Tomorrow (Sunday August 30) I will be playing in a freeroll on PokerStars for participants in the 2008 World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. Apparently PokerStars e-mailed everyone who played in last year's WBCOOP events and gave them a ticket to this freeroll. The prize for this freeroll is a $109 entry in the 2009 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) for the top 18 finishers. Unfortunately, the prize cannot be converted to cash, tournament dollars, or other tourney entries. But, it's a freeroll, and I will be home anyway, so I figured that I might as well give it a try. If you got an invitation and decide to play, maybe I will see you there. I also saw something about news coming soon for this year's WBCOOP. I hope it is a better deal for the players than last year's.
I didn't plan to go over a month without posting here, but lack of motivation to write something got the best of me. I guess I will start with how things have been going for me at the tables.
Cash games on line - down about $11, which is bad for me since I only play the nickel and dime games. Had a couple of big losing sessions; my notes for them say that either my draws didn't come through, or my opponents' draws did.
Tournaments - up about $8 overall, thanks to a second place finish in a 90-player $3.30 SNG on FullTilt but no thanks to a $10 + 1 rebuy on Bodog where I rebought twice but didn't cash.
I have not played live again yet since Okie-Vegas, but hope to do so soon at either Winstar or Riverwind in Oklahoma. Then there is the 2009 WPBT Winter Classic (Facebook page) in Las Vegas in December, where I hope to be if I can just find a decent airfare. I've been watching and hope to come across a good deal soon. Hotel bargains are plentiful and I may make a reservation soon just to be sure that I have one. I can cancel or change that later if need be. Where is everyone staying?
As I sometimes do these days, I have been thinking lately about whether poker is something I should continue to play. I tend to have long losing streaks, with an occasional decent cash that brings me close to even again. I have to wonder if my play is just good enough to be a break-even player, and if I am satisfied with that.
I only consider myself a recreational player, and have no aspirations of going pro or anything like that. Still, I would like to be good enough to *build* my bankroll instead of just barely keeping enough in it to tread water. I would also like to earn or win a chance at a large-scale tournament, such as a WSOP event, and have the skills to make a reasonable showing in such an event.
I know that I need to do at least two things to accomplish the improvements I am seeking: put in the effort to study and apply good playing techniques, and put in the time to play and practice what I have (hopefully) learned. The question is, can I motivate myself sufficiently to do these things? What kind of goals can or should I set for myself that will get me where I would like to be? If anyone out there has gone through this and has any tips or suggestions, please leave me a comment.
Non-poker content:
Our son has finished his first week of college at OU. He says he is enjoying it so far, but can already tell that calculus is going to be hard. It's weird not having him here at home.
The Texas Rangers are still in the playoff hunt, although I am a bit worried. They need to step it up a notch if they hope to catch Boston in the wild-card race, or the Angels in the Western Division. I hope they put things together and play well consistently over the next month. I would not want to see them get into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth and then get clobbered as has happened in their previous post-season appearances.
That's all I got for now.
