Just a quick blog entry. Maybe more of a note to self. DON'T PLAY POCKET TENS. Just muck them next time you get them. The last three times I've had pocket 10's, I've been up against someone with pocket kings, and lost each time. I don't know why Pokerstars loves to give me 10's when someone else has kings. Maybe it's because they know I'm a donk, and overplay hands like 10's, whatever it is, just avoid tens.

Actually now that I'm writing this, I remember winning a huge pot when I limped in with 10's and made a full house. Okay, new note to self, don't OVERPLAY 10's, unless it's late in a turbo SNG.

That is all.

1: There is far, far more luck involved than I had previously thought.

2: When you're losing, stop playing. Just stop, cut your loss's and fight another day.

http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-for...me-off-3210341

This pretty much says it all. For months I've been building my bankroll. Slow and steady I managed to turn $19, into $70, learning as I played, which game types I was good at, and which I should avoid. I found that I was winning most consistantly at limit hold'em, so stuck to that for a few weeks. It was all going so well until two days ago I lost my buyin in limit hold'em. Slightly agitated I decided to try short stacking some micro NL cash games, and see if I could turn a small amount of money into quite a lot, (relative to my BR obviously). As you can tell it didn't work out too well. Two things either happened. I ran into the nuts when I had a great hand. Or I got the money in as a big favourite and got sucked out on. So after getting though a few buyins, I managed to grind down to about $60. The biggest loss I've had so far in the small amount of time I've been playing. So yesterday was a new day, I was feeling confident that I could win some of what I lost back. NL cash games again seemed the best way of winning a lot quick. I bought into two 2c/5c NL games, and lost both buyins when the biggest donk at the table sucked out on the river against me twice. I think I was about a 75-80% favourite when the money went all in. But I guess that's poker.

Tilting out of my mind I bought into a $3.40 10 man SNG. About a minute after it started I knew I had done something stupid. I just couldn't help myself, I so badly wanted to win back what had took me months to win. Obviously I didn't make the money, infact I came 9th out of 10. Pretty much lost it all when my pocket tens went up against another guys pocket kings, and the kings held up. Funny how that always seems to happen, isn't it? You finally get a decent hand and another guy has a better one. So now I'm at around $50. In two days I've lost what has took me months to make. I can't help feeling I've been quite unlucky, but I know at the same time I did it too myself, by carrying on playing when I was steaming.

Another thing I've learnt from this is just how mentally draining it must be to be a professional poker player. It's a pretty brutal game. I don't think I could handle it if I had a lot of my money on the line. I don't know how the guys playing in the 'nose bleed' stakes cash games, handle the swings. I guess that's a factor in what makes them a cut above the rest.

Hopefully if anyone is reading this, you might take something away from this micro donks story. I'm not quite sure what I'm gonna do next, my pride has took a bashing losing to players, who even I can see are crappy. I think I'll have to play with a little less of my BR, and try to build up again. Wish me luck...