Vacation
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
For those who don't know, I spent a week and a half in Europe (Barcelona and Dublin, specifically), and then returned to work to an immediate trial. That trial has since been pushed back to September 10, but in the meanwhile, I have to tackle the slew of work that piled up during my absence.
The end result is that this blog has remained stagnant for the longest period I can remember in recent history, and the vacation from the blog has been mostly enjoyable. I'm sure this is all a byproduct of the fact that I played no poker in Europe and since my return have only played one SNG online. I may play live later this week, but I don't expect to play any more online poker for some time. My empty online accounts are mostly to blame (I transfered some casheesh to Roose and left myself with scraps that I since used up on that one SNG). Of course, I'm more than happy to be forced to avoid online poker. Online poker sucks.
Real poker doesn't suck though. I'm just uber busy. But hopefully I can get back into the swing of things and even post something or other. I find that when I take a long break from posting, its even harder to get back into the flow. In fact, this post was originally going to be about how this blog may be ending soon, but I know that's just nonsense. Once I get back into poker, I'll be back here writing about it, so I should just enjoy this blogging vacation for what it is and not put unnecessary proclamations of retirement out there for the world to see.
I wonder what affect the poker break will have on my game. Logic would seem to dictate that I will be rusty, but part of me feels that the lack of poker may invigorate my game by making it feel "new" again and forcing me to focus and play my best. This year has been very good to me, live, so I'd like to keep that trend going.
Of course, the options for poker in NYC are getting shittier and shittier. Matty's game up and moved locations to a place that will likely not be permanent. It's location doesn't seem that great either, in a part of the city where there are no convenient subways, and Jordan doesn't do busses. Of course, if the timing and mood is right, I'll still try it though.
My other option for on-tap poker is the Tuna Club. Sadly, though, the rake there is kinda ridiculous. Sorry to my friend who runs that room (but shall remain nameless). I don't mean to "slam" the place, but I have to be honest with myself. The bad beat drop is ridiculous for such a small room and the percentage paid out is too small to even make it that exciting. The rake, though, is the real bitch. I think it's $7 per half hour. Even at $6 per half hour, that's high for a low limit player. I understand that they are a business and they have a highly sought after product (poker room), but I'm a consumer, damnit, so I have my right to complain. Consider that in the 5/10 LO8 game, you are losing more than a BB every hour. If a usual win rate is somewhere in the 1 to 3 BB/hour range, you are breaking even or giving away 1/3 of your profit in rake. Those are numbers I just pulled out of my ass, but the logic is still sound. It just makes these games awefully difficult to beat, and while I am all for the fun of poker, winning money is the fun part.
As for AC, with my ridiculously busy schedule lately, it's just not in the cards (pun intended). I will certainly keep my eyes open, though, for a break in my busy life, because I love poker way too much to leave it on the sidelines.
Back to the grind for me, but not the poker grind.
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 4:41 PM,
3 Comments:
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At 8:44 AM,
Riggstad said...
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get a break during the Poker Open at the Borg and trot on down.
A $7 rake is retarded and can't be beat at low limits. I wouldn't play there at all. No shot at firing up the occasional rake free home game?
Welcome back from vaca! -
At 3:52 AM,
Dave said...
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How did you find Dublin? I loved it there.
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At 10:50 AM,
Jordan said...
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I liked Dublin. I was there 7 years ago for 2 wks straight and I loved it. This time, I think I was a bit used to it, so it wasn't as exciting. The city is actually a lot like NYC in mood and, in some ways, appearance, so maybe that was part of the lack of excitement. By contrast, the countryside (where we spent half our time in Ireland) was really cool. In general, I love the Irish people.
