This one maybe falls partly under the umbrella of "some more stuff I was going to say but was too much for a single post earlier". It's 6 a.m and I'm happy to type, so let's have at it.
Yesterday was another long session. Eight hours plus grinding along in the Venetian chasing a decent score. Like a lot of these poker ventures, it ended in matchsticks, which is commonplace if you play plenty of poker. So, you wish everyone good luck and continue onward to the next one, which in my case is the $400 Superstack on Tuesday. Maybe the fact that I'm no longer 23 years old (yes, really) takes it's toll on the mind and body a bit more nowadays, but I find that wheras a lot of people (still) arrive in Las Vegas, and simply go hammer and tongs at playing as much poker as possible 24/7, I like to space things out if I can, which is why I kind of plan my schedule accordingly. I feel you play far better, focus, and have a better shot at doing well if you look after yourself a bit, which is always a plus. You only need to look around in most poker rooms even these days and see the unshaven tubs of lard buying and ordering pizza at 11a.m to know that not everyone shares this ideal or has any interest at all in their personal well being. And that's just the women.
I'm by no means a poster-boy for healthy, but a few years back, I noticed that more and more people seemed to be dropping dead all around me. A lot of them weren't looking after themselves. Not "a little bit", I mean...not "at all". As a lot of you know I love to cook, so avoiding a junk food diet wasn't really a problem for me. I generally eat whatever I like, but am just sensible about it and don't simply pig out every meal. I've always been a runner (or is that a runner, runner) to some degree, so a few times a year I will enter a half marathon. The times are not going to shatter any records, but I'm going faster than the people who are sitting on the couch eating a burger and chips and doing nothing.
Yesterday was another long session. Eight hours plus grinding along in the Venetian chasing a decent score. Like a lot of these poker ventures, it ended in matchsticks, which is commonplace if you play plenty of poker. So, you wish everyone good luck and continue onward to the next one, which in my case is the $400 Superstack on Tuesday. Maybe the fact that I'm no longer 23 years old (yes, really) takes it's toll on the mind and body a bit more nowadays, but I find that wheras a lot of people (still) arrive in Las Vegas, and simply go hammer and tongs at playing as much poker as possible 24/7, I like to space things out if I can, which is why I kind of plan my schedule accordingly. I feel you play far better, focus, and have a better shot at doing well if you look after yourself a bit, which is always a plus. You only need to look around in most poker rooms even these days and see the unshaven tubs of lard buying and ordering pizza at 11a.m to know that not everyone shares this ideal or has any interest at all in their personal well being. And that's just the women.
I'm by no means a poster-boy for healthy, but a few years back, I noticed that more and more people seemed to be dropping dead all around me. A lot of them weren't looking after themselves. Not "a little bit", I mean...not "at all". As a lot of you know I love to cook, so avoiding a junk food diet wasn't really a problem for me. I generally eat whatever I like, but am just sensible about it and don't simply pig out every meal. I've always been a runner (or is that a runner, runner) to some degree, so a few times a year I will enter a half marathon. The times are not going to shatter any records, but I'm going faster than the people who are sitting on the couch eating a burger and chips and doing nothing.
The pic above is not me by the way and never was!!! The one below is.
It's worth me taking a moment in this post to draw attention to just a couple of good and inspirational friends. My pal Jimi, with whom I occasionally run, is always a positive force. We've known one another way back since the good old days of £5 rebuy poker tournaments in Russell Square ("Chips Roy!"). We often meet, shoot the breeze, motivate one another when it's cold and horrible outside, and after 5 minutes of warming up, both are instantly glad we've made the effort to get out the door and run for 45 minutes to an hour from time to time. Incidentally Jimi has a young business doing fun casino events. He is very good at what he does, has been in the game as long as i have, and like many things, he approaches it with a high level of professionalism, so I'm posting a link here if you'd like to see what he does and if it might be of use to you if you need something similar for an event, large or small (UK based).
