Pocket Aces

Case in point… on two separate occasions last night, I was dealt pocket aces. Naturally, I felt good about my chances to win each hand. But, poker is just as unpredictable as life. In hand #1, I raised pre-flop and got one other player to call. The flop was Jack, seven, four with two diamonds on the board. I was first to act, so I made a bet that was the same size as the pot. My opponent went all-in behind me, which made me nervous. I was thinking he might’ve hit three-of-a-kind. I had him covered, so I called him, and he showed 8, 3 off-suit. A stone cold bluff attempt. I collected his chips and continued with the tournament.

After about an hour, and down to about 12 players, I found myself with pocket aces again. I went all-in pre-flop because I was getting low on chips, and got one other player to call. He called and showed an ace, jack. I had him completely dominated. I was sure I would win this hand. I was so confident. Then the flop came… ten, jack, three with two hearts on the board. Ok, so he had a pair of jacks now. I still had him beat with my pair of aces. The turn was an 8 of spades. No harm done. But, the river… Oh the river… was another jack. My heart was ripped out of my chest. It felt like the girlfriend who I had been ignoring all night had left me. I was in shambles. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Out of the tournament.

I felt like quitting. I thought I was no good. Even when you’re holding the best of it, the worst could be right around the corner. I started questioning myself. What’s the point? Why even try?

Then, I stumbled upon a little clarity.

As they say, you can’t lose what you don’t put into the pot. But you can’t win much either. So I’ll ante up again, and maybe one day I’ll win it all.

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