Friday I had a good run. I sat down at a $25 NL table and had the dubious pleasure of getting to know a trash talkin', no-foldin', re-loadin' fellah by the handle of 'BigErn44.' When I sat down, Big Ern was up by about triple his buy-in and loading the table with insults and foul language in equal measure. Hand by hand, I watched him suck out player after player with his constant calls and raises on pure trash which he managed to transform to trash art. I quickly learned that to tangle with him, I'd have to go at him with strength, if not the nuts.
I dodged him when I needed to and managed to catch some good cards against others and began to take down healthy pots. Big Ern, in the meantime, continued on his run. With each gain in his stack, he became more, shall we say, verbal. There were more than a couple of other players that he managed to tilt royally and then he'd capitalize on it, baiting them with insults. It was something to behold.
Eventually I was up past the $100 mark and got welcomed to the 'over 100 club' by another player and Big Ern. By this time, I thought I could introduce a bluff or two to Big Ern, since I'd been showing down really solid hands. It worked. I'd watched his betting patterns long enough to know when he was on a draw or just betting for betting's sake.
At one point, another guy at the table got extremely upset at busting out, after going all-in on the river and was called. His opponent had spiked his straight on the last card. The first guy berated the other guy for the call. I don't remember the specifics of his cards, but I do remember that, by the way he bet, he gave the caller sufficient pot odds to call before his all-in. He had the lead and under-bet the pot all the way to the river where he went all-in. A lesson folks - bet your hand for value, don't make it easy for the other guy to call. Slowplaying your hand can be a dangerous maneuver. Unless you've got the nuts or a good read on your opponent, I don't recommend it - especially at the lower limits. I rarely slowplay anymore. I've taken a page out of Doyle's book and now bet my sets and big pairs straight out more often than not (oops - I know a couple of people who are probably jotting that down right now).
But back to Big Ern. This session had gone on for quite a while. The colorful banter was proliferate with people coming and going, falling to Big Ern's unwieldy axe (or to my 'superior' play), or to whatever. It was becoming quite the zoo. After one unsuspecting soul joined the table, Big Ern, with impeccable timing, said "Welcome to hell." I hooted. I peaked at about $160 and was having a great time. And then Big Ern announced he would be leaving as he needed to........pee.
But he didn't leave. He continued to play on, just as he had been, in about every hand with just about any cards. He'd had an amazing run, considering. I'd managed to get some pots off him, so I had a piece of him. And then the inevitable happened. He lost, and then lost again, and then again, and again. Big Ern got real quiet. Someone welcomed him to the 'under 100' club. About this time Pauly was in line waiting to get to the table and was observing this train wreck - Big Ern dropped about $130 in less than fifteen minutes.
In a few minutes more he was at $0. He was pelted with comments from those he'd managed to suck out on previously. He puffed out his chest and said, "It ain't nothin'." He didn't leave the table, though. He sat out for a few hands, and then bought back in. He hit a couple of pots and was up to about $80 and launched a juicy verbal spitball at his opponent. I commented, "There's the Big Ern we all know and...tolerate." Big Ern was back in full form, or so we thought.
Big Ern went on to lose and rebuy another three or four times. I lost count at 6 -7 total rebuys. Each time he'd retort "Ain't nuthin'." I evened out at about $111 and, worn out, I left with Big Ern's mud-slinging babble trailing behind me and his chips sliding over the table to someone else. It was a very entertaining and profitable session. That big fish was hooked, gutted, filleted and sauteed. A few of us at the table feasted well.
A small side note, at one point the pot winner complimented me after I'd laid down a pair of kings:
Maudie_B: <-----KK
omega1911: good lay down
omega1911: had outs i guess though
#721016535: BigErn44 wins $6.15
omega1911: i normally do not show but I have you as a solid player.
Maudie_B: ty
omega1911: don't mind showing people that actually play the game right.
omega1911: not like a fish
Normally, I take compliments with a shaker full of salt because I never can be sure if it's honest or just 'baiting the fish,' as it were. But, I had been playing good poker that session, so it was nice to hear.
Saturday and today, though, I began a crossing of the poker Sahara and, additionally, feel as though I've grown a pair of gills and some scales. How many fish have you seen swimming in a desert? Cold cards and out-plays have managed to wipe out Friday's gains and then some. I've experienced this before - I can't get an edge and my reads are askew. It's like driving with one wheel out of alignment - all your energy goes to pulling on the steering wheel to stay strait and you can't enjoy the ride.
With cold cards and only a couple of hands holding up, I ultimately fell into the trap of playing scared and could not get on top of it. It will take some serious analysis to see where I erred. It never fails, it seems, that when I feel that I can call myself a truly good player, I get knocked off that self-made pedestal and get rudely reminded that I still have a lot to learn about this crazy game.
In the meantime and until I turn things around (and I will, you know), I will lift a Bud to Big Ern and let his words fall from my tongue, because, in the larger picture, "It ain't nuthin'..."
