The Streak  

Dude, I'm on fscking fire!
Well, afraid I might have been since I busted another bubble two days ago, when I first start realizing The Streak, and finished 5th late yesterday evening. Talk about Murphy...

Still, I feel my SitnGo game finally showing promise, as I have, at long last, managed to bring my ROI% above zero!!! Woohoo!! Currently standing at 5.98%!! Granted, I am only talking about my 1$ SitnGo stats (nevertheless standing for 67% of all my tourneys), but still, it's a definite good sign, which is encouraging; I'm might not be blowing my cash game earnings on tournament poker for nothing, after all, lol!

Now, while I haven't been playing loads of cash game poker lately. Roughly a mere 270-something hands in the last month, plus maybe 75 hands for our weeklyish home game; let's say 350 hands... Nothing to call home about! And, come to think of it, most assuredly the sole reason I feel stuck at the stakes I've been playing for a while now. No wonder...

Albeit, I truly believe cash game to be the real absolute true nature of the game (sometimes, I am a purist that way), especially no limit off course, since faiths can swing like the proverbial pendulum. Still, even a limit cash game can felt a player enough to get him hitchhiking his way home, if it's still his. And although I seem to be having my share of a somewhat natural hang of it (overstatement here - yet, my puny 4 000ish cash game hands wielding 50ish bucks profit at micro stakes kinda speaks for itself, I think. Does not mean I'd fare as well at higher stakes, though; not at all!), there is a profound, unmistakable and probably unshakable feeling of security in playing a tourney. Be it humongous fields or simple heads-up matches, one always has the absolute unquestionable certainty that the most money one can lose, in the worst case scenario, is one's buy-in. Very very limited risks involved. Which probably explains a lot of the goofing around you find in the early stages. Limited in the return on investment as well, mind you, but the "pot odds" are always remarkably enough; just think of Moneymaker's 39$ to win WSOP's Main Event and 2.5 millions! These kinda odds always make gamblers drool; well, they do get me drooling lol.

Anyhow, a word on the streak. I probably have jinxed it already by talking and writing about it; I'm 0 for 2 actually since I first took notes for this post (though I believe superstitions to be unlucky ;-)... Little gambler classic joke here :P). Nevertheless, I did go 8 money finishes in a row in 1$ SitnGos. Always nice to feel in control. I remember great plays and especially very good contextual decisions, stupid moves which cost me but keeping my composure afterwards, well-timed suckouts, and, all in all, a general feel of purpose and confidence. Which is exactly what I need to focus on now that I can admit it's gone and feel the fear of the cash game creeping back, mostly for too much play in this safest of poker environment... That's a lousy pernicious side effect of playing lots of tourneys; the Fear of the no-limit cash game!!! Yup, this is probably gonna make its way into the Poker and Self-Enlightenment series, if it ever is... In the meantime, time to go check if I can start myself a brand new streak :P...