I am amused by the title of this blog rhyming with the blog two entries below.

When I got to Toronto around the first week of May I started playing two things: Zoom and SCOOP. I did not play any online cash games besides Zoom, a home game with Leggo members, and less than a hundred hands of Zoom PLO. I did not really anticipate doing this, but I two things probably contributed to me playing Zoom vs me playing anything else: 1. I did not have to deal with the politics of starting tables, people sitting out against me, and bumhunters and 2. I started winning.. immediately, and quite a bit. I was making $1/hand at Zoom, how is that even possible? Inevitably, some combination of me putting out a video and the regulars adjusting to me incurred a downswing where I didn't play very well. It was short. The downswing actually started in the middle of a day. I was +8k at Zoom through a few thousand hands and then I lost back 7k of it, all in the same day. I think this was primarily because I started focusing on volume: "Hey, I'm making $X a hand, I'm printing money, why not print more?" My quality of play deteriorated.

I kicked it back into gear, primarily by making a few videos actually [1]. I think I play better on video. Accountability is good. I flip the Camtasia switch and all of a sudden I realize: "Fuck, I'm going to have to explain to everyone why I'm doing this. Why I'm doing this. I can't explain this."

So I spent most of the last two and a half or three weeks oscillating between my A and C- game, never quite reaching the depths of my D game and probably never reaching the full enlightenment of my A+ game. Overall, I played well. I was also very lucky. This combination of things led me to be the biggest winner at Zoom in the month of May [2].

I've spoken and written about this time and time again, but it's difficult to evolve your poker game through the ages. I've been around for over 7 years now, a lifetime in poker years, and I've been left behind whenever I decided not to roll with the punches. In some ways, you lose when you cannot accept defeat [3]. I am in some ways proud of myself that I still consider myself a top NLHE cash game player for 2-4 to 10-20, but equally disappointed by the fact that I am not so much more. I'm still pretty average at PLO, haven't bothered learning mixed games, and am for some reason afraid to keep playing higher stakes. I never thought it was in me to be a bankroll nit, but lately I just enjoy winning much less than I hate losing-- it's a terrible mindset to be in when you're trying not to lose. Really unacceptable. My lack of motivation pisses me off [4].

I have no idea how I started ranting about things, but I like Zoom. That is all I was going to write in this blog initially. I hope they bring Zoom to HSNL. If/When I come back to Toronto [5], I hope to be playing 5-10 or 10-20 Zoom. Make it happen!







[1] To be released over the next 6 weeks or so, they're very good, imo... even by my incredible standards. I think the two coming out in June are probably the best.

[2] Probably not... maybe though.

[3] This makes absolutely no sense. When I first typed it, it was crystal clear. I read it a few more times and I still cannot recreate the magical clarity with which I had briefly solved all of mankind's problems. I now have no idea what it means.

[4] This is what every one of my shitty blogs winds up talking about.

[5] Tune in to the Leggocast, out in the next few days, about our time in Toronto-- one of the hot spots for poker players after Black Friday.