High On Poker

This has not been a very good year for poker.

It occurred to me recently that I must have played less poker in 2012 than any other year reaching back to when I first caught the poker bug circa 2003. This has nothing to do with lack of desire.  I still yearn for the game.  Rather, it is mere circumstance, and I fear that if I don’t make a conscious effort, 2012 will not only mark my lowest volume of poker since 2003, but also the first year or many that my poker play has become essentially nil.

It’s not that I am entirely not playing. It’s just that without online poker (a common lament, I know) and my distaste for the deep rake at NYC underground clubs, there are really no games available to me. I have thought once or twice about throwing a home game, but I have been so cut off from my poker playing brethren that I am not even sure I can make it happen. Plus, in my experience, if I host the game, I’m not going to win because I am too busy playing host to pay attention and actually play poker.

Of course, a huge wrench in my works was the loss of my poker ledger with all of my stats since 2005. I kept it on a laptop, but the laptop fried along with all of my data.  I know ballpark how much I am up lifetime, but it really took the wind out of my sails. Right now, I’ve been doing a half-ass job tracking my play in the Notes function of my iPhone, but if anyone can recommend a program that is not expensive and is easy to use (I only need basic stuff), I would appreciate the recommendation. As it is, half-ass tracking has made me feel less like a serious poker player and more like a tourist.

Time is an issue too.  I’ve had a couple of my busiest months at the office, not to mention a side project that fills a lot of my evening hours. The side project is an illustrated book, kinda like a graphic novel (i.e., long form comic book), except that each panel is its own page and it is drawn entirely on my iPad. I have no idea how such a thing could ever be marketable, but I am trying to follow the sage wisdom of Wil Wheaton (pronounced Will Hweaton) and just create.

Fortunately, there is some poker on the horizon, provided I can clear my schedule well enough. The Sands, located in Bethlehem, PA, is hosting a deepstack tournament series in December. If all goes well, I will be heading there Dec. 1 weekend to play $150 satellites into the $2,500 main event. If I can satellite myself in, I will return Dec. 15 weekend to play the main event, with a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool. It really is the light at the end of my tunnel. Now, I just have to make sure I can keep this train on the tracks.

Alas, it looks like it will still be a few more years before we have the freedom to play online poker or casino games. Once that happens, though, I am sure it’ll be like 2004 all over again, with sites offering bonus codes like the PartyCasino bonus codes offered now to players who do not live in countries that are not run by nanny states (or are at least run by nanny states that aren’t strict, jerk nannies).

One can only hope.

Until next time, make mine poker!