I can see a bead of sweat drip down the side of his face. The drop races to his jaw line where it slows and begins to slide ever so slightly towards his chin. The droplet reaches the apex of his face and stops, as if contemplating the depth of its inevitable fall. He reaches up and captures the sweat, swiping it way and saving it from the fateful plummet.

“I raise” he declares and he sets his arm back on the table. He motions towards his chip stack; it sits like a fortress atop a battle field of green felt. The cascading walls and slightly imperfect stacks form the battlements; the fortress shows scars of battles past.

Along the outer walls of the castle stand the foot soldiers; noble and brave white one dollar chips. They do the dirty work and ask nothing in return but a safe place to lay their head. They take the grunt of the war, often trading allegiance and sacrificed before any of the battle cards are dealt.

Behind our noble infantry stand the pale red Captains. Small is size, yet strong at heart, the five dollar Captains fight a stronger battle with help from the white soldiers. The Captains strike fear in to the hearts of the enemy; they are a clairvoyant sign that a larger battle may be looming. The Captains are trained on the offensive; enough of them can help secure a victory.

Atop the crimson Captains reside the green Colonels. These war hardened veterans are worth twenty five times that of a normal gunman and demand respect. When a Colonel is thrown in to battle, the lines have been drawn and there is no peaceful resolution. A Colonel often emerges as a protective measure; it takes a special brand of courage to call a Colonels bluff.

Among all of the troops and ranks stands a rare breed of war machine. The black chip, often few in number, casts a shadow upon the kingdom. One hundred times the might of a soldier, the black General stands atop the castle, directing troops in battle. The mere sight of a General at the peak of a kingdom can make enemies rethink their battle plans, for the risk of a General launched in to battle is worth a mindful assessment. The play of a General can often result in hushed tones and heavy respiration. The General is a decision maker, his fate controlled only by one man.

The King.

This particular King, seated across from me, declared his raise as “All In” and shoves his castle towards the center. I hesitated for a moment, glancing over the T82 rainbow of a flop. I peeked again at my pocket tens, unsure of whether this was actually happening. Trying not to hide my slight confusion, I responded with an “I call” and matched the size of this castle on the opposite side of the bet line.

My opponent flips over pocket kings and rolls his eyes when he I reveal the top set. Sorry, bro. I guess sometimes all the battle preparation in the world can’t prevent certain massacres. All of the detail that went in to this battle is only possible in person; live poker is an intensity machine.

In the past ten years or so, the emergence of online poker has streamlined the way poker players find action. The convenience of sitting at home and playing micro stakes has brought players by the masses, helping create a profitable poker realm. We often get wrapped up with the multi-tabling and the sheer mass of options and forget about the simplistic roots of the game we love.

Most of the players I speak with have their roots and of poker deep in kitchen table games; five card draw and stud poker are often handed down by our parents. We learn the values of cards and hands from our fathers; we play for pennies in the basement. Poker is a recreational game and a social past time; it often brings the nostalgic feeling of family and friends.

We eventually learned of Hold’em and the people who are apparently making a living playing this variation. We watched Doyle Brunson and Stu Ungar wage their wars and take the titles. The game was a bud waiting to bloom; these men had no idea the flower it was to become. Fast forward to Chris Moneymaker and the poker boom, everyone knew the story of the kid who made it big.

None of this rich poker history would be possible without the element of live play. It is from the heart of the smooth felt that we draw our inspiration. Sure, we’ve grown used to the pixelated cards and time bank chimes. It’s a comfort zone, sitting on your comfy couch with your laptop and your dog. The T.V. chatting in the background and a cup of coffee on the table, you need only your finger tips to make a decision. But close your eyes for just a moment and picture yourself in poker glory. You stand at the pantheon of poker, your brightest moment and your finest hour. Are you seated behind a laptop or a desktop computer?

Nope.

