Variability

In case it isn't apparent from my posts, I took some time off from the game recently. This was the result of many things, but primarily giving most of my bankroll to the holders of undersets when their one-outer comes on the river. I'm not one to tell bad beat stories. Really. But when the third guy in two weeks hits his fourth 9 on the river to scoop a pot that would have paid for my month in Vegas it may just be time to get out of town.

So what happened during the year since I started this blog and then failed to post? Well, during the past year I have played in Macau, Vegas and my home town. I spent a month getting Iron Man status on Full Tilt so I could understand what the attraction of playing on-line is. My dog died. My ex-wife had a baby and forbid her family to tell me about it so I only found out when my annual health-insurance claim summary came in (Hmm, I'm sure I didn't need an obstetrician this year...). I went a month without drinking. I went a month without not drinking. I got comped a meal in a nice vegas restaurant because the bartender felt bad I had to spend the entire time being abused by my date ("Thanks - the ceviche was awesome as was the flight of tequilas - everything really, except for the screaming-harpy-bitch. No, I really couldn't accept. Really, that bad? Ok, then, some more tequila. God bless you.") And the only clothes I have that fit feature more than a little elastic.

What have I learned? Well, I'm underbankrolled for the games I play. This really isn't an issue since I have a job and I'm not trying to make a living but a not even horrendous down swing can eat my bank roll. People are not smarter as a result of the recent financial downturn - just poorer (there is a whole post coming comparing the similarities between guys who get rich on Collateralizing debt obligations without actually understanding them and guys who call 8bb raises with 96off and rake pots when the flop comes 966). And the earth keeps spinning.

Like I said, the more things change...