OK, just for variety we've gone for two red sports car pictures in two days. Clearly I should have been a professional web content designer, and missed my calling. This one isn't a Ferrari obviously, but it is my ride for the next five weeks. It'll do.
The withdrawal method to which I refer, is my abstinence from playing any poker outside of my published schedule so far on this trip. None. Zip. Nada. It feels kind of surreal, but certainly not like a bad thing. I've bumped into lots of friends already in the 3 days since I arrived, any whilst they're certainly a diverse bunch, they all have one common denominator right now. They're all playing poker. Every day. Be it cash or tournaments, no one wants to waste a day. I had a chat a long time back with a good pal about time spent on poker trips, and specifically how some people will class every waking second not spent playing poker as potentially time wasted. In particular in Las Vegas, I've seen plenty of people burn out over the years, play terribly and haemorrhage a ton of money simply because they overdose and play everything in sight. They feel like they have a limited window of time in which to play, and this means they obviously have to play as much as possible during that time to maximise their potential to earn.
Whilst I understand the reasoning, I've never actually agreed with it. I know several extremely successful players who only play once a week, at higher stakes, and still do very well indeed. A couple of superb tournament players hand-pick their events and play maybe 10 to 20 tournaments a year and no more. The plethora of sewer rats now scurrying round from casino to casino sometimes playing two, three or more live events per DAY in the UK would clearly scoff at this logic. Mind you, they often can't find a clean change of clothes from one day to the next, so I wouldn't rush off to put too much stock in their expertise.
Getting back on topic (!)
The temptation to break ones pre-laid pattern is pretty strong. Especially in Las Vegas, it's perfectly normal to want to sit down and play something, anything. After all, I'm a poker player. It's only natural to want to play right? Well kind of, but also the game-plan this trip is to rest and prepare, and not only play my poker, but play my BEST poker and give myself the best shot at success. I decided for the WSOP that this means to exercise discipline and self-control. Maybe my logic is flawed, and there's certainly a degree of trial and error in my approach, but I guess only time will tell. I've never been one to follow what everyone else is doing in the poker world, yet I've undoubtedly managed to have my measure of success by doing it my way. I guess Frank Sinatra would be proud. Were he still alive or course, and were I also a member of the mafia.
The withdrawal method to which I refer, is my abstinence from playing any poker outside of my published schedule so far on this trip. None. Zip. Nada. It feels kind of surreal, but certainly not like a bad thing. I've bumped into lots of friends already in the 3 days since I arrived, any whilst they're certainly a diverse bunch, they all have one common denominator right now. They're all playing poker. Every day. Be it cash or tournaments, no one wants to waste a day. I had a chat a long time back with a good pal about time spent on poker trips, and specifically how some people will class every waking second not spent playing poker as potentially time wasted. In particular in Las Vegas, I've seen plenty of people burn out over the years, play terribly and haemorrhage a ton of money simply because they overdose and play everything in sight. They feel like they have a limited window of time in which to play, and this means they obviously have to play as much as possible during that time to maximise their potential to earn.
Whilst I understand the reasoning, I've never actually agreed with it. I know several extremely successful players who only play once a week, at higher stakes, and still do very well indeed. A couple of superb tournament players hand-pick their events and play maybe 10 to 20 tournaments a year and no more. The plethora of sewer rats now scurrying round from casino to casino sometimes playing two, three or more live events per DAY in the UK would clearly scoff at this logic. Mind you, they often can't find a clean change of clothes from one day to the next, so I wouldn't rush off to put too much stock in their expertise.
Getting back on topic (!)
The temptation to break ones pre-laid pattern is pretty strong. Especially in Las Vegas, it's perfectly normal to want to sit down and play something, anything. After all, I'm a poker player. It's only natural to want to play right? Well kind of, but also the game-plan this trip is to rest and prepare, and not only play my poker, but play my BEST poker and give myself the best shot at success. I decided for the WSOP that this means to exercise discipline and self-control. Maybe my logic is flawed, and there's certainly a degree of trial and error in my approach, but I guess only time will tell. I've never been one to follow what everyone else is doing in the poker world, yet I've undoubtedly managed to have my measure of success by doing it my way. I guess Frank Sinatra would be proud. Were he still alive or course, and were I also a member of the mafia.
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