Look At Yourself Before Blaming Others for Poker Losses
Poker players are funny beasts. Often they chalk their losses up to bad luck, yet every hand that they win �� even if it is from a fortunate run out of the community cards �� comes down to having outplayed their opponents.
This is a dangerous school of thought that we will explore more a little later. For now I want to recall a live cash game hand I recently played that highlights why you should always look at how you played a hand before blaming others for your losses.
I may have mentioned in previous articles I have started to become somewhat of a regular in a cash game at my local casino. It is a no-limit hold��em game that has blinds of ��0.50/��0.50 where straddles are allowed �� although they aren��t common �� and where the size of the pot can grow rapidly.
From my experience of the game thus far, it is frequented by one or two players who are solid players, a couple who think they are solid but can only win against the weaker competitors, and the rest who are a mix of (frankly) terrible players and others looking to gamble during tournament breaks or after busting from a tournament.
The hand in question happened a couple of Sundays ago and started with a player I��d not played with before limping in the cutoff for ��0.50. From the button I raised to ��2.50 with J?10?. The small blind then three-bet to ��13, the initial limper folded, and I called the reraise.
The small blind was also a player with whom I��d not locked horns previously, so I didn��t know anything about his playing style or skill level. What I did know was that he was keen to up the stakes to ��1/��1, citing the fact he was down a chunk of change from table games that afternoon and that he had run bad in the tournament from which he��d recently busted. (That in itself is a horrible idea, but that is for a different article entirely.)
Back to the hand. The flop fell 9?A?4? and the small blind checked to me. This surprised me because a lot of the players in these games love to play ace-rag or at least try to represent the ace. I checked behind.
The turn brought the Q?, giving me an open-ended straight draw, and again villain checked. At this point I was a little perplexed as to what he could have held. I was going to bet, then decided if he had slow played a hand such as 9x9x, AxQx, or something similar then he would check-raise �� a common move in lower-stakes games �� and I would be forced to fold my draw. With that in mind, I checked behind once more.
After burning a card, the dealer placed the K? onto the river, gifting me the nuts. Villain led for ��12 and after double-checking there wasn��t a flush possible, I made it ��33 to go. To my surprise, villain then moved all-in for an additional ��70 and I obviously snap-called. I turned over my straight and he flipped over A?A? for a set of aces.
��F***ing lucky river! It��s always the river,�� said the now-stacked player as I raked in a nice pot. ��Well played mate, fishing for the river and getting there. They always get there on the river versus my big hands, I can��t do anything right.��
His tirade was partly correct �� it was a lucky river. It was a very lucky river, indeed. Without me completing my straight, my cards would have hit the muck without a second thought. What he failed to recognize was that it was his play that allowed me to get to the river and catch that lucky card.
I can see why he��d slow play his set on the flop, and if he had chosen to bet the turn I would have very likely called. But his river play is what cost him his stack. Agreed, he knows nothing about how I play. He could possibly put me on a hand such as KxQx and decide I��m getting a little frisky �� in fact, I think he put me squarely on that hand. But in my opinion, when he jams all-in on the river the only hand that is ever calling him is a straight.
The stacked player��s main problem was his mindset. While he was angry that he lost ��100, I was under the impression that he truly believed what he said in his rant. And if that is the case, he��s setting himself up for future failures. He needs to realize that he is in control of his own play and can shape how a hand plays out, and that it��s not all down to Lady Luck not being his friend.
It is important to look at and evaluate your own play on a regular basis, regardless of whether you win or lose. You��ll often find that you could have won more money by playing a hand differently, or even prevented a large loss like in our example.
You will also realize that you��re not always unlucky and that you do get your fair share of good fortune �� something that is easy to forget about because we all like to think we��re Patrik Antonius when we play. Having a negative ��the world is against me�� attitude sets you up for failure and when you do lose a big pot your fears are confirmed and the cycle goes on.
So before you blame your bad luck or the bad play of others, take a long, hard look at yourself.
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