Heading to Vegas

To be honest, the last 2 weeks have not been confidence boosters for my upcoming trip to Vegas. I'm doing pretty well in tournaments, but my cash play has not been very productive, in fact, I've lost $660 in the last 3 weeks, including -$500 at the Hollywood on Friday night July 3. In that time, I've won $200 in tournaments. I've also gone from just a couple of bucks online up to $7.99 and back down to below $1. Not exactly the same sense of invincibility I was feeling a couple of weeks ago. Dawson said that is probably a good thing. Maybe I should be a little guarded as I wander out to places like Bellagio, MGM Grand, and the Golden Nugget. I think I'd rather head out feeling at the top of my game, but maybe it's best to be reminded how poker can turn on you before the trip than finding out again on vacation. I was curious and looked at my longest losing streaks and overall win/loss variance. Twice before I've lost money 4 times in a row; in my last 4 sessions I've lost 3 and broken even once. That ties my two longest droughts ever. I have never lost money 5 times in a row. I also counted up how often I sit down and win money. It is less frequent than I expected: 32 of 63 times (50.7%) I've won money or broken even. So if I take the long view of my play, I really have no reason to think I'll have a bad poker experience in Vegas.

I've often said that nothing has helped my cash game like Harrington's Cash Games Volume I. Zach just brought it back to me after borrowing it this spring. I'll re-read it now and on the plane, and go out there and play smart, tight-aggressive poker and be patient for the right hand to hit. Poker is all about patience and good decision making. I hope I pack plenty of both for my trip. One caveat: this trip is going to be all about time with my wife. She obviously supports my interest in poker, but I don't want to leave her stranded on our trip together. We will discuss it and I know we will arrive at the best balance of poker and time together. BTW, here is how my live poker bankroll looks now. And, for the record, $500 of it is on hand in cash, the rest has been spent on things like rent at UC and vacations. I have some cash in the bank I think I'll take along just so I can play in some of the best poker rooms on earth.