{"id":714,"date":"2007-03-04T09:09:30","date_gmt":"2007-03-04T15:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brubakers.us\/blog\/?p=758"},"modified":"2007-03-04T09:09:30","modified_gmt":"2007-03-04T15:09:30","slug":"recent-poker-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/?p=714","title":{"rendered":"Recent Poker Development"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Who are you? And what have you done with my husband?<\/p>\n

Over the last few weeks, Brian has blossomed into a poker an amazing poker player. It seemed like it was not too long ago when he was whining about all the crappy ATC (any two cards) players, getting sucked out on either on the turn or river, always getting knocked out early or before me, and not being taken seriously. He’d constantly get crap about having to wait for me to get knocked out and he used to always be teased whenever he would outlast me as if it were an amazing feat. Honestly, one one point—because of the way that he played—it was.<\/p>\n

“I just want people to take me seriously,” he’d complain to me on many a drive home. Most of the time I would lecture: quit the ATC thing (he would complain about people getting lucky against him but he was one who was prone to playing iffy hands himself; his attitude was it’s okay if I get lucky but I’m going to be really upset if you get lucky against me), only play premium hands, raise or fold (believe it or not, the way to last in a tournament setting is by not getting involved in too many hands), and have a positive attitude. “If you want people to take you seriously, you have to play well. And quit the unsportsman-like behavior,” I’d often preach.<\/p>\n

He would get so upset sometimes and all he’d talk about were his bad beats by these crazy poker players. He’d whine about how much he hated playing at APL because of all the donkeys. He’d steam all the way home. I hated these conversations because they weren’t productive. Instead of discussing our respective games, he’d just be whining, whining, whining. There was nothing to learn in whining.<\/p>\n

I think the turning point came when I finally got fed up. I said, “Stop it.” The incessant whining finally got to me. I have bad beats, too. Everyone does. I don’t whine about them all the way home, though. I think about how I played. I think about whether I played my cards right and they just got lucky, or whether I could have done something—anything—differently in order to prevent getting beat. Could I have pushed the other player out earlier—either pre-flop or after the flop—by a more substantial bet? How could I have minimized my losses or gotten away from certain hands. These are the things I like to think about going home. I can only tolerate so much whining.<\/p>\n

I don’t know how many times I’ve told Brian that he has to accept that other people are going to get lucky against him, just as he will luck out against others. Luck is part of the game. The sooner he accepts this the better off he will be. On the bright side, skill will always prevail. People will get lucky but they’ll run out of luck eventually. Skill always prevails. This is where patience comes in. He used get so riled up over bad beats that he’d go on tilt and he’d eventually get knocked out two or three hands later. Don’t take these beats personally. Once the hand is over, learn from it and let it go. Move on and start grinding back up. I’ve actually lasted a long time just on patience alone. You can be the short-stack and still outlast other players. Just be patient and wait for your chance to pounce. Wait for that all-in hand. Other players are going to get knocked out around you while you’re biding your time.<\/p>\n

Oh, and I’d constantly ask him to knock off the theatrics when he’d get beat by a crummy hand. He would get so angry if he’d raise and someone who had no business calling would stay and outdraw him. I told him to just smile and politely say, “Nice hand.” That’s the best way to handle these situations. Don’t say anything at all. Don’t cuss and throw a temper tantrum.<\/p>\n

I think Brian woke up one day and decided that he’s going to be a poker player. His game has improved a lot. Others have noticed also. Last week I got a few compliments. “He’s a pretty good poker player,” a couple of people said to me on different occasions. It’s amazing considering that if you recall how Brian played a couple of years back, you probably wouldn’t describe his game as good.<\/p>\n

He has consistently been finishing deep into tournaments instead of getting knocked out early. He’s been reaching the final table a lot lately. So far in 2007, he already has a number one finish whereas I don’t. He took second in the Blue Collar Poker Tour (BCPT) two weeks ago and came away with $100. Last week he took fourth and won $40. As for me, the BCPT final table continues to elude me. I’ve gotten as close as the final two tables but so far no final table finish. Brian is consistently out-performing me. While I’m sad that I’m in a rut and not performing well, I am thoroughly happy for Brian. He has come such a long way and I am so proud of him. He has not only impressed me but most of our friends at poker.<\/p>\n

In a poker-playing couple there is the good half and the bad half. I told him that not too long ago, I was the good one and he was just there to hang out. Now it seems the tables have turned. He’s the good poker player and I am the mediocre one who is just there to hang out. I’m really happy that he has improved and is doing so well. It has done a lot for his enjoyment of the game. He no longer complains about hating APL poker.<\/p>\n

The drive home has changed, too. There’s still some whining sometimes but it is brief. Most of the drive home (and sometimes even after we arrive home) is spent analyzing our plays together. Giving each other suggestions and helping one another improve. I dare say, the drive home is much more pleasant.<\/p>\n

I’m really thrilled that Brian is doing well and is enjoying himself immensely at poker. Keep up the great work, baby!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who are you? And what have you done with my husband? Over the last few weeks, Brian has blossomed into a poker an amazing poker player. It seemed like it was not too long ago when he was whining about all the crappy ATC (any two cards) players, getting sucked out on either on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brubakers.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}