A Rocky Month

So it’s been one heck of a month.  I haven’t actually played very much during the past month, which in part is why I haven’t written very much.  I miss my routine.  We’ve been working a lot of overtime (unfortunately being salary I’m not actually paid for the overtime).  Unfortunately, work pays more, and more consistently than does poker, so I have to have priorities.

In addition to long hours at work, I think I mentioned that I started a diet about a month ago.  The good news about that, is that I am losing weight.  I weigh-in every Tuesday afternoon, and as of last Tuesday I’ve managed to lose 18.2 pounds.  It feels great, especially since my new PokerStars leather jacket actually fits!  :)

The bad news about a reduced calorie diet and long hours at work is that I’m more tired during the evenings than I used to be.  Maybe that has to do with age also.  Anyway, I just haven’t been as awake as I need to be in order to play poker.  I also hired a trainer to kick my butt at the gym and help with the weight loss.  (I’m now spending a LOT of money, and effort, to lose this weight – it had better freaking work!)

Anyway it’s been like the “perfect storm” for me.  Last week in two long, very tiring sessions, I had the biggest loss I’ve ever had at poker.  It’s almost difficult to type, but in two sessions I lost $1000.  It hurt my pride more than it hurt my bankroll.  I still have more than $5000, and truth be known, I keep that much so that a loss like that won’t hurt me.

Still, it really sucked.  And it kind of got me down.  I had to take a step back and think about what I’m doing, and a few things became clear:

• I really need to refrain from playing when I’m tired.  There are actually a few signs, or red flags, that I know mean I’m too tired to be playing.
• Related to the first item, I need to keep my session short, and take breaks during my sessions.
• I need to slow down and take time to think before I act – especially when/if I’m tired.
• I need to remember that I am a good player.  A friend of mine, who is one of the best poker players I know, says that I’m in the top 10% of poker players in the state – I need to remember that, especially when I’m running bad.  Streaks of bad luck happen to everyone – even the very best poker players.

I feel like I tilted – HARD, and for about 2 weeks.  Being tired, as I’ve mentioned, is one of the big factors.

The really funny thing is that last week I made my 2nd Royal Flush – something I thought I *might* get once in my lifetime.  Even funnier is that I didn’t realize I actually HAD a Royal Flush until the dealer announced it.  I was SO tired that I knew I had a flush, but didn’t even realize it was a Royal.

I’m so embarrased to even type that.

So like I said, I took a step back and did some soul searching, and decided to get back into things.  On Tuesday & Wednesday this week I played at The Caribbean and it reminded me just how bad the players are at $3/$6 limit poker.  I only managed to make a little bit of money – less than $100, but it was a good experience because it reminded me how far I have come.

Last night as I was cashing out one of the players came to me and said “Hey, you’re the only person at the table who I don’t want to get tangled up with in a hand.  You’re the best player here.”  I said, “Thanks!” and shook his hand – he replied, “I’m not sure how much of a compliment that is; these players are really bad.”

He’s right.  My friend and I call The Caribbean “The Kirkland Aquarium.”  The players there are very loose, very aggressive, and they can hurt themselves and other players with their wild play.  As a result, you can really win big when/if you come out ahead – but, you can also lose big too when you invest a bunch of money into a great starting hand only to find that somebody makes some crazy two pair to beat you.  Still, it’s a good place to start.  Heck, that’s where I built most of my bankroll.  And over the long run, if you play smart you’ll do well.  On losing nights, you learn to take the good nights with the bad, and that statistically, smart play wins.  There’s a LOT that can be learned playing there.

So it’s been a tough month, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Work is going better; it looks like evening and weekend hours have come to an end.  Well, that’s not entirely true; I’m supposed to work this weekend, but the project is pretty much complete and if I do work at all, I don’t expect to spend a lot of time there.

Besides, Sunday I can’t work.  I’m going to be at Tulalip playing in the “Women’s Northwest Championship” poker tournament.  I played last year and had a great time.  This year I feel like my game has improved significantly.  In addition to cash, 1st place gets a buy-in to the WSOP Main Event, a travel voucher, and a gold bracelet.  2nd through 8th places win buy-ins to the Ladies event at the WSOP – the one I intend to play in no matter what.

I have a chance – I can do this!  My friend Dana (AKA Heidi Spanksalot) is going to come with me and play also.  Between the two of us, I hope one of us makes it!

So tonight I went back to Diamond Lil’s and played some $8/$16 limit poker.  I did well; I timeboxed my session to 3 hours (8-11) and came out $121 ahead.  Not a big win, but considering that comes to an hourly rate of just over $40, it’s not too bad, either.  This was the way I built up my bankroll to begin with, so I’m going to take this as a win and move forward and upward.

Good luck at the tables!