Drinking and poker

I was playing the other night and drinking a bit.. and after a few beers.. my game was, um, less than stellar... playing hole cards I would not normally play and such.. part of it was I had just won 25 bucks in a $5 SnG and 'felt' I had some free money to play with...

On UB, it seems I have perpetual bonus money to work off... and the way I 'try' to do it is by playing a 10 seated NL .25/.50 ring game... playing only the top hands... depending on pot and position.... this works good for me... as usually, I make about 2-3 dollars bonus money and end up breaking even.. last few nights tho, I've been 5 or so dollars ahead.... Wednesday night... being a lil on the tipsy side and feeling a lil cocky, I played a hand I would not normally play, while working off a bonus..:

Hand #4372813-6722 at Ahungalla (No Limit Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 23/Feb/05 22:37:53

Slayre is at seat 0 with $24.85.
Rhonda456 is at seat 1 with $32.55.
trunkswins is at seat 2 with $14.75.
Sharpie81 is at seat 3 with $28.10.
bradley10 is at seat 4 with $19.65.
johnled is at seat 5 with $32.40.
Gmone is at seat 6 with $20.95.
Wilt is at seat 7 with $9.70.
stocksja is at seat 8 with $34.95.
PrairieDog2 is at seat 9 with $37.20.
The button is at seat 5.

Gmone posts the small blind of $.25.
Wilt posts the big blind of $.50.

Slayre: Js Qc
Rhonda456: -- --
trunkswins: -- --
Sharpie81: -- --
bradley10: -- --
johnled: -- --
Gmone: -- --
Wilt: -- --
stocksja: -- --
PrairieDog2: -- --

Pre-flop:

stocksja folds. PrairieDog2 folds. Slayre calls.
Rhonda456 calls. trunkswins folds. Sharpie81 calls.
bradley10 folds. johnled folds. Gmone calls.
Wilt checks.

Flop (board: 4c Qs Jd):

Gmone checks. Wilt checks. Slayre bets $2.50.
Rhonda456 calls. Sharpie81 calls. Gmone folds.
Wilt folds.

Turn (board: 4c Qs Jd 6d):

Slayre bets $10. Rhonda456 calls. Sharpie81 folds.

River (board: 4c Qs Jd 6d Jh):

Slayre goes all-in for $11.85. Rhonda456 calls.

Showdown:

Slayre shows Js Qc.
Slayre has Js Qc Qs Jd Jh: full house, jacks full of queens.
Rhonda456 mucks cards.
(Rhonda456 has Qd As.)

Now, I know this is not a bad starting hand, and I pretty much always play it in a tourney, especially to an unraised pot.. but working off a bonus, I tend to be stingy with the few coins I have to play with....

With the callers before the flop, 2.25 in the pot... I recall thinking, 'John, its only .50 cents, your gonna put that in on a small pocket pair sooner or latre.. just skip playing the next small pp you get'.. so, I called my QJo preflop, knowing I would have folded to a raise.. easy...

Then, we see the flop.. the glorious flop.. what can beat me at this point???? I ask myself.. I have top two pair... pocket 4's, Q's, or J's, pretty much it at this point..also a possible straight draw out there.... Q's and J's most likely would have raised.. lets over bet the pot, just a tad, get the good players out, keep a maniac or two in... perfect plan...

The turn.. a 6. so now, pocket 6's can beat me.. now another straight draw, still poor flush draw.. what to do, what to do.. $9.75 in the pot.. me adds up quickly, I'll bet this strong, only the winning hand will stay with me, and yay for them...

The river... kapow! A Jack... how sweet... I've a full boat... now, what can beat me.. no flush, no straight, no set, no top pair(s)... what beats me is, QQ, right.. just the one hand? Let me look again..AQ, no, we know that, KQ, no... I have the jack to prevent JJ... all in I go... if Rhonda has QQ, shame on her for playing it the way she did.. ( lol ).

Slayre wins a nice size pot... takes a drink... folds 3 hands... loses half his stack with a straight being beat by a full house... broke even. heh.

Had I not been drinking.. I prolly would have seen the paired board and got out of the hand... then again, I prolly would not have called with QJo eithre...

Played $5 SnG's while in the ring game... ended up about 20 bucks ahead.....

Patience and discipline.. I am discovering it is not just about being patient for the cards to come, or disciplined to lay down K's if you think the A on the board paired someone..... its also about being patient waiting for you headache to go away, patient waiting for a good bit of sleep before playing, disciplined to not drink or talk on the phone or watch tv or play solitaire, while playing...I've discovered, that while I sit there and 'watch' what is going on, who is doing what, when they are doing it, my game vastly improves.... example..

There was this guy in a ring game that constantly min raised the bet each and every time I had the big blind... this was becoming annoying... so, I thought about it.. and I decided, he had prolly decided since I was so tight, I would fold to any bet and was taking advantage of the easy blind steal.... so, the next time I was in the BB, sure enuff, he min raised.. I happened to have A10s... not a bad hand to call, and I was still close to my $25 buyin, so, I dbl min raised his ass right back..... he folded...and typed, Good Bet.. :) I remember thinking, yeah yeah.. I'm nobodys beetch! and thinking, wish that had been a 72o, so I could have showed it... :)

I think the only people that beat me at poker, are those that are bettre than me.. which on the surface, seems like a stupid redundant statement... I say it because, that is fine.. as long as they are bettre they should win... the opponent I have the most problem with, is myself... I beat myself all the time, and I truly believe it is due to the fact that I do not have the patience and/or discipline to succeed at consistantly winning money at poker.. ( not to mention a proper bankroll, but then, i would prolly just go broke faster.. lol ) I like freerolls, because I can learn, experiment a bit...but, they take so long.. I start getting bored after a couple hours, if I last that long, and end up outta the money..

Oh heck, I am just typing what everyone already knows.. and I am sure are experiencing it, or have experienced it...

Peace all