The Chipstack: Been a while...

Hey there blog readers! Sorry to have been away for so long, but I had a legit excuse. I have worked going on 8 straight days, and mixed into that stretch were 6 days of 10+ hours, and a 2.5 drive (5 hours round trip) for additional duties. Needless to say, my bed has felt very good since Sunday. It's all good, mind you. It's that time of year that puts a little jump in your step in my line of work.

As for poker, I haven't played since sitting in Irish Jim's game last Tuesday. I made one bad laydown against Irish Jim, and felt I played fairly well again, but just wasn't able to scoop that many pots. I hit a straight with all my chips in the middle, needing a Q to hit, and it did. Other than that, I was fairly card dead. Was a frustrating drive home. You know the drive. you relive every hand that you played, every hand you folded pre-flop, and think about "if I play this differently," or "I should have pushed more there." A never ending cycle of second guessing. It has been a frustrating time for me at the table in the past few months. I have done a good job this week of staying away from poker, to recharge my batteries a bit. I am hoping it sharpens my focus for the league event on Saturday.

As it stands, I am locked into the TOC by virtue of my 2 wins, but I still have a slim shot at garnering POY status. I need high finishes, and the players in front of me need early knockouts. I say slim, meaning I am giving myself reason to hope. My real chances are slim and none, and Slim is on his way out of town. It's my own fault for not being more competitive in the other events, but it's a huge credit to the players in front of me who have played very well month after month.