Like a yo-yo

I was ready to pack it in just about an hour ago. I've been playing like crap lately, or at least it feels that way. I decided to play some poker tonight, and I entered a satellite at Full Tilt to one of their Full Tilt Online Poker Series tourneys. Out of 52 entrants, I finished a lowly 41st. Maybe I didn't get a lot of great cards, but I suspect I could have played better than I did. So, thinking my luck should change, I bought into a two-table SNG. 18 started - IGH in 16th. Got sucked in by a flopped full house when I turned a flush. Should have got a better read on him/her.

Well gee, I'm thinking, I've barely played tonight, and things can't get worse, so into another SNG I go, this time a single table. I lose a chunk of chips early when I fold my TP medium kicker to a big raise with a flush draw showing. I tighten up and let the others duke it out, and some bust out, for a while. Finally I get a couple of hands and some chips, and I double up when I call the short stack's all-in with 88. He shows 76h and doesn't improve. Once I get a decent stack, I start putting some pressure on, and it pays off with some blind steals. Eventually, I take it all down. It's the first tournament win I have had in about four months. I've had several cashes and a few second place finishes in that time, but it definitely feels good to get first again. It might even make me think that I know something about how to play this game. That's kinda scary, because I know that I have a helluva lot to learn. I'm in the red for the calendar year, and that isn't a good sign in my opinion. Sure, variance can take you way up or way down, but I'm sure I could improve my stats if I worked harder at playing smarter. I finished 2005 with a small profit; I'd love to do the same in 2006. Guess I'd better pay more attention, study all the freaking poker books I have, and see what I can do to reach that goal.