Life Goes On Without Me
Last day in Vegas tomorrow and can you believe I'm looking forward to coming back to jolly old England. Four weeks was just too much for me. I had an enjoyable meal with Simon G in the Venetian [1] tonight, but when I was telling him about what happened at Caesar's with the two guys and one stealing chips off the other I was about 3/4 of the way through the story when I realised "This is a bit lame really. It's not much of a punchline, and in fact, not all that much to be angry about". Sometimes you just need to talk to someone, rather than tippy tap on your keyboard all night, to put something into perspective. Several recent posts are along these lines, and it's true that I probably write with a bit more spirit when I'm angry about something, but even so, a lot of it's not really worth getting angry about in the first place. Bad poker players play badly and/or talk a lot of shit. Welcome to poker as Bad Beat said to me earlier in the trip.
My interest in the main event goes as far as funking for people I like and that is entirely it. Once the last person I like is out, I could not care less what happens. It's like when QPR are knocked out of the Cup, I never care what happens after that [2]. So if you're playing and I like you, best of British. I do have to negotiate a night out with Paul S and his no doubt motley crew of associates tomorrow but if I manage not to end up in the gutter, I'll soon be back home and offline for about a week. Hopefully I'll be on in time for the football season (5th August, not much of a break is it) but if I'm not then just lump the lot on QPR and Barnet, you'll be alright. See you then.
[1] Tip for you : the Italian restaurant in the "Grand Canal Shoppes" was packed out, but the one in the casino was empty, very good and relatively cheap.
[2] Yes, this means I don't normally get much value from the Cup.
My interest in the main event goes as far as funking for people I like and that is entirely it. Once the last person I like is out, I could not care less what happens. It's like when QPR are knocked out of the Cup, I never care what happens after that [2]. So if you're playing and I like you, best of British. I do have to negotiate a night out with Paul S and his no doubt motley crew of associates tomorrow but if I manage not to end up in the gutter, I'll soon be back home and offline for about a week. Hopefully I'll be on in time for the football season (5th August, not much of a break is it) but if I'm not then just lump the lot on QPR and Barnet, you'll be alright. See you then.
[1] Tip for you : the Italian restaurant in the "Grand Canal Shoppes" was packed out, but the one in the casino was empty, very good and relatively cheap.
[2] Yes, this means I don't normally get much value from the Cup.
2 Comments:
Consider your stay in Vegas as your first test as a professional. Indeed, what you seem to have suffered is part of what I fear if I tried to play for a living. What happens when you don't want to play? Well, you HAVE to play. It's your living. So you want to win your "nut" as quickly as possible.
This leads to you getting irritated with people (i.e., other players) who for some reason seem to want to frustrate you in this eminently reasonable aim. "Look", you feel like saying. "You know that I am better than you. Why not just give me the $500 and we can both go off and do something that we enjoy?" Except, of course, they ARE doing something that they enjoy. You, the professional, are the odd one out.
Next thing you know you're a MOG pro at the Vic getting the hump with anyone who tries to have a good time.
A slippery slope to wander down.
I don't know what the answer is, except to chop and change your games and your poker sites in order to keep things "fresh", even if this is at some cost to the overall EV. And also think of yourself as a performer as well as a winner. These guys have paid to come and play you at poker and, in a way, you are the show. The good Doctor Channing has this part of the game off to a tee, I hear.
If I am a fish, I don't want to lose a grand in total silence at a blackjack table. I want a dealer or some other players who are chatty. Why do Americans love craps? Because it's a great atmosphere of camaraderie.
Somehow you have to try to create this at the poker table while, at the same time, winning their cash. They have to want to play with you again, because, well, they might have lost money but, hell they had a good time...
In live game terms, this is my major aim for the next year, to get people to be happy while they are losing money to me...
PJ
The Italian in the Venetian was called Valentinos.
http://www.venetian.com/dining/valentino.cfm
The front of it is "regular" stuff and very good. At the back, there is a poncy menu. So the trick is to work out who is most likely to be paying for it before suggesting where to sit...
The victim in [2] wasn't who I first thought it was, so we will revert to your original version - he is indeed a twat.
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