Enough. I'm tired of the idiots who can't play who consistently put bad beats on me and then laugh about it.

I'm giving them up for Lent. No mas. It's just garbage playing and then the most monumental suckouts. Then, they crow about how much better they are. They are throwing their money away, but don't have the brains to know it.

Too much luck needed to survive a thousand players who can't win if it takes any skill. The edges between a skillful player and the idiot who plays any two are just too small. No matter how well I play, I can't overcome the luck factor, since I seem to not have it and these bozos do. Then, when you lose your mind and point out what a stupid play they made, they claim you're crying about it. Boo hoo, my ass.

All done. There's got to be a better way to lose your sanity. My skills can't beat their combined luck.

CJ

I guess I've just had enough. I was playing the Deep Stacks tourney on Pokerstars and hung around for 2 1/2 hours, keeping up with the average stack. I played well, consistently beating the donkeys at my table for enough chips to be ok. Then...

I had AKs in LP and raised UTG and one of the top two donkeys in MP. UTG reraised? and MP called my re-reraise. Don't know how many chips in the pot, but I was probably close to 50% of my 12,000 chips. Flop came all clubs with AK. Check, check and I pushed. Anyone who had 2 clubs probably would have bet, and would have a hard time calling my all in, or so I thought. Wrong. Both called.

Idiot 1 UTG had Kx offsuit. Idiot 2 had QJ with the Qc??? They both called??? Right. Turn was a fourth club and that was it.

This certainly isn't the worst beat I've ever had, but surely the dumbest I've seen in a very long time. Top it off with, "it couldn't have been too stupid because I've got your chips." You got my chips, pal, but you didn't get them because you're good.

There is just so much luck involved in tournaments and I'm simply the most unlucky person alive on the planet. I know what the numbers are supposed to say, that luck evens out. Yes, I called an all in with KK and saw the guy flop and A then a J on the turn and I caught the third K on the river, but I see that as justice, not luck--although of course it is. They say all you can do is get your money in as the favorite and let the poker gods sort it out. I'm tired of praying I don't get beat. I'm tired of guys thinking they know how to play when they're only lucking out. I'm tired of not losing, but getting beat by guys who aren't outplaying me. I'm outplaying them, but for naught.

I might as well depend on luck, too. I am. I'm depending on my luck being bad. People make fun of Helmuth's line, "if it weren't for luck, I'd win every one," but at a point you have to admit that it's understandable to feel the same way. Yesterday was just a really bad day. I lost two buy ins on $50 PLO tables to two guys that outplayed me by a long, long shot. They were far superior to me and I deserved the shellacking. I haven't been outplayed in a tournament in 3 months. I also haven't cashed in 2. I just have to give up the habit. It's bad for business.

CJ

I know how you feel. $20 180 man SnG at Stars. I am on tilt over this one as we speak!


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (7 handed)

Button (t7705)
Hero (t8270)
BB (t37454)
UTG (t20403)
MP1 (t19319)
MP2 (t5491)
CO (t9032)

Preflop: Hero is SB with , .
5 folds, Hero raises to t2400, BB calls t1800.

Flop: (t4500) , , (2 players)
Hero bets t5820 (All-In), BB calls t5820.

I want a fold here, this flop doesn't hit him and if he's got a higher pocket pair, then so be it. Does this look too much like a steal? Should I bet less to make it look like a value bet? If you see the results, you see I got a call from a hand that I should want a call from, but really I don't want to risk it here, the pot is big and we are pretty much at the bubble.

Turn: (t16140) (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t16140) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t16140

Results in white below:
Hero has 6h 6c (two pair, sixes and threes).
BB has Ah 4s (two pair, aces and threes).
Outcome: BB wins t16140.

This dude is the chip leader. After I went out he doubled up a decent sized stack with his 2nd pair vs a set. Just terrible.

That A4 play is classic. You cannot get these donkeys off any Ace these days if you had a rifle at the table. Hell, I haven't been able to push people off KJ or suited T7 these days, and I'm getting creamed by those gutshot straights and backdoor flushes and the like.

That's an interesting theory, Kowboy, about the post-WSOP hangover. Hadn't thought of that. All I've noticed is that I can't cash in any kind of SnG or MTT or anything these days because I keep stepping on those damned mines that blow up in my face. Poker Stars seems to be really bad these days.

I believe we have stumbled upon a new species. Let's look at the characteristics of this beast and attempt to name him.

1 - I Got a Pair - If it has 2 cards that look the same it must be good enough to beat anyone at the table. 77, 88, and 99 seem to be favorites of this creature.

2 - Blackjack Anyone - It looks good at the blackjack table so it must be good for poker too, no? KT = 20. AJ is blackjack. If I can split it, double down, or take insurance I'm playing it to the river no matter what. Favorites include KTo and ATo.

3 - Who's on 1st? - Position? What's position? The cards don't know where they're sitting.

