Bombardment

Just landed in San Remo, well, I actually landed in Nice, France, to be exact. I don't really mind the drive to San Remo, It's close to being the perfect definition of the term 'scenic route'. The taxi ride costs 150 bucks and it's just about worth it, especially when your travelling with two of the best in Dermot Blain & Nick Abau Risk. You be amazed what you learn in a one hour taxi ride as obviously the general topic of conversation is Poker. Do tell? Eh, no. There was an interesting topic about staking and how its become so big it's basically keeping the hole poker scene in general afloat. Make of that statement what you will. It is an interesting topic.

I've just regged up for day1b of Ept main event. It still feels horrible and great at the same time when you're handing over a brick of 5k and change to play one single event. Run goooot plz! This is what has to be done tho if you aspire to make it big in the game. Well, for the live scene anyway.

Which brings me to Online. I have been enjoying the grind lately, not much results to show for it but I know I'm doing pretty well in general with my play. It's easy to realise how, I just count how many times over the last month I want to break my mouse off the wall at home. Thearetically, 2-3 times a night when deep which is pretty good considering I only play like 6-7 games a night. I'll probably crack soon screaming BOMBARDMENT, meanwhile throwing as much technology at the wall as possible. Bah, who am I kidding, I won't. Especialy if it's anything to go by when I bust one live event in particular last year. For ppl who don't know I went up to my room having a few kicks at this and a few kicks at that to then turn and reaslise what I thought would have been my trail of destruction to find only a single pillow lying on the floor. Gutted. If you can't laugh at yourself who can you laugh at?!

The moral of the story is I know I've found my drive once again. To get so worked up means you care and that was something that had desserted me for quiet sometime online. I lost my drive and suffered because of it. A bit of a fiasco behind the scenes did most of the damage to me, my head was melted. I'm coming out on top of this one tho so you know always keep working hard even when you hate it. Love the game.

Another interesting fact came to my attention about online winners this year. Pretty remarkable stuff really. Only two players in Ireland are winning over 100k for the year in mtt's, consider this with roughly 6 ppl last year you can see something is up with Irish poker. Of course this one stat is pretty silly on it's own as we can all just say 'variance' but try less than 10 players winning over 50k only a slight jump again for guys above 30k and you start to think, wow, really? To mix this with the live scene and this trip, only 4 Irish came to play this Ept from what I can see. So, Is it really just the game getting tougher? Has the game evolved again to the point where playing so many tables might now be costing you money? I know it's standard thing these days to play anywhere between 16-30 tournies a night or if your Jaymo playing 136 in one night, more than my first few months play alone on stars. You sick fuck! It works for him but does it work for everyone else grinding online?

Me personally, I know I've changed my game at the start and mid tourny's. Completely trying to expolit regs and others playing far to many tables. They just can't see what I'm up too never checking their hud until deep in a tourny. By then, when deep, I guess it's safe to say I've changed my end game of tourny's also as these guys begin to open up and start to pay attention once again. Ask yourself this, Are they the one's who are really playing blind now, not me? Over the last month I'm going deep in possibly half my tournies I play which obviously is 3 yet I still hear same guys playing loads of tables say, 'well I don't need to look at huds etc untill I'm deep near end of the night as I'll have 3 or 4 tables left and give them my full concentration'. I play 7 (use to play only 4) they play 20+, I know lol sample size and all that but I am smart enough to realise something is up when there is this big gap for perhaps the same end product.

Of course there is more than one way of looking at it all and I'm obviously not taking everything into account here but there is a pattern developing. I can see it. I think 12-16 is the mark for a nights play hopefully I can get close to 12. I doubt it tho 10 seems like the mark for me but more of you guys can probably handle it better than me. Can you honestly say tho you use your hud correctly and assess situations when playing more than 6 tables at once? or are you just clicking buttons! I say only very few of you can perform this profitably.
The figues don't lie.