I’m really not a believer in luck, streaks or running hot/cold. If forced to profess a supernatural allegance, it would have to be to a God of Statistics - perhaps Horus the Egyptian God of Mathematics; rather than to Fortuna the Roman Goddess of Luck, or to the Chinese God of Gamblers Ko Chun (which is by the way an awesome movie if you’re not bothered by Cantonese with subtitles).
However with eleven years of poker playing experience under my belt, this belief has twice been challenged hard by extended periods running bad. The first time around was in the summer of 2005; I knew something was in the air the night Mike Ho outran my kings full of aces, catching runner runner for quads at a relatively improbable 2,500:1 or so. That time around the bad run only lasted two months. Playing 25p/50p pot limit dealer’s choice once a week, it really wasn’t a big dent in the bankroll. However the six month run I’ve played through for the first half of 2008 was honestly enough to try the forbearance of even the most well balanced of players.
It’s not just the bad beats, I can take the bad beats. It’s more the interminable night after night looking down at unplayable trash hands. I spent most of the Loose Cannon WSOP league, a short trip to Vegas, and almost hundred hours of cash table play, holding offsuit junk. It’s been an education, in that I’ve had to learn the subtleties of playing 93o and J5s; and trust me, there’s nothing terribly subtle when you’re bludgeoning around with a hand that’s more likely than not to have zero showdown value by the river. Consequently my reputation at the local card room is shot, as virtually every time I’ve raised, by necessity it’s been a steal, and of late I’m starting to get called down rather light by most of the regular opposition.
At last though I’m recognising that I’ve finally emerged from this long dark tunnel of bad cards, bad beats, and bad situations. I posted a £250 cash two weeks ago from a rather drunken Friday night cash game, another £200 cash game win last Thursday (part made up of this comedy IOU from Baron Luckbox), and capped it on Sunday with a chopped first place in the Gutshot Deep & Steep tournament for a further £225. It’s going to be a long climb back to the bankroll I started 2008 with, but at least the first few faltering steps have been taken…