4 - My Blinds - Nobody, absolutely nobody can possibly have a hand when I'm in the blinds. These are my blinds and your not stealing them. Favorites include Q6 and J4.

5 - Software Glitch - It has been reported that with the high traffic and millions of downloads since the WSOP that there have been some glitches in the poker software and many are downloading without fold buttons.

I will leave you with the hand I went out with just a little while ago. Not that I should have won, mind you, but I am completely taken aback at the 2 hands that did call me.

STAGE #305511112 TOURNEY ID 211384 HOLDEM NO LIMIT $100 - 2006-01-25 00:12:28 (ET)
Table: 3 (Real Money) Seat #9 is the dealer
Seat 1 - KIDDPOKER23 ($2400 in chips)
Seat 2 - JOEBIZZLES ($5700 in chips)
Seat 3 - DISC0STU123 ($770 in chips)
Seat 4 - DOC999 ($3655 in chips)
Seat 5 - THEBHEAR ($14785 in chips)
Seat 6 - SWIPERDAFOX ($5455 in chips)
Seat 7 - SNEAKPEAK ($1600 in chips)
Seat 8 - MAIKEL08 ($150 in chips)
Seat 9 - PAYMEDAMONEY ($735 in chips)
KIDDPOKER23 - Ante $25
JOEBIZZLES - Ante $25
DISC0STU123 - Ante $25
DOC999 - Ante $25
THEBHEAR - Ante $25
SWIPERDAFOX - Ante $25
SNEAKPEAK - Ante $25
MAIKEL08 - Ante $25
PAYMEDAMONEY - Ante $25
KIDDPOKER23 - Posts small blind $100
JOEBIZZLES - Posts big blind $200
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to PAYMEDAMONEY [Ks 7s]
DISC0STU123 - Folds
DOC999 - Folds
THEBHEAR - Calls $200
SWIPERDAFOX - Calls $200
SNEAKPEAK - Calls $200
MAIKEL08 - Folds
PAYMEDAMONEY - Calls $200
KIDDPOKER23 - Calls $100
JOEBIZZLES - Checks
*** FLOP *** [6d 5c 4s]
KIDDPOKER23 - Checks
JOEBIZZLES - Checks
THEBHEAR - Checks
SWIPERDAFOX - Checks
SNEAKPEAK - Checks
PAYMEDAMONEY - All-In $510
KIDDPOKER23 - Folds
JOEBIZZLES - Folds
THEBHEAR - Calls $510
SWIPERDAFOX - Calls $510
SNEAKPEAK - Folds
*** TURN *** [6d 5c 4s] [10s]
THEBHEAR - Checks
SWIPERDAFOX - Checks
*** RIVER *** [6d 5c 4s 10s]
THEBHEAR - Checks
SWIPERDAFOX - Checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***

SWIPERDAFOX - Shows [Kc Js] (king high)
PAYMEDAMONEY - Mucks
SWIPERDAFOX Collects $2955 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($2955)
Board [6d 5c 4s 10s Qh]
Seat 1: KIDDPOKER23 (small blind) Folded on the FLOP
Seat 2: JOEBIZZLES (big blind) Folded on the FLOP
Seat 3: DISC0STU123 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: DOC999 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 5: THEBHEAR HI:lost with queen high [9s 2d - B:Qh,B:10s,P:9s,B:6d,B:5c]
Seat 6: SWIPERDAFOX won Total ($2955) HI:($2955) with king high [Kc Js - P:Kc,B:Qh,P:Js,B:10s,B:6d]
Seat 7: SNEAKPEAK Folded on the FLOP
Seat 8: MAIKEL08 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 9: PAYMEDAMONEY (dealer) HI: [Mucked] [Ks 7s]

Can someone please tell me what he was trying to do with 92?

Type #2: You always double down with 11.

I'm with you, Dom, that sometimes you are better off playing at a higher level. I find it laughable when those 2+2ers and their ilk will tell somebody that if you can't beat the micro levels, you're not going to be able to beat higher levels.

It doesn't work that way. They're different games, and your individual style may well work at the micro levels but not at higher levels, but it might be just the opposite. Hell, Doyle Brunson himself says he does better playing against the top players than he does playing against amateurs.

I guess if you're game is strictly a bonus-chasing, by-the-numbers, Poker Tracker, calculating-the-odds game, then you'll kill the lower-level players over the long haul. But if you're more of a psychological, deceptive, tricky, unpredictable player, then you're going to do better against opponents you can outthink and outmaneuver. And you're not going to be able to do that against people playing at the micro-limits who don't have the first clue about using their brains at the poker table.

I just saw a rerun of the 2004 WSOP the other day, when Negraneu got eliminated on the first day playing on a table against a bunch of Internet qualifiers. He said in an exit interview that he probably tried to push too hard against "these people who are unbluffable."

It only makes sense to me.