Never thought this would be the case....

[PShabi]

When I first played a hand of Hold 'em, a $5 buy-in home game, I never thought I would be at this point.

One thing that just amazes me, now that I have a good bankroll, is my ability to lose money without flinching.

What I mean is, if a year ago, I would've sat down and lost $100 I would've lost sleep over it and been sick to my stomach.

Now, I can close down 4 tables of 2/4 after a night of "tuff luck" and look at the wife and say, "damn, down $300 tonight," give her a kiss and roll over into some sweet dreams.

Thinking back, it's strange, but that's why building a bankroll and playing within it is so key. My money is never scared and I can take a lickin and keep on tickin.

[drewjax]

Great point. One that we were all trying to make to Brian S. a few weeks back.

[Talking Poker]

I know exactly what you are saying. I can clearly remember a time when I dropped $200 one night and literally lost sleep over it. Now I can throw that kind of money at a big MTT buy in and not even flinch.


It's all relative, of course. I don't need to get to the point where Phil Ivey is, dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars without batting an eye, but it would be nice to not worry about $10k buy ins, for example...

[Aequitas58]

Playing poker ... and gambling in general, can almost "de-sensitize" one's appreciation of money. Like Johnny Chan said, chips are ammunition. The more ammunition you have, the better your odds of winning the war.

I played in a home game NL tournament this weekend where my AA were cracked by 78s. I played it right, but he hung on to his suited cards and won. Shit happens. I shrugged, said nice hand, and went on the porch to have a cigarette. The other players couldn't believe I kept my cool the way I did, but I told them I was used to it. (Thanks PartyPoker!)

These people aren't daily players, and I'd be surprised if they played more than once a week. They must not be used to the swings in poker, and for the beginner, it's hard to actually stomach when "shit happens."

When I lose money, I fret more over my bad plays / ability as opposed to the lose money. Lost money can be regained ... bad poker plays can stick - costing me more money.

[PShabi]

I like what you said about that AA vs. 78s hand. Similarly, in a tourney at a local room (100 man NL), I held AA. Had about 5XBB. Reraised someone all-in.

He held KQsuited and hit K K, at the end of the flop and on the turn. You could tell the table was ready for a reaction, but I just got up pushed my chair in, and walked out.

Didn't think much of it, but one player remembered it later and told me that he could tell I was a player by the way I handled that. So, being cool in that situation improved my image a little. Maybe he'd be less inclined to play backat me?

[eddo31]

i too remember the first time that i dropped a "significant" chunk of money on poker. it was about 25 bucks in a party no limit game, and i felt sick about it as well.

now, even though i play lo limits there are two things different about that.

1. i wouldnt put myself in a situation where i could lose more than i can stomach.

2. reasonable losses arent a big deal, as others mention. it is a part of the game, and you will be a better player once you realize it.

[Talking Poker]

Dont' get me wrong, this sucked.... but I shrugged my shoulders, reloaded, and that was that:

[Gutzz]

Lol yes.

The first time I tried .1/.25 NL on PS was like this. I had only 100 bucks (built up from .01/.02 playing). Started well, going up 15 bucks, then I lose set over set, and then proceeded to lose all but 10 dollars . I was really shook up after this. I remember staring at the screen with this blank expression and just feeling like crap. It also meant I'd have to go back to penny NL with only 10 bucks, an a real possibility of losing it all.

Lucky for me I never went bust and yesterday lost 100 in first hour of limit (4 tabling 1/2), and it bothered me for a few min but I took a short break and
came back swinging .

[edit: yeah TP that's a rough hand. But what hurts more imho is having TT vs QT and flop is QQT ]

[Talking Poker]

No way. With TT and a QQT flop, you are losing to QQ or QT (and there are 2 Qs left to make this hand). With KQ and a KQQ flop, you can only lose to KK.

[Gutzz]

Hmmm, Ok I see what you're saying. I guess I was just thinking differently, like you're ahead of QT PF with TT..., comparing the 2 hands your KQ was behind PF and flop, in other instance you're ahead by a fair bit, and then drawing dead.

At least in your case you had 1 live out .

Cheers,

Gutzz

[junYUN]

i'm so competetive that this stuff still gets to me, it isn't as much about the money anymore as it is about how well i think i played. if i know i played a hand poorly i shake my head and get that gut wrenching feeling over it -- THIS is the type of play that makes me lose sleep. if i outplayed someone i get a little steamed, but thats just the kinda guy i am.

[PShabi]

I'm very competitive. I was raised on sports, and I work in a sports related field. I'll try to kick your ass in anything, just to kick your ass. But for me, it's about the money in poker. I mean, don't get me wrong, I take pride in my game.

I am always studying, self-evaluating, and trying to get help from others. But, the motivation to do all these things at first was to make money. And if all of a sudden we were playing for fun, or points just to have bragging rights or something, I wouldn't be studying and most likely I wouldn't play.

However, I do agree, that if I lose because I'm outplayed, it bothers me a little more than just getting sucked out.

[Aequitas58]

It most definitely should. In one situation, you were in control, making the right moves, but you just got unlucky. Chalk it up. In the other situation, you weren't the one in control, and even worse, your opponent knew how to manipulate you such that he was able to "outplay you."

Give me the bad beat anyday ... at least I can grumble about online poker possibly being rigged.