Chasing Chris Ferguson

When you’re standing at the edge of the black hole with the debris filled wind hitting you in the face as broken Aces and crushed Kings body slam you out over the edge of blackness that has turned into a bottomless pit of broken draws, premium pair beats, and River one-outers, it’s hard to believe any of it will ever change. Will it?

It’s easy to keep your wits about you and your head on straight when everything is evening out. When you are in the ‘running good’ phase, everything feels damn wonderful. You raise with 6-5 suited on the button and flop a full house…and get paid off. Not only do your premium pairs hold up but you even hit a winning hand with A-K when you play it…and get paid off.

The reverse side of ‘running good’ is pretty damned sick. For one thing, when you slide down that super greased, ice covered path to bankroll destruction and mind blowing beats, it’s hard to find one teensy little straw to hold onto that keeps you from jumping into the black hole in a suicidal fashion.  Anyone can play great when they are running good.  Very few people play good when they are running bad.  I profess to neither.

I do know that I am not a steamer.  That left me years ago…being angry at my chips because I keep getting SUCKED out on by the Super Slurpies just isn’t my thing.  I may have a screaming, swearing fit as I rage at the computer monitor but I’m not going to start slamming off my chips because I took a bunch of beats…and I do…all in a long, ugly row…for weeks at a time.

When you run bad, you can’t win no matter what game or limit you play or what poker site you play at or what dealer deals the hand in what brick and mortar room…you just run bad.  That’s my experience with it anyway, maybe yours is different.

A perfect example is one of getting knocked out of tournaments in a heads-up situation, time after time, and finally deciding to go play a micro limit 7 Stud 8 or better ring game.  About three hands into the game I started with rolled up 10s.  Mass action - like 6 players in the hand.  When the smoke cleared, I made 10s full of 7s.  But another player started with rolled up Aces and made Aces full of 8s on the river.  Just running bad, there’s no other way to chalk it up.

This run could last another month or a year…who knows?  But I’m going to keep playing.

And you could meet me and some of the PokerWorks writer’s/bloggers on Sunday - the 24th - 21:00 ET for a PokerWorks Family HORSE tournament with a $5+50c buy-in, tournament #103633841 - password ‘donkeys’.  Where is it?  PokerStars!  You can find it by clicking on ‘Tourney’ then ‘Private’.  Come and play for bragging rights if nothing else.  I’ll be playing for the dough, you can have the bragging rights. See you there!

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