I’d like to preface this excuse of a „report” by stating that I wasn’t taking notes during the game. Those in the know will realise that relying on my so-called memory can only lead to errors, omissions, bullshit, and the ubiquitous ‚complete and utter bollocks‘ that is my trademarked writing style. I would apologise (sincerely) – if only I could remember why.
In Holdem, much as in life, people remember things their own way. It’s difficult enough to separate fiction from faction, and sometimes even fuck Sean, but the fact remains that a second author of PGL reports has yet to appear. That leaves you with the demented ramblings of a geriatric, half-pissed stoner who doesn’t much care for your factoids if they don’t fit the script. If you want to gauge the inaccuracy more accurately, just imagine I’m being dictated to by a big baby with a gun. The baby isn’t always orange.
After the freeze-out, Janne was the first to fall. There may be more of a story than I recall, but I wasn’t aware of any major drama, or minor drama – it was more of a mellow drama. But all that was about to change.
In the name of conflict journalism, I’ll start with a hand which I definitely recall (a bit), and Rusty recalled several times in the following hour or two. That’s because he was on the wrong end of a fairly bad beat – and if you’ve ever heard me trying to make music, you’ll realise I’ve redefined „bad beat” all by myself.
I had a couple of high cards, and Rusty had suited near-connectors. After a third spade appeared on the turn, he pushed all-in. It definitely looked (at least to me) like a bluff, and courtesy of Roget’s Thesaurus, I was genuinely narked, miffed, annoyed and irritated to see he’d already got his flush, with only the river to come. Three spades on board, plus the two in Rusty’s hand, and my As only left me 7 outs, one of which would make Rusty a straight flush. So, a 6-outer. I was reaching for my coat when the Js appeared.
As Rusty ranted against my awful decision to call and I retook my seat, it occurred to me that this is pretty much what happens every single week. Someone is favourite, someone needs a bit of luck, and games are won and lost (rather unsurprisingly) on the turn of a card. The luck simply goes around randomly and that’s that. So, how can any of us deal with that? Well…
We can’t. We can learn probabilities; we can read books and employ strategies that others who’ve read those same books may be susceptible to; we can understand pot odds (my favourite kind) and we can generally be calculating in our quest for victory. But that’s not (imho) the best way to play. Of course you need to know the basics and understand what possible hands your opponents may be holding, but it’s essential to include the human elements as well. People acquire reputations for playing in a certain way, and players are always happy to mislead when they’re sat around a poker table. That’s not the thing. I’m talking about gut reaction and emotion.
When I’m in a hand I’ve found that, unlike good players, the battle between my head and my heart is almost always won by the heart. It’s a situation I’d prefer to avoid, but it keeps turning up. So I’ve learnt to be stoical and accept the ups and downs, but mostly to go with my gut reaction – good or bad, because it will be both of those at different times. Learning acceptance (as well as patience) is the key. Getting a result has to take second place to enjoying the game, so just relax.
After my „Lucky bastard? Mea culpa” moment, I was entirely focused on simply enjoying the game, however it was going to turn out. As it turned out, it turned out like this: Uggy 6th, Robert 5th, Tom 4th, and Sean 3rd, leaving myself heads up with last week’s victor, Hadley.
There was some to and fro with the chips, but nothing much to get excited about. Ultimately I made a higher pair than she to claim victory this week, but I was having too much fun to make even a mental note.
And that’s it folks, my pearl of wisdom is simply relax, enjoy, and fuck the result – whether it’s deserved or not.
*DISCLAIMER: It is entirely possible that other people have a different opinion about how to play Holdem. The views stated here are not necessarily those of Poker Gods League, or individual players in the PGL, and no responsibility can be accepted for other’s dumb-ass calls that you read about here.