What Now?

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I want to keep this short because I don’t want to keep inundating you with bad news, but I’d like to get your advice. Please answer in the comments, not in a personal email to me.

I’ve had more losses in the past week and it’s getting to me. Not all of them were bad beats, but yesterday was just one more frustrating day of bad beats. I bought into one $400 tournament three times followed by a single buy-in to a $200 tournament.

On the third buy-in to the $400 tournament, I had a few wins to build my short stack to a decent level before I started losing chips just from the blinds, not getting any playable hands. I finally got AJ. One player to my right was obviously stoned, hardly able to keep his bloodshot eyes open. He raised every hand pre-flop, and if someone reraised, he’d fold. He was able to build up his stack this way because we were close to the money and people mostly folded to his raise. He raised this time, as expected, and I called. The flop was 79A. I shoved with my pair of aces to get him to fold, but to my shock he snap called with… pocket 7s. I busted out.

I entered the $200 tournament and immediately got A8 and a flop of K88. Another player bet pretty big, so I shoved. He called with 78 and was disappointed to see my hand until the next card was K, giving us both the same full house to chop the pot.

I again got A8 shortly after that. The flop was 488. A short stack shoved, and I called. He had Q8 and was disappointed to see my hand until the turn card was a Q. I lost 1/3 of my stack.

As we got close to the money, I got AK. One player raised from $6K to $12K. Another player called. I reraised to $36K, just about half my stack. One player hesitated for a while, then called. The third player folded. The flop was Q98. The other player checked. I decided to shove, hoping he didn’t have a Q, or if he did, he’d be too scared to call for about 3/4 of his remaining stack. He hesitated for about a minute or two, which gave me assurance that I had made the right play. Then he said, “I know this is crazy, but I think I should call,” and he did. With A9. That was crazy. The way I had played the hand, I could have had pocket As, Ks, Js, 10s, or even AQ. It’s unlikely I had pocket Qs because then I wouldn’t have bet so much, hoping to keep him in the hand. Even with AK and two cards to go, I had a fighting chance. Why would he call off most of his stack, close to the money, with only middle pair? But the remaining cards didn’t help me, so I busted yet again.

Here are my questions. Please answer in the comments, not in a personal email to me.

1. What am I doing wrong?

2. Should I only play in high-stakes tournaments where players are less likely to take huge risks?

3. Should I take a short break from poker?

4. Should I take a long break from poker?

5. Should I quit poker and find a new hobby?

About the author

Bob Zeidman is a high-stakes recreational poker player. He created Good Beat Poker, a free online poker site using patented technology for audio and video—see and hear the other players at the table if you choose.