Late one last night Tony?
5/345 for a nice cash
Morning Ralph, & thank you.
Given my nitty style & preference for the 4/5/6 card games, you'd think nothing would suit me less than a 15 minute clock super Turbo NLH which averages over 300 entries, & you'd be right, & yet thanks to the vagaries of variance, that's the third Friday night cash on the spin - 30th Jan, 13/342, £250, 6th Feb, 8th/267, £410 + £100 in bounties, & 13th Feb, 5th/345, £900. And yes, I had a whole bunch of luck along the road, which I'm sure you will have guessed.
And it continues my story of min or small cashes galore, and almost a total absence from the Winner's Enclosure.
Think I've mentioned this before, but there are so many things I adore about Tournament poker, & very little I don't. Bad beats don't bother me one iota, I just poll up, try to enjoy every moment, then poodle back home & start the next part of my day. Of course, I mostly just play small-ball stuff, but that does not matter, in fact it probably helps because like everyone who plays MTT's I lose more often than I cash. So if losing bothers you, to my mind you are better off not playing at all, after all it's only a hobby & hobbies are meant to be fun.
MTT's are in a vague way a little like chess, not in a cerebral way, obv, but both have phases which we might term "Opening Game, "Mid Game" & "End Game". Each are very different, & there's a sort of transition point between each. When I start an MTT, I have 2 clear targets - cashing (as opposed to winning, but very importantly to me getting a new Hendon) & enjoying myself, & it's the "End Game" - lets say the last 25% - where the most fun is. At that stage, we can see how many paid, how far off the money we are, & our stack size relative to the Blinds. In my case of course I'm always below average, & with sharp-structured MTT's that usually means I'm limited to squeezes, shoves & flips. (There's no "play" as such in the sharp end of 1 day Super Turbos) and each & every one gives a little dose of adrenaline. There's that moment when you attempt a squeeze & some fella is tanking, or it's All-In and a Call and Dealer says "on their backs" & there's that momentary surge of excitement waiting to see how we stand. I'm not sure the novelty of that stuff will ever wear off. Is that a little childish after all these years? Maybe, but IDGAF, I love it all.
And it's aural too, there's that clank of plastic chip trays, which signals another table breaking, & another step nearer our goal.
Bubbles are huge fun too, we don't dislike any of our opponents on this or other tables but we are dying for one to bust & we don't extend a moment of sympathy or thought to the bustee, instead everyone sort of rejoices, "job done", or partly. And when the FT Bubble busts, suddenly there's a warmth & sense of camaraderie between all the Finalists - WE MADE IT sort of thing.
Hendons? I'm obsessed with notching them up, & I'm not sure why, but every now & then I like to peruse them & it triggers memories galore. And it's an "official" record of one's MTT achievements. It's meaningless of course, as it counts cashes but not losses, or profit, but it's the best we've got.
And there's another thing, when I play an MTT I'm almost certainly the oldest entrant. That should not matter but it really does give me some satisfaction to (occasionally) be able to hang in with the kids & young guns. I'm not exactly Eric Dalby, but I'm in the frame.
Bit of waffle there, but blame Ralph, he gave me the opening & I could not resist. Two brief lines from him and a 9 paragraph reply. I'm in a few WhatsApp groups, & whenever I cash, I secretly yearn for someone to say "I see you cashed last night" so I can have a little chirp. It's ridiculous really, but idgaf, we all like a little affirmation & massages of our self-esteem.
Oh, & tomorrow (Monday) will be an exciting day - the WSOP Schedule gets unveiled so I'll be mashing F5 all day.
