Its Not a Sport But...

I'm happy to say that I have not recently had to hear the whole "is poker a sport" discussion. Its always been a pathetic subject as far as I am concerned. Its not a sport. But there are elements common to poker and sports.

This occurred to me today as I watched the French Open tennis finals between Nadal and Federer. Damn those guys are great! And (spoiler alert), althought it didn't come down to a fifth set, they each had moments of being in control of the match and their opponent. The momentum swung several times. That's a huge aspect of athletic competion. When one side has a big lead, they can slow things down, playing safer to protect the lead. But that opens the door for the opponent to take an aggressive stance and turn things around.

It can work the same way in poker. Whether in a tourney or cash game, it comes into play. You hear about people being able to change gears during play usually when describing some winner's "skills" in confusing his opponents. Its not just about playing the same type of hand in different ways so nobody can put you on it. I think the true skill is knowing how to find a spot where you can take control of the course of play (momentum) then maintain that.

Many times, I have started a session slowly, just waiting for a playable hand to get things going. I've noted in the past how important it can be to win the first hand so you don't have to play from behind, as far as stacks go, from the get go. So its easy to play when your picking up cards, hitting draws, and have alot in play. But when its not going that way, someone else is certainly rolling and raising and you're usually playing from behind in every hand. Its hard to push back in those cases and make things happen for yourself.

I recently found myself in just such a spot in our home game. In the first tourney of the night, I started off hot at a passive table. I was able to take the lead in many pots and take down several without making hands. The result was a 2nd place finish. In the second tourney, play was significantly different. Several different players with different styles than my first table of the first tourney. Mainly, there were more calling stations. I didn't win any of the first 4 hands I played and found myself needing to reevaluate my approach. I was going to have to tighten up and take advantage of the players who would most likely pay me off while avoiding them when I didn't have a made hand. That's what I call "Folding Into First." Play became uneventful for me and the next thing I knew, we were three-handed and I had the chip lead. I had picked up some momentum when we got to the bubble and kept it going. The result was another 2nd place finish. The same good result thanks to knowing when and how to switch things up.

Its Sunday night and my plan has been to go to Vegas tomorrow. Oops. I forgot that I was summoned for jury duty this week. Luckily its in Ventura county where they assign you to a group number and have a phone system to let you find out if your group has to report the next morning. My group is 038 and Monday is groups 001 through 003. I have to call in each evening this week to find out if my group is selected. I might not have to report at all. I'm still going to Vegas, though. When I leave will all depend on how well I feel and the jury duty. My plan is still to hit the road tommorrow but now I'm going to leave at night so I'll have already been able to find out about JD. And I'm still not 100% healthy either.

Thanks to a cough, I didn't sleep at all on Friday night. In fact, I gave up trying to sleep after 45 minutes and just watched TV until leaving early for the pool tournament that started at 9am. I played the worst offensive game of my life but was able to keep things interesting with some creative defense. Our team won even though I lost. I didn't have to play in the matches that evening so I skipped the event all together and played both poker toureys at Paul's house. Beforehand, Kid Crash, Kirk and I met for some beers. The combination of tired and a couple beers didn't effect my play but I know I appeared loopy as I was talking up a storm throughout the first tourney. No points, no cashes. Then I dropped a little in the side games. But it was fun. We finished up at 3:30am. That's a damn good run at Paul's. Of course, we finished with the traditional Del Taco run.

On my way home, I encountered a fool in red shorts and shirt walking in the middle of the road. I drove as far away from him as possible as I passed. I hope he was only drunk or high. But in L.A., he might have been completely straight and sane. Some people are just assholes. I made it past him and home without incident.

After 40+ hours I was finally able to sleep. Woke up at 5pm Sunday. I hope I can sleep tonight and maybe I'll feel up to snuff tommorrow.

SEEYa