Catafo
Last night I played a heads up triple draw session against a guy who is possibly the worst player in the world. He is not new to me; we have played a lot. On one hand, we both drew one on the last draw, he checked, I bet, and he called me with 76543. I saw him draw to 6543 three times, including once in which I was pat from the beginning of the hand. And this guy destroyed me. Cleaned me out.
At various times over the last six months, I have thought to myself, "Well, this is the bottom. It can't get worse than this." Please note that I am only talking about poker here. As a friend said to me today, I have my health, all my limbs are intact, etc. But I'm at a loss about poker. I just don't know what to do. Anyone have any great business ideas? I'm about ready to quit.
At various times over the last six months, I have thought to myself, "Well, this is the bottom. It can't get worse than this." Please note that I am only talking about poker here. As a friend said to me today, I have my health, all my limbs are intact, etc. But I'm at a loss about poker. I just don't know what to do. Anyone have any great business ideas? I'm about ready to quit.
posted by Chris Fargis at 1:23 AM
18 Comments:
Oh dear. I suppose times like this are when you find out exactly how much poker means to you.
FWIW, I have watched you play some Razz at 100/200 and thought you played well, but your David Grey hand did seem out of character.
How about dropping down to 50/100 or even 30/60 if there is no game for a while? Beat the shit out of that game for a bit, win yourself a black chip buy-in and move back up?
I know next to nothing about TD but enough not to call on the end with a straight :) So I can't really offer any advice at all there - we have all been whupped senseless by someone oblivious to how lucky they are before. If it wiped you out mentally, fair enough, take a break or even quit if you feel the need. If it wiped you out financially,(or made a serious dent) then probably dropping down a level or 2 would be a good idea too.
I don't think it would take you long at lower levels to bounce back.
you should start investing. if you need some ideas just let me know.
Thanks guys. I am already playing the stakes you mentioned, Simon, and I do have some investments and don't really want to be more involved in that than I already am.
Chris,
you have too many talent to quit. If you are interested in a staking deal. let me know
I didn't say I need money. I have plenty of money. I just can't win a hand anymore.
You're welcome to dump masses of data on me if you want another set of eyes looking at it.
hey chris, watching you right now. you arent playing poorly
Make a TD video for Stox's site. The money is not much, but it's fun to do.
So what does catafo mean?
Catch a fish and fall out?
(If I'm right, do I win a prize?)
Catafo: "climb a tree and fall out."
What does "catch a fish and fall out" mean?
What does "catch a fish and fall out" mean?
It is a very significant saying for those in the deep sea shark fishing industry....
Chris - First off, I've really enjoyed reading your blog since I came across it some months ago.
You sound like a man in need of a break from poker, what to do in a break? Well lets see, you're a world class poker player, esp. on TD, and a good writer... How about a publishing project: Fargis on Triple Draw? Short of the brief chapter in SS2, there is nother worth reading, in print, on TD that I know of; and I think a growing demand. There was a post recently in the 2+2 book forum asking why they didn't have any non-HE books in the publishing pipeline to which the official response was something like "we'd love to, but nobody's working on one". If you want a full on business project, then form your own company and publish it yourself. (Either way, make sure you commit yourself to a timetable, or you'll never finish it!)
I'm sure I'm not the first to suggest this and equally sure I'm not the only one who'd put Fargis on Triple Draw on pre-order.
Tom,
Glad you enjoy the blog. As I have written before, I don't think that writing about or teaching triple draw is a good idea. It doesn't sound like fun and the player pool is small enough that I don't want to spell out my strategies too much. The size of the pool also greatly limits the profitability of a triple draw book. Thanks for the idea.
chris,
Matt Smazz and I have talked on countless occasions that a great book on heads up limit poker would be a god send.
I've struggled like you with high limit holdem HU. Am I too aggessive? Not aggressive enough? I couldn't win a session. It got to the point where I had to stop and revert back to ring games.
It is my opinion that perfectly run bluffs just can't work HU unless you are bluffing with the best hand. But I could be wrong ...I often am. Good luck
Running bad is exceptionally difficult to deal with. As a matter of intellect, you know perfectly well that you're a ginormous favorite to a chump who calls you down with 76543 in a TD game; and you equally well know that in the long run, all that matters is the quality of your decisionmaking. But that is cold consolation when the chump cleans you out, and that intellectual construct does precious little to fill the hole that feels like is being drilled into your gut.
I solve it, usually, by spending time with my kids, working out, and reaffirming first principles. It isn't easy, but the ability to stay totally even-tempered in times of great emotional stress is one of the things that separates Barry G and Ivey from the rest of us. And over the years, I've seen guys totally implode because of their failure to be able to weather the emotional downsides.
You know all this already, of course, and I apologize for what is perhaps an overly trite articulation.
-Howard Treesong
What does "catch a fish and fall out" mean?
At the time I was thinking about playing a fish heads-up and losing. But also if you caught a fish in a boat and fell out...
That and I missed a t somewhere along the way, oops. Climb a tree and fall out makes more sense.
future blog entries?
-shiera
hello,
just ran across your site while searching for something entirely different. had a quick read.
i gather you make a living playing cards. you sound...well not very inspired. so take a break not complicated/path changing anything just take a break. do something different. theres a million things. go dig a ditch, go work at the golden arches, go to thailand and do a month long meditation deal, you say you got lots of money....go help someone out....start a business, build a house, build a lake, work at a soup kitchen, come to vancouver on a trip...we can have breakfast and go for a walk on the ocean and talk...
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