An Up and Down Day (and month)

It was quite an interesting day.  It started out badly with the 1014 tournament, which was a complete mess.  I didn't get good cards and I don't think that I played very well.  I finished 19th of 60, way out of the money.  Plus, I used my "brain pill" (ADD medication) in that tournament and wouldn't have it for another shot at night.  I had been on a good cashing streak for quite a while and I knew that it had to end sometime.  Still, 19th of 60 and being in the bottom of the pack every minute of those 2.25 hours was not fun at all.

When the tournament ended I had not cashed in 6 straight tournaments, 8 of the last 10.  I know that that's normal, but missing by so much and keeping my losing streak going was very disappointing.  Before the losing streak started my bankroll was almost $350 and I was up over $40 in the first 10 days of the month.  Now I was down to about $320.

Twelve hours after I started that tournament, I played the second one at 2214.  It's the same tournament, running twice a day.  After four hours I finished 2nd of 71 for a cash of $22.62 and all was right with the world.  If you want to be a poker player you have to jump on that variance train and be ready for a wild ride.

I'm up $46.21 for the month so far, I'm close to getting my bankroll above $350, and I did it without my brain pill, which is an 8-hour dose, taken once a day.  In January all of my tournaments were in the evening between about 1800 and midnight, so I took the pill just before I started my block of tournaments.  Now I'm playing tournaments whenever and whenever I can find one, with the 1014 and 2214 tournaments being the anchors of my schedule.  I have to pick my spots and I took the pill before the A.M. tournament, but everything at night turned out just fine.

I feel a whole lot better than I did yesterday morning.