Ding Dong
Well whadayya know my first year as a pro is over and whilst earnings-wise it fell a little short of a vintage 2005 it was still much better than I could ever hope to have eeked out from the 9 to 5; a tad more exciting too and if the mood grabs me I get to take an afternoon nap.
What is slightly worrying is that my sponsor, William Hill, put me into the majority of the tournaments I played and that their investment wasn't far shy of my net return. What jumps out when checking over my 2006 stats is that I ran well for the first half, right up to leaving for Vegas in July, but from there on I ran (and played) bad, making just two final tables compared to eight for the earlier half.
One hundred and eighteen tournaments were entered and at least when I did make a final I was going deep with two heads-up chops, five seconds and two third place finishes; I just gotta work on the kill.
Up to July, I'd been running consistently well for a good two years and one word, lethargy, probably best describes the cause of the rot since then. I played so bad at times I still wince at the memory; a woeful call all-in with a nine high three tables out in the Copenhagen EPT, and stupidly getting prematurely frustrated in just Level 1 of the nine day marathon that is the WSOP main event. These two are the easiest to recall, any others probably require some gentle prodding.
Having overplayed myself in Vegas I never made the smart move, taking a break to recover and instead ploughed on with no homework or a few steps back to see what had happened. New year approaches, a fresh start then, with a more disciplined approach to the game and oh yeah fingers crossed another year with sponsorship.
Well it wouldn’t be much of a review if I didn’t include some online musings; my flesh is weak and I'm unable to either improve or delete the software as it continues to frustrate and occasionally delight on a ratio of about, mmm, 27:1. The highs were a Who's The Daddy win for $21k on Laddies over the new year and a win in the Crypto biggie for £14k a few months back.
The lows are a bit of a blur, a steady trickle and unfortunately far more consistent; slouched, drinking, watching the telly and in general trying to do anything else rather than have to focus on 9, 18 or 27 pixel seats all point to why I am a far from successful online punter.
Will I improve? I keep telling myself that it’s possible but I know it will require a lot more concentration and probably a room with a door that can be locked; at the moment I’m just not sure that I’m hungry enough to devote the amount of discipline required.
I’m on a walkabout of sorts at the moment and with a brand new baby boy arriving in mid January I won’t be travelling until perhaps Deauville at the end of February. Plenty of time to take a step back, recharge the batteries and get the competitive juices flowing again.