You are surrounded by hundred of screaming fans, your best friends are hugging you and the tournament director is fastening the gold bracelet around your wrist. You make your way to the edge of the table, stack of hundred dollar bills sit aside your final hand. The seat is still warm from a battle just fought. The board is sitting right where you left it, right at the moment that you called your opponents fateful bluff. The cameras are flashing and the press is calling your name. For a moment suspended in time, the glory of live poker is infinite. You live to play this game.

<span> </span>Hell hath no fury like a poker player on a mission. A true gambler is a wild animalwith no discipline to guide him. A poker player, on the other hand, is a tamedbeast. Endless hours of controlled practice have taught poker players toharness the gambler inside them and guide it to success. We take our innateurge for excitement and monetary gain and focus it on a set plan of action. Myplan of action this week was simple: make a profit.

And that, I did.

<span> </span>After a hellish week of bad beats and unintelligent play, I reset my systems anddecided that a break was my best course of action. After seeking help in theadvice of some of the games top players, I utilized my time away from poker tomy full ability. I reviewed my hand histories and focused on the causes of mymistakes. I now had a clear understanding of what went wrong in the past weeks.

<span> </span>I sat down on Monday without the intentions of playing cards. After browsing theweb for a bit, I found myself on p5’s reading some recent scores and I becamemotivated. I decided to fire up my Absolute Poker client; the tournaments aretypically smaller fields and tend to have shorter run times. I fired up a $1re-buy tournament with two add-ons. The prize pool was guaranteed to be atleast $2000. With my new-found drive, I set out to the virtual felt to slaysome donks.

<span> </span>Fast forward 627 players, 932 re-buys, 623 add-ons, and 7 hours later and I amsitting 2^nd of five at the final table of the tournament. Thetournament has run much longer then I had expected, but by now I am fired upbeyond belief. I have the table window sitting adjacent with the prize poolinformation window, staring at my goal of $405.54. I could tell I was the bestplayer at the table; the other four players had very predictable styles of play.My reads were dead on and I was in control of almost every pot I was in. Myaggressive play as paying off and I had the other players guessing. I waspoised to win this tournament until one hand changed my fate.

<span> </span>At the 12,000/24,000 level with a 2,000 ante, I was dealt KTdd on the button. Infive handed poker, this hand is a definite raise. So the villain and chipleader limps UTG +1 and the next two players fold to me. I put in a standard 3xraise to 48,000 and the villain flat calls me. The flop comes out 425dd and Idecide to lead out for about 120,000 chips to see if I can pluck up the pot orinduce a call. I try to bet my draws when playing short handed because:
<ul type="disc">[*] It compliments my aggressive style[*] It allows me to show up with huge hands without giving my opponent future warning.[/list]
Most times I get the pot without contest, other times Icatch my draw and win pots the old fashioned way. The villain in this instancecalled my 120,000 bet and we went to the turn. Ad: the money card. This cardcompleted my nut flush on a very action inducting board. The Ace was greatbecause it could have very well completed my opponents low straight, top pair,or lower flush. My semi-bluff had worked to perfection and I was about to reapthe benefits. I decided to check in hopes that my opponent would think I wasstealing the pre-flop and just taking another shot on the flop. My aggressivestyle most often leads players to think that I am stealing with lesser cardsand making attempts to get cheap pots on dangerous boards. I click the checkbutton and lean back to watch my opponents move. After a few moments, myopponent makes a very curious move.

The villain bet out 648,000 chips, about 30,000 less thanwhat was left in my stack. This is not a standard bet; the villain was callingme out. I squealed like a little girl receiving a pony for her birthday, did afew fist pumps, and then some frontflips in my basement. I had the second bestpossible hand. Only 53dd takes the cookies here, and if he’s got a straightflush, then he deserves this pot. I go ahead and commence my frontflipping andreturn to my chair and raise the rest of my chips in to the pot. The villaincalls and shows me 44sh and I am elated. He overplayed his set and now he isgoing to pay. I just start to call my roommate in to the room to see my monsterpot when the worst possible thing happens.

