I am doing soooooooo bad when there are 2-5 players at the table (graph at bottom). 16 buyin downswing with that many players at table. I noticed this trend Summer 2008 as well back when I used to play 6max as my main game. Since transitioning to heads up, you would think that 2-5 handed would be my strongest game rather than my weakest. I'm doing very well 6 handed (5BB/100 or 10bb/100) and getting raped with 2-5 players.

My roommate and I looked through my recent hands to figure out if I was playing bad or whatever. A lot of the 16 buyins I lost shorthanded were straight up gay spots/coolers. I was actually spewing more 6 handed than 5 handed. This obviously makes me feel a little better, but I still think something is wrong. My guess is that when 2-5 handed I don't take enough time to pay attention to what is going on. I am probably too focused on other tables. Also, when 2-5 handed, it is less likely there will be fish at the table (as most tables with fish are filled up/people are on the waitlist). It's also possible that since it is shorter handed that I'm not being aggro enough/thinking about good spots to be aggressive. So, to cure this I think I'm going to....

1) Play no more than 6 tables total
2) Play the best fucking 6 tables I can find. If shorthanded, make sure the game is good (it's probably not!)
3) Pay attention to shorthanded tables to make sure I'm not leaking too much.
4) Drink some alcohol tomorrow night


Today, overall was okay...I played a couple sessions of 1/2, felt pretty good. I made an adjustment to my UTG/MP ranges (added a few more hands since you get respect). Took away a few raggy hands from my BTN opening range. Tightened up my SB opening range (adjustment for FT, I was getting away with murder on Stars raising from the SB). Tightened up my range when they open the CO/BTN. I think I was 3b'ing a bit too much from the SB and they seem to not want to fold, so I'm just going to valuetown their dumb asses. Increased the polarization of my in position 3b'ing range (lot of suited connectors/gappers, Qxs and other random suited shit). I get kind of lazy/auto-pilot in regards to the polarized 3 betting. Redline seemed to be pretty solid today and I got into a lot less shitty spots.

I decided to play some 2/4 on FT because I hadn't tried it yet and the games looked soft. I immediately won 2 buyins, but then lost 4 for a total of -2 buyins on the session. I made a few mistakes towards the end of the session. Overall, I found 2/4 FT much more enjoyable than 1/2 FT. A lot more shortstackers at 2/4, but the regs were actually more straightforward (solid) so far than those spaz monkey button clicking 1/2 regulars who 3-bet 20% from the blinds and 5bet shove Q8s. There were plenty of fish at 2/4 for me to be able to play 6 soft tables. The fish are actually the ones that beat me up pretty bad in the 2/4 session. Didn't lose too much to regs.

GIRAFES OF # OF PLAYERS AT TABLE

2-5 players





6 players

LT22

So this is my second week of being a "pro" (started last monday), so far loving the lifestyle, gettin into a routine of studying, working out, eating healthy, etc. The only thing I'm struggling with is getting the amount of volume in on a daily basis, ideally i'd like to shoot for 50k hands a month, which I really don't think is too much to ask, i play 4-6 tables at once so it's just a few hours every day.

The problem that I'm having currently is trying to keep playing when all the games are reg-filled or shortstackers, I'm sure most of it has to do with the end of the year milestones on stars.

What I'm looking for is someone, or more than one person who possibly struggles w/ the same thing to have some sort of prop bet in January, or the rest of the month, but with the holidays coming up, grinding a ton of hands might be tougher.

If anyone is interested, leave a comment or send me a PM, preferably someone who plays NL200-400, to keep each other on pace, go over hh's, etc. Here's my graph so far for the month, I really haven't played particularly well overall this month, made a few really expensive mistakes.

(Graph is this month, since last Monday, I was outta town the week before, so volume isn't terrible, but not good either for 10 days---all nl200 6max)



GL at the tabs, look forward to see if anyone is interested in this

ssells73

Funny, my last post was about crazy scandi's, and this week i unwittingly entered into a long 4 tabling match with someone who is rumoured to be the ultimate crazy scandi, isildur1. Apparently ''theitalienstyle'' is isildurs ipoker moniker. I was scanning the biggest losers on ipoker the other day came across theitalienstyle as the number 1 donator.

