Oops, changed my mind !

The very keen amongst you may have noticed that I have snipped out a paragraph from the “Get it quietly” piece below. This was the bit where, in a fit of pique, I forswore the festival circuit forever, pretty much. Given time to reflect I have reconsidered. That’s another great thing about having your own diary compared to posting on forums – not only is there no right of reply, you can change your mind and take stuff back as well :-).

That’s not to say I’m going to sell all my stuff and hit the road to Paris with all my money in a plastic bag. If you either have a big win and are happy to play with the profit, or just basically don’t care about the money, play the festival circuit as much as you like. If not, it’s much better to take the odd shot than to make a habit of playing tournaments for £200 and more. Even the best player will catch a very expensive downswing sooner or later (see Simon Trumper's article). Personally I don’t have a problem with putting £300 into a tournament, but I do have a problem with putting £300 into tournaments with 130 runners, 20 of whom are a bit too good. Especially on a regular basis.

What I figure is that if I get my head down for 6 months, festivals won’t go away in the meantime. If I pick the right games, make the right decisions and enjoy playing just for the sake of it then winning will take care of itself. Just like on the Internet, where I won’t be happy until I get my £1000 back, I won’t really be comfortable until I rebuild my bankroll to what it was 2 years ago. I could just take the difference from what I made on my flat – but I think that if I work to get it back over time then I’ll appreciate it more and take better care of it. Time, as ever, will tell.