The Frustration Factor

As I sit here in room 17081 at Bellagio in Las Vegas, I am a little upset. In fact, I would say I am pretty damned irritated. I just finished playing the final tournament before the main event of the Five Star World Poker Classic, and suffice it to say, I didn't win it. I didn't even cash in it. To be perfectly honest, it has been quite a frustrating week here overall, to say the least.

Hot on the heels of the Foxwoods World Poker Tour event, I arrived just in time to play in the first $5,000 event, and battled all day to finish about 50th. It was a good solid day's work, but far from actually making any money. I, unfortunately, was knocked out while holding the best hand on the flop.

I was a little under the weather for the rest of the week, but decided to play in the next $5,000 event. Sadly, it felt like Groundhog Day to me, as I finished around 55th. Once again, it was a good day's effort, but not good enough to make any money. Once again, I went out after having the best hand, this time picked up on the turn.

So, why am I sharing these two days with you? I can assure you, not to elicit sympathy or a pat on the back, but to illustrate something with which every poker player must come to terms. It's a little concept called frustration. It can wreak havoc on your game, and even your mind, if you let it.

Whether it is having a bad run in a couple of tournaments or just a bunch of losing sessions in a row, we all fall victim to becoming incredibly frustrated at some point or another in this game. You all know what I am talking about. I have received a lot of e-mail from readers requesting advice on how to correct a losing streak. I can feel the desperation in their words. I can completely empathize with the pain that a writer is feeling. "Just let me know what I should do. I don't understand … ," they plead. If only I could.

I currently am on a bit of a losing streak. In my last two big events, I haven't even gotten out of the first day, and haven't cashed at all in about two months. It's driving me nuts, and what's worse is that I can feel it creeping in and affecting my judgment when I am playing, forcing me to make mistakes and mental errors that I normally wouldn't make. You would be surprised just how good 9 9 looks when you haven't been able to get your game going for a while.

Of course, that's one of the games within the game that we all play with ourselves at the poker table. I often find myself to be my own worst enemy while playing.

I need look no further than the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship this past April to illustrate my point further. I started out the day playing very few hands and staying as snug as a bug in a rug in the early levels. I really didn't get into any skirmishes at all, in fact, which had been my plan going in. In the third level, though, things began to change dramatically.

I found myself finding new and interesting ways to lose chips. I lost with the A A when my opponent flopped a set. I lost with the A K after the K flopped and my opponent caught runner-runner to make two pair. I managed to get all in with the 8 7, only to make the nut straight and have to chop the pot. I got all in another time with the A K, only to chop the pot again. In short, my day was rapidly becoming a wasted opportunity.

I bring all of these examples up only to illustrate the final hand that I played for the day. I was creeping closer and closer to completely losing myself in the ineptitude of the day when I looked down at the Q 9 in the small blind. There were two limpers, then a raise to only three times the big blind, then two callers.

I knew that the original limpers were going to simply call the raise, as they had been doing that all day. I decided to take a shot and try to hit the flop with my dangerously weak hand. After all players involved called, the flop came down Q 5 4. I should have bet out right then with my pair of queens. That would have enabled me to get away from the hand had I been raised. Instead, I made the far more terrible play of check-raising all in when the original raiser bet. I moved my final $17,000 into the middle of the table and was sickened when the initial raiser called with hisQ Q, crushing me.

Just like that, I was out of the championship event, on an atrocious play that was born completely out of frustration. My day had been going excruciatingly poorly, but I still would have been in acceptable shape had I not played that hand, coming back the next day with around $20,000 in chips. It would not have been the ideal situation, obviously, but I still would have been alive.

Especially with the amount of chips we were given relative to the blinds, I would have had plenty of play left the next day.

Instead, I made a horrid decision and there was no next day for me to look forward to.

Don't let your state of mind factor into your decision-making process, as I did. If you feel your game getting slightly, or massively, away from you, take a mental step back and regroup. Be sure not to fall into a trap that could cost you your tournament, or your roll for the evening.

Joe Sebok loves to receive all of your questions and comments. You can reach him at [email protected].