Then i was sitting there watching Good will hunting for the first time(great movie if you haven't seen it), when theitalienstyle sits at one of my 25/50 tables and requests a multitabling match, i graciously accepted and we got going.

He started out playing very standard, straightforward, aggro. Then i won a couple of buy-ins off him and he starts going nuts. First he asked me to move up to 50/100 and i told him i couldn't take the swings right now. Then he just starts 3betting almost every hand and never folding to a 4b. I picked up on this and started shoving in over his 3bets with any ace, pair, KT+ or QJ+...


IPoker Network $5000.00 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

Hero (BTN/SB): $5000.00
TheItalienStyle (BB): $31196.00

Pre Flop: ($75.00) Hero is BTN/SB with 5 5
Hero raises to $150, TheItalienStyle raises to $550, Hero raises to $5000, TheItalienStyle calls $4450

Flop: ($10000.00) 7 3 9 (2 players)

Turn: ($10000.00) K (2 players)

River: ($10000.00) 8 (2 players)

Final Pot: $10000.00
TheItalienStyle shows Q T
Hero wins $9998.00
(Rake: $2.00)

IPoker Network $5000.00 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

Hero (BTN/SB): $30595.00
TheItalienStyle (BB): $5050.00

Pre Flop: ($75.00) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 A
Hero raises to $150, TheItalienStyle raises to $550, Hero raises to $30595, TheItalienStyle calls $4500 all in

Flop: ($10100.00) 5 8 T (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($10100.00) J (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($10100.00) 6 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $10100.00
TheItalienStyle shows 6 K
TheItalienStyle wins $10098.00
(Rake: $2.00)[/quote]

a few more of these and then he started godmoding me...

IPoker Network $5000.00 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

Hero (BTN/SB): $32492.00
TheItalienStyle (BB): $13562.00

Pre Flop: ($75.00) Hero is BTN/SB with 3 4
Hero raises to $150, TheItalienStyle raises to $600, Hero calls $450

Flop: ($1200.00) 7 K A (2 players)
TheItalienStyle bets $1000.00, Hero calls $1000

Turn: ($3200.00) 7 (2 players)
TheItalienStyle bets $2350.00, Hero calls $2350

River: ($7900.00) 6 (2 players)
TheItalienStyle bets $9612.00, Hero calls $9612

Final Pot: $27124.00
TheItalienStyle shows J 8
TheItalienStyle wins $27122.00
(Rake: $2.00)

IPoker Network $5000.00 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

Hero (BB): $18696.00
TheItalienStyle (BTN/SB): $8410.00

Pre Flop: ($75.00) Hero is BB with Q Q
TheItalienStyle raises to $150, Hero raises to $550, TheItalienStyle raises to $1250, Hero raises to $18696, TheItalienStyle calls $7160 all in

Flop: ($16820.00) 8 3 9 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($16820.00) 3 (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($16820.00) A (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $16820.00
TheItalienStyle shows A Q
TheItalienStyle wins $16818.00
(Rake: $2.00)

IPoker Network $5000.00 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

Hero (BTN/SB): $10361.00
TheItalienStyle (BB): $16743.00

Pre Flop: ($75.00) Hero is BTN/SB with 7 T
Hero raises to $150, TheItalienStyle raises to $550, Hero calls $400

Flop: ($1100.00) J 4 8 (2 players)
TheItalienStyle bets $650.00, Hero calls $650

Turn: ($2400.00) Q (2 players)
TheItalienStyle bets $1450.00, Hero calls $1450

River: ($5300.00) Q (2 players)
TheItalienStyle bets $14093.00, Hero calls $7711 all in

Final Pot: $20722.00
TheItalienStyle shows J J
TheItalienStyle wins $20720.00
(Rake: $2.00)

IPoker Network $5000.00 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

Hero (BB): $15072.00
TheItalienStyle (BTN/SB): $21082.00

Pre Flop: ($75.00) Hero is BB with K K
TheItalienStyle raises to $150, Hero raises to $600, TheItalienStyle raises to $1775, Hero raises to $4850, TheItalienStyle calls $3075

