2009 Dubaya Ess Oh Pee

Make or Break, Do or Die, Shit or Get Off the Pot - whatever phrase you want to use to describe a critical time in one's life or career. Over the course of the last 20 months or so my income from poker has dwindled mightily. I'm not sure if this is due to a long stretch of running bad or if I have some leaks I just can't figure out. This is the dilemma almost all poker players face when not making money for any extended period of time, and it is extremely tough emotionally/mentally.

Now I haven't lost money over that time, but I do have a family that I need to support. So I can't just break even forever. My outlay for the series is large enough that a horrible month and a half could make me reconsider my current direction in life. At the same time, the WSOP provides the opportunity to set my family up for years. Obviously the most likely scenario is somewhere in between (win or lose something that isn't too life changing).

As I arrive in Las Vegas this Thursday, my head is not where I want it pokerwise due to my aforementioned results. I have been quick to get down on myself or when bad beats occur. I am working hard to change this, but I admit I haven't been very successful. Everytime I think I have things going in the right direction again, a couple of bad weeks put me right back where I was. It has literally been months on end of 1 or 2 steps forward 1 or 2 steps back. I know one big score can change this. However, I would rather have my emotional outlook fixed internally rather than from an external source. For obvious reasons, this will serve me much better in the long run.

I'm staying with a good group of people (5 of us) in a house for the entire time. Julie and the kids will be coming out for 2 weeks about halfway through the series. My brother will be out for the main event. I expect the support and knowledge of my friends out there to be a big boost. I expect our house to do well. I expect myself to have a good series including a big score. I expect this to be the turn around I have been looking for.