Mean Gene
Mean Gene
Pittsburgh's most decorated poker blogger, which I admit is like being the best shortstop in Greenland



Subscribe with Bloglines

My Articles

Presto, the Arlo, & the Hammer
An Online Code of Conduct
The Ethics of Ratholing
"Moneymaker"
"The Professor, the Banker..."
"Ace on the River"

My Columns

Lose the Shades
If You Can't Say Something Nice
Whither the Kicker
The Lady is a Champ?
Covering the WSOP (or not)
Statistics, Luck, and Poker
Poker and New Orleans
Managing a Bankroll
How To Tell A Bad Beat Story
Telling Lies
The Power of Poker Tracker
Advanced Card-Handling

My Greatest Hits

5 Things To Do Before I Die
Cafeteria Nostalgia
Mean Gene's Dubious Dating Tips
Poker and Business?
There's No Such Thing As Luck?
Isabelle, Je t'adore
No Shirt No Shoes No Service
Well, The Food Was Good
Good Morning, Mr. Matusow!
The Weekend of our Discontent, I
The Weekend of our Discontent, II
Books That Left Their Mark
Ode to a Fish Sandwich
Bill Simmons Ain't the Poker Guy
The Sports Guy Still Ain't the Poker Guy
Again, The Media Tackles Poker
Five Years After 9/11
Hitting Pretty Girls in the Face
Sixth-Graders Suck

Fellow Poker Bloggers

Guinness and Poker
Cards Speak
Tao of Poker
Up for Poker
Boy Genius
Chris Halverson
LasVegasVegas
Anisotropy
Felicia
AlCan'tHang
EvaCanHang
Poker Grub
Maudie
StudioGlyphic
PokErrata
The Fat Guy
Todd Commish
Drizztdj
SirFWALGMan
Poker Works
Bill Rini
Bad Blood
Love and Casino War
Double As
Lion Tales
Paul Phillips
Daniel Negreanu
Ftrain
Poker Nerd
Poker Nation
Ammbo
Poker in Arrears
DonkeyPuncher
Human Head
Sound of a Suckout
Chicks With Chips
TP's Table Talk
Royal Poker
This is Not A Poker Blog
Dragonystic
Daddy
Chick and a Chair
Mourn
Go Be Rude
JoeSpeaker
Poker Cheapskate
Meek
Mr.Parx
Change100
PokerWolf
Haley
Falstaff
Gydyon
Franklstein
Poker & Other Stuff
Seven Two
Musical Poker
Kipper
WPBT Online
Isabelle Mercier
Cardschat Blog
Amy Calistri
BJ Nemeth
Annie's Blog

Poker Sites

Cardschat Poker Forum
PokerMagazine
Barstool Sports
Card Player
PokerTV
TwoPlusTwo
Internet Texas Hold-Em
Poker Pages
Poker-News

Archives

  • 12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004
  • 01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004
  • 02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004
  • 03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004
  • 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004
  • 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004
  • 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004
  • 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004
  • 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004
  • 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004
  • 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004
  • 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004
  • 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005
  • 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005
  • 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005
  • 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005
  • 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005
  • 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005
  • 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005
  • 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005
  • 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005
  • 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005
  • 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005
  • 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005
  • 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006
  • 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006
  • 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006
  • 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006
  • 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006
  • 05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006
  • 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006
  • 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006
  • 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006
  • 09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006
  • 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006
  • 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006
  • 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007
  • 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007
  • 02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007
  • 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007
  • 04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007
  • 05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007
  • 06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007
  • 07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007






  • Powered by Blogger



    Sunday, December 25, 2005

    Tiny Steps Toward Enlightenment

    Last year I aimed low when asked what I wanted for Christmas. I wanted a copy of the latest Modest Mouse CD, I wanted some wool socks. I wanted a Borders gift card. This year I raised my standards a bit. With Christmas come and gone and the New Year (and my birthday) approaching, my wish list is a bit more New Agey than the year before. What I want is Peace, and Serenity. Wisdom, yes, I'd like some Wisdom, too. It doesn't even have to be wrapped.

    I won't say that what I just experienced a few minutes ago was an epiphany, or if I just burst a blood vessel in my head. Now, we all know that the absolute WORST thing you can do when you're running good is talk about how you're running good. The Poker Gods hate hubris way more than Zeus and Apollo and Athena ever did. So the last week I've been running good. Very good. I've been working on my game and I've seen immediate positive results. I won like 5 SNGs in a row and posted tidy wins every ring game I played.

