These last few weeks for me have been a real bear. Even though I live maybe two rifle shots away from my favorite poker rooms, I haven’t had time to play any tournaments or any live action. At all. Not one hand. Nada… You get the idea. The Heartland Poker Tour will be coming to town but that’s still – at the time I write this – a few weeks off. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining…much…because I love my work, but given the economic times we’re in [“Change we can believe in?”] I feel blessed that business has picked up so much. My sweetie says to enjoy it now because come January-February-March there won’t be much happening. I’ll deal with that when the time comes.
But I really do enjoy playing poker; having an extremely supportive spouse [e.g. “Why don’t you go play poker and win us some money?”] really helps when I want to head down to the local Pokertorium and collect somebody else’s chips. But like I said, for the last few weeks I have been conspicuous in the poker arena by my absence. I know this happens to other players. I’m lucky; I live in the mountains a stone’s throw from Black Hawk. Most everyone else has to drive the canyon to get here. So what to do when you can’t play for a while? I’m not speaking of a few days or even a week or so, but a couple of weeks. A month even; perhaps longer. What can you do to keep the skills honed and the interest more than luke-warm?
For one, I’ve been going through some of the old poker books I’ve collected over the years. Just because I can’t play doesn’t mean I can’t follow the admonition titling this column: Thinking About Poker. I’ve re-read some of Phil Gordon’s little books on the subject and have found them just as informative and thought-provoking as when first I read them. T.J. Cloutier’s book on tournament poker – a special interest of mine – while a little dated as it was penned just prior to the internet boom of online poker is still a good review for some tournament basics. Phil Hellmuth’s book is, frankly, all about Phil. ‘Nuff said about that.
I even have a few videos/DVD’s I’ve watched some years ago that I went through again. For me, the problem with DVD’s, videos and other such visual presentations is the fact a book has so much more to digest while visual media can only present fewer topics and those to a cursory depth. I like what “The Professor” Howard Lederer has to say but when valuable learning time is taken up while he is shuffling the cards and preparing to present the next thought, my mind begins to wander.
I miss online poker as much as the next player and encourage everyone to join the Poker Players’ Alliance [www.pokerplayersalliance.org] to make our collective voice heard by those inhabiting the ivory tower that is Washington, DC. I do play – for ‘funny money’, that is for points only – at www.pokerstars.net and www.Fulltiltpoker.net but the play on these sites is far and away different from that during real live play. But it’s a way to while away some spare time and practice playing only premium hands. I like to have it up on the computer when I’m paying my bills as I can then focus on the bills and semi-focus on the game. Doing it this ways allows me to do two things – sometimes three – at once and also only get interested in premium playable hands. And that assists in keeping hand selection decisions sharp.
Another website www.Cardplayerpoker.com has, for a monthly fee, a large number of tournaments available for various prizes. Some are cash, some entry into larger tourneys [both online and in B & M casinos] and others for poker ephemera such as DVD’s, books and such. I admit to signing on and playing there from time to time; I find the style of play more reminiscent of the old on-line styles – most people very aggressive – but again it’s something with which to keep one’s skills sharp. Or at least slows down the onset of dullness.
There are probably more ideas regarding keeping skills and mindset sharp when not playing often, but since I’m on a deadline and the coffee isn’t working, I’m going to leave it at what you just read. All-in-all, not playing for a while isn’t a bad thing; you can use the time to strengthen your knowledge base and prepare for the day when you can return to the felt. In the meantime, keep sharp and keep thinking about poker.
And DO join the Poker Players’ Alliance – the entry fee is only 20 perent of a low-limit game buy-in and good for a year. We need your voice to be heard along with the rest of us.