The river: Ac.

Silence. I see the pixilated chips slide over to thevillain. The number under “xSTEVIEDx” reads: 0. A small notice pops up over thetable window. “Congratulations xSTEVIEDx, you finished in 5^th placefor $109.33. Thank you for playing!” I stare at the screen in disbelief.

A fucking full house. I punch my desk, my wall, and my door.In that order.

There is nothing I can do. He made a play at the pot with agood hand in hopes that I didn’t have the flush. I got my money in with thebest hand and could not fade his 10 outs. One 4, three 2’s, three 5’s, andthree Ace’s stood between me and the first prize. That fateful ace, in essence,cost me $300.

There is no guarantee that I would have took the tournament.I have to say that I am confident that when I have 3 other players stacked 4:1,I’m pretty solid. I can’t really be upset with almost 10,000% profit, but itleaves a bad taste in the mouth.

I sat there for a while, watched the end of the tournament,and put on some John Mayer. I leaned back and closed my eyes, clearing my mind.I may have suffered a bad beat in a critical tournament, but with $100 profitin my bankroll I could only settle on one thing.

I’m back.

<span> </span>

<span> </span>

I am the sorest loser you will ever meet. When I was ten years old, I was ejected from a recreational baseball game for cursing at an umpire from the outfield. I remember sitting out for an entire season either because I was on suspension from the league, or my dad was too embarrassed to bring me back. As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to cope with losing in other ways. Stress balls and pillow punching usually do the trick, but in poker you sometimes need a different approach.

As I noted in my previous blog, I got my rear-end delivered to me on a silver platter this past week. I decided I needed to reset my systems and take a break from poker for a while. This blog is my first toe in the proverbial “poker pool” since last Monday. I used my time off to focus on school and exercise; I wanted my mind to be fresh for my next assault of the virtual felt.

An extended break from poker is sometimes the remedy for a long run of bad cards and “donk-esque” play. It’s amazing how poor results can influence even the best players at times. During my break, I discovered an article by Wachovia(the player, not the bank) that changed my perspective on the mental game and tilting. Wachovia wrote that “You CAN NOT get the most out of your game thinking about the last tourney or the last bad beat.” After reading this quote, I realized that was exactly what I was doing. I was so focused on the previously horrendous hands that I couldn’t focus correctly on the hands to come.

I was letting the past affect the present, and in turn, letting the present affect the future. I was losing chips because of my attitude and I was losing equity because I was losing chips. In essence, I was losing equity because I had a crappy attitude. Then, if you take it one step further, my loss in equity is a gain in equity for everyone else in the tournament. I was making my opponents chips worth more to them because I was angry. Incredible.

After that thought crossed my mind, another gem popped right in. I know I’m not the only one upset; I’ve seen others fill the chat box with spews of hatred. My opponents had in fact given me equity before without me even knowing it! Why in the world, then, would I want to get upset and give it right on back? If I can wrap my head around this concept, I will become more profitable.

As Wachovia mention, focus begins well before the first card is dealt. Focus should begin before you open your poker program, before you sit down, before you wake up in the morning. Focus is a learned habit, developed over time with dedicated practice. These brief breaks from poker and periodic breathers during games will not only influencing my play in the present, but have a profound impact on my play in the future.

That, in essence, is the true game plan of a profitable poker player. Profitable players play for the future as well as the present. I know that if I make correct moves now, or force my opponents to make mistakes, there will be a long-term profit regardless of the outcome in the present. I know that if I make the correct shove with KK enough times, the idiot who calls with Ax will lose money in the long run. I just need to grasp the fact that I will give the equity right back to everyone else in the tournament by tilting and making incorrect moves.

The moral of the story is “embrace the donk”. Do not berate a player after he takes you out with a worse hand; this only serves to educate him. Instead, tell them good hand, and make them feel like they've done something right. The moves your opponents make now will only fatten your pockets in the long run.