Bad Poker Tuesday

I have been in a bit of a slump lately at poker.  

It’s not financially painful because I am careful not to bet any money I cannot afford to lose.  But it has been mentally painful because I am not making bad decisions in the hands - I am just losing with good hands when my opponents get better hands.

Playing high-level poker requires you to be confident and unafraid of losing.  But when you lose over and over, you inevitably begin to play more tentatively, trying to not lose, which is not the same as playing to win.

Tonight, I entered a tournament at 7:00, and was out by 8:30.  I got a pair of kings on the first hand, which were counterfeited when an ace hit on the flop.  I lost with AK to a pair of sevens, and other pairs went nowhere on bad flops.

I have frequently told my wife that it’s not gambling if you never lose, but I am beginning to lose a little credibility with her on that concept.

Sigh.

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I got up with the dogs this morning at 7:00, fed them, and then went back to bed, sleeping until 10:00.  My seasonal cold has been making it difficult to sleep without periodic coughing, which wakes both me and my wife (and whichever dogs are in bed with us), and I woke up tired.

I did some light housecleaning and then did my son’s taxes.  He will get a nice refund.

I then watered and fertilized my container garden of herbs, tomatoes and peppers, and pruned my basil plant.  I made pesto with the basil using cashews, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese and olive oil.

Then it was off to the gym for some torturous core exercises.  The low points were a bear crawl while holding 25 pound dumbbells in my hands, and a combination Burpee and broad jump.  There were other exercises including farmers carries (95 pounds in each hand), walking while holding a barbell above my head, and pushing a tire on the floor.

Then back home where I read my Bob Lee Swagger book until it was time to leave for the poker game.

Not the most productive day, but aside from the disappointment of the poker game, pretty nice.

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The pesto picture above is the first picture my phone has allowed me to insert.  It took some doing because Google was fussing at me about it, but I’ve figured out the problem and fixed it, so more illustrations to come!

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Tomorrow, a long walk and more gym time, where I will try to play Hotel California on the gym piano at the request of the ladies at the counter.

“You can check out anytime you like/But you can never leave.”