Haven't posted in a while for a number of reasons, including a computer crash at work (which means I don't have PT running at work for my lunchtime games, and probably won't for another 3 weeks or so), some crazy family stuff, and my ever-looming book project. Also, honestly, I have been a bit burned out on poker lately. I had a bad weekend playing the game, and, rather than get upset about losing so much, I sort of just shrugged my shoulders and decided to play less.
My bankroll is down significantly and I'm going to have to play at lower limits for a while to build it back up. Unfortunately, that means I'm somewhat less inclined to play a lot. It's strange psychology at work in my mind, but it is what it is. I play best at the $5-10 levels, but I need to plug-and-chug the 'roll back up a bit at the lower levels before I get to play at the higher limits.
It also doesn't help that have I haven't won a SnG outright in over a week. A lot of bad beats and lost coin-flips have accounted for a lot of this, but also semi-tilted play has factored in. Finishing in fourth place repeatedly starts to feel a lot like banging your head against a wall; it's great when you stop doing it. I just need to get back on the horse and bulldoze my way into the money and get my enthusiams back up. I did manage to take a 3rd place finish last night in a $2 SnG, which felt okay, but my psyche really needed a 1st place finish. C'est la vie.
In other news, I watched a bit of the Tucson MPT online game, in which a local teenager moneyed for the second time in three weeks. This kid is one of the guru's students and seems to have that innate ability to play fearlessly in a tough game. One of the guru's 10 Commandments of Poker is centered around "playing with heart," which essentially means you have to trust yourself and your reads, get your money in with the best of it, and not think about the actual dollars at risk. In a nutshell, you have to play without fear of losing.
I was reading an interview with Phil Ivey a few days ago, and he basically said this same thing: you have not only have to be willing to gamble with aggressive all-ins, but you have to mentally embrace those situations. You can't push-in tentatively, even online, or the opp will smell it like blood in the water. You have to relish the push. Fearlessness is key to wining.
Which brings me to a thought I had a while ago when I read that the actor Ben Affleck won the California State Poker Championship a few years back. He was (is) a solid player who took the game seriously when he was learning. He hired a poker coach and got a lot of seat time in as he mastered the game. This is all well and good, but I think a unique edge he has over many of his opponents is the size of his bankroll. When you're playing at a level that you're very comfortable with, it's easy to "play your game," taking appropriate chances and, essentially, being more like Annette. When you stray outside of your comfort zone, it's harder to relax and play solid poker. I know this happened to me the few times I've played at the $20-30 SnG tables; I'm basically playing with scared money, which is a sure-fire way to lose. For Affleck, plunking down $10,000 for a tourney buy-in is just not that scary to do. Hell, he probably drops that much a year on lattes or bottled water. It's all relative....
Don't even want to bother looking at my bankroll right now and figuring out the % change. Suffice it to say, I'm down... but not out.
All-in for now...
-Bug
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