand call the $16. If you want to push, do it on the flop when expectations have come full circle and you could have pushed the other guy off the hand. As inexcusable as it was he now compounds the mistake....
So he's lost $400 of $2000 = $1600 sitting in front of him. Not bad for 8 hours of play when he probably sat down with $200 or $300 (not for sure, but typical buy-in range at that limit.) Does he call it a night and go home with one of the drunk ladies that have frequented his table and admired the size of his stack? NOOO!!! He stays true to his pre-mistake word and un-racks it all and decides to rejoin the party.
Two hands pass and he gets involved in a hand with a highly skilled Asian player (one who uses the stereotype of "Crazy Asian" player to his advantage...guy makes a living at this casino.) Asian makes it $25 pre-flop, three callers including Drunk. Flop comes 66Q rainbow. Drunk bets out $25. Fold, Fold, Asian bumps to $75. Drunk calls. Turn 8. Drunk checks. Asian bets $100-$150. He showboats for a second or two and then PUSHES. $400 pot facing $150 raise with $1200-1400. Asian calls immediately. River is a "blank" Asian flips over and announces trip 6's (A6 suited) which is obviously a winner and Drunk mucks (some of us see that he had at best a str8 draw.) WORST part of whole hand is that Asian guy is the ONLY guy at the table that has even close to the chip stack of Drunk to felt him. Drunk is left with $50 he puts in blind as everyone at the table stares in disbelief. He was trying to make a move obviously, but why? Don't make moves against the only guy that can seriously hurt you. Don't make moves when you've played so well for so long. Which brings me to the point of the post.
Here this guy was staring a new year with such a wonderful display of poker. Played, drank, had a good time and made some serious coin for the night (at a low limit table.) Was it the drinking or ultimately the ego that did him in?
I'm stone cold sober 3 years this Feb. (), so I may be a little biased, but to me you cannot let your drinking problem interfere with your poker problem. Unlike some of the drunks that I love to see sit down at the table who have never played Hold-Em outside of their bedroom and get enough liquid courage to sit-down and subsequently lose their change to me, this guy is a legit player who I know makes sound poker decisions on most occasions. Beyond all the health and society problems that come with drinking, when it legitimately factors in your bad decisions that lose tangible $$ its not worth it to me, but I was fortunate to get out from underneath its pull.
Ego is a big factor as well. So a guy raised your $16 bet to $32. Just call it and see a flop. Essentially you lost $2000 because you felt like you were going to be a man and show him who was boss over $16!!!(liquid courage again.)
As a person with compassion for humanity I urge of all my fellow poker players out there to please take in the New Year with a refreshed attitude toward making money. Don't let your drinking cause problems on the felt (or off for that matter.) Don't get into pissing matches. The cards run hot and cards run cold, just put yourself in the right position to maximize gains and minimize loses when they do. Good luck to all and have a nice 2011!
You should write for Card Player or one of those poker magazines, nice job. Getting dealt AJ he probably thought he was God jr. that night and it was going to hold up, that may have happened to him even if he had not been drinking. God syndrome >> alcohol.
AJ is such a trap hand anyway. The problem is that the guy is a degen. At least he set up his image for the next time he plays drunk and maybe he can gain some positive EV from this experience. But I doubt it.
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A Cautionary Tale....Driniking, Ego and Poker!
), so I may be a little biased, but to me you cannot let your drinking problem interfere with your poker problem. Unlike some of the drunks that I love to see sit down at the table who have never played Hold-Em outside of their bedroom and get enough liquid courage to sit-down and subsequently lose their change to me, this guy is a legit player who I know makes sound poker decisions on most occasions. Beyond all the health and society problems that come with drinking, when it legitimately factors in your bad decisions that lose tangible $$ its not worth it to me, but I was fortunate to get out from underneath its pull.
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