Time for another ramble

I admit it has been quite a while since my last update, but believe me, you aren't missing much.

So what has happened me poker wise since my last brief update? Not much really. I returned from Vegas with less money than I went (not a huge amount in the scheme of things however), ran well after I came back for a couple of weeks, then started losing. I think I have only played 3 times in the last 6 weeks, I haven't played online in several months, and I have not been enjoying the game lately.

I know I have had some fatalistic updates on this wristslitfest of a blog, but I have not enjoyed poker in the last 3-4 months in all fairness, probably starting before I went to Vegas at all. I have noticeably been playing terribly and making terrible decisions borne out of some ill conceived notion that I conconcted from nowhere at the time to justify my decision to myself. It has at times felt like I was literally burning money, especially in Omaha cash games where I have made some ridiculously stupid moves lately.

It is hard to admit at times, but I am playing such a weak tight game lately that it depresses me. Knowing this is probably the first step to addressing it, but knowing it is also the easy part. Fixing it is the difficult bit. I know people go through phases like this all the time, but it is the first time in a long time that I have not wanted to play much at all, and the last 6 weeks are easily the least poker I have played in the last 4 1/2 years.

It is with all this in mind that I have decided not to go to Killarney to play in the event that I have been looking forward to for ages. I think it will be a great weekend with loads of good people there, so a good time in that respect will be nearly guaranteed. However, I think it would be a guaranteed loss of money so I cannot justify it in my current humour with the game, especially if it were to turn out like my experience in Tramore when I got frustrated with my play that I left a day early with a hotel room paid for and all. Killarney is just too far to do that. I really do wish I was going, but I don't hate money that much.

I will also not be playing the IPO, but this is for a different reason as I have a stag to attend that weekend in Galway. I would have played this otherwise but not to be.

I have not tried to qualify for the Winter Festival in Citywest on the bank holiday weekend yet and I really should as I would love to play that and I am certainly not forking out entry money for that as it is way above my budget but it should be an excellent event as well. I think I will try to go back to basics somewhat in poker terms and play some more tournaments and cut back on the cash games somewhat. Who knows though, a couple of decent nights and this will all be forgotten I guess.

On other fronts, I have just returned from a 2 week break in the states, with a week of it spent in Florida. This included 2 nights spent in Key West which was surreal due to the number of bikers in the place. It was Bikers Week there, and there must have been 2 thousand of them, mostly on Harleys, quite a few with their 'bitches', and the average age being close to 50 I would guess, no joke. The women with them were often quite scary (although there were a few exceptions of course) with scantily clad, leathery skinned, pot bellied, 50 year old women being typical fare there. I still have some mental scars. Other memorable parts of the trip included a visit to Ocracoke Island in North Carolina, home of the best beach in the US 2007, and a trip to Busch Gardens for some high octane rollercaoster action. Relaxation was probably the key point of this trip and I am deighted to report that this objective was achieved in full, and considering the content of the first few articles in this entry, it couldn't have come at a better time.

That's me for now. I shall be back some time between tomorrow and the end of the year for another update I'm sure.