Keep your Composure

Last week I celebrated my birthday with a few friends. Naturally the topic of poker came up and it was off to the casino we go to play in a $200 No Limit tournament. Now this is by no means a big buy-in and you are likely to see all kinds of players from really bad to really good. We got there with just enough time before the first cards hit the felt and I had to run to my seat before my hand was killed.

My table appeared to be the typical table with several average players and one or two good players. Naturally, I was one of the better players at my table and immediately determined that there was one individual that was just primed for the picking, This individual was sitting in seat number 2 and I was in seat number 5. After playing a few hands I noticed that he was a whiner even when he won a pot. He began berating other players almost as soon as he won the first hand and there seemed to be no end in site. Although he hadn't said anything to me personally I couldn't wait to get under his skin and take his chips.

After twenty minutes of play I had just about doubled up but had not won a pot from my new found muse. Once the second level started I picked up Ace King in the Big Blind. There was an initial raise and then my friend re-raised it and the action folded around to me.

"I'm All-In"

The initial raiser folded and then the fun began. "What are you doing? How can you make a play like that this early? I know you got Aces!" he said, as he looked at me and peaked at his cards for the second and third time. No reaction. After two minutes he folded his Pocket Queens face up and I mucked my Ace King leaving him guessing. From that pot on he lost hand after hand after hand still fuming over folding his Pocket Queens. He particularly got upset when another player suggested I had a pair of Jacks instead of Aces or Kings. I was getting quite a kick out of all the speculation and his reactions to it. Poker Tournaments can sometimes be like a crap shoot. One guy goes on a role and everyone else watches.

To make a long story short the one play that I made legitimately put my opponent on tilt and allowed myself and the rest of the table to take advantage of his anger until he was busted out of the tournament. Don't let that happen to you. When someone out plays you or bluffs you out of a pot let it go and move on to the next hand. Keep your poker composure or you will find yourself watching from the rail.