Too much Codeine

What a weird weekend. Sunday, in particular, I felt fuzzy-headed all day from the interrupted, sporadic sleep of two nights plus far too many codeine pills. It feels like a lost weekend, somehow.

I would have liked to have played more poker. After the last entry I completed four more PLO sit and goes. 5th, 3rd, 1st, 5th. The 1st place was satisfying as I put my foot to the pedal more than usual with four left, when it became clear that the others had a bad case of 'fold-into-the-money' disease. I progressed quite comfortably from shortest stack of four to the headsup, which I managed to win despite starting at a worse than 2-1 disadvantage.

Still, my results have dropped off significantly in these games; I have only cashed in four of the last twelve since that blistering run of six consecutive 1st/2nd placings. Which means that over the last twelve I have a profit of less than a single buy-in.

The figures in total, over 18 sit and goes, are five 1sts, four 2nds and one 3rd. Ten cashes, and only two placings outside the top five. I think that always being in the top five is very worthwhile. It may go against the tournament poker idea that you should build a big stack or be prepared to go out, but I do not think that theory really applies to these games. Frequently, three or four players go out inside the first two levels, while the blinds are still tiny compared to the stacks. Even with more or less your starting stack, you can still afford to wait for a really, REALLY good spot to commit your chips. In top of which, people tend to play quite badly with five and fewer players left. As far as I can remember, I have had the chip lead only once or twice at that stage - it just isn't that important

Anyways, I will keep increasing the sample size and see how it pans out. Four cashes in twelve is very disappointing, but at least I am continuing to cash mainly in 1st and 2nd. Only one 3rd place in ten cashes is very gratifying, and suggests that I am playing the right way when it gets short-handed.

Sigh... Oh, to get back to the days (only six weeks ago!) when I had hundreds in the bankroll and could play most any game I wanted with freedom and elan.

Right now, I have to grind like I have never ground before, playing as low-variance as possible. And that means the sit and goes, on the whole. Five card stud has been okay, but there are a handful of quite tricky players who show up there regularly now. I don't mind playing with them, but I prefer mindless profitability at the moment!