On my game

Work.

How do people do it? How do they switch off their thoughts, their interests, their hobbies, their obsessions, their fantasies, their desires, for eight hours a day?

I just can’t. It drives me mad. My brain simply will not stop whirling about poker, money, girls, friends, books, films, football, you name it. And yet, all around me, I see people who subsume all of that in their work; in the phone calls, the planning, the reports, the e-mails, the projects, the targets. It’s a neat trick, and I want to know how it is done. Is it hypnosis?

I was late this morning, again. This was due to last night’s diet of Kentucky Fried Chicken, beer, poker, stress and limited sleep.

The stress came because of the conversation with The Girl. She didn’t take too kindly to my ‘conditions’ of us seeing each other, which did not entirely surprise me. We couldn’t get anywhere with the conversation, and so it would appear that we really are finished.

I feel bad and a bit low about this. I think it is almost entirely for the best - for me, at least - but I truly hate hurting people.

Poker went well. I continue to find good PLO games and play and run well. I won over $50 in two short sessions, around two hours in total. Still can’t book a win to save my life in five card stud though. I’ve started raising and semi-bluffing a bit in order to make pots bigger, but haven’t managed to win one of the fuckers!

I do feel ‘on my game’ in the Omaha, which is a nice feeling. Folding trouble hands, folding out of position, bluffing at good times, thinking ahead in a hand - which is a very valuable thing to do, and something that I have only just really started to add to my game. In other words, factoring into my betting/raising/calling decisions whether I want the pot big or small by the turn or river, what I intend to do if certain cards come, whether I want to set up a river bluff if necessary, and so on. I think this comes through experience, getting more and more used to the situations that arise in the game.

But still, the biggest factor in it all remains the weakness of many of the opponents I choose to sit down with. I am well aware that I would get my arse handed to me if I sat in a game that doesn’t suit me.

Oh, I chatted (instant messaging) with a fellow blogger last night, which was really good fun. I have not had a poker buddy before, apart from the attractive Swedish girl who I ended up swapping photos with and getting invited to dinner - yes, in Sweden!

Finally, its worth checking out a couple of recent bloggers’ takes on some of the poker writing and writers. Like me, Matt picked up on Cardplayer writer Allyn Jaffrey’s new surname and its significance, and has written about it in his usual scabrous and hilarious style. And Internetpokerpro (who is, er, not a pro despite his huge winnings) critiques several writers. I don’t agree with him in every case, but there is no doubt that there is some terrible poker writing on the web, some of it presumably being paid for. I agree with him most about Harry Demetriou, a guy who is loaded from stocks and gambling, and has some excellent tournament results, yet cannot put together a cogent sentence or clear piece of advice. He’s either holding back, or simply isn’t a natural communicator.