End of June

Its pretty much the end of the month since I merely have a single HUST to play tomorrow (for the one-a-day freeroll on FTP) so we can close the book on a really volitile month of poker. I don't think I've even been so up and down before, especially if you throw May into the mix.

Funny how a week or so can really change the way everything looks. About 10 days ago I was getting crushed. Just crushed. You've seen the posts I've made here. I've stayed positive for the most part but I'm human too. I was fearing the worst was happening. I had lost nearly 30% of my bankroll after hitting my all-time high and I felt like I had no answer for it.

Then all of the sudden it turned around. I was making the same type of decisions but suddenly I was either winning the flip or holding as a favorite. I started to actually catch a few timely breaks when I needed it. Sure, I still found the bad beats and the coolers, but they didn't seem so devestating once I actually saw that it wasn't happening EVERY game. Before I knew it I had my bankroll back to where I started after closing out another solid week of play, ending with a very satisfying $26 turbo knockout SNG win on Sunday and a pair of wins in the home game on Monday night.

So, what happened? Why did things change so quickly? Did I find some karma? Perhaps, but not likely. I think the biggest thing I did was simple. I did nothing. I didn't change what I was doing because I hadn't found any evidence that what I was doing was wrong. I played the best I could every time. I reviewed any hands I felt were troubling and sought out opinions on them. In short, I believed in myself and what I was doing and just accepted the short-term results. As long as I continue to play my best the long-term picture will be just fine and I'll continue to do so whether July ends up as feast or famine.

This wasn't the first time I've dropped 25-30% of my bankroll... just the first time the dollars were this noticeable. As I always have before I've come back from it as a player better able to handle the adversity... at least I'd like to think that's the truth. I've picked up a couple more tricks along the way and have already seen the dividends from them. Hopefully I'll keep picking up a few more.

The first half of 2010 is deemed a success, even though The Plan was pretty much rewritten (or even discarded!) over that time. Reality set in and it was that simple. I am happy with the results to this point and I feel that I like the direction I'm heading in. I'm hoping I'll be able to build on these last six months and have an even bigger second half of the year, starting July 1st. Wish me luck.