Trying to figure it out

I have played this game of poker for years, andwhat amazes me about this game is that it takes a lifetime to figure it out. I am still at a point where I win sometimes and I lose sometimes, and I was talking with one of my cohorts today and he made a lot of sense. He told me I was trying to apply a logical process to an illogical game (poker), this is very true, there is no secret formula or process to win everytime at poker. It's a hand by hand, tournament by tournament basis, and I am a very logical person, so it was hard for me to see that.

Lately I have been doing well, but the past few days I hit a roadblock, I haven't been placing in Sit N' Go's at my normal rate and my success at cash games has slowed to a crawl. I was on fire for about 2 weeks and almost couldn't lose, I though I finally had a breakthrough and figured out how to reach the next level, but I was wrong, I have gotten better overall, but that time when you just "get it" hasn't hit me yet. I know the concepts of playing position, etc..., but it's that innate part of poker that part that comes when all of your knowledge and effort click at the same time causing you to achieve clarity.

AG has reached this point in recent months, and he has had a lot of success after that. Just listening to him talk about the game, and the concepts make me realize that I was right in my thinking that I was never in the same room with him when it came to poker, right now he is on the 85th floor and I am just clearling floor 10, I have a long way to go before I "get it", logical concepts are not enough to reach the next level.

I have continued my recent trend of being the bubble boy in tournaments, especially at the B-House I have finished out of the money/points the last 3 tourneys by just 1 or 2 spots. I feel my game is much better and I am making the proper decisions, but I still make a few mistakes along the way.

Hand of Note:

I was in the small blind, blinds were 200/400 everyone folded before me, I was dealt K 10 (marginal), CMart was to my left and I raised to $1200 3x the big blind, Cmart sighed big time because he really wanted to see a flop. Playing with Cmart in the past I knew he had a pair or two overs like an AQ, I figured he had a pair though because he was short stacked, if he had AK he probably would have pushed figuring I didn't have AA or KK and that would give him a chance to suck out, and he probably felt he would be in the lead. He pushes over the top all in for another $2000 I have about $5000 chips at this point, and even though I knew better I called and he flipped over 9's I didn't catch anything and I was crippled by that play.

End Hand of Note.

Above is the reason an entire tournament can be ruined I decided to race, and guess what I didn't win when I could have folded. Lessons learned only make you better, and I realized I had a healthy stack I could have been more selective in what I chose to call an All-In with.