Was it ever in doubt?

Play the game with fear and arrogance, even when you're getting beat.
-Bull Durham

So, on this drizzling day, I've decided I won't go to Tunica after all.

I have the next two days off and I'd really entertained the thought of jumping in the car and going to Tunica, just to see what the craziness is like. Mark, Sham and I are going to be in Los Angeles near the end of the month when the major tournaments happen in Tunica.

In the end, I couldn't justify spending 13 hours in a car (round trip travel) for one night of play. I thought about going to Biloxi, but I'm pretty much going to combine that visit in March when I go to see the girl-with-the-strawberry-blonde-hair get married in New Orleans.

That should be fun and I'm glad she's still getting married in her hometown, as planned before Katrina. Plus it will be good to exact some revenge on the poker rooms there. I played poker in six different cities last year and New Orleans was the only place I lost money (-$71).

Like Mark, the money has just been falling off the online tree, especially at Ultimate Bet, a site that I traditionally have not associated with fishiness. But the NL shorthanded tables are something to be seen. Last night a guy bet half his stack in a .50/$1 NL game with a board of K73. I reraised all-in, considering I had top set. He didn't even blink about calling. Later, when I dissected the hand history, he had JTo. Go figure.

I don't consider it running good, because to me that implies that it's not normal to do so. Instead, I don't even think of it at all, more like that famous Josh Arieh line "Was it ever in doubt?" It's nice to see the online roll accumulate.

Yesterday afternoon, when my new Air Pegs were severely contorting my right foot, I sort of felt like there was a parallel between running pain and downturn. Pain usually is a good thing in athletics, because it often is a warning signal to pay attention to. In this case, it takes about 70 miles before I break in a new pair of running shoes and those 70 miles are always painful. (Kind of like the "Check Engine" lights that always appear, but are ignored, in Mark's cars. LOL)

Anyway, the pain is like a poker downturn because, despite it, you really have to stay the course. If you alter the dynamics of your stride to avoid the pain, you can really fuck up your legs or feet because overcompensating is one sure way to get injured in a totally different way. You have to ask yourself if the pain really bothers you and if you can just concentrate on what you are doing. If so, like in poker, you'll do fine. If the pain is too severe, or you're distracted as hell, it's better to pull over to the rail.

Eventually you'll find some medium that will keep you going -- running a little bit less, going back to your uncool old shoes. But it's hard to imagine you'd ever stop walking completely. Same goes for poker, I think.

And when I'm running good, I hardly ever think of it that way. I'm too busy trying to pass the guy in front of me. :)