Risk

So I am in Las Vegas, at the World Series of Poker, at the ASSE Safety 2008 conference. In the mornings I get up early on a weekend, when many in this town are just getting to bed, and I go play safety geek with the other safety geeks and we talk about...safety.

At night, Catherine and I head to the Amazon room to watch the insanity that is the WSOP unfold right in front of us. How crazy. What a strange dichotomy.

The trip has been fun though. The first night we got to see Daniel Negreanu win his 4th bracelet. That was a lot of fun. The next night we sweated Bill Edler in the Razz event. And last night we watch the carnage of the PLO w/ rebuys event, which was awesome. Every table was stacked with great players.

We also decided that we just couldn't bear not playing a little ourselves, so we mosied on over to the poker room to play a little 1/3 nlhe. We didn't have much money with us so we decided to short buy for 100 each. It took me about 45 minutes to dust off 3 buy ins. A8 < A3. He flops two pair and check raises me all in on the A34r flop (I folded and he showed). 77 < AKo allin preflop. Of course I was against Catherine on that one. The rake was the only winner on that one. AKo < AQo. Flop was KQQr. I almost folded. QdTd < Kc8c all in on a flop of 6cQcTs where the solid player at the table decided to gamble with zero fold equity.
You know, I hate telling bad beat stories, but this just has been happening so much that I feel the need to prove to myself and others that even though I haven't won in a live cash game in 6 months I am not playing bad (I don't think). Its just so sick that this keeps happening.

But, damn it, I'm a tenacious bastard. I'm not giving up because I know I can beat this game. In fact I've decided to immerse myself in studying poker in general ( not just hold em), because I want to be better. I don't want to play 1/2 my whole life. I want to play bigger cash games and I want to play in the wsop. Poker is most fun when it is difficult.

So, on that note, tonight or tomorrow we will probably take our last bit of money and take another stand in the low stakes nlhe game. I'm a little worried, but still over all confident. We will see what happens.