Heart

I have been playing a fair amount of online poker, always the $2000 tables on Party Poker. Things have not been going as smoothly as in the past. I think I've been playing okay, but getting extremely unlucky. Nonstop coolers. Kings vs. aces. Set under set. And a continual parade of missed flops.

Tonight I was down over 7k after losing several huge pots. Only one of these was a real mistake when I had top pair against a super aggressive player and called off my whole stack only to be shown four of a kind. Another I had KK against a maniac who had AA. And another I had 66 against KQ on a KK86 board all in for a 4.6k pot and watched an 8 hit the river.

I then decided that no matter how unlucky I got, I was going to win. I started bluffing like there was no tomorrow. I can't remember getting "lucky" once - hitting a set against an overpair, getting a flush against a lower flush, etc. I just outplayed everyone for several hours and came all the way back, finally carving out a 1.5k profit. I've never been down this much in a session, and coming back was one of my finest poker accomplishments so far.

Then I got it all in with AA against KQ on a KJ8x board for a pot of a little more than $5900. The river was a king. I played the hand so courageously and so well, and my opponent played it so horribly. There was just absolutely no justice this time. Poker can be so sickening when things like this happen.

But I came back. I sucked it up and I ran over some shorthanded tables. I've never played with that much ferocity, or determination. At the end of the night I finished with a $600 profit.

Foxwoods starts on Monday, and I will be bringing the ferocity and determination as well as the confidence gained at Canterbury. I get better and more fearless with each 10k event I play. As I've said before, a breakthrough is coming soon.