Defining Moments

Well, I've got a pretty good weekend to report. No big over the top wins or anything, but more of that "growing as a poker player" stuff that I love to talk about.

Saturday night was a home game. It was couples night, and there were 8 of us. The skill level is not overwhelming (especially with the drinks flowing), but my friends that I play against never cease to impress me at times. One of the couples lives at the local casino playing all their tourneys and lots of hours of cash games, so they're quite formidable opponents. And, of course, there's my wife, who I taught, so obviously she's terrible. Anyway, I finished 2nd both tourneys. Actually, the same guy finished 1st both times too. And I took some of the nastiest heads-up beats you've seen, so they were EXTREMELY disappointing 2nds. But the guy is a Notre Dame fan, so obviously it was his night. The payouts we decided on were terrible, which I didn't think about until after and didn't wanna be a whiner, so in the end I gave my tainted winnings to my wife and we both broke even on the night. But regardless, I was happy with my performance, because I want to be good against any competition, with any structure, and I was the best player that night.

I then got some time to play yesterday, and sat in four $2 SNGs at poker.com. I was completely card-dead, so using my recent FTP tip from the pros, it got to where I hat 7xBB, and I saw my pushing hands. In the first tourney my AJ got smacked around by AA in the blinds, in the 2nd my AQ couldn't outrun A10, and in the third, I flopped 2nd pair in the BB, bet the pot, and the UTG limper raised me all-in. Fairly confident he didn't have TP on the board, I called and HE rolled AA (ha! I was right!), so that was that. But here's where the defining moment came in. Instead of throwing the cows away with the barn (In Iowa, that's another way of saying "going down the shitter"), I stuck to my game, kept it together, and won the 4th one, turning a $1.20 profit on the day. THAT is how I know that things are different these days, and if I can just see some consistent success and get out of the bankroll gutter, I'm mentally prepared.

This afternoon traffic screwed me out of the 4:00 $500 guaranteed, but there was a $5 MTT at 5:00 that I finished a stellar 67th out of 79 in when my AJ couldn't win a race. Back in the day, I wouldn't have called, and had I called and lost, I'd have been pissed at myself. But today, its just another call I've gotta make to get chips, and I moved on with no real thought or second guess. I then ran another couple of $2 SNGs, bubbling the first, but coming from the bubble to take down the 2nd, turning a $.10 profit on the day!

So, excuse the philosophiser (Copyright White Goodman 2005) in me, but the last couple days have been about "big picture" and "defining moments" and seeing in myself what was never there before. The ability to keep a level head, overcome, and play the best way I know how, no matter the circumstances.

This Sunday I'm gonna head out to the local poker room and play in their $60 tourney. If I can see some cards and outrun the structure, I like my chances, so I'm really excited. But if that doesn't go wellAfter I cash in my winnings, I think some 3/6 might be in order. I've been looking to give that another run since April when this whole poker vision quest began. So we shall see.

But that's about it for me right now. I need to head to the store for some bread, milk, and chicken.

No...seriously.