The Rest of 2017

I mentioned recently that I was going to try again to get some STTs (single table tournaments, also called SNGs or sit 'n goes) running  It didn't happen.  (See 12/13 post, Other Playing Options.)  I opened an 8-player table on a Saturday night, poker prime time, and nothing happened.  More than an hour later I was still the only player registered.

It is still the case that I'm not going to be concerned about how many hours I work, or when, for the remaining days of 2017.  There are too many things coming up for the rest of the year that I can't control.  The updates that I want to make to my recordkeeping system for 2018 will take a few hours.  I won't worry about whether I am able to study for 10 hours or work 40 total hours this week.

I have gone back to flash card memorization and that will help me a lot.  Some of it is review of things that I've learned or memorized before, but it gets a little hazy after a while if I don't review those cards on a regular basis.  For example:

If I have 11 outs, I need to know immediately that the odds against hitting one of those outs on the river are 3.27 to 1.  Knowing that it's "about" 3 to 1 isn't good enough.  I need to know the exact odds and the pot size to know whether it is profitable to make that call.  Poker is like chess, in that there are many situations that have to be memorized so that when I'm looking at that situation, I know exactly what to do.  Unless chess, online poker moves fast and I have seconds, not minutes, to consider my next move.

I will be more comfortable playing online next year.  I just got a new office chair.  I can set a height and it doesn't slide back down on a regular basis as did the old chair.  I had to completely cover the new chair because one of our cats immediately put a few claw holes in it.  I tied a blanket onto the front and back and I taped towels onto each arm rest so that all of the soft parts of the chair are covered.

There is one thing happening this year that's a pretty big deal.  In a few days it will be December 26.  Why does that matter?  Because it's the best poker day of the year.   More recreational (weak) players, bigger prize pools, and often special tournaments offered by the sites.  Once I see the tournament lineup I'll plan when (or if) I'll be getting any sleep for those 24 hours.