My Game and an "Ask the Enthusiast" Question

Patience is definitely the key to my success. As I started the evening last night I jumped onto a $5+. 50 SNG. Nothing strange or unusual and I chipped up after a trap on a flopped set. I continued being patient and took my opportunities to steal blinds in ever lasting quest to win another of these small tournaments. But as we got down to 5 players I blew up. It started when the button came over the top of my 3x raise all-in. Blinds were at 100/200 and I had around T5000. I held AdJd and called for 40% of my stack. It was a stupid move because I was way behind his KK. I should have gotten away from this hand as I was out of position and more then likely behind. A few hands later I push a draw that doesn’t hit and I’m on life support. Needless to say I didn’t cash.

Here is the part that really disturbs me the most. If I remain focused and get away from these marginal hands then I cash easy. The short stacks would have been out within an orbit or two and I wouldn’t be writing this post. What is it about my game that causes me to continue with this unprofitable line of play?

In the past I’ve talked about how competitive I am. I’m starting to think that this is the cause of my ineptitude at times. I’ve always been a guy who will step on the victims’ throat given the opportunity of putting them away, but this desire to win seems to be hindering my judgment at critical times, thus costing me revenue. With this being said, I need to identify these situations and determine if continuing in the hand is +EV. In reality, good tournament poker is not only winning as many chips as you can, but it is also losing as little as possible. I think refocusing on this aspect of the game should help me out.

So after having this epiphany last night I opened another SNG armed with the vast wisdom I had just achieved. This new revelation was awe inspiring and led me to the Promised Land as I knocked down the 18 player SNG. I even threw away AQ suited after I was re-raised by a medium stack. He showed me his pocket aces after I folded. Joy of joy and hallelujah. I can make big lay-downs in short-handed play.

Ready for war I jump right back on the wagon and fire another 18 player SNG. This time I didn’t have the same success as I was knocked out in second. It was a good match but when we go down to two players I was severely out chipped, as my opponent had knocked out each of the last four players with miraculous play and runner-runner suck outs. The heads up battle didn’t last long as I doubled up on the first hand and was poised to do it again as my A9 was dominating her A2. But it was not to be as the board paired and two over cards hit causing a split. This would have evened the chip counts but alas it didn’t. On my fateful hand I was dealt 56 and called her min raise. The flop came 599 and I push with my remaining chips figuring she can’t have a 9. She had it and I lose. GG and good night.

All in all I found a part of my game that had been absent for a while and with determination and patience I’ll start the bankroll climbing exercise that I enjoy.

Defensive Tackle Dusty Dvoracek in a game vs TCU

Is he the real deal? Was he worth a second round pick?

Well yesterday I suggested an “ask the Enthusiast” weekly question so I want to thank jjok for breaking the ice. His question was:

Did the Bears improve with the draft?

Let start with Dusty Dvoracek, the tackle out of Oklahoma. From what I read and here from the fine media outlets in the Chicago land area he was a stretch to be picked where the Bears got him. But lets take a look at his resume.

1) He was kicked off of the Oklahoma team for alcohol related offenses. This would indeed place him in the fine company of many other current and/or former Bear’s players.

2) He was reinstated to the team and elected as team captain. His leadership skills are apparent with his sound judgment and decision-making skills.

3) He attended anger-management and alcohol-treatment classes so he could rejoin the Sooner team. This shows a clear commitment to his team and in no way does it show that he was looking for the paycheck he would get in the NFL.

The Bears also did a great job shoring up a wide receiver core that was less then stellar last year by doing nothing except drafting a kickoff specialist. Additionally, they upgraded at tight end by not drafting anyone for that position. I understand that Desmond Clark, the current Bear TE, should make the pro bowl next year. They did sign two free agents for that position so they should be fine.

As far as the other positions go I don’t think the team’s needs were met. I could go into a long diatribe on the positions that needed fixing but I wont. I’m not the one getting paid to make the mistake that were made but the answers were obvious.

I’m a Bears fan and will be for life, but this draft didn’t address their needs. I’ve seen grades from C- to D for the effort they gave but in my book it was an F.
I guess the answer to the question is wait and see. On paper I don’t see the help coming but you never know about young players. They will surprise you some times.