It's All Levels (and ballbearings)

Yesterday was one of those days. It was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right, and hand after hand was lost through mistimed bluffs and river cards that made me go "hmm". It was shaping up to be a total bust, and directly after a day I had just lost a fair chunk of change due to a bout of mini-tilt for about 2 hours. Sometimes, the universe seems to actually have a plan. Just when my mood feels like it can get no darker, the second hand on some far away clock clicks another second away, lost forever, and taking with it all past events. Seemingly, everything changes and the sun begins to shine a bit brighter as the dark clouds of demise disperse.


So it was to be as I looked down at pocket eights.

An aggressive player who had been running me over all day long raised the pot. I and a few others took a flop of 8-7-7 with two spades.

Suuhweet.

Four spades ended up coming on the board, and he had pocket kings with the king of spades and paid me off all of $225 after the third spade hit the board. He knew I was capable of a bluff, and he paid me off. It's like my bluffing him earlier, and never showing my cards win or lose, made him believe there was enough of a chance I was bluffing here. Plus, my stack was short, but only because I bluffed earlier... shit was aligning.

Now I had almost $500 in front of me. I was still down for the day, but a lot closer to getting out of the trap. Some days you just have to gnaw your own leg off, and accept a moderate loss, to get away from the bear trap. Men, nearly ALL men, and also many women, hate to accept defeat. From my personal observations I believe this crosses all racial, regional, national, spiritual, and religious boundaries. It is the will to win that makes us excel. When the will to win overrides the will to survive, we become reckless. We may win, but we may also perish.

Anyway, back to yesterday. My mind was wandering for a minute, there.

About 5 minutes later, and I now have twice as many chips, I get dealt pocket deuces right in front of the big blind. After winning that last hand, my internal reaction has changed to "alright, let's see a flop, knock out a deuce, and put it right in someone's ass." Mr aggressive AGAIN raised the pot. Funny thing is I believe he has a good hand here. If he had been out of line earlier in his preflop raises, I don't remember it. It's more likely he is getting more of his fair share of powerful starting hands. Either way, I hope I can hit a deuce.

I tossed in what I owed and watched the flop roll off 2-6-9 with two of them diamonds.

I think my end of the table raised imperceptibly as my excitement mounted. I had flopped a set, and now I had to try to double this bad boy up, I just need Mr. Aggressive to have an over-pair to the board and I believe he will go for my plan. If he has nothing I'm going to win a small pot.

I decide to lead into him for 3/4 of the pot. I look down at my chips. We had been playing this game with each other all afternoon, and he had admittedly gotten the better of me on multiple occasions, but this time was different.

I watch him reach for chips, and now it looks like the hook is set. See, I could have a flush draw, one pair, two pair, a set, a straights draw, two overcards, any over pair, and if he takes this bait, and raises in this spot, he will have to double me up or get lucky as hell and bust me, because it's all going in right now.

He raises to $170. Everyone else folds. I move all-in for $450 or so.

Now, I get to watch him squirm a bit. I must admit, I started this pseudo war when I would not show him my winning hand earlier in the day. I told him I couldn't give out that kind of information. I had raised with QJ, and the flop came QJJ. Well, I bet all the way and he folded when I bet $75 on the river, but before he folded he asked if I'd show. Bump that. I never told him, and he felt he had been bluffed. Just like I felt he was bluffing me on more than one occasion. Tit for tat, I suppose.

He is still squirming. I know what he is thinking. I could have any of the hands that I had listed earlier. Only a few of the hands beat his overpair. He probably has aces or kings, maybe queens. He already would have called if he had AdKd, two over with a flush draw, so he doesn't have that. He doesn't have a set or he'd have already called. He has an overpair, and I know you can't fold it here, in this spot, with our history. Hurry up and do it.

I know he cannot fold, here.

I heard him mention something about a set, but I have my headphones on so I'm not sure what he is saying. I look down at the table and grin inside. This is the game, and I'm very happy to be on this side of it. If he folds I will not show him. This side of it is waaaaaaay better.

He calls. I immediately flip over my set of deuces, he slams down a pair of Kings, and I win a thousand dollar pot.

Poker is alright.

I'm stacking chips, slowly. He is saying something about "is that how you're going to get me, flop sets?"

I nod my head and mumble "yup".

I don't want to tell him he was working me hard earlier. I don't want him to know he had me on my heels. I don't want to give away too much because there are some very, very smart people out there. I certainly don't want to gloat.

There is no fist raising. There is no standing up and showing my ass. I've been in his boots and I didn't like it. Why do anything that might be viewed as rubbing it in? Also, it's nice to act like you've been there before. ESPN didn't help everything.

Mr. Aggressive is racking up to leave. He's mumbling as he goes. A half hour later I get up and go, too. The adrenaline was pumping today. I'm glad I came out on top.

Wild day. Last night was good too. I'm even for the week. Stress levels are still fine, though.

Codsey out.