As I play poker I am affected by many internal and external distractions. Being fully aware of those distractions, can help a player to minimize mistakes. Some of the internal distractions include such things as being tired, hungry, or in pain. External distractions are not generally under your control; therefore you should have a plan to deal with them as best you can before they occur.
I woke up this morning several times. I woke the first time around 6 am because I was cold. I got up and adjusted the thermostat and added a blanket to my bed. I woke up again at 9:30 am when the doctor’s office called to confirm an upcoming appointment. Wow, the room was still cold. What’s going on with the heat? I add a sweater and crawl back under the covers for my last half hour of sleep. At 10 am, I get up and head to the Jacuzzi for morning therapy. The hot tub is NOT hot. How strange! No therapy for me this morning, I guess. I return to my room to shower, thinking this should tie me over for a bit, and find there is no hot water. Not a drop! Irritation begins to rise.
Now for those who know me, know that I can be rather grumpy in the morning, so I was finding it a challenge to stay relaxed. I made some coffee and this helped to warm my mood while I finish dressing. My hair was not cooperating and before I knew it, I was out of time to prepare. I skipped reviewing my tournament checklist and slapped on some makeup instead. Huge Mistake!
I make it to the Event Center exactly on time. The floor is asking players to open their bags of chips. The cocktail servers swarm the room providing Red Bull and water quickly while taking orders for other drinks. I down my first Red Bull of the day as I observe my table mates. Luck was not on my side with my table draw. I am at a very tough table with seasoned players. Here’s the lineup of players:
Seat 1: Andrew “Tiltyjoker” Lee, 56,700
Seat 2: John Spagnuolo, 68,300
Seat 3: Matthew Waxman, 53,000
Seat 4: John Renzi, 126,000
Seat 5: Josh “Brikdog24” Brikis, 88,725
Seat 6: Jena Delk, 145,750
Seat 7: Robert Midgette, 40,375
Seat 8: Nicoles Fotios, 25,050
Seat 9: Tom Dobrilovic, 59,425
Seat 10: Edwin Hill, 45,400
Now when I got up this morning, I told myself, to play good. I knew today would be tough for me since I was unable to get my usual morning therapy. I was already fighting nerve pain, so I took a pillow to sit on while I played while I waited for my medication to kick in. There was no place to park my scooter close to my table, so I walked to my seat, carrying my poker goody bag. I travel anything but light. This bag is full of food, medical equipment, and nearly everything a body could want for 12+ hours. Halfway to my seat, I realized this bag was too heavy for me to be toting around. Did I ask for help? No, of course not.
The first round is pretty quiet for me and I am able to maintain my stack without much effort.
Somewhere in the second level for the day, I got caught up in those distractions I mentioned. Unfortunately, I fail to recognize that I was falling into trouble before it was too late. Here’s what had been going on. I was starting to get hungry and thought twice about ordering a glass of milk. But I didn’t do that. It was becoming very warm in the room. I had already removed my jacket but still was feeling the heat. Perspiration was dripping down my neck and back. And I was really in some bad pain. I had plenty of chips to be able to take a break to lie down, eat, and cool off. I look at the clock. There is still 30 minutes in the level. I tell myself I will sneak back to my room on break to rest, cool off, and grab some additional medical equipment.
Then the first miss step takes place. I am dealt AK off suit and raise the pot. The flop is king high and one player continues in the hand with me to the turn. When we get to show down, I see that this guy called my raise with a 4-6 suited. This gets under my skin a bit, like why he would call ME with that garbage. I do my best to talk myself out of this tilt. There are several tongue lashings among the players. Tempers have flared several time and angry words have been pass around the table. Everyone seems a bit on edge. It must be the heat getting to all of us.
A few hands later I am dealt pocket aces under the gun. Happy bells go off in my head. Finally a great starting hand. I can’t seem to remember how much the blinds are at this point, but rather than asking, I make it 3,200. Josh immediately says “oh, are we 4x’ing already?” It folds around the table until it gets to John (the guy who called my last hand with garbage) who flat calls my bet from the small blind. Alarm bells go off in my head to be careful. The flop comes nine high with two diamonds. John checks to me and I bet 6,000. John reraise and I look at him and say “really” to which John shrugs. I react and do not take time to evaluate the situation. I am thinking to myself that I need to take a stand and stop this guy from drawing to a flush. I skipped the step where I should think through the hand and put him on a range of hands. I say all in and John instacalls with his set of 8’s.
I am out of the tournament. I blew it. I played it terribly. I let the distractions get me off my game.
.gif)