Party Poker Blog

"Slump? I ain't in no slump.
I just ain't hittin."
Yogi Berra

I'm not going to call it a downword spiral. Yet.
But I'm in the midst of my worst run thus far.

It's sad, really. I've always considered one of my strengths in poker to be my persistence in using setbacks as opportunities for learning. And I'm both flailing and failing in that regards right now.

I've always assumed that, outside of variance, it's my poor play that caused me to lose money over an extended period of time. And yet I've known for the past week that I need to step away and take a poker break yet I'm continuing to play and bleed - something that's out of character for me. I'm a huge proponent of taking breaks away from the game to keep focused.

It's not fun to write this post. I've always been good about losing in poker. It's a must if you wanna be successful.

I've always taken Steve Badger's words to heart:

"The problem is: you just can't will yourself to win -- be it a tournament, a single day's play, or even an individual hand. And then, unfortunately for some, not winning is something many players simply can't handle. And being able to not win well is a fundamental, key ingredient of being a winning player."

Heavy sigh. I haven't been truly Tilty in a long time, damnit.
Poker learning is cyclical. Pithy Truism.

Poker is such a fine line kind of thing. It's important for me to realize how easy is it to cross the line attempting to push thin edges, and begin to play in what are losing situations. Habitual play is certainly adding to this equation as well.

Good God, I could go on and on about this but I'm gonna spare you the bad beats, my poor play and the insidious thinking that goes on behind it. Instead, I'm going to take a week long break from the damn game and come back refreshed and energized.

At least that's what I'm telling myself. I have no choice, and besides, this approach hasn't failed me yet.

Yet....

Who knows how deep these things can go? This is as much spelunking as I wanna experience in the depths of Poker Hell, that's fer damn sure.

But hey - it's only poker. I can always go back to work if I so choose. This whole experience has been an incredible ride and I have zero regrets. I'm just in one of those momentary self-doubt situations right now. This too, shall pass.

Segue: thanks again for all the bloggers who played in the past WSOP satellite tourney. I've gotten some encouragement to run another one in perhaps a month or so? We'll run it on Stars and hopefully do another Deep Stacks format. I really don't care if I do anything else with this blog for the next few months but send bloggers to the WSOP. Witnessing the bloggers playing last year was outstanding and I think it's a worthy goal.

So in the interest of being a community cheerleader, allow me to pimp some new poker blogs. It's what I do best, after all.

Introducing the latest batch of fine folks writing about our beloved game of poker:

Hammer Player's Poker Blog
One man's journey through the world of online poker, tilting off chips, and playing the hammer like it's my job.

Katitude
A Kat, her attitude and her (Mis)Adventures in poker

You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure

The View from the 3-Seat

Guin's Canadian Poker Blog
A Canadian low limit poker player just wanting to post progress on his bankroll. Playing mostly NL50 and trying to get to the NL100 level with NL200 as the year end 2006 goal. Anyone from the tax department should realize that this is completely a fictional account and should not be used to audit me.

Haley's Poker Bl-Auggh
I'm a big fan of this one.

Looking in Your Garbage

My Susurrations
Susurration \soo-suh-RAY-shun\, noun: A whispering sound; a soft murmur.

The SNG Machine!!
But but but but they were soooooooooooooooooooted!!!

FishyMcDonk
Have you ever wondered why restaurants offer the "All You Can Eat" option? Because really, it's not all I CAN eat, it's all I WANT to eat. Although for me, it's usually both

Shep has joined Poker and Liquor. That's worthy of a pimp, damnit.

Klopzi's Mediocre Poker blog

Life Of CardiacKid
Life. Sports. Poker. Other Nonsense.

And last but most certainly not least:
Up a Lazy River

I passed out with 6 players left. Damn.

A hearty congrats to Lucko at Poker Cash and Wes at Huntsvegas Poker for winning the two WSOP seats last evening.

Also, The Champ (from never bluff) made the final table last night and put up his last post: The Tourist.

Woohoo!

A whopping 93 poker bloggers showed up for this fine WSOP Satellite event.
A sincere thanks to everyone who signed up to play.

We start with a generous 5,000 in chips and 30 minute levels. That truly rocks.

Good luck all!!

Addendum:

Administrator: Thanks to Guinness who has added $210 to the prize pool, assuring two $1500 seats will be awarded. The $210 will be posted to the second place finisher's account upon completion of the event. Good Luck!

Thanks to Stars for letting me make up the difference and allowing us to send another blogger to the WSOP!

Thank God for Opening Day. Spring has officially arrived.

Obligatory reminder! Poker blogger tournament TONIGHT at PokerStars!!

Playing for a $1500 WSOP event seat of your choice. Any and all bloggers are welcome. Please sign up asap. We need 50, damnit. Support your own! BTW - even if you're afraid you can't play in the WSOP have no fears - someone will buy your seat, even if it's me.

Blogger WSOP Satellite Tourney
PokerStars - Private Tab
April 3rd - MONDAY
9PM EST
$30 +3
No Limit
Password: socoshot

---

In honour of Opening Day, I've gotta pimp my good friend Dann's new book. It's the official autobiography of Tom Browning, the former Reds pitching star. Dann's not only a helluva writer but he's also a damn good poker player, having played in my home game for several years now.

Here's a blurb about the book which I'm nearly done reading. Tis great stuff.

Tom Browning, the Cincinnati Reds' ninth-round pick in 1982, went 20-9 in 1985 to become the first major-league rookie to win 20 games in 31 years. Tom posted double-digit win totals from 1985-'91, and on Sept. 16, 1988, pitched the only perfect game in Reds history.

During Cincinnati's championship season in 1990, Tom won 15 regular-season games and picked up pivotal victories in Game 2 of the NLCS and Game 3 of the Reds' World Series sweep of the heavily favored Oakland A's. In 1991 he was named an NL All-Star after a 10-4 start to the season. Tom's career was ultimately cut short when he broke his arm delivering a pitch in 1994. He finished his career with a 123-90 record, 3.94 ERA and 1,000 strikeouts.

In December 2005, he led fan balloting wire-to-wire to earn a 2006 induction into the Reds Hall of Fame. His book, "Tom Browning's Tales from the Reds Dugout," debuted in March 2006 and chronicles and his entire career.