wat a run

we are in October after all and getting sucked out on is something u just have to get used to on the river. i went through a 20 game stretch of heads up limit holdem where i couldn't win a match to save my life. i would flop a set and he would flop a full house. i flop 10 high flush he flops king high flush just how it goes. the difference is that 4 months ago my laptop would be slammed shut and probably thrown across the room. wat i have learned over those 4 months is that downswings happen, u always remember the down swings and the sick beat that happen to you, there is nothing you can do about it but work harder and fix the leaks you have.

during this downswing i actually produced my first video which is kind of a feat on its own and going back over it i am seeing some glaring issues regarding my game. i sent it to a friend who took the time to give me a few pages of feed back on the play which all lead me to keep improving during this downswing. this is something i am very proud of in myself and in my work ethic and way of dealing with tilt and rising above it. its not so much of the money i lost in the downswing but how it didn't even mean anything to me about wow i just lost x amount and i could have payed off my cell phone bill. i just reviewed my bankroll requirements and kept playing. the happy note i came out of the down swing and put up runs of 11 wins in a row and 8 games in a row. i kept my mind right and worked through it.

i had some other results playing on stars i put up a final table in an 8 game event which i am proud of as i love mixed games and feel i excel in alot more of them then most people at the low or micro buyin levels. played a bit of 18 man with a few wins and cashes but no real time to put in volume i was just interested on keeping my skills sharpe in mtt and stt's. i know i hear the screams focus on 1 game. 98 % of my time is focused on heads up limit and no limit. i just need another game to keep me interested and excited about playing. i never want to feel i am a robot doing the same thing everyday. i know i can turn 15% ROI in limit on a regular basis and i ama great full for that but i know i am good enough to be a stt and mtt pro. in time it will all come and every day i am getting closer to my goal. 100 bucks away from the 10's so i should be there in novemeber as i have set out in my goal progression.

been watching and reading some interesting things on poker and anyone that knows me knows i love to watch poker and read poker mags,books,online articles. there was talk about the top shows for poker on tv world series op poker, world poker tour, poker after dark,high stakes poker. there is talk about the changes that were made to the wsop and wsop circuit events. they made the main events at the wsop circuit events as bracelet events-(the holy grail or grading system of any poker player). in any conversation about great players number of bracelets is always one of the first grading points. i love these changes as it forces allot more of the top pros to play the circuit events in the usa searching for the coveted wsop bracelet. it will increase the tv coverage,field size prize money and exposure to some of these awesome venues. the world poker tour which i think was sold again and will probably be shown on the gameshow network or some specialty channel like cosmo or food j/k. made one change adding the world poker tour girls. i mean everyone likes cute girls but come one wpt was the ground breaking tv show for the poker boom and the events were jam packed with players. now the fields have shrunk the buyins lowered prize pools dried up and rating putting them in the 5-6 rated poker show. i mean the million dollar challenge gets better rating then wpt. i love the wpt and it's sad to see it mismanaged the way it has been. wsop added stats like vpip-voluntary put in pot or agg factor- aggression factor,3 bet % and showing positions at the table such as cu-cut off hj-high jack. all very important terms in the game some coming from the online game. allot of these stats show trends of players and what they will do in the future. then the wpt isn't sure of all there stops for the year. it says allot when the biggest poker site poker stars doesn't even do any sort of major satellite into these tourneys in 3 years. stars would much rather promote napt-north American poker tour or the ept- European poker tour then the fading wpt. for me i will be watching wsop, napt/ept, and poker after dark.

side note
i had the conversation with my wife this weekend about gambling. god bless her heart as she supports me and wants me to be happy but honestly has no real interest in poker and doesn't understand that its a game of skill. she thinks its gambling. i try and explain the difference offering to show her graphs of my play she just says its gambling cause u can lose money. this is a conversation i am sure many poker players have this conversation daily across the world. my rebuttal to this is when i can show 15% return on investment over 300 games its not like its a losing proposition. what gambler playing slots,vlts or table cames can show a 15% return on investment. hell i don't even make that on my investments or rrsp's a year. so poker players keep it strong its a game of skill. look at the bill in washington to legalize the game as it is a recognized a game of skill