Writing this is long overdue…as said in a recent post, I am the worst blogger in the world… I love keeping up with all the poker community……the good, the bad and the imaginary…. so will cover a couple of subjects that have been on my mind.
First is a quick, four day trip to Las Vegas in March…. Winerunner and I were there for a family wedding which is a story in itself…but will stick to poker here. We were staying downtown at the Golden Nugget as usual and played cash games each day. The games were great and although being a “tourist” myself, my goal is to always win and keep the partying to a minimum….the strategy worked and I was able to come home with a nice profit.
The poker related highlight of the trip was playing the Tuesday night HORSE tournament at the MGM that is hosted by Chip and Karina Jett….. This was my first time playing HORSE live and it was pretty obvious that I was so outclassed in every way. When we had online sites running, I played a lot of mixed games and actually did pretty well….. My main rule of thumb was to stay away from Omaha in all forms when possible but was competent in the other games which included Badugi and 3/7 Triple draw.
Well…..I sat at the table and Chip was to my immediate right….what a nice guy and I must say that everyone was so patient with me….was a total novice when it came to posting all the blinds/antes in the stud games. I had not played any mixed games for a year and if it had occurred to me that I was going to be playing this event…. I might have brushed up some on Poker Stars in the free money games….but I did not do that……..
Sitting to the right of Chip was Jeanne (@jeanriders on twitter)….what a sweetheart she is. We got to talking and for some unknown reason I had not been following her although I have tried to follow all the women in poker that I can find….. and what a find she was. Felt like I had been missing out by not discovering her before. We figured out that we had played together online before Black Friday……..hopefully we will cross paths again in June as we will return for a week or so during the WSOP. After coming home I have been delighted to follow her tournament conquests….what a mixed game star she is and I expect some big results this Summer for her….. she is my new favorite star!!!
Just wanted to mention the Black Friday subject briefly…… being that I am recreational player (although a serious one) I was not affected as far as making a living….. it has freed up a considerable amount of time and I did spend a lot of time in the last year floundering emotionally with the loss but at the same time after a few tough months, I have begun to refocus on my art work and have concentrated on my cash game. Since driving to Oklahoma is my live play option….a one hour each way trip…. I have been going twice a week. I have given up daily tournaments as the structure is not good at Winstar and concentrated on cash. That has been a good decision for my poker life and it has made me far more productive and happy in all of the other parts of my life…. life has come into balance again so I must say that looking back, this has been more of a positive than negative.
I have enjoyed seeing other blog posts on the subject and especially liked the one by David Clark (@WhoIsDavidClark) that details the past year of his and La’s experiences and life adjustments…. very positive and well told story. We all have one to tell…..but it is interesting and affirming to see the creative ways that many have dealt with this issue. I hope that when/if online poker returns that we can all remember these lessons and not fall back into dependence on things we do not completely control…….
Fantastic content, I must say i watch for posts by you.