Flop: ($9700.00) J 4 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $10222.00, TheItalienStyle calls $10222

Turn: ($30144.00) T (2 players)

River: ($30144.00) 7 (2 players)

Final Pot: $30144.00
TheItalienStyle shows J T
TheItalienStyle wins $30142.00
(Rake: $2.00)

It hurt alot but i will play him again if he wants, cos while i wouldn't consider myself better than him, i know that at 25/50 he doesn't care about a few bi's, so its got to be +ev. Its so strange that he is considered to be one of the best poker players on the planet and he can't seem to reel in his degeneracy. Just to clarify i didn't know it was isildur until after the match. Anyway, gl yo.

oldjude

Hey guys,

I wanted to wait a few days before I did this so that all the fans of the show would have probably watched it already. Obviously I have to put out a very noticeable SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE FINALE OF DEXTER SEASON 4 EVEN IF YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THE SHOW BEFORE BECAUSE YOU CAN GO BACK AND WATCH EVERY EPISODE AND I DON’T WANT THIS MOMENT TO BE RUINED EVEN IF IT’S NOT FOR SEVEN YEARS I SAY SEVEN BECAUSE IF YOU’RE THE TYPE TO HAVE NEVER SEEN DEXTER IT’S LIKELY YOU’LL PROBABLY HAVE TO GET THROUGH THE LAST FEW SEASONS OF DEGRASSI JUNIOR HIGH ON DVD BEFORE DEXTER REACHES THE TOP OF YOUR PRIORITY LIST BUT EVEN IF YOU HAVE SUCH TASTE YOU’LL STILL ENJOY DEXTER AND SPECIFICALLY THIS FINALE BECAUSE IT WAS THAT GOOD alert because I’ll be mentioning specific things that happened in the course of my analysis.

My immediate reaction to the finale is tough to describe. It was shock, certainly, but not the “omfg i’m audibly gasping” kind of stereotypical television shock one might hope for, it was more muted. It was real. The best insight I can give you is to say that I experienced that final moment, rather than simply watching the main character experience it.

I would have much rather gone in without any notions that anything like this was going to happen, but with the end of episode previews exclaiming “you won’t believe this, the biggest Dexter twist ever will happen with the very final moment of the season!!!” I will admit I was suspicious that one of, it not the biggest twist Dexter had ever had was going to happen, and that it more than likely would be in the final moment of the episode. That being said, I didn't foresee what actually occurred, and even though I knew there were only a few minutes left with a massive twist to come, I was still puzzled right up until the reveal.

As the camera angle changed from Dexter to the vision of his infant son lying in the pool of blood, I immediately realised what had happened. I was instantly stunned, and my heart had already sunk by the time we saw Rita lying in the bloody bathtub. As the credits rolled I just sat there, as motionless as I had just seen Rita, not knowing how to react. For the next hour I was in a daze, visibly affected by what I had just witnessed.

However, had you asked me what I thought about the character of Rita before the finale I would have given a very dismissive verdict, something along the lines of “yeah of course she has to be like that but I don't have any affection/ attachment to her”. Then why did the scene affect me in such a powerful way?

As I alluded to earlier, it was because I truly felt as though I had experienced that horrifying moment. Now, while I am certainly an aficionado of film and television, I had never been as deeply affected by a scene as I had by this. Had never been emotionally invested enough to be as affected. And to remind you, this is a show that revolves around a serial killer.

Of course the whole point of the show is that we, the audience, find empathy with our main character who happens to be a serial killer. And an interesting concept it certainly is, but something you move past fairly rapidly as you develop a connection with the show. However, my emotional reaction to the finale emphasised just how effective this technique had been over the previous four seasons. The extent of shock I experienced was because I was empathising so much with Dexter, that I honestly felt like I was living the moment vicariously through him. I was seeing the horror unfold through his eyes. Again, this is a character I had just seen commit a violent murder moments earlier. Taking it one step further, I had just vicariously murdered. And, up until that final scene, I was completely comfortable with it. That initial aim of the series has clearly been breathtakingly effective.

