My last three tournaments

In this blog I often write about process.  When you think about it, everything is about the process.  Professional football players practice plays and study film of the other team.  Doctors typically go to school and train until around age 30.

Poker players are no different.  We ready and study poker books.  We subscribe to online poker coaching sites. We bounce ideas and strategies off other players.  A two-time World Poker Tour player of the year answered some of my questions online.

That said, ultimately it's about what happens at the poker table.  I usually schedule one live tournament each wee.  Here's how my last three tournaments came out.  All were $50 tournaments that usually have around 60 players:

Two weeks ago.  I surprised the table by calling raises with some speculative hands, including flopping the nut straight when I called a raise with suited connectors.  I was one of the chip leaders for much of the tournament.  The cards dried up and my stack dwindled at the end, but I still made it to the final table.  After playing from 1800-0045 I cashed for $300.

One week ago.  The switch from the schedule with my mother-in-law where I get up with her every morning, to a poker schedule where I try to stay up late and sleep in late before I play a tournament that could go past midnight, didn't work.  An hour before the tournament I decided that I was too tired to play and I stayed home.  I'm not going to waste a buy-in when I'm too tired to play well.

Yesterday.  Instead of the usual 55-60 players, there were only 25.  I didn't get many good cards, and my play wasn't horrible, but not my best.  I made the final table, going out in sixth place, but since there were fewer players than usual (and therefore a much smaller prize pool) only the top three got paid.  I went out in fifth place, again playing until after midnight, but didn't cash.

Those are the ups and down of a poker player.  Most full-time players would just play another tournament (or more than one) the next day, either live or online.  As I can't play full-time for now, the times that I don't cash are a little more painful.  I have to wait a week or more for another chance.