http://www.nomadic-events.co.uk/
http://www.nomadic-events.co.uk/
Secondly, I discovered golf. Yes. That stupid game with the little white ball and the daft pullovers. Something I seriously would have avoided like the plague a few years ago, mainly based on stereotypes of stuffy club committees, and people telling you which shoes you can't walk on which area with etc. Add to that the fact that I was pretty hopeless at the game when I started, and I was as surprised as anyone to find I enjoyed it once I began playing. The parallels with stuff like poker, snooker, and pool are pretty easy to see. Once your technique improves, you become more proficient, and enjoy the pastime a lot more. If you apply yourself, you're already up on a lot of people, who don't like to actually make the effort. Combine that with the fact it's good exercise (you can walk easily 6-7 miles on a golf course...or 8-10 if you play horribly), and also that it's a great release from other life-crap (it's stressful if you choose to get stressed by it), and it makes for a good pastime when not working, pokering, etc. Well, it works for me anyway. I even snagged a cheap set of very nice clubs in Las Vegas this trip so I don't need to lug sporting goods back and forth across the Atlantic. In the UK I have some good pals with whom I often meet and hack and swish around the countryside. With the onset of Autumn and winter this may happen less, but that's what driving ranges were built for.
I've certainly a ways to go when it comes to golfing ability, but most importantly I enjoy it, and (I think) am steadily improving as I go along. There's a LOT to learn. Luckily in Las Vegas there are around 40 or so superb golf courses here, so there's no shortage of places in which to play if you get some time off. I should mention, another good pal I met originally via poker in the UK is Gary Clements. Luckily he is also a PGA pro, a coach, and one of the nicest people you' could meet, in or out of poker. He has helped me with my game (often with a healthy dose of sarcasm but I give as good as I get!). He can tear his hair out when he gets outdrawn at a poker table, but is the opposite when it comes to his area of expertise. If you need lessons or tips, I would say he's the man, as he knows his stuff inside out, and is incredibly easy to talk to when discussing the game. Mention my name, and the price of any lessons will likely double. Link below.
http://garyclementsgolf.co.uk
http://garyclementsgolf.co.uk
Another journey on which I embarked a while ago was the Ketogenic diet. Whilst there's a ton of literature about this online, essentially you cut right down (pretty much totally) on carbs, and instead eat high fat, and some protein in your daily diet, to put your body into "Ketosis", where instead of getting all your energy from carbs, your body feeds on it's own stored fat resources instead, which also leads to weight loss. Sounds scary, and it's a chemical balancing act, but in measured doses I'd recommend it, firstly for weight loss, but secondly to bust the myth about all fats being terrible for you that we've been fed all our lives. They aren't. Before I started being more aware of my lifestyle, I was 5' 10" and weighed around 13 stone (182 lbs). Once I started running, dieting, golfing and generally thinking a bit more, I went right down to 10.5 stone (147 lbs). I'm maybe 1/4 of a stone heavier now, but I'm in Las Vegas, and still well below the bar. When you look round and see so many obese people, you decide if you'd like to be one of them or not. I chose not to be. It's as tough as you make it, and whilst I'll never be a monk, because I like potatoes, pasta, bread, booze, biscuits etc way to much to ever totally give them up, taking stock occasionally and doing stuff to maintain yourself a bit has to be a good thing. Links below for the curious.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb
https://blog.kettleandfire.com/starting-a-ketogenic-diet/
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb
https://blog.kettleandfire.com/starting-a-ketogenic-diet/
I guess whatever it might be...running, diet, swimming, yoga, hitting golf balls, cycling... just do what you can. It's not like any of us are going to get out alive anyway.
OK...minimal poker content in here today. Don't worry, I'm back at it all over again tomorrow, hopefully refreshed and rested as I'm going to try to practice what I preach and get onto some of the above today. Just to close what is hopefully a positive post all things considered, watch the vid below. It might make you smile, make you think just a little bit, or maybe inspire a change. If nothing resonates, then I wish you luck with life...you're going to need it!
OK...minimal poker content in here today. Don't worry, I'm back at it all over again tomorrow, hopefully refreshed and rested as I'm going to try to practice what I preach and get onto some of the above today. Just to close what is hopefully a positive post all things considered, watch the vid below. It might make you smile, make you think just a little bit, or maybe inspire a change. If nothing resonates, then I wish you luck with life...you're going to need it!