Let's see, since the last post finals have started, I have strongly considered buying a sports car, I've decided to withdraw a lot of my bankroll for more conservative investments, played some 150/300 anyway, and basically broken even.

As I previously mentioned, in Oct/Nov, I went on a big losing streak, losing half or more of my bankroll. I then went on a tear in late Nov and won everything back. I started playing a lot more (as I tend to do when winning) and subsequently burned out. I started playing poorly and tilting frequently. Thankfully I escaped with only one losing night over the stretch before realizing that I was playing badly and stepping back a bit. Finals forced me to take some time off, and I've been happy with my play since. I'm playing a lot of td, some razz, a bunch of o8 and some holdem.

I'm feeling much more comfortable in O8, and some of the play is pretty amazing. I see people coldcalling 2 (at 50/100 and 100/200, mind you) with jj87, a8910. Etc. One hand, I raised on button with a24x, the bb called with k1022. flop was q36 with my nut flush draw. The guy called me down! so of course the board came running jacks, ha.

So as I've been thinking about whether to buy a car, been thinking a lot about what % of my networth my bankroll should be. I was thinking if I could have it be around 1/3, that would be a good number. Despite my buddy's opinion (100% of course), I think that a smaller % would be beneficial in a lot of ways (i.e, a lot less stressful). Additionally, while the return on poker is a lot higher than other investments, so is the risk. It's one thing to be very aggressive with a few thousand dollars, but it's another when the number gets much larger. I'm also getting more interested in the stock market, so hopefully i can figure out what the hell i'm doing there. Of course doing this would mean not playing 150/300 anymore for a while, and of yet I haven't stopped.

I think that playing 30/60 should be a good way to make back what I withdraw, especially with Stars adding 30/60 TD. However, my results have been less than stellar so far in the game. In part, I am doing a poor job of multitabling, making mistakes from inattention. Additionally, the game plays much more like live TD than does the UB game, and I haven't adjusted well to the different betting ranges. I often end up betting people's hands for them, thinking they can't have me beat based on the action. I need to pay more attention to these ranges. Additionally, while I haven't run awful, i haven't run particularly well either. So I will try and bear down and play better in this game.

Ok, I think i'm caught up for now. Anyone out there big car guys? I could use some help narrowing down my purchase…

First, let’s get caught up on the last few days. Yesterday I went in and avenged my big loss on Monday by picking up a couple grand despite the fact that I didn’t play all that great. Back when I was doing the GPITW with Justin, I wrote a piece about why I didn’t think I succeeded as well in the higher limits as some of my friends, and one of my big points was that even though a big loss didn’t affect me as much during the actual night of the loss, I always had this unshakable feeling the next day that led to a form a tilt. Yesterday was a prime example. I was in a shell the whole time and definitely left a few bets on the table as I proceeded to catch every premium hand multiple times over in the course of 4 hours. I rarely put people to tough decisions, and when I did, they got the decision right, which made me go even deeper into my shell. Hopefully, a session or two at the 30/60 will fix that.

Today was errand day.

First, a little background. Since I started college, I’ve been on and off of Strattera, a non-stimulant drug used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder in adults. For most of my professional career, I’ve been on the drug, and it’s definitely helped me out. However, during my trip back to Madison for Halloween, I forgot to pack it with me, and with some encouragement from my (now ex-) girlfriend, I decided to stay off of it when I returned to Vegas. Soon after dropping this drug like a bad habit, I realized that I was a happier person, and more content with life. I was a little more mellow and much more accepting of events I couldn’t control. It was awesome.

Then I went to Commerce after Thanksgiving, where I proceeded to leave half my clothes and I returned to a dark apartment thanks to a power bill I simply forgot to pay. Soon after that, I realized I couldn’t read a book for more than 4 pages at a time, and I was losing focus at the poker tables.

[/backstory]

Today I went to go get a professional, old-school shave at the Art of Shaving. Before I get to the main point, I need to say that getting a professional barber-shop shave is one of the few grooming/pampering techniques out there that will actually make you feel MORE manly. Is there any way you can’t feel cool in this scenario? Let’s see. You walk into an oak-trimmed room and kick back in a brown leather barber’s chair. As you soak in all the estrogen-deterring browns and golds, badasses like Bing Crosby and Tony Bennett teach you life lessons in song form. As you lay back in your chair, a skilled craftsman sharpens a blade that’s already sharp enough to sink itself an inch deep into your neck under nothing more than its own weight.

You smell flowers. Lilacs, maybe.

Haha…fuck that. It smells like a combination of eucalyptus and sawdust.

After that, it’s hot towels, hot shaving cream, and 10 straight minutes of a very pleasing scraping sound and your facial hair is shorn off your face. Although 99% of Rounders is now clichéd and untouchable for the socially adept poker player, the shaving scene can still be applied to real life without fear of ridicule from the cool crowd.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s get to the point. A year or two ago, I would have treated this whole episode much differently. Before I moved to Vegas, I was much more adept at drawing numerous interesting tidbits out of guys like (the unfortunately named) Elliot. Here’s a guy who has a very unusual job with a service that appeals to a very interesting cross-section of people. Not only that, but he gets to operate in a very secure environment with customers who have let their guard down enough to let another man scrape a deadly blade across their necks. Almost certainly, Elliot had a number of stories to tell. Before Vegas, I would grill this guy from the moment I walked in until the moment I tipped him. Now, after over a year of the tired, formulaic version of “fun” that Vegas offers, my ability and my desire to interrogate and absorb has clearly waned. I just sat there in the chair, my mind spinning and bouncing back and forth from thought to thought. My brain is so completely re-wired that this entire thought process didn’t occur to me until the drive home. This blog could have been infinitely more interesting if I would have just recognized this golden opportunity.

A potential solution to this problem, however, rested in my pocket. Before my shave, I made a not-so-quick swing by the psycholgist’s (or is it psychiatrist? I can never get it straight) office, resulting in the producing of a small piece of scribbled-upon paper that will be the key to my adventure into the wonderful world of Adderall. The hour-and-half long torture test that is the doctor’s waiting room, and the ensuing two trips to Walgreens to pick up my prescription is a story for another day. Suffice to say, anyone who happened to be observing me in either of these two environments would not question for a second that I do suffer from ADD.

So now, tonight (the last few hours before I start taking my wunderdrug), my mind is spinning with plans. This will be the first time I’ve used a stimulant. From what I understand, I’m going to feel all weird and hyper-focused for the next couple weeks. After that, I level off and probably wish I never started taking the stuff in the first place….especially after I miss a day. But anyways, if I get all focused and stuff, I want to be able to maximize this time. Do I play hours upon hours of poker? Do I clean up my apartment and try to scratch off item after item of my lengthy to-do list? Do I hole up and hide so I don’t feel so aggravated when I lose my superpowers? These are the things that go through my head.

I guess we find out tomorrow.

Cheers,

Doug