"I've never seen you like this," my son Josh says.
"What?"
"You are obsessed about this trip. You've been reading poker books, playing poker online, talking about the tournament constantly. You just need to chill out."
At first, I didn't get it. But then I realized that he was right - this has become an idée fixe for me. I'm worrying about things I cannot control. Am I going to be at a table with someone who can see right through me? Am I going to lose my composure and throw chips away on an ill-advised bluff? Am I going to wear down and chase a draw I wouldn't have even looked at early in the tournament?
When I'm playing in a $100 tournament, I don't let these things slow me down. When I'm playing in a $1000 tournament, I take things a little more seriously, but I play my game and let the cards come to me.
But in a $10,000 tournament, the thing I worry about is that, when the cards come to me, the professionals at the table will either (a) run away like scalded cats because they know I'm good; or (b) throw such an aggressive bet at me that I will second-guess myself and throw away the winning hand. I've seen it before (skip to 9:00):
It really comes down to confidence. A few weeks ago, my poker buddy Anar (who cashed in 121st place last year in the Main Event) and I were congratulating each other for winning seats to the Main Event in this year's poker league, and he told me, "You know, I stayed out of hands with you this year." This was high praise from a guy who hung in with the best players in the world.
I've gotten similar encouragement from many other people I respect. My friend Michael told me, "Stick with what works no matter what." My poker sensei Wojciech (who finished 91st this year in the Seniors tournament) has been reassuring me that the structure of the tournament (deep stacks and slow levels) favors my game.
So, like Josh says, I am going to chill out. Like this highly underrated Saturday Night Live sketch counsels, I just need to give up the ham.
 |
| "Everybody needs to just cool out." |
_______________________________________
My poker friends were all in Las Vegas last week, playing the Seniors Tournament, the Super Seniors Tournament, and various other smaller tournaments. I had planned to join them to play the Seniors again as a warm-up to the Main Event, but in the run-up to that trip, reports were coming in about a COVID outbreak. Worrying that any virus I caught in the Seniors week would carry over to the Main Event week, I cancelled my trip.
Man, I wish I had gone.
For me, the poker has always been secondary to spending time with my friends. I usually split a room with my great friend Bert, and all of my friends eat and drink in various combinations as we celebrate each other's wins and commiserate over our losses.
There was a lot to celebrate. Wojciech and our buddy John did really well in the Seniors, and Billy did well in the Super Seniors. The others on the trip had cashes as well - it turns out there are poker tournaments everywhere.
I am hoping that this week will be just as fun for me as it was for them. There are four of us playing in the Main Event: me, Anar, April and Mike. My friends Mark and Samm are also trying to win a ticket to the Main Event by playing some satellites. We will be on a group thread sending each other furtive dispatches from inside the battle, then planning a place to meet and recap.
I'm also planning to see the Blue Man Group on Sunday night with my friend Art and his family. It's a 5:00 show, so I won't lose any sleep over it. He and his wife have two small children and I got second row seats (including one in the Poncho Section) so I'm bringing some noise-cancelling headphones to minimize the sensory overload for them.
I recognize this is kind of a business trip and if things go well, that's what it will be. But if they don't, I'm not going to stew in my room doing crosswords all day. Maybe dinner at Momofuku? Maybe Piff the Magic Dragon? I got options.
_________________________________
Two days till cards fly!
No comments:
Post a Comment