Monday, December 31, 2012

What the hell?

I have not posted a poker blog since 2010.  I did not have many followers, but I did enjoy the poker bloggers I connected with.  I miss the online poker community.  I have some found memories of meeting local poker bloggers for a tournament or two.  It was an inexpensive way to sharpen skills and meet new people.

Since I cannot legally gamble online in the great USA, I am stuck playing sites like Pure Play Poker and Zynga Poker.

I sure wish Congress had not shelved the federal bill, "The Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection Act".

I am going to resurrect this old blog and start posting poker experiences again.

Two Friday nights ago I was playing in the neighborhood game.  I held pocket 7's.  The flop came 7d5d3d.  I made a modest bet with my set and got called.  The turn comes 3c giving me the nut full house.  I made a good bet thinking I can lure someone in.  I got called again.  I am getting pretty excited when on the river comes a blank.  I bet an amount to milk the pot.  I got raised by $8.  I immediately went all in for my $23 bank roll just to get an instant call.  Yes my opponent had flopped a straight flush.  The funny thing is if I had been paying attention to the player and not the cards, I would have realized I was beat.  I should have listening to the pointers in Daniel Negreanu's book "More Hold'em Wisdom for All Players".  I should have called the $8 bet and still ended the night with a profit.  Instead I gave away my entire bank roll.   Another player tried to point out that my opponent was shaking.  If I had simple taking the time to look and consider the possibilities on the board.  We usually play until 3:00 AM and it was 2:50 AM.  No time for a come back.

I learned some good poker lessons with this mistake.