When your opponent is on tilt

I had a pretty fun go of it tonight. Played in two sit and go tourneys tonight. First one I took a bad beat holding big slick against JT suited, which hit the flush on the river. I was short stacked enough that the next decent hand I went all-in on (AQ), but my opponent (99) hit quads on the flop. Yet another example that you never win them all no matter how well you play. Poker really is an averages game. If your game is consistently good, you'll make money in the long run. Poker is seriously not a game for those looking for an instant gratification win.

As such, I decide to continue my law of averages approach and play another SNG. I make a loose call early, and fall to being short stacked until there are five remaining after the nine. By the time I make it past the bubble, I'm the big stack. A good sign that the movement that happens early in a tournament in of small consequence to the overall flow of the game.

One of my two remaining opponents is right on tilt. And he (I'm assuming he's a he, you never quite know online) decided to target me. I admit, I called him with J6 suited vs. his all in with JT. My stack size was much bigger and I was willing to gamble that I'd hit just enough to knock him out. I didn't. That's poker though. However, this is when the onslaught started.

Earlier, when I had been entering pots, I had done consistently with consistent raises. A very standard move most pro's advocate to players wanting to learn to improve their game. My opponent noticed and commented on this earlier in the game, but I paid it no mind. Until he got a little verbally abusive after his beat of me on the all-in. In retrospect, I think I pushed him off of some decent hands that connected with my raising. Which, in all due respect, is the point. To push some marginal hands out of action.

So, the verbal insults to my game proceeded. How I'm the worst player he's ever played against. How my game will never amount to anything. Having been on a little bit of a losing streak, I've been forcing myself to stay positive as to not make careless mistakes. However, ignoring the taunts didn't work. It kept coming. So, having been a bully target as a child growing up, and having a vast education in dealing with bullies, I had to think of something. I considered shutting chat off, just to play out the hands. However, I needed to get things out of my system. I highly do not endorse engaging anyone, but this idea was too much fun.

I told my opponent to keep insulting me. I loved it and fed off of it. Sure enough, he took the bait. I cheered (well, in text) and thanked him for his insulting behavior. Sure enough, he stayed right on tilt, and soon found himself out in third.

Myself, I won. Woo hoo! My opponent who finished in second was much more sporting, and agreed that our 'friend' was neither sportsmanlike or a good poker player.

And he didn't even obey the simplest principle. Don't tap on the aquarium. It scares the fish. Mind you, by not ignoring chat, I might be guilty of the same.

But it wouldn't have made for a good story, now would it?