Let the Suckout be Your Guide

Well, the wifey was all tuckered out tonight, and hit the sheets early which left me to the tables. The SNGs won't be getting the job done for the bonus I have to clear, so I sat down at a 10-handed .50/1 NL table with $50. I'm pretty sure this is living on the edge of my roll, but I didn't plan on getting too crazy, and just planned on playing it tight and looking for good opportunities. Should the worst manage to happen, I've got my cash reserves to back me up.

To see about some additional scores, I also played SNGs in the background, figuring I could A-B-C my way to some cashes there, now that I was back on track.

But I was CARD.FREAKING.DEAD.

I was able to stay even in the cash game for the first hour and a half or so, and I liked the way the comp points were stacking up, so that was alright by me. But I think I got 6th in both the SNGs because I didn't see jack nor shit.

Irritated w/the SNGs, and the lack of anything the least bit exciting in the cash game but liking the way my comp points were flying at me at a rate I've never seen before, I decided to sit down at a .50/1 NL shorthanded table with the rest of my bankroll ($39 at the time), and try my luck there. It was my first hand at that table, I pick up A10c, and raise it up to $5 or so. I get one caller. The flop comes 10 4 4. I'm pretty excited about that, but wary of my caller friend. I bet $5 at it again, and he semi-quickly raises me all-in. I make one of the worst possible crying calls, knowing I'm in deep, but hoping for a miracle like an idiot with K10 or something. No such luck. QQ. Wanting to kill myself, with a million thoughts of past blowups rushing through my head, I can barely muster up the courage to look at the screen, resigned to the idea of somehow trying to get a big win out of the full table even though its produced nothing for over an hour. There was a turn and river, but who the hell cares? I've screwed myself again. And then there it was. Right there on the turn, the most beautiful 10 I've ever seen in my life. Double up, first hand, on the most donktacular tunadonk play anyone with the least bit of pride in their game can make. I didn't deserve it, but I needed it like I'd never needed a card in this game before. This post is VERY different without that card, I guarantee you that.

And then, like the suckout flipped some sort of switch, it was off to the races...

Within a few minutes, I proceeded to win 3 straight hands at the 10-handed table. I don't remember the first, but the 2nd and third were KK and AA that were very kind to me. I'd been waiting for 2 hours for any semblance of cards like this, and there they were. Bang, Bang, Bang. Then it was back to the shorthanded table for a few small wins. Then back to the 10-handed for a set of kings in the small blind. In the meantime I had pissed some away at the shorthanded table, just in time to double up again with set over set. The 10-handed table cooled off, I squeezed a couple more moderate sized wins out of the shorthander, and I cashed out of both the tables with over one.hundred.dollars.

I more than doubled my (online) bankroll today. Technically, I started at $67 this afternoon. At my dinner break I was at $115. But using $100 as the benchmark, I doubled my roll. I'm just North of $220, I'm eligible for a couple of 1 and 2k freerolls tomorrow and Monday, and I'm well on my way to unlocking the first $10 of my bonus.

This is the highest of highs. This is the first time I've gotten a little reckless and come out ahead. The poker gods were smiling on me tonight. And the beauty of it is that I will take this win and crawl back into my cave, protecting it the best way I know how. Tonight was the exception to the rule, and while I'll now frequent cash games a little more with a little bankroll security, you can be damned sure I'll keep it close to the vest unless the situation should warrant different.

Now I'm just rambling. But damn it, I'm stoked. For the first time, I feel like I have a roll with a little insurance, and I can finally exhale...if only just a little. And you can bet I won't forget that suckout. Like I've posted in other people's comments over the past few days, even the good guys have to suck out every now and then. The difference is we give it a thankful knod, acknowledging it for getting us out of a tough spot, before it runs off to make yet another donkey think they're god's gift to poker.

I'm disappointed in you guys. Nobody wants to step up and play my Aussie Millions Freeroll tomorrow. As of right now there's just shy of 600 in it. Winner gets a $12,500 package for the Aussie Millions. Those aren't terrible odds. And should you win, we can approach some sort of deal with a blank slate. I'm open to whatever. Anyway, there's still time to email me if you're interested. Link is at the upper right, because for some reason I can never remember the syntax for the damn mailto tag, and I'm too lazy to look it up.