Moving past my reaction to it, I thought overall it was an amazing season and certainly my favourite of the four so far. John Lithgow was incredible as the trinity killer, so much so that I had mixed reactions to his inevitable end at the hands of Dexter. It was something that absolutely had to happen, but such was my fondness for the interactions between Dexter and Trinity that part of me had hoped the writers had figured out a satisfying way to keep the rivalry going for another season. But in my role as vicarious Dexter, it was of course gratifying to finally end Arthur’s reign of terror.

Rita’s death will obviously have some pretty severe consequences for season 5. I'm not sure if Dexter will take on sole custody of the three kids or whether they'll live with their grandparents, and that decision will have a pretty big impact on the direction of the whole season. The arch of the final episode was that Dexter was finally realising that, just maybe, he could overcome his ‘dark passenger' and go on to live a normal, happy life with Rita and the kids. Now of course, that ain't gonna happen. And my assumption is that Dexter may well become darker than ever, which is a pretty cool thought. The main rumour so far for season 5 is that Dexter will become the number one suspect in Rita’s death, which is definitely logical, but it remains to be seen if (with Dexter under the scrutiny of the police) season 5 can be as compelling as season 4 was.

Still, pretty sure it will be awesome.

Till next time.

K_Man

Just got back from Vegas.

Stayed at Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock (Paradise Tower), and Palms Place for 10 days. Without a doubt I can say that Hard Rock Paradise Tower is by far the nicest (especially considering it was only $65 a night during the week.) I can't wait for the new Hard Rock Hotel to open because it definitely looks likes the nuts.

First weekend I was out I went to UFC at the Palms with my friend DoubleD. We scalped tickets on the way in and we actually had to ask Hulk Hogan to politely move so we could reach our seats; But then we realized that we were actually on the floor below him. This event was a huge blast and I was really impressed with the venue at the Palms. Oh and also durrrr was in the house.

Did some grinding during the week at MGM and at Hard Rock (Both had really nice rooms) but after some run bad @ 2/5 and blackjack I slowed down and just tried to enjoy vacay however I played in an EPIC 1/2/5 PLO game at the Venetian. I had never played PLO before but DoubleD said he would take half my action so I obliged. The game was going smoothly until this wasted high roller donkey sat down at the table who was on major tilt from losing a bunch of money in the pits earlier. He potted every street and didn't look at his hand the majority of the time. He literally had ALL his money in the middle EVERY hand and I'm not even fucking exaggerating. Anyway as you can imagine he won a butt ton of flips and probably had about 7-8k at the table (remember this is a CAP $500 buy in and he had been sitting for no longer than a half hour.) He talked mad trash to everyone and told my friend DoubleD he knew him and said that DoubleD knew his friends (later who he said was Patrick Antonious.) Anyway this wasted Donkey was cursing so much that the dealer called the floor and the first time their were enough regulars at the table they convinced the floor to leave the donkey alone but the second time the floor made the player leave. His very last hand he lost the rest of his stack in a 4k pot but congrats to the Venetian for breaking the game.

The next weekend I scalped tickets to Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds at Planet Hollywood. They put on a really great show. I also went and looked at Panorama Towers and City Center a bit because I'm still considering moving out to Vegas when I graduate in May.

I'm sure I didn't do the above PLO story justice but I just wanted to give a quick update because i've been ignoring my blog for quite some time due to my run bad. Heads up is dead and I've been playing quite a bit of 6max lately. Variance was a very hard thing for me to deal with the past couple months because I don't put in the volume of hands necessary to see the results I want. Playing more 6 max has allowed me to cope with this better. Maybe if I get some energy tomorrow I'll post some graphs and pics of the Donkey from the PLO game at the Venetian.

Cuda

HemmaCuda

Recently StudentCaine offered some coaching to help with my mental game and today was our first lesson.

I answered questions about myself for almost an hour, helping him get an idea of where / who I am at the tables.

Russ hooked up some exercises / homework for me.

We will review the information to allow him to narrow in even further on my issues.



So I played a session right after the lesson basically and it went well. I was able to identify some triggers and some emotional rewards that replace cash as the reason I play poker occasionally.

