Poker Brat Hates Losing!

Recently, I have been playing a lot of poker at UltimateBet.com in the heads-up $50-$100 blinds game. I have been up and down, and since I cannot stand losing, it has been a frustrating time for me. Imagine, 50 percent of the time, I'm upset! In fact, I'm ahead overall, but this absolute hatred I have of losing affects my moods, as evidenced by my meltdowns on ESPN every Tuesday night in October. The other night I lost around $12,000, and I was pretty ticked off. But before the loss started to put me into a bad mood for an hour, I decided to use it to my advantage. Rather than blame my opponent and the cards, I took a long look at the way I had played poker over the previous few hours, and more importantly, at the way that I had managed my money online. After much thought, I understood that these are the things that I need to improve: First, I need to take more wins; second, I need to take more breaks at the table; and third, I need to maintain my patience no matter how many pots I lose or how many bad beats I take. To sum it up: patience, patience, patience, take a few breaks along the way, and quit when I'm ahead more often.

Now, considering that the widely published amount that I've won playing in poker tournaments is more than $10 million (not including side-game wins and losses), I need to get over this mood-changing effect that losing causes. Or do I? The fact that I hate losing so much has "given me" enough pain, frustration, and dismay that I keep trying to make sure that I never lose again - or at least that I play my best all the time and manage my money in the best possible way. So, this "hate-losing effect" has served me well in the long run. However, it also has caused me to play less poker in the side games, both online and in the real world. Some critics (like my friend Daniel Negreanu) say that I don't play as much because I am a losing player in the side games. This is absolutely not true! I have made money almost every year in the side games since 1987. When I did have a losing year, it was a function of not playing very many hours in that year. In any case, I do not play in the side games very often because of this hate-losing effect. For example, when I play at Bellagio on three consecutive days and win big twice (say, $95,000 and $60,000), and then lose big once (say, $105,000), I say to myself, "Who needs this BS? I don't want to lose $105,000 in one day!" That money could be used on clothing and designs for my "Poker Brat" clothing company (PokerBrat.com).

Let's get back to the UltimateBet.com $50-$100 blinds heads-up game, in which the max buy-in is $10,000. I usually buy in for $5,000, and this was the case in this game. I'll discuss two hands, one that I won and one that I lost.

First, let's dissect the lucky hand and the tactics that I employed. My opponent opened for $300, and I called with the Q 4. The flop was 9 4 3. I checked, my opponent bet $600, and I raised it to $2,400 to go (I raised the size of the pot). He called, the turn card was the A, and I moved all in for $7,600. My opponent called instantly, and the river was the 10. My opponent showed A-9, and I raked in the pot of almost $21,000 with a flush! I like my opponent's $600 bet on the flop. I like my pot-sized raise with a pair and a flush draw. I'm in real trouble against only a set, and I can move out a lot of weak hands that have me beat. My $7,600 bet on the turn was very aggressive, but to me, it was either move all in or check.



In the second hand, my opponent opened for a minimum-raise to $200 total, and I called with the Q 7. The flop came down Q 10 7. I checked, my opponent bet $250, and I made it $1,150 to go (almost a pot-sized raise). My opponent called, the turn card was the 5, and I checked. My opponent now bet $2,500, and I decided that I had to move all in for my last $9,000 or so. He called instantly, and I thought, "Uh-oh. I guess I'm in trouble." The river was the 10, and my opponent's hand was flipped up as he collected the pot; he had the K Q. Wow! It turns out that I was more than a 6-1 favorite to win the pot with one card to come (I had 38 winning cards to his six - three tens and three kings). I like my opponent's $250 bet on the flop. I love my almost pot-sized raise. I think his call was standard. On the turn, my check was OK, or a pot-sized bet would have worked, as well. I do not mind my opponent's $2,500 bet on the turn. My all-in move was terrific, and his call was truly awful! Imagine this: My opponent put $10,000 into the small starting pot with one pair; sick! He easily could have been drawing dead, if I have a set, or he could have been a 13-1 underdog, if I have Q-10. Of course, my opponent thought that I had a draw, like the K J, and that's why he made the call. Win one, lose one, but at least I was the aggressor in both pots, as I moved all in.