REBUY!

I had a horrific weekend at the tables, which is seriously making me wonder if I'm actually a good player, or if I'm just suffering a stretch of bad luck.

Game Selection was at fault Friday - I played the bigger game specifically to play against better players and get some lessons; that's my own fault and I'm ok with the money I lost there, as it's tuition.

Plus, it wouldn't be so bad if Saturday wasn't so awful. I think I lost 6 or 7 hands where I was AT LEAST a 4 to one favorite.

Saturday fun:

QQ loses to T9spades after a $200 preflop re-raise (T9 raised to $35, 4 people called, I said enough of that, T9 actually called the raise), with a flop of A 8 6 rainbow. T9 checks, I push in for my remaining $190, T9 sits and THINKS about this and finally calls. I was worried about the push until he didn't insta-call, when I knew my QQ was good. Turn, 2, river 7. To add insult to injury, he slowrolled me - I turned over my QQ and he looks at the board, letting me think I won, and then says, "Straight."

REBUY!

Q6 (I was on the button with 7 limpers, so it was worth the $10) loses to the same guy (T9) when I flop Q 8 6 two clubs, he bets $30, two callers, I push for $400, he does the Hollywood act and I tell him that he's going to call anyway. I mean, if he's calling with a 4 outer (above), he's going to call with just top pair or whatever he has. He does. Turn, brick, river K. He turns over KQo.

REBUY!

QQ (me) against AQ.

REBUY!

AK against KQ. I raise preflop, get 3 callers, flop comes down K T 9, I bet pot, KQ calls, turn Q.

REBUY!

AA against TT.

REBUY!

Not to mention that I think only once did my pocket pair hit a set and I didn't even get paid off on that. OY.

I know that I got my money in with the best of it, but it's still really hard to convince myself that I'm actually good at this poker thing when I take such a brutal hit to my bankroll. I remind myself that even the best go through losing streaks (a la Jen Harman in The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King), and this is all part of playing poker. I have to keep repeating that I want these crazy people to call, and that I'm making +EV plays, and in the long run, this will come around in my favor.

But ugh, the pain. I'm actually glad that Bradoween and the wedding are going to be causing me to take a forced break from poker, just so I can distance myself from this right now.