A day of poker...
Although I've been playing poker on and off for years, and even won a local tourney in an all friends game several years ago (nothing to brag about, many hardly knew the game, lol), I've been playing a massive amount of games since all the lockdown/covid stuff began.
And after all that time, I have a net loss, a sizeable one. I considered quitting. Oftentimes this game takes more discipline from me and especially my emotions than I am accustomed to.
The worst is what is called "tilt". You have a great pre-flop hand, like AA or KK and raise a considerable amount. Your opponent has some garbage like 83o, 74o or something similar and calls this large bet. While trying to realize your equity post flop when you haven't improved and the flop is a dry/ full of small cards - you find out by the river they made their 2 pair, or made a 4-to-a-straight wonder hand calling down with 83o.
Multiply the above by several times in the course of 3-4 hours, and add to that you folding preflop with hands like K3o and betting with AJs+....which means folding a lot more hands than you play. Then you have AK on a K T 3 board and assume you probably have the best hand. Not to be. Villian called your preflop bet light with a hand you hardly ever play: K3o. He made his two pair and your stack is very much at risk.
So you've lost more $ being disciplined and waiting than recklessly raising or folding with questionable hands. This can happen several times and now you are angry. You bet/call with K5o and the flop is K 7 2 rainbow. Call the end and he's got AK, so you lose on the other side.
Now you're angry and frustrated. You've been disciplined and lost with good hands when they make their miracle draws. You tried their strategy and lost with that too. Stuff it. Reckless play begins. Massive bluffs. Un-reasonable raises with bottom pair, calling down large bets with only a gut shot. Down down down down the bankroll goes...sometimes very very fast especially if alcohol is involved too. Tilt.
My tilt periods are getting shorter. I tilted yesterday, spewed chips like a madman playing garbage aggressively, took a break and came back. After several hours I won back everything I lost that day. Still in the game. I used to deposit fairly frequently as I'd lose it all or at least a working amount. Now I've managed to hold on to one for several weeks and even make a 400% profit with it. This game is work though. It involves a level of discipline and patience that is oftentimes extracting. It involves suffering through bad beats and not getting angry in response to make future bad plays for future loss. It also involves capitalizing on other player's tilt when you see it. The profit potentials are enormous though. I see players making thousands each and every week. But they put in hours, lots of them.
I didn't start playing to make a killing. Just to see if I could make a living. However in order to do that you need to build your bankroll and practice an enormous of amount of discipline and analysis of how you play, how you play against certain player types, how you react to bad beats and especially knowing when to walk away from it. To be honest it can be fun sometimes, although often it is boring, especially when you are getting cold cards and missing the board a lot. However my options for other employment is limited. That is one reason I took this up.
Today. 10% increase on bankroll. I had the fortune of coming across a super agro fish who would raise insane amounts of chips with stuff like 84o (offsuit). KK and 77 were adequate calls from large pre-flop bets against this player, and it paid off nicely.
