I Should Be Relaxing

Anyone looking at my results spreadsheet tonight might be surprised to know how happy I am with the poker play I've had this month. The statistics make grim reading, but tell only half the story...

I had great fun playing 'recreational' poker on holiday. Since I was on the laptop, I stuck to single tabling a mix of HORSE and Razz games on Stars.

The results were mediocre, but the fun element was high and I was always within hailing distance of the hotel bars so no pain was felt.

I also took the chance to experiment a bit with my game, and on a few occasions paid off on sixth and seventh when I knew I was beat, just to see what starting cards people would pay three or four bets on third street with.

I wasn't taking the results seriously at all - which is just as well as I was playing in a public place, and my usual Hellmuthian rants may not have gone down too well with the hotel management - but it was nice to stretch my brain with some mixed games.

Back home now, and I've been multi tabling on the Stars NLHE tables with results that at first glance seem bad, but not catastrophic, but which to me feel atrocious.

There's been the usual bad beats and good beats, but what's paining me is the number of times I've run into pretty much unavoidable situations that have turned potential profit into irritating losses. To whit, may I present a few examples from tonight's session alone...

KK into AA twice

JJ v QQ on a T-high flop versus a guy my notes say is a horrible Ace chaser. Oddly enough he actually took longer to call my final raise with QQ than he probably would have with AK.

Defending my blind with K9s I flop top pair and the second nut flush draw. Only to find myself up against AJs with the nut flush draw. Which hits.

J high flush v Q high flush against another guy who my notes say plays No Fold Em Hold Em. (I had two pair which became a flush by the river, he had a flush draw)

Despite it all, I'm enjoying the game right now. Not so much for the results (obviously) but for the way I'm thinking about situations, and my tilt free reaction to the various setbacks I've encountered.

It's the old reprise about being decision not results oriented. Keep making good ones and the tide must surely turn. I just hope it's soon. Back to work in 12 days...