How bad do you hate bad beats? Baaaad! I hate them with passion! It is not even the part of the bad beat where people get lucky. It is the part where people make horrible decisions, where they put themselves into a situation that is so obviously wrong that makes you think why do they even play this game. It is also the part where you played your hand perfectly, bet it correctly, trapped the opponent, and then the luck not only turned its back to you, but came up from behind, and slapped you in the face with viciousness. There is nothing worse in poker. Or is there?
I have hit my computer while playing on line. I have thrown my mouse and my headphones of the wall, and I have all together lost it yelling and screaming and cursing at the screen. In a live game, I have thrown a chair, yelled at people, called them names, and broke off all friendship if someone not involved in the bad beat pot made a stupid comment. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I do not know if I had to go through that phase, and if all of us need to do the same in order to become good poker players and classy losers later, but I know that thanks to it, my decision-making today is better, and I understand that everything is a part of the game that I willingly choose to play.
Now, this "part of the game" stuff we all heard so many times, however, have we all thought about it the right way? As I mention in my profile, the part of the bad beat that we should focus on is the part where you as a player made a correct decision, the right play, perfect bet, sprung the trap, and the only thing that stood in the way was the bad luck that will not be there most of the times in the future. It is so hard, I know, but you need to get out of that poker room for five minutes, get a drink, think about the hand, see if there was anything that you could have done differently, and then armed with this new knowledge get right back in. If you do not feel like getting back in, make a sports bet and take another drink. Tomorrow you will be ready to continue your poker quest.
Being nervous and frustrated by the bad beat is normal, but completely useless. More you limit this frustration, the better of you will be at the table. Me calling the bad player a "donkey" (this word substitutes much harsher comments that I made in the past) does not help me any, because in most occasions I want him to make the same play in the future because I will own a lot of his chips. I actually count on his bad play in future tournaments and cash games to give me an edge and an easier job.
When we get to the bottom of it, a bad beat is nothing more than a good play defeated by a bad player who made a horrible play that lost you money but will in turn make you five or six times more if played the same way in the future. Positive? I think so. Let us be happy that we even have the opportunity to play poker, have fun, compete and have a chance to win money. With the positive attitude and this kind of approach to bad beats, those goals will be much closer.
Ten days ago we have taken the first step into an unbelievable and unforgettable summer of superhero movies. The Ironman was a bullseye (!), a great movie with fantastic acting and more focus on setting up the franchise than on action, explosion and fighting. I loved every bit of it, the dialogs, the cockiness, the Paltrow - Downey Jr. connection, and the smoothness of "the Dude" himself. I do not know how well did that play with the younger audiences, but I definitely wanted to dress like Tony Stark, and drink the best scotch and smoke the best cigars like Obadiah Stane. More importantly, though, I could easily relate to the moral turnaround of Tony Stark and its play on the youngsters, as it was done nicely and with emphasis on not waisting one's life.
What will follow are The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight and the Hellboy II: The Golden Army. While I just want to flood this space with words and feelings about these movies, I will wait until we all see them. What I want to focus on is the importance of Superheroes in all of our lives. While comic books hit somewhat of a low (understatement) during the nineties, their resurrection was spectacular in the past five to six years. This comeback was heavily influenced by the cinematographic industry and the large number of the superhero projects undertaken within the last decade. Good or bad, all these movies brought us back not only to the world of fantasy, but also to the world where the good, the moral and the selfless lead the way and reign over the bad, dark and selfish. The number of extremely well written and fantastically drawn comic books out there is spectacular. I wish that I was a millionaire, and that I have enough time to just buy everything and read everything. However, that is not possible, nor should it be since what comic books want to do is to use that particular character or the superhero that is appealing to your kid, and teach him or her that goodness is the key to being happy.
The point of my first blog ever, is to go out and grab a comic book for your son, daughter, nephew or just a kid from the neighborhood. There is so much affordable, and used stuff out there that would mean a lot to children. Comic books have taught me how to read. Once I achieved that first step, they had so much more to offer, as they demonstrated the difference between the right and wrong and showed me that the winners are the good guys. What a positive message, and what an unprecedented way of delivering it! Superheroes are again achieving what they were meant to do in their earliest ages, teach young minds values and spark their imagination and creativity.
I say, "Go summer of 2008," and go superheroes!
