my present to myself - frustration at the table

One quick 9 man on Christmas eve. My stats were 6/0 after 50 hands, all unplayable crap. The guy two to my left was a horrible maniac, on top of it, no steal would be uncalled. I didn't even try (as you can see by my stats).

I folded my way into 3rd place. We were down to 5, maniac was 1st with 4200, then one more big stack near him, then three shorties with < 1500.

Bad maniac raises my blind, 2x. He had done this before and showed down 79o and QT. I had 44 and decided it was time to race, or maybe I could get a fold for once. Nope, no fold, he shows A9o. Nice call for 1/3 your stack.

Flop and turn look good for me, but the Ace on the river seals the deal. I played 3 hands out of 52. The last one was probably a bad push - perhaps I was due for a decent hand, and I certainly felt I could outplay one or two of the guys at the table.

Let's keep in mind, especially tonight - for many (most) of us, poker is meaningless entertainment. Sure, I love the game so much that sometimes it scares me - but the real important stuff is asleep 30 feet away from me, waiting for Santa to come. Losing a race in an $11 tourney seems like pretty paltry crap in comparison, and it aught to. Happy Holidays, all.