I was actually able to back myself off of some pre-tilt emotions. Actively thinking about my emotional state and my "feelings" during a session was very interesting and enlightening.

I also have some pre session warm up exorcises that helped since I was involved in a couple big pots early on.

Pretty excited to move forward with this. Anyone looking to shore up some mental defects would be well advised to hit Russ up.

Probability

KK < AA (2 times)
AA < KK (2 times)
Set < Quads
Set < Turned straight

Those 6 buyins of mega coolers led to some spew. Total major spew was probably 3.5 buyins. I also was running pretty bad in terms of ranges. I think FTP might be rigged!!!!! What can ya do

I haven't watched a video in the last few days because I'm been busy moving/grinding, but I think I'm going to watch a 1/2 video just to make sure I'm not leaking hard.

Coolers are going to happen, need to stop the major spew.

Oh, also I got value towned really fucking hard today. Three times I had a hand where I should be perceived as being weaker top pair, or a middle pair like JJ on Kxx. Draws missed both times and they shoved way over pot on the river with TPTK and outleveled me into calling. That pretty much pissed me off and has been noted in my "6max Gospel." Overbet river when draws missed and your hand appears weak=them trying to value fuck the shit out of you rather than them trying to bluff you off a weak made hand. Honestly, does any 1/2 reg have an overbet shoving bluff range? Doubt it. Doesn't make a ton of sense for them to shove, but it worked (for now). The funny thing about these people that valuetowned me so hard, is that they basically don't win. They are the 2+2 I have a big dick and wave it around at the tables and I'm sexy because I play 27/22 type of people. If they valuetowned me so hard, how the hell do they not crush? These types of players must suck at playing hands with fish and/or they have tilt problems.

LT22

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

"What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed this warning : "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap . . . Alone.. . .

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it. It was a venomous snake whose tail was caught in the trap. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. When she returned home she still had a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient: But his wife's sickness continued. Friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

But, alas, the farmer's wife did not get well... She died. So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them for the funeral luncheon.

And the mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and you think it doesn't concern you, remember --- When one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.
We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

JACK DOG WELCH

Hopefully this is going to be a humble blog post.

We all play poker for a reason. Most of us play for the money, some of us play to relax and have fun, and some of us play because its challenging. During a long car ride today, it dawned on me that the main reason, along with the money, that i play is to boost my ego (money is reason 1A and ego is 1B). I like being really good at things, and poker is no exception. I dont like losing pots, but I absolutely HATE getting bluffed, or getting thin value bet, or getting soulread etc... This makes me much more furious than actually losing money, and instead of admitting to myself i got owned i justify it by saying I ran into the top of his range, or he got lucky, or he is a fish and he will lose it all back eventually.

So I am doing something currently that I have never done before. I made a list of the top 5 regs that make my life a living hell and I am going through every pot we have played together on pt3 (and no I will not say who they are just incase they read this). Instead of trying to change my main motivation for playing, I am going to try to use it as fuel to get better. And hopefully ill stop getting my soul owned so much.

-crispy

toocrispy

Since my last session with Matt, I had played very well up until this weekend. I had two sessions where I started well enough and inexplicably spewed a buy in or two. Perhaps getting owned set over set and full house over full house (by an 86/22 no less) had something to do with it, but I think the real answer is that I just shouldn't be playing this time of year. I am currently working an extra 15 hours per week at the restaurant, which doesn't sound too bad until you factor in that they are 15 adrenaline filled, move as fast as you can, highly stress filled hours. I just think I have very little reserves of patience left for poker. So I doubt I will be playing much until after Christmas, maybe just 20 mins or so a day to keep my mental game intact. I will however be active in the forums and do some other away from the table poker work.

