Out Of Focus

I suppose I should get some poker content up here, although I really don't have that much to report.

I've been playing SNGs here and there lately but no significant success. My bankroll has been up & down over the past week but I'm basically right back where I started. I have strayed away slightly from my bankroll challenge rules but I put an end to that fairly quickly.

First, about two weeks ago, I played more Token games than I should have. I wanted to limit myself to no more than 1 per week, but I ended up playing four in one night. Unfortunately, I lost all of them, some in fairly brutal fashion, although I can't recall how it happened. All I do remember is that I got my money in ahead & got sucked out on. Each time this happened, I jumped back in. Rinse. Repeat. Rebuy. By the time I was done, I spent more than the token would have been worth. It's not like I have time for MTTs right now anyways.

I jumped up to $10 SNGs a couple times as well, cashing in a couple but not doing as well as I'd like. I do notice some subtle differences in the play at these levels; the players are still fairly bad, just not quite as bad. The play isn't quite as straightforward as the $5 games are, but I'll still find people pushing with stuff like A6, which I love when I'm raising with AK. Until that 6 hits the flop. Bastards.

For the most part, my success at the tables has been hindered by my focus. I've got so many things going on that I'm just not playing my strongest game right now. First & foremost, I've got Christmas on the mind. I'm flying back home to AZ next week for the holidays, then flying out Xmas morning to CA to see my girlfriend's family. I haven't been home in over a year & I'm super stoked to go back. I've pretty much checked out mentally and already entered into vacation mode. I've been planning my budget for Xmas which will require me to cash out my bankroll again. The problem here is that I've already budgeted X dollars from my bankroll, and if it drops below that, I start focusing on that rather than playing my best game. In a way, it's sort of like playing with scared money, which I know firsthand is never a good thing.

I hate to withdraw my bankroll but I've already been preparing for this since I started playing again. Christmas & family always supercedes poker, and it will until I'm in a position where I can accomodate both at the same time. The good news is that I'll be able to replenish my bankroll shortly after Xmas (more on that tomorrow), so the biggest inconvenience of all this will be waiting a week for ePassporte to process my redeposit request. At least they've been super quick about processing my withdrawals lately, so they've got that going for them.

Finally, I'm just looking forward to taking a break from poker. I know my brother is looking forward to getting in some action while I'm back home, so I'll have to see about squeezing in a tournament. My vacation runs through Jan 2nd, and I'm thinking about taking a trip down to Treasure Casino to hit up a tournament that day. Otherwise, I'll be away from the tables for about two weeks, and I think this will be a great way to start over fresh. It's hard for me to take a break from poker unless it's physically impossible for me to play, but when I do step away, I always find myself feeling rejuvenated when I jump back in. It should be a good way to start 2008.

Good luck to those still fighting for a TOC spot!