That was a look through the lens of results-orientedness, to see how it warps the self-evaluation of a session. Let’s see what a refracted hand looks like.
No-limit hold’em. Cash game. The blinds are $10/20. Everyone has $6,000. I’m on the button with pocket fives. Everyone folds to me. I open for $80. The small blind folds. Joe is in the big blind. He calls the $60 more.
The flop comes A-A-5. I have a full house. Joe checks. I bet $100 in a way designed to convince the universe and even myself that I am bluffing. Joe folds.
Damn, I should have checked! I suck!
Okay. Do-over. Just like before.
I open for $80 with 55 on the button, and only Joe calls. The flop comes A-A-5, Joe checks, and I bet $100. But this time, Joe has AK, and he checkraises on the flop to $300. I make it a thousand and he real quick moves all-in for six grand and I call just as fast and we both turn over and no ace or king comes and I bust him and…
What an awesome bet by me on the flop! I’m a genius!