On Losing

I'm not sure how they do it. Professional poker players endure six straight weeks of losing with the occasional "win" that's not really a win. Only fifty-some people will go home a "winner" in the true sense of the word (two less thanks to Phil Ivey and Brock Parker pulling down two bracelets each). A few will end up in black on the summer, thanks to one or two significant scores. But most will go home losers.

It might be one or two buyins, but the total can eclipse six-figures rather easily. Some of the best players in the world can go O-fer during the series. Whether it's playing bad, running bad, or some combination thereof, it happens. That's without mentioning the large sums of cash thrown around in ring games...

My initial plan was to play in six or seven events by now, but instead I'm headed home to get some a much needed break from the WSOP. About half-way through my time in the $5,000 event I came to the realization that I just didn't want to play as many events as I thought I did. It's just too damn depressing losing over and over again. I sat for hours and hours trying to get something going. My starting table was pretty tough; I was surrounded by players with both online and live success. There was only one loose cannon at the table, who managed to run the 15k starting stack up to 40k before redistributing it pretty evenly to the table. I did everything I could to get chips, but ended up paying off two sets when I couldn't find a fold button. Even with those mistakes I hung around the starting stack until just before dinner when I made my unceremonious exit.

There's a reason players refer to the several minute journey from the Amazon Room to the parking lot "the walk of shame." During the trek it's inevietable to be asked, "How many chips do you have?" or "Any luck today?" Bad beat stories are inevitable, but with a little experience you quickly figure out which players to avoid. Sometimes they can't help themselves and tell you anyway.

I really don't know how they deal with the constant "losing." I don't play enough at this level to not be emotionally invested in each event--sheesh, I even care a ton about every pot I'm in much less the entire event.