Sleepless on Friday

I decided to go out late Friday last week to play a little cards. I am trying to get back into the swing of things and have been playing a little more poker now. I was just going to go goof off again up at Parkers and play in the $8/16 game like I did last Friday, but when I walked in, the place was jammed. The list for the $8/16 game was 30 people long. I was not going to get into that game and Barry told me last week that the $40/80 game up at Tulaliup was good on Friday nights, so I called up there to see what was going on. They had the game, and now I had to decide if I wanted to drive another 20 minutes up there, and leave myself a 30 to 40 minute drive home. Of course I came out to play so I make the call to go up there and see what is going on.

I get there and the cardroom is jammed as well. I was 4th on the list when I called and I was still 4th on the list 20 minutes later when I walked into the room. Damn, this might turn into a wipeout. Barry shows up and tells me he is going to play a guy heads up $100/200. This person Barry is going to play is a weak player who loves action, and I thought I might play as well. Three handed with one bad player is a pretty good spot. I had not planned on playing any higher than $8/16 when I left my house so I did not have enough bankroll to play the game. I asked Barry to spot me, but he declined. It was getting late anyway and I did not have that much time to play, and I think Barry wanted this guy all to himself so I was not that bummed out. I just wish I would have come adequately bankrolled. Lesson learned.

So I sit around a bit and finally a seat in the $40/80 game comes up. I was chatting with Barry before his guy came in so it was not that bad of a wait, but I had a decision to make. It was 12:45am, I had not played all night, and I really did not want to play to morning. If I jumped in this game I am going to have to play for while. I may hit and run, but I must commit at least 2-3 hours to play if I don't start off winner. So question out there for you. What is the minimum time you think you need to play to get the results out of a session? Poker is not blackjack. If you sit down and play less than an hour, then I think you are just gambling. I think you need about 3 hours to really get a good feel for the table and players and to take the luck factor out of the cards. Of course you can get crappy cards for 3 or more hours, I have before, but at least you give yourself a shot at breaking even on the cards and letting your play come through for the edge. I like to budget a 4 hour minimum for a session. If I can't play 4 hours I usually don't go out to play. That said, I break my rule and I take a seat. I am not going to play for 4 hours.

So what happens? Of course I start off loser to take the hit and run out of the question. I start off getting no cards to play, and folding my way into a hole. I play one hand over an hour and 1/2 period and am stuck $1,400. Crap why did I decide to play? Then the table gets short, 6 handed, 5 handed, then 4 handed. Now this is a great spot for me! But it is now 2:30am. I am sitting with 3 guys who have no clue who I am, and I just start to play my short game. I start making plays, still not getting cards, but winning some pots and grind my way up back to close to even. I want to say but I have to go home. I know if I stay I will break the table one by one, but I can't. I should have not broken my rule. I just should have went home after some good conversation and gone to sleep without playing cards. Lesson learned again, but I don't know if I will learn this one. If I go out to play cards, I want to play cards damnit!

So results for the night stuck -$256, and 4 hours of sleep. Dumb. I will play tomorrow at the Muck. Talk to you soon, hope you are all winning...SJ