No adjustment

I came to realize how I went from top 5 to out in the first 15 minutes of the second hour of the RiverChasers game. I didn't make the needed adjustment.

The table was pretty damn tight in the first hour. I was catching some cards (A A three times) and hitting some good flops. I thought I would get all of Riggstad's chips when I flopped a set of 8s but that didn't happen. Apparently he wasn't drunk enough. Damn soberish players!

But with the blinds up in the second session, everyone got a bit more aggressive. It was like they caught up to me. Where I could make moves with 7 7 or 8 8 in the first hour, they were playing back against me in the second. When I faced reraises on 3 hands in 10 minutes, I felt myself going on tilt. My mind was blown. I had no focus and certainly no patience to play a tournament at that point. I knew I was behind when I called Waffles push. I knew barring any lucky two outer, I was done.

But I was happy. I wasn't kidding when I got knocked out and typed into the chat "ah...tilt is over". It was a bit of a relief.

Sometimes it takes players a while to notice the hole in their game. Whether they can plug them quickly or not depends on that person. My hole is quite simple. I don't have the patience for playing tournaments right now. I find it hard to sit down and play cards for 3-4 hours. It became evident last week while playing Stud. I could have sat aside to make the money but I was bored after playing 3 hours. I didn't care anymore. It sounds like a copout but it is the truth. I have been losing interest in the second and third hour of these tournaments lately. Too many outside distractions in the real world. Real life is affecting my game. Thankfully it is nothing serious.

On the other hand, I have been enjoying PLO8. I have read up a bit to strengthen my game as well as taken some advice from others (thanks Drizz!). For me, the challenge of playing good PLO8 is a higher priority than tournaments right now. At least HE tournaments. I wouldn't mind seeing a good HORSE game start up.

When I have to wait for a PLO8 seat to open, I have wandered over to the Razz tables. Been enjoying F-Train's stories of late. Glad to see him blogging about poker again. I liked his concept of winning token's to get into a FTOPs event. I thought of following in those footsteps until I realize it would be a waste of time and money considering how I have ADD in these as of late.

The Razz game has been good to me. I love running a good semi bluff in this game. Where you have a weak made hand- an 8 or even a 9- but you can tell it is good from not only what your opponent is showing, but how they have just limped and then called down every bet, blatantly showing that they are chasing. Yesterday I made a final bet with a 9 6. I knew I was good. I expected my opponent to fold as they were showing J 9 8 but was happy to see the call and collect the extra bet.

I think this weekend will see me playing both of these games. I have to get my cards in before we get hit with another 10 inches of snow on Sunday. Can we fast forward to summer already?