Wow, been forever since I’ve blogged – over a month, actually. Well, the past week has generated some huge developments in my poker career so I had to put some stuff up. My career rounded the three-year mark over the summer, and for most of that period, the growth that I experienced has been notable, but slow.
Over the summer, I decided to do something about it. If I was going to maintain my goal of playing in the World Series of Poker in 2010, I was going to have to crank it up and get some practice playing live tournaments. So back in August, I re-read the first two Harrington books, and then I worked through the third. After doing better than I had expected in the Workbook, I decided that I would play in one live multi-table tournament (MTT) per month for the next three years to get some practice and build up my stamina. And who knows, I thought at the time, maybe I’ll cash in one or two of ‘em.
The first one I played (back in August) went about as I'd expected. I played extremely tight for about an hour and a half, and eventually the increasing blinds forced me to push all-in with Ace-Queen offsuit. I got called by pocket Jacks, lost the race, and was out of the tournament well short of the money. $150 down the drain.
After that experience, I decided to try and find a smaller tournament for my next attempt. I was delighted to find that Hollywood Park holds a daily $20+$10 rebuy tournament at 11:30am. And since I’ve been out of work since late August, I was sure to have a few spare days to give it a shot. Job interviews and other commitments prevented me from doing so until last Monday. But as soon as I had the free time, I made my way down to Inglewood.
I played well. I was able to steadily increase my stack as the blinds went up, with only a few setbacks along the way. Thankfully, the bad beats I took were by players with smaller stacks than mine, so I was able to survive their donkery. I surprised myself by making it all the way to the final table, and as a 3:1 chip leader when it got down to heads up, I decided to make a deal with the other player. I took down a first prize of $2,625, and my confidence in my poker-playing ability had never been higher.
Among my group of friends, I had been the first to do a lot of things. I was the first among us to start playing online poker. I was the first to start playing at casinos. I had been the first to play in a live MTT. And now, I had become the first of us to cash in and to win a live MTT.
I’ve realized as my friends and I have moved on from college that they don’t share the same dreams as me. Unlike me, they don’t realistically see themselves playing poker full-time in the near future. They don’t seem to have the same goals of rounding for a living, or being top-name tournament pros some day. I guess I’m the only one who believes that, given time, I can become the best player in poker history. I freely admit how silly an aspiration that is, but I feel that since it'll be nearly impossible to accomplish, I will always have something to motivate me.
A week ago today, I took the next step down the path of my poker career. I’m very excited to discover where it will ultimately lead.
Over the summer, I decided to do something about it. If I was going to maintain my goal of playing in the World Series of Poker in 2010, I was going to have to crank it up and get some practice playing live tournaments. So back in August, I re-read the first two Harrington books, and then I worked through the third. After doing better than I had expected in the Workbook, I decided that I would play in one live multi-table tournament (MTT) per month for the next three years to get some practice and build up my stamina. And who knows, I thought at the time, maybe I’ll cash in one or two of ‘em.
The first one I played (back in August) went about as I'd expected. I played extremely tight for about an hour and a half, and eventually the increasing blinds forced me to push all-in with Ace-Queen offsuit. I got called by pocket Jacks, lost the race, and was out of the tournament well short of the money. $150 down the drain.
After that experience, I decided to try and find a smaller tournament for my next attempt. I was delighted to find that Hollywood Park holds a daily $20+$10 rebuy tournament at 11:30am. And since I’ve been out of work since late August, I was sure to have a few spare days to give it a shot. Job interviews and other commitments prevented me from doing so until last Monday. But as soon as I had the free time, I made my way down to Inglewood.
I played well. I was able to steadily increase my stack as the blinds went up, with only a few setbacks along the way. Thankfully, the bad beats I took were by players with smaller stacks than mine, so I was able to survive their donkery. I surprised myself by making it all the way to the final table, and as a 3:1 chip leader when it got down to heads up, I decided to make a deal with the other player. I took down a first prize of $2,625, and my confidence in my poker-playing ability had never been higher.
Among my group of friends, I had been the first to do a lot of things. I was the first among us to start playing online poker. I was the first to start playing at casinos. I had been the first to play in a live MTT. And now, I had become the first of us to cash in and to win a live MTT.
I’ve realized as my friends and I have moved on from college that they don’t share the same dreams as me. Unlike me, they don’t realistically see themselves playing poker full-time in the near future. They don’t seem to have the same goals of rounding for a living, or being top-name tournament pros some day. I guess I’m the only one who believes that, given time, I can become the best player in poker history. I freely admit how silly an aspiration that is, but I feel that since it'll be nearly impossible to accomplish, I will always have something to motivate me.
A week ago today, I took the next step down the path of my poker career. I’m very excited to discover where it will ultimately lead.
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