Monday was a long day for me, and I went to work with Matt after my shift at the restaurant. The winning formula is for me to make a video of me playing for 45 minutes, and then we go through it and talk about it. Not a lot happened in my playing session, imo, but we managed to talk for about 3 hours and I was again given a good look at what level I need to be thinking at. Here is one hand that provoked a lot of discussion and I hope is illustrative of what I mean:

(I don't have the HH as I was playing on his comp)

I open KTcc UTG 3.5bbs
MP calls, everyone else folds.
Flop is Ad7h9d pot is 9bbs
I check, MP checks.
Turn is Th.
I bet 6bbs, MP calls
River is 2c.
I check, MP checks, I win the pot, MP mucks (never found out his hand)

When we review this, Matt says it is a pretty loose open UTG. I agree, and the only reason I think I open it is because I was involved in another fairly big hand at another table (funny what you see reviewing your own videos). Matt says cbetting this flop is ok because we fold out things like 22-66, but doesn't completely fault me for checking. For the record, I am trying to reign in my oop cbetting when I miss because I think I am spewing too much. I am spewing too much because I am not accurately analyzing flops, imo, so I should really work on that. Anyway, after the MP checks, Matt starts asking me a lot of questions like what does he do with his FD here, what about a straight draw or pair and a gutshot. Does he have A2 here? I have very few answers but we manage to muddle through the flop. The video plays and he sees me bet the turn. He says he likes it and asks me why I bet. I say that I think I have the best hand now. Matt points out to me that I had very few solid answers on the flop and could not rule out specific hands before, and then it hit me. He is asking for a lot of specific info and thinks in those terms. I am currently much more of an instinctual player. Here is how I was thinking: "That is a really connected flop and I don't have anything. I am not betting, he will probably take it down right here with a bet. Wow, he didn't bet, he must not have anything strong either. Ha ha! Now I have 2nd pair, king kicker. I think I will bet and hope to get called by a draw or maybe a worse pair. Ok he called and must have something. River is a blank, I don't think I get called by anything I beat if I bet, I will just check....Oh look, AQ on another table." Matt, however, is thinking a lot more specifically. I said something like he takes a players range, takes out his knife, and just slices sections out of it as the hand continues and he gets more information until he knows the most profitable play to make. After I said that, he assured me that he makes some really spewy plays too. I am sure there are people who break things down even more, too. I recall one of the hands K-man played at the end of his first video where he said something after a big river push by his opponent like "...here he is representing a flush, but I really just can't think of what suited hand he gets to the river with" and he named a few that would have folded on the flop or turn. Then he called the shove and won an $800 pot or something like that. All the information is right there, you just have to know how to perceive it and then know what to do with it.

On the drive home, I remembered something I read in Shootaa's blog. "The conclusion I came to is that poker is like an art to me and if the game isn't played for the game's sake, things are going to get all mixed up in your head and you're much more likely to get smoked." I have very strong feelings about Art and what is Art and what is not Art but a skill. All the same, I am beginning to view poker as a kind of Technical Art. Like when I was in Junior High School, and they called wood shop "Industrial Arts". Or the way Math or Physics can become really creative in the hands of someone who really knows them inside and out. How Einstein said he would sit around and imagine things like how the world would look travelling at the speed of light, and then work out the mathematical side of it afterwards ("Art and Physics" by Leonard Shlain, great book, totally changed the way I thought about Physics and Science in general). Or how a Chef spends so many years learning very technical things about cooking, how to handle his knife, work with dough, how hot the pan should be before adding the butter, and yet no one can deny certain dishes a talented chef creates are imaginative, inspired works of great Art. Taking apart a villain's range action by action is really a mental science, and your mind needs to be sharp for you to do it. The more specific you can be, the sharper your mind is, the better.

It has given me a lot to think about these past few poker free days. I thought about what I am going to have to do when Matt is in Thailand. How I can advance my game on the technical side, what kind of work habits I will need to have and where I need to go with my game. I got home at around 2:30am after my session with Matt, and the next morning came early with my kids shouting and crying and spilling their cereal and not wanting to brush their teeth. The previous night and the thoughts I had seemed so far away. It almost seemed like it wasn't real or some kind of alternate bizarro-world universe where I got to talk about Math and work on using my powers of deduction. It was very strange, and I will confess to daydreaming about the future, about working as an actor on stage for very little money while playing poker to support my family (I am trying not to spend too much time daydreaming like that, because I work less diligently on my poker and tend to auto pilot), and experiencing that same kind of disconnect. That same kind of secret life. Thinking this is how it might be for me.

Play well. Do good work. Keep in touch.

PFJ

preflopjitters