When the Force isn't with you...

[TheHits]

...and there's nothing you can do about it, it's the most depressing thing in the world.

I've just come back from my local where we were having a game, and I can honestly say that I've never had a run of cards quite like the ones I've had tonight. Every single hand - with one exception - was a total pile of dross. The exception was the trip eights that I hit on the flop, raising all in heavily to try and drive out some of the five players left in the hand, leaving one person left who pushed and pushed and the flukey bastard made a flush on the river.

Now, I don't consider myself to be an expert poker player by any stretch of the imagination, but I know enough to not make a total arse of myself. But for the love of God, when you're sitting there helplessly as the likes of J-3, K-4 and 3-8 come at you time and time again, with people invariably calling you (never play against people new to the game, you can't bluff them out of anything ), truly you know that it's just not meant to be.

The night was summed up perfectly by the hand I went out on. I had K-10 offsuited, two callers and I was last to act, so fairly obviously I thought to myself "well, this is the best two cards I've had all night, so it's do or die really"; went all-in, got called by both of them, and the flop came up 7-7-2. "Looking alright" I thought to myself, only to see another 2 come up and one of the two callers had made full house twos-up.

I hate poker. It's a shit game

[tfeilding]

I find the trick is to befriend certain rubbish hands. Make 7-4 or 8-2 your own, then when you get them you feel little shame in raising and you'll find they may not be the huge underdogs you might have expected - plus if you win before a showdown you can flash your cards and establish hero credentials and if you dont win just mumble something about not catching cards and then stagger off.

[TheHits]

That's interesting advice...somebody I know chooses a card for the night and every time he gets it, regardless of what he gets it with, he bets it like a mofo.

I suppose if you're getting dealt shit, then you have to play with shit.

[S6TAV]

I know what you mean about new people to the game. Me and a few friends have a game once a month. None of them really play online or anywhere else for that matter. It does make me laugh you have got to play premium hands only because they will play anything and it's quite tough to bluff when 7 other players have called your raise .

Talking about choosing a pair of cards my mate was playing on a table the other day. He was in the small blind and had 5,5 it folds to him and he raised 3X bb. The guy in the BB then starts to type "Sorry these are my cards i have to play them" flop comes 5,3,10 my mate makes another bet with his set to which the bloke types "Sorry i cant fold these" and calls. The turn come 5,3,10,J, because he was saying sorry all the time we didn't put him on 10,10 or J,J. Possibly 10,J but if that was so my mate was still good so he makes another bet.This time he types "I have never lost with these cards" and calls. The river comes 5,3,10,J,A my mate checks worried the guy was holding AA or KQ. The BB makes a minimum bet to which my mate calls

He was holding 2,4 what a nut case. I know he won but still to commit your self to those cards is insane. It was like he was mystic meg or something and knew he would make it on the river