    I didn't write anything here that I was running good. I'm not that big a fool. OK, I talked to my brother about posting another nice win last night. But I wasn't bragging on myself, just stating a fact. So after a big Christmas dinner and dessert and a few cookies I decided to settle into a nice late-night session. I'm off tomorrow, why not a little poker before bedtime?

    I sat at 2 tables, one of them shorthanded. And at that short table I went on a nice run, stealing pot after pot from my weak-tight opponents and hitting a few big draws. I quickly ran up a 20BB profit. The other table was 9-handed and I won a nice hand to get myself up about 5BB even though I was card-dead. I felt pretty good. I felt like the quality of my play had definitely gone up a notch. Like I'd figured something out.

    That apparently innocuous thought somehow aroused the anger of the Poker Gods. I lost a few piddling pots, no big deal, but then I lost two big ones in a row. I had a guy go runner-runner to make two pair and beat my kings, and then I lost with kings again at my shorthanded table when I trapped a guy fast-playing AK who made his ace on the river. Those two hands halved my profit, and by the time I logged off my big night had turned into a 1BB win.

    I decided to play a SNG, one of the short-handed ones PokerStars offers. I like playing shorthanded. So we quickly get down to 4-handed, top 2 pay, and I'm dealt KK. There's a raise, I re-raise, guy puts me all-in. I call. He turns over 99. I have him crushed, of course, but kings are not my hand tonight. He flops a nine, and though I have a gutshot straight draw I don't fill and I'm out.

    I was pretty pissed, as you might expect. I said a few NC-17 words. And then the anger passed. Which is odd, because I usually hang on to my anger like a bulldog with a chew toy. I thought to myself, what the hell could I have done differently? I played the hands correctly, I bet them aggressively, I got my opponents to put their money in with the worst of it...why get mad? Let the law of averages take care of itself, and try to play as well as possible.

    What makes this little speech so remarkable is that I actually seemed to buy it. I wasn't mad anymore. I untilted. I told myself, in an oddly calm voice, that I should worry about making myself a better player instead of worrying about how bad some other players are. The voice was so calm it gave me the creeps. Usually the voices in my head sound like Carol Channing, and I've actually gotten used that by now. Did you know that diamonds are a girl's best friend? Believe me, I fucking knew that.

    I put myself to the test by playing another SNG. I quickly lost half my stack when another guy hit his flush draw to beat my top two, but I battened down the hatches and doubled with AK against J6 (don't ask). A hand later I made a nice laydown when a guy flopped quads, and I typed in the chat "when I win this hand will have been the turning point".

    And win I did. I doubled up again with AK, this time against jacks, and once in the money I grabbed the chip lead when my aces survived against AQ. Head to head I built up a 5-1 lead, pissed it away, then trapped my foe when I flopped two pair and he bluffed off his entire stack without even a draw. The next hand I rivered a 4 to beat his ace-high and I was the winner.

    It felt pretty damn good to win. To be way up, and then down, and now I'm up again. A nice Christmas present, a little wisdom earned at little cost. And now I'm feeling pretty serene. Peaceful, too. I think it's bedtime, enough self-examination for one night.



    Pokernews.com get this widget Please visit Pokernews site for more poker news, poker strategy articles or poker rules.

    Play Poker Online
    Play Poker Online at Full Tilt Poker
    Learn, Chat, and Play with the Pros at the fastest growing Online Poker Room.

    ppa1.gif

    Play Poker Online at Blind Bet Poker. Bonuses and promotions by online poker rooms like Doyles Room, Titan Poker, Full Tilt Poker and Noble Poker. Poker strategy for beginners, advanced, and professional poker players. A poker terminology section, news & online poker tournaments.


    Poker Forums
Online
    Definitive online poker portal, featuring a poker odds calculator, poker forums, an excellent poker bonus code section with deposit bonuses.


    Full Tilt Poker Freerolls
    Party Poker Strategy Guide

    The 2006 WSOP
    Total Coverage
    From the Urinals to the Hooker Bar

    OtisWSOP.JPG


    peytonbanner.jpg


    Poker Savvy