Long-term APATers will know that I tend to write for a bit, get bored, disappear for a while, return for a while, rename my blog, proclaim some change of direction poker-wise, then repeat the cycle. Given my blogging track record it will be no surprise if in 2 weeks time, this effort gets abandoned and I wander off and do something different. However, rather than reviving the old blog, I thought I"d start a brand new one, if for no other reason than to try and retain my own enthusiasm. Hopefully, if I try and explain the title I"ve chosen it will explain where my head is right now.
Its fair to say that I am probably less wrapped-up in playing poker than at any time since I started on the Party Poker free tables some 6-7 years ago. After flogging myself to death trying to turn myself into a cash grinder last year, I found that I simply wasn"t enjoying the game at all, so I"ve re-evaluated a load of stuff and normally restrict myself to what I know I"m damned good at, which is deepstack hold"em tournaments. Last year I managed to maintain my record of making a profit in all bar one of the years I"ve played the game, chiefly through fiercesomely strict bankroll management. The rule I set for myself a long time ago is that my poker has to be completely self-supporting and thankfully that is still the case. However, this year I will allow my day-to-day money to merge slightly with my poker funds and will attempt a pop or two at a decent prize as long as I know I don"t need the "investment" for something else. That brings me to the first part of the blog title. Yesterday I took advantage of Travelodge"s current sale to book myself a couple of nights in some establishments of theirs to the east of Coventry. I wont buy-in for a couple of weeks, but the intention is that I will have a crack at this year"s Goliath at the Ricoh arena on the basis that I can afford to blow the entry fee, so why the hell not? I"ve got a small,local tournament to play in a couple of week"s time, but otherwise I probably wont play live again until August. In the meantime, if anything of note happens of the virtual felt, it will be mentioned here.
One of the things having an adverse effect on my playing time is that recently a friend of mine asked me to assist with a website he runs. Its called Allthingsnorfolk and was set-up a few years ago to promote independent businesses in my home county. My mate recently revamped/expanded the scope of the site with the intention of it becoming more interactive and reflecting a wider chunk of Norfolk life. Due to me having dabbled with the dark arts of creating writing, I"ve been given, pretty much, a free reign to write anything Norfolk-related. Its very early days, but I"ve got a couple of book reviews pending, I"ve written a piece about my favourite bit of local countryside,did a review of the last gig I went to and have invested in a Phillips dictaphone as I have a couple of interviews lined-up. On the 27th of this month, I will be speaking to Steve Hackett who made his name as the guitarist for Genesis during their early, most critically-acclaimed period, when Peter Gabriel was often seen taking to the stage dressed as a sunflower. A few days later, I should hopefully be speaking to 80s heavy metal band the Tygers of Pan Tang who are playing a show near me promoted by a rock music journalist friend of mine. Hopefully, if I do a decent job of the two interviews, I will then be in a position to arrange more and my poker-playing time will decrease still further.
Getting rich quick? Mmm, I"m nothing if not an optimist and I"ve set myself a horseracing related zero-to-hero challenge. In late October/early November I logged into Betafair for the first time in a while found found that I hadn"t cleared the account as I had expected, but that there was around £7 - £8 left. I decided to place three £2 bets for the following day"s racing at Wolverhampton and when 2 of these bets were winners, the seeds of my challenge were sown. Using my Betfair account for racing punts only, I decided to see how far I could spin my funds up using the same degree of control I have exerted over my poker money. The rules were simple; (1) the bet size would stay at £2 until such time as my funds exceded £150 when I would increase to a £3 stake and so on. (2) I would restrict myself to very specific races, namely all-age handicaps at Wolverhampton over 5,6 and 12 furlongs as I felt these were the races that gave me my greatest profitability. I"ve added 6 and 12 furlong races of a similar type at Southwell to my core focus and will also occasionally bet on other races as I see fit. My funds went from £7 ish to over £100 in around a month, but since then progress has slowed a little. I hit a high of £148 a couple of weeks ago and I"m now sitting at the the princely sum of £127.77. With the current inclement conditions, there aren"t many days when there isn"t a viable all-weather bet or two and I"m backing numerous horses at the moment. Some of my results will be on here as well.
