High On Poker

I am not sure if I mentioned it here yet, but for all of February, I played live poker…once. Just one session at Tuna Club over a 28 day period. What the hell?!

I suppose the major things keeping me away from live poker were my cold, which left me pretty tired after a long day of work, television, and the Summer Bankroll Challenge:  Southern Hemisphere Edition. I think I’m the only guy calling it the Southern Hemisphere Edition (which I think I stole from MHG), but I cannot just call it the SBC2, since it sure as hell ain’t summer around here.

The cold was a bitch, and I’m only now starting to feel better after a good 3+ weeks of alternating sniffles, stuffiness, and general malaise. I don’t believe in most medicines, but I found myself relying on crappy cold medicine for a good while, since I was in such bad shape, I could hardly work.

The television is both a boon and a damnation. With a lot of shows returning in late January through February, including particular favorites like Lost and (for shame) Heroes, many nights, I’d rather be sitting on the couch with wifey Kim rather than playing at the Tuna Club with my fellow degenerates. Time away from poker is a good thing, but it can be pretty messed up when your television schedule dominates poker play.

If there was any saving grace, it was the SBC:SHE. Even though it kept me away from live poker, it renewed my love for online poker. This can be seen two ways, since I was trying, at some point, to limit or quit online play. But after a very successful run, which really means treading water until I hit big for $1200+, I can appreciate online poker again.

I suppose the big turnoff was the feeling that I could not win consistently. Now, I suppose I see a bit more opportunity, as long as I pick my game selection well. At Stars, that means sticking to a lot of non-NLHE games and some NLHE tournaments with modified rules, such as 6-max or big antes. Really, those games are key if I want to play tournaments (and not SNGs) because most generic NLHE tournaments on Stars have way too many players for my taste.

After the SBC:SHE wrapped up, I took $1000 of my $1550 bankroll out of PokerStars via a mailed check. I still have concerns about Stars and Tilt once the UIGEA is lifted, so I do not want to keep too much money online. More importantly though, my online wins are not included in my Win/Loss ledger until the money is withdrawn (similar to how any online deposit is recorded as a loss). So, by withdrawing $1000, at least half of which will go to my live poker bankroll with the rest to wifey Kim and my savings, I can undo a lot of the ledger sheet losses from January, where I had a rough time at a couple of different venues.

This weekend, I may have some time to play poker. I took advantage of the “two free rooms every week on any day” offer I received from the Trop to book a room Saturday night for me and wifey Kim. Poker is up in the air, since we are ostensibly going to have some time alone together. I also pre-purchased tickets to IMAX 3D Alice in Wonderland, located write in the Trop. I purchased the tickets today for the 4pm show. The 7pm was already sold out several days in advance. Sheesh!

Most likely, when wifey Kim falls asleep, I’ll gnaw my arm off as it will likely be under her head, and then drag myself and my bloody stump of an arm to the poker room for a late night session. Man, am I classy!

If poker is not played, it’s because I will be back in AC March 18th weekend. I have already booked both nights and plan to hang with bro-in-law Marc and Roose while there. Marc wants to head back on Saturday, but Roose might be willing to stay two nights. Might my ass. He’ll be sure to want to stick around. Roose loves the pokah!

Jamie from Wall Street Poker will also be in town (and may take my room for Saturday if we skip town). Hopefully I can meet up with him as well.

So, where was this rambling post going? Yeah, I don’t know either. Let’s recap: No Feb poker because of TV, SBC, and VDs. 2 AC trips in March. All is well in the world.

Until next time, make mine poker!