I had to do it while playing yesterday.
Hello,
>
>I have never done this before, but I have been hearing such great things
>about Zandi D that I simply must.
>Basically the word on the interwebz is that Zandi D is a support GOD.
>I have the utmost confidence that Zandi D will be able to assist me in
>the best way, as she has shown her excellence time and time again.
>
>My problem is this, I am currently playing a low buy in MTT. The $2 4k
>guaranteed that started at 20:15 ET.
>Earlier, I doubled up twice to get a nice stack.
>
>Then I'm in the big blind with AA, otherwise known as aces, pocket
>rockets, and in certain select circles as pocket bulls
>(although that is really only used by those amongst us who enjoy a nice
>game of animal poker now and then).
>So I'm minding my business in the big blind while everyone else folds
>and out of the blue the small blind, who has about a 30% smaller stack
>than me, shoves ALL IN !
>Can you imagine the atrocity ? Obviously I snap called, while fist
>pumping my monitor and throwing a small cat out the window for good luck.
>Unfortunately for me, and in a way for the kitten too, the river came a
>K, giving him a set of kings, the winning hand.
>
>I was gutted and mortified, threw my pokerstars toy donkey out after the
>cat, which made all kinds of ruckus as it landed on said cat, and cursed
>the poker gods.
>
>Now my question is: How do we as poker players react to this kind of
>punishment ?
>Can we ever truly get over it. Is this game just a form of self-torture
>and are we all really masochists ?
>How do we keep our cool and keep playing our A game to avoid getting
>knocked out and eventually shipping the big bucks ?
>
>I ask this most sincere question to Zandi D who I trust will help me out
>in this matter.
>
>Koen.
>
Hello Koen,
Thank you for your email.
To put it simply, PokerStars support is chock full of support Gods, Zandi
is of course no exception. I have passed your email on to Zandi for a
further response.
In the mean time, I suggest you look for a new good luck charm, or a new
cat. Please allow Zandi some time to respond to your email.
Regards,
Leonard B
PokerStars Support Team
Zandi D (pocket Stalin lover) said:
Hello Koen,
Thank you for your email.
I am glad to hear that my reputation is so stellar as to attract your
attention.
I am sorry to hear that your pocket Stalins (as we call them in former
socialist countries) got cracked by pocket K(apitalists) but I would argue
that the chance of the best hand losing being well above 0 % is what makes
poker fun, exciting and profitable in the long run (with all the suckers
going all in with pocket sevens only to be crushed by your pocket aces).
Those were the generalities, and now on to your specific example.
Unfortunately you have made one of the typical beginners' mistakes, you
threw the kitten out the window even before the hand was lost. The cat would
have been perfectly capable of functioning as a stand-in stress reliever
after you had thrown the real one out the window too, but was instead busy
being a new piece of street fresco art (make sure you sign the cat fresco
and sell it on eBay).
The best way to react to such crimes of probability is to grind your teeth,
smile and be a good sport about it. Nothing infuriates an opponent more than
you sportingly acknowledging defeat instead of making a spectacle of
yourself. This is especially important in live games, where people would
expect you to start swearing and throwing tantrums and consequently going on
tilt and losing all your money - while very cathartic, this is inadvisable
in the long term.
Staying calm and playing as you were before (assuming you were playing well
and not just frittering money away) is the best way to get your revenge (and
chips), but I know that in practice that is very hard, try thinking of
distracting, pleasant things that are going on in your life (like Belgian
chocolate or windmills).
Whenever it happens to me, I think of the time my tens cracked pocket aces
and I won more than a hundred dollars, and I try to play as I normally
would, as that is, in my eyes the true test of poker, staying true to reason
even when you want to be throwing cats at random passers-by.
While the advice above applies both to tournaments and ring games, here is
some advice for the tournaments specifically: never give up, no matter how
low your stack is, you can still win a nice multi-pot and be back in action,
all you need to know is when to push, and hey, even if it does not work, you
gave it your best shot and you can try again the next time playing the same way.
And as the old adage goes:
Better to have aced and lost 20 % of the time, than to have never aced at all.
Good luck at the tables and if there is anything else we can do for you,
please do not hesitate to contact us.
Regards,
Zandi D
PokerStars Support Team