Weekly recap

So my mother-in-law came and visited for the weekend before Christmas and it was nice to have her. But it meant I didn't play until Christmas day (when my wife had to work the whole day). So I've played just 3 nights this week. The only notable night was Christmas when I got very deep in two tourneys and then just took 2 brutal beats in each one which kept me from the final table and really nice 4-5 figure scores.

Oh well - it happens.

Tomorrow my folks come to visit until New Years and then my classes start the day after New Years so from here on out it is going to be study first, and then only if there is some time left over, will I play poker. Otherwise I'll be back at it starting in March.

Wish me luck - I need to pass the stupid exam this time!!!

Happy Holidays

Just a quick message wishing you and yours a happy holiday season.

My wife's gift is a 36 hour work day, but we had a great time with her mom the last couple of days and she then gets 4 days this next weekend as well when my dad and family come visit us as well. Given everything that has gone well for us this year we can't complain too much (but I still think we can complain a little).

Oh, I also finally received my bar review books, so I can start studying as well. I am not looking forward to it, but I know I need to get it done. My Christmas wish is twofold: I want to pass the Bar and do well enough this year playing poker that I just keep those bar privileges in my back pocket and can continue to play fulltime.

wheeeeeeeeeee

Finally made a final table again tonight, and I even took it down. It was the $10 rebuy on FullTilt for just under $4k.

Feels good to have somewhat of a roll again, which means that I won't be totally decimated when I come back after 2 months of studying.

Break Time

So I put in a pretty good amount of hours this last week, playing pretty much every night. I haven't made any final tables in a while but I am confident my game is still fine - just losing lots of important hands.

My wife finally gets a weekend off, so I am going to take that time off too.

I keep wanting to get started on studying but I neither have the ganas (the desire) nor the books to do so. My classes start Jan. 2, so no matter what, if I haven't started studying by then, I will be putting in major hours in Jan and Feb. I am a very good procrastinator, so it's good that I signed up for the bar review course because that will force me out of the house and make me study... And when I put in the hours I tend to do pretty well on tests, so hopefully it will turn out this time.

Frustrating Week

I put in a pretty full schedule this week - 50 tourneys, made the money 9 times which is fine. But no final tables which is frustrating. I also really need to start studying next week, so from now until March I should be playing a much lighter schedule.

Mental Fortitude

I don't think there's a question that for me, the hardest part of playing poker is getting through the long dry spells. I had to return my Bar Review books from the summer (or forfeit my deposit) and am now waiting for the new materials to arrive (I am expecting they will be the very same books) so I have had time the last three nights to play a pretty full schedule which for me usually ends up being about 8 tourneys a night. I have been playing well but have not had any real good results. Of course I realize that this is expected - as a top player I am only going to make the money in a tourney between 15-25% of the time and am only going to make the final table somewhere around 3% of the time and the top 3 of the tourney (where the real big payouts happen) maybe 1-2% of the time. So a streak of 25 tourneys and no big cashes is going to happen repeatedly....

But that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I don't know what it is about my mental make-up but I expect to win every hand I am in and when I don't, I get upset. When I lose over and over and over again, I get frustrated. And for me, making sure that that frustration does not make me play bad in other tourneys that I am still in and making sure that I don't try and chase my losses by playing in cash games (which I have proven I am a loser at) is the most important part of protecting my roll.

So here's to staying on top of my emotions and waiting for that next big score...

I'm an Uncle again

My sister just delivered her second child, a boy named Jack, this morning. He came out best end first just like me (butt-first) and no c-section needed.