I like the game, but sometimes limit holdem reminds me of the old video game "Gauntlet". In certain levels of Gauntlet, there was a bubble that roamed the screen randomly. If the bubble touched any of the four players, that player would absorb the bubble and become 'it'. ("Blue Valkyrie is 'it'.") The undesirable side effect of being 'it' was that all of the monsters on the screen would stream towards you. There are times in limit holdem where it feels like everyone is gunning for you, and gets there, no matter how slim they're drawing.
I'm running bad lately. Flop the nut flush, lose to two full houses. Flop the nuts with a set, lose to a turned straight and a rivered flush. Flop top two and lose to a gutshot straight. Rinse, repeat. Those beats are painful but they're usually at least "justifiable". It's the incoherent beats that are excruciating.
To prove my point (and here is where I disclaim any bad beat story payments), 70/40 maniac raises from under the gun. Three cold callers to me, I have Ah-3h so I figure, what the hell, suited ace is pretty good here, let's see a flop. I don't like cold-calling preflop but there are always exceptions. Big blind also calls for a six-way flop of As-Tc-3s.
Ok, even tho I have two pair, this board sucks. I'm going to have to ram and jam and cross my fingers. Checks to middle position, who bets. Guy to his left raises, I 3-bet. Big blind takes three to the face, UTG takes three to the face, I get one fold and everyone else calls.
Turn is the 8s. Big blind checks, UTG bets. Now I call absolute bullshit on this bet. He doesn't have a flush. So after one caller, I raise. Only under-the-gun calls.
River is the Ks. UTG bets and I want to kill myself. Of course, given his rep and the fact that there are already 19 big bets in the pot, I can't fold. He shows 6c-Ts. He flopped middle pair, absolutely no draw and called through a bet and two raises to go runner-runner to a ten-high flush.
THAT is why people hate limit holdem.
