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POW: El Busto

by , Sep 16, 2007 | 9:54 am

Comments (7)

donkey12.jpeg

There seems to be a rash of donkeys putting themselves in holes around the country.(Photo: AP)

NOT THACKERVILLE, Okla.–Crap. Did I say that already? You can’t be a good poker player if you let going bust upset you too much … always sucks … but man, does it really suck to go bust after sunrise. Hurts even more when the winner of your final hand turns his cards up in disgust after seeing the turn and the river and says, dejectedly, “you got it,” when in fact you don’t.

So my experiment has come to an end. Brought $1,000 to play with, and finished down $837. I’d like to say I got average cards and played them below-average. But considering my results of late, I think I might have to admit that I was playing them full-on average for me.

To be good at poker you’re supposed to see the action just in terms of chips, not dollars. But I sometimes wonder if that’s 100 percent true. Because it is real money you’re playing with, and perhaps keeping that in mind can help you make better decisions. Regardless, as part of my punishment for 15 hours of poker sloth, here’s a list of what else I could’ve done with $837 besides hanging out on an Oklahoma Indian Reservation with a bunch of mostly Asian guys not getting any sleep:

Numbers Game

OK, for some reason that last one makes me feel better about everything. Guess I won’t quit poker after all. Baby don’t need no shoes.

UPDATE: I forgot I had three one-dollar chips in my pocket. So really, I only finished down $834. Movin’ on up!


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7 Comments to “POW: El Busto”


  1. Scott Chaffin     says:
    September 16th, 2007 at 10:26am

    I lost $120 before midnight last night (in four hours, too) if that makes you feel any better. It was a home game, where the emphasis was on home — kids, dogs, wives, etc. — total cacophony and utter bedlam.

    I miss the Mexico so damn much.


  2. change100     says:
    September 16th, 2007 at 11:00am

    9 or 10 OUNCES? Who the hell do you buy from??


  3. DanM     says:
    September 16th, 2007 at 11:18am

    Oops, my math was off. Duly corrected.

    And actually, that makes me feel better, too.


  4. Willie     says:
    September 16th, 2007 at 2:48pm

    Got to look on the bright side, man. You were bumping up pots, being aggressive and most of the hands you were winning you did so without showing your cards (you played those trip eights when you first got the table excellent). You were really getting the best of most people at the table. It just seemed like you got overagressive once you got the bigger chip stack and tried to hit a home run.

    Considering this is me talking to you about poker, these observations are probably about as useful as a quadrapelegic swim instructor. Just thought I’d call it how I saw it.


  5. DanM     says:
    September 16th, 2007 at 8:09pm

    How did you end up, Willie? did you get unstuck? You were gone when I came back after my nap.


  6. Willie     says:
    September 17th, 2007 at 1:33am

    I was down $100 at that table and thought my chances of going anywhere but deeper in the red were sorely against me (no sleep and no cards make Willie a dull boy).
    Toss in the $400 loss from the previous table and I was down $500 (or, in keeping with your post, the cost of a 5 day cruise to the Western Carribean) for the night.

    PS I think I was there after you came back. Didn’t you shake my hand when you were leaving?


  7. DanM     says:
    September 17th, 2007 at 5:16am

    That was at about 3:30, no? I took a nap for a couple hours and came back for more. Either that or clearly my brain isn’t fully ticking yet.