Finally

So my "poker in the dark" experiment didn't exactly have the earth shattering results I expected. It was fun, but I still busted out early, running into real hands and having to muck after pushing too much on the turn and river. With my chip stack crippled early on, I wasn't long for this world.

Then, I went to Kenya.

I'll be blogging a bit about the trip over on manzoniman soon, but suffice it to say; Kenya was yet another "transformative" trip for me.

My first night back was last Monday, and I was dead to the world. Didn't play.

Fast forward another week, and I'm back in action. I cashed. I cashed God dammit.

Two things factored into this I think. One; I'm still under the lingering effects of jet lag. I find it takes me at least a week and a half to start feeling 100% after having traveled half way around the world in 24 hours. I think my fuzzy brain actually helped me not think too much, which has been my downfall of late.

Reason two: the wife bought me a laptop, so I can now play poker in privacy.

The latter I think had the biggest effect, simply by virtue of not being tied to an environment rife with distraction. I love my little girl so much, that I can't help but be attentive - even in the midst of poker warfare. With her and the wife removed from the picture, I was able to focus my (admittedly addled) brain on the game at hand. Result: fatigue + privacy = best poker I've played in months.

My reads were spot on; I even managed to get coolered a couple of times (my AK fell to an A9) and still fight my way back to a healthy stack. I have no doubt that if uber-donk Scamp hadn't been stinking it up as he repeatedly bet into dry side-pots (letting players with their tournament lives at risk escape) I would have finished even higher. There are some bad players in the league, but for my money - Scamp is the king. Calling station doesn't even begin to describe him, and like others in the league, if he catches cards watch out. He's a one man wrecking ball of trash that routinely rivers and sucks out players that read him like a book.

I'm not griping actually, I'm just thrilled that I played so well. Hell, I'm happy just to have finished higher than wytrabbit, who has been tearing up the league this season.

Next week the plan is: stay up late the night before and wake up early.