Boredom and Agony

Tournament poker has been described as hours of boredom interrupted by moments of agony. This statement is an adequate description of my affair with poker.

Most days, its a slow grind of building the bankroll. Its a hobby, its money, but it is often times boring and monotonous. Every so often, my poker sessions are interrupted by large uptick in my bankroll or, god forbid, a large downtick. These are the moments of agony. Whether up or down, these larger swings have an effect on my ability to play solid poker. Questions arise as to my strategies, what am i doing differently? How should I alter my game to get running good? How can I alter it to stay running hot? The reality, most of the time I am playing the same game I always play, but the cards hit the felt differently.

Today was such a day. Instead of doubling up when I had finally flopped top-pair with AQ, Q7 caught two-pair on the river. Instead of building my stack with a flopped set, a flush-draw hits and I am crippled. So are the rumblings of variance. My challenge is to continue to be the AQ instead of the Q7 and the set instead of the incorrect draw. But that is easier said than done, especially if your frustration is wanting you to call an all-in with A9 because, well, you're due damnit.