It's damaging when you don't follow the rules. You weren't supposed to chase down to the river; why did you? You weren't supposed to lose that much money; why did you risk it? You weren't supposed to call with those whole cards. Why did you? You weren't supposed to lose your cool at the table, so why did you?
You weren't supposed to throw your hand in the muck, why did you? You weren't supposed to call with the two pair, you knew he had a flush, why did you? You weren't supposed to cuss when you lost. Why did you? You weren't supposed to go in with A-2 off suit. Why did you? You weren't supposed to, supposed to, supposed to, supposed to, so why did you?
Once upon a time, there were three demons. Satan asked them all, "What will you do to bring people to me, to the dark side?" The first demon responded, "I will tell them that there is no such thing as God." Satan said "No, no, people will not believe that."
The second demon said "I will tell them there's no heaven and no hell; that this life is all there is." Satan responded, "No, no, there's no way people will believe that either."
Finally, the third demon says, "I will tell them that they have all the time in the world and that they can put things off until tomorrow." Satan smiled and said, "Yes, that's good; that way they will not achieve their purpose in life. Ah, yes, play with those thoughts."
I fold an 8-3 off suit; the flop is then 8-8-3 and smacks me across the face. Then, after I start thinking I should play such crap because it came last time, I realize that satanic voice inside my head is called the Poker Devil.
He says "play those nonsense cards. You would have won last time. Come on, it will only cost you eight bucks; what's eight bucks?" P.D.'s job is to mess with your brain, your thoughts, and your common sense. Folding the 8-3 off suit and the flop hitting is a matter of chance, a small chance, and when these things happen, that's when he strikes. He strikes when you're irritated, when your will power and discipline are lacking. He truly is a punk.
I came across some truly fascinating life lessons recently that I'd like to share with you; they're good lessons for life and poker.
Number one is this: "Worry is the inability to forget troubles that may never happen." When one worries too much they muck the best hands and frequently turn down the best opportunities because they fear losing, tragic.
Here's the second: "Forgiveness is the heart's forgetfulness of injury." This one has cost me tournaments, I get smacked across the face on the river, lose a big pot and I can't seem to let it go afterwards. It takes me off my game and I end up getting busted when I was so close, and that's tragic.
Number three is so commonplace at the poker table: "Anger is the explosion of an over-heated memory." "My aces always get cracked," the guy says as he so rudely throws his cards at the dealer. It's not the dealer's fault, it's your attitude, dude. Tragic.
Until we meet again, remember poker, just like life, is all about lessons. It's about tripping and trying to gain balance again. As you get better at it, the time between tripping and gaining composure becomes less and less.
