I actually sat down and played some poker last night. Low limit poker. It reminded me of how bad some of the play appears to be. I forgot how people will call down with bottom pair each time and somehow go runner runner for the straight. Or how someone will call down with two face cards to the river when there is no paint on the board.
Ugh!
So rather than going on mini tilt, I decided to watch the WSOP on TV. I am not sure that was a good idea. At some points, it reminded me of why I like to play the game and mainly tournament poker. The chance to play in the WSOP some day and go on a nice tear and make some good money is a dream of most players. Watching it last night, that spark inside me lit up a bit.
But it was also dampened by the annoying drama at the TV. Both hours featured Phil Hellmuth and his incessant whining. I felt sorry for the guy next to him. The worst part of it was each time he whined, it was because he made a bad play. Raising with small pairs or total crap from early position and then complaining that someone was going over the top on him. Stop the bitching about getting no respect. After watching this on TV, everyone and their grandmothers will be re-raising you. Unless this was some huge strategy move- which I highly doubt- you shown yourself to be a total LAG.
And I like watching Phil Hellmuth play! But last night was too much.
I also found myself scratching my head after one hand in particular. A kid raises in EP with K K. This lady looks down and sees two red aces. She moves all in. Hellmuth looks down at the two black aces and very quickly pushes his chips in. The others fold and it is back to the kings to decide.
As he thinks, the other two start going crazy. Really. The lady gets up and starts dancing looking sooooo happy that Phil pushed. You can see her husband making gestures to her about her hand asking if she had aces. Hellmuth is basically on the other side of the table doing the same thing and bragging about how he made his move in just a quarter of a second. A quarter of a second??? Whatever.
Now, you have just been re-raised by one person and sound an energetic insta call by another. They are dancing and excited. Don't you think your kings are no good here? How does he not fold? He calls and he goes home now. Amazing.
So now I have to decide what I will be doing about this game of poker. With summer still going, nothing will really change until the fall. I rather be outside doing stuff than sitting inside staring at a monitor. It may work for some but not me. I am a recreational player. Until that sparks turns to a flame and maybe I will find myself playing quite a bit more.
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2 comments:
You know, I was there and I remember thinking to myself, "How on earth did he call with kings there?" You see people make some really strange plays at WSOP final tables, just like you do at every other poker game on earth. I've come to the realization that the only thing different about the WSOP is the amount of money involved and the fact that you end up on TV if you're playing an event that's on ESPN's production schedule.
I too was wondering about his call. I know it's KK, but Hellmuth, the guy known for tight play, bolts his chips in the middle and acts all excited about it. I think I'd fold even online if I raised in EP and one went all in and the third insta-called.
That woman (kind of a hot chick actually) was even saying "I have AA!" as much as she could without saying it. "I've got it, I've got it!!!" What else would you yell about?
I wonder if the talk actually threw him. He may have thought, "Well, no way would they do this with AA. They're trying to screw with me!"
I was really bummed about last night's episode. Two hours of Phil is not why I watch TV poker.
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