As I write this I find myself in poker purgatory. Specifically, I’m not playing poker, haven’t played for several months, and I’m not sure when I will start playing again.
Great time to start a poker blog!
Thing is: I still think about it every day. I’m hoping a blog will a.) be a therapeutic way to channel these thoughts and b.) help keep me focused and honest when I do start playing again. At the moment I figure I’ll write about past hands and sessions, as well as how poker thought has changed the way I approach problems and situations in general. Or maybe I’ll just complain about random stuff. And maybe I’ll meet one or two people who can relate.
Who I am: I started playing fairly seriously in 2005. I play primarily live games (I’ve dabbled online but never really got over the hump. Online players will tell you live games are easier. More specifically: they’ll tell you that live games are for donkeys. They may be correct, but I find live poker more interesting. Plus, playing more than one game at a time, as most serious online players do, tends to make my brain hurt). Living in San Francisco, playing live limits my options to a few casinos, especially for higher stakes no limit games. I play primarily at Lucky Chances, in my opinion the best casino in the area by a long shot. Among its advantages: you generally don’t have to worry about getting mugged when you leave the casino. Knock on wood.
I started playing 3/6 limit, and by 2007 was playing the 10/10/20 no limit (equates to about 25/50 with the little twists they throw in). I read a lot of books in between. By the time I stopped playing earlier this year I’d dropped down to 5/10 (this is Northern California, there really isn’t anything in between). I figure I’ll write about coming back down at some point.
The one theme that remained constant during this period: from 3/6 limit to high stakes no limit, over an extended period of time I always seemed to (you guessed it) break even. And I think I understand why (and the fact that the poker gods are against me is only part the reason). I feel like I have the tools to do better, and when the stars align perhaps I will dive in head first again.
At the beginning of 2008 I spent a few days in Las Vegas with Tommy Angelo, a very well recognized player, coach and author (whose book is the best ever written about the game). Although I’ve yet to use the tools I learned from Tommy optimally in poker for an extended period of time, it was an extremely influential ‘course’, and will no doubt be referenced regularly in my posts.
