The 150K Tilt of Poker & Life: Part 2- The Blackhole

5 hands into this cash game & 5 hands I played-I lost. (Pocket 9s; AK; AJx; Pocket 2s; Pocket Kings) The stakes & HANDS didn't matter; Full-on tilt engulfed me. I didn't even remember buying in. Poker was imitating life & I was ready to let it rip. Life can sometimes smack you down over & over. If you aren't careful; being smacked & smacking is all you will know. I asked the floor person for chips & was told you already bought in; Chewey but there is a seat at 1/2!. I looked down at my once big stack to see a few dribbles remaining.

The 150K Tilt of Poker & Life: Part 1- The Fester

Go 2 for 3 on your tournament All-In's & sit below your stacking stack of 5k with 1.3k; How does it feel? Not good. 1 of the 2 All-In wins; you chop. How does that feel? Urgggh. How about All-In on the flop with pocket Jacks vs A-6 off on a board of Q,Q,3,K.  I know I'm ahead but this is Texas Hold'em; there is one more card to come. Before the last card is dealt; I'm prepared for the worst regardless of what I hold & the magical "King" appears. My Jacks are counterfeited & I lose to the A-6x. Needless to say; I didn't cash in this particular tournament but managed to survive with the shortest stack far longer than most players.

If you let it; your job/profession can negatively impact your life.

Life & Adjustments with Omaha 8/b

During the span of a lifetime, we are all involved in terrible, bad, ok, good, great, & excellent situations.Do you ask yourself "Why me?"; "How did we get here?" & then do you bemoan or gloat over your luck or lack of? Now you are reading this & thinking that Chewey has turned into Dr. Phil on you! I didn't come here to read the philosophy of life; I want to hear poker stories & illusions of endless glory.  Here comes the hook: Omaha 8, Omaha High/Low teaches you to learn, adjust & to foresee life on the fly. What is this Omaha 8 that  I speak of? Is it a city? Some 12 step program? No, it's a game.

Omaha 8 is a poker game

The 50K Conundrum

There are always choices & different paths to reach a final destination or end result. Did I make the right choice? Was I efficient? Could I have make it to the end faster? These are questions that I ask myself daily in life & in poker. You can't be in the game if you're out but you can't be out if you were never in. The past year has provided me much experience/resolve for my overall poker game. Playing in free-rolls, Invitationals based upon hourly play & playing more mixed-game/none Hold'em cash games has enabled me to stay in the game of poker & utilize one of my greatest skills: minimizing my risk & pushing the edge.

I have played Hold'em at The Mirage in Las Vegas to qualify for each of the last four 50K Quarterlys. Play at least

The Frenzy (Prelude to 2012 WSOP)

I sit there, folding hand after hand. Nursing my average stack. Boredom sets in; I'm dealt A,Jx & raise from late position. The small blind raises; the big blind goes All-In. Freaking Frak, what do I do? I mutter to myself & fold. Who wins the hand? It does not matter; I didn't pay to play. For the next level, I spew what little chips I have left. The money bubble approaches, such is the routine of a