Phil Sure Can Blow Some Chips!

OK, here's the situation: You have just discovered a new way to play no-limit hold'em, and you believe you're very tough to beat. You go into the $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em "big one" at Foxwoods Resort Casino ready to roll. You execute your new strategy to perfection and run your chips up to more than $25,000 without any incidents, pressure, or all ins. Wow, this new system is working incredibly well! You're feeling good about your play and your system.

Now, you raise to $900 with 10-10, and your opponent goes all in for $5,300 more with A-K. You want to fold, but your "read" says that you have the best hand, so you call. The flop brings a king, and you lose the pot. OK, these things happen. Next, you put your opponent all in before the flop for $3,100 with your J-J against his 6-6, and he makes a flush. OK, you're playing well and these things do happen.

It is now 10 minutes before the dinner break and you are still one of the chip leaders with more than $16,000, and you limp in under the gun with A-2 offsuit. What are you thinking here? The flop comes J-5-4, the big blind bets $800, and you raise $2,000 to try to take it away from him. He reraises, forcing you to fold, and you have just blown $3,000 with A-2 offsuit under the gun! You look at the clock and think, "Don't play any more pots; you are definitely on tilt and need food to energize your play!" Two hands later there's only one minute left on the clock. The same opponent who raised you off the A-2 makes it $600 to go. You have the K 5; what are you going to do? You reraise him $1,000. Hmm, are you on drugs? He calls, and the flop is 8 7 7. He checks, and you bluff $2,000 at the pot. He calls, and the 9 comes off, for a board of 8 7 7 9, and he bets $2,500 into you. Naturally, you try to take the pot away again with a $3,500 raise! Now, everyone in the tournament is on break, and it seems like they all are standing around your table watching you give away your chips. Your opponent studies for a moment (which gives you some hope that he will fold), then reraises you all in. You are now forced to fold, and for the first time all day, you have less than the $6,000 in starting chips. You have just bluffed off $9,000 on the last hand before the break with no hand and no draw!

With a mere $4,500 left, you are forced to go on a 90-minute dinner break. You feel like a loser. You feel like a failure. All of the huge chip leads that you have had in your life that you have blown – and there have been a ton of them – flash before your eyes. You genuinely feel like crying. What is it in you that makes you just give away $13,000 in 10 minutes? Does playing on an empty stomach really affect you that much? If so, why don't you bring some snacks to the table with you? You had an epiphany about no-limit hold'em that you thought would make you an even better player; you executed it to perfection to accumulate chips, and then you gave away $13,000. You developed a new hold'em system, and then self-destructed. What's up with this trip to Foxwoods, anyway? You finish 10th and 14th in two stud events when they pay only six spots? You finish in the final three tables in two other hold'em events, but don't cash for the seven events that you play. A champion needs to close! You're no champion, you're a failure! You cannot get that out of your head – you're a failure! You grab a quick bite to eat, and then call your wife, John Bonetti, and finally Daniel Negreanu, because you know that you can't win when you feel like a failure. Can they pump you up? They sure try! Your wife reminds you that you have been low on chips many times before and have come back. Bonetti reminds you that you have some talent in this no-limit hold'em game. And Negreanu reminds you that you have plenty of chips with $4,500 and blinds of $200-$400. Great people and great advice, but they cannot overcome your inability to look forward and forget the past. You go back to the tourney feeling a lot better, and if you can win just one pot, you know you'll be ready to play strong poker again. A few hands after the break, one man limps into the pot, and you raise your last $3,200 with A-6 in the small blind, trying to win it before the flop. You need only the big blind and the limper to fold. The big blind folds, but the limper has A-A – oh, man! Hasta la vista, Phil!

On the way out of the casino, you decide that you'll never come back to this tourney again – never, ever again! Forget about it! How can you come back when you never seem to win here? But, wait a minute! It wasn't the dealer's fault or the casino's fault that you gave your chips away. In fact, the Foxwoods tournament was a terrific event that gave you a ton of time to work your chips. You'll be back. Yes, you're a failure; you cannot seem to control yourself to the degree that is required to win poker tournaments right now. At least you have your new no-limit hold'em system, and someday soon you may find that control that you so desperately need. Yes, it really is painful to feel like such a big failure, but maybe that's what it takes to become a champion!

Enjoy playing your hands this week.

Editor's note: To play poker for free and for fun against Phil Hellmuth, go to www.ultimatebet.com. To learn more about Phil or read more Hand of the Week's articles, go to www.philhellmuth.com.