Christ, at least in the good old days, they'd buy you dinner or flowers first!
The potted version for those who aren't fans of reading loads of poker updates and hand histories is that in general on the trip we've played for long periods, gone deep into events, then crashed out at the point where it really matters, where either we needed to win a flip, or just not get woefully unlucky. Lots of concentration and effort for a smack in the chops basically.
I'm probably supposed to insert a self pitying ramble here..."I've done mostly everything right/woe is me/why is life so bloody unfair?/terrible players get lucky/etc/etc/etc".
Sod all that. 90% of people who walk into a poker room have a pretty terrible ethic regarding the game, and in particular to when they lose at it. I got hardened back in the Dark Ages to the cold facts about playing anything with an element of both skill and luck, and am well accustomed to burning hours of both time and money for little or no reward. When the planets line up and you're the golden boy it's great and life is easy, but when it isn't your day/week/month/whatever...guess what? Suck it up buttercup. No one's ever said to me "guess what, you played great and had the best of it most of the time but just got the shaft. Here, have the chips back!". Poker ain't the place to go if you're looking for sympathy. Luckily I never look for it. So we just grit our teeth and keep going.
I could say it's been pretty brutal, but the truth is it's been pretty standard. Shit happens. Mentally I'm fine (a few exes might disagree with that statement), but I now find I only have two events left on my schedule for this trip during my final week here. There is a $1500 WSOP on 5th July, and also the $1600 Wynn $1 million guaranteed main event around the same time. It's easy to unregister from either one or both of these and just play a bunch of smaller stuff, but the truth is, we came here to go for a big score, and both of these are ideal. I could play $300 or $500 events every day, but realistically you are going for the win only in those, and even then the money would not be what we're shooting at. Equally as said before, though I can, I'm not going to go and play a Venetian nightly or something, maybe cash in it and then say "oh, sorry guys, you weren't in this one". I've seen all kinds of scumbag moves over the years, and I really think if you don't have a decent reputation with that kind of stuff, then seriously, what's the point? Luckily, pretty much all the investors either understand poker, or know me personally, or both.
I think staying balanced and focused is important, and as such a few days off and preparation is never a bad thing, so I'll keep the ship on the agreed course and play both of the aforementioned. These two events will take me slightly over the original $15K budget in which people have invested, but I'll cover this extra myself and we'll call it even. For now, I'll rest up, exercise, enjoy the upcoming 4th July celebrations with a few friend, and see if I can find a way to get QQ to beat 55 in the final onslaught.
The potted version for those who aren't fans of reading loads of poker updates and hand histories is that in general on the trip we've played for long periods, gone deep into events, then crashed out at the point where it really matters, where either we needed to win a flip, or just not get woefully unlucky. Lots of concentration and effort for a smack in the chops basically.
I'm probably supposed to insert a self pitying ramble here..."I've done mostly everything right/woe is me/why is life so bloody unfair?/terrible players get lucky/etc/etc/etc".
Sod all that. 90% of people who walk into a poker room have a pretty terrible ethic regarding the game, and in particular to when they lose at it. I got hardened back in the Dark Ages to the cold facts about playing anything with an element of both skill and luck, and am well accustomed to burning hours of both time and money for little or no reward. When the planets line up and you're the golden boy it's great and life is easy, but when it isn't your day/week/month/whatever...guess what? Suck it up buttercup. No one's ever said to me "guess what, you played great and had the best of it most of the time but just got the shaft. Here, have the chips back!". Poker ain't the place to go if you're looking for sympathy. Luckily I never look for it. So we just grit our teeth and keep going.
I could say it's been pretty brutal, but the truth is it's been pretty standard. Shit happens. Mentally I'm fine (a few exes might disagree with that statement), but I now find I only have two events left on my schedule for this trip during my final week here. There is a $1500 WSOP on 5th July, and also the $1600 Wynn $1 million guaranteed main event around the same time. It's easy to unregister from either one or both of these and just play a bunch of smaller stuff, but the truth is, we came here to go for a big score, and both of these are ideal. I could play $300 or $500 events every day, but realistically you are going for the win only in those, and even then the money would not be what we're shooting at. Equally as said before, though I can, I'm not going to go and play a Venetian nightly or something, maybe cash in it and then say "oh, sorry guys, you weren't in this one". I've seen all kinds of scumbag moves over the years, and I really think if you don't have a decent reputation with that kind of stuff, then seriously, what's the point? Luckily, pretty much all the investors either understand poker, or know me personally, or both.
I think staying balanced and focused is important, and as such a few days off and preparation is never a bad thing, so I'll keep the ship on the agreed course and play both of the aforementioned. These two events will take me slightly over the original $15K budget in which people have invested, but I'll cover this extra myself and we'll call it even. For now, I'll rest up, exercise, enjoy the upcoming 4th July celebrations with a few friend, and see if I can find a way to get QQ to beat 55 in the final onslaught.