NCAA Regional - A Much Needed Break

Things have kind of been getting on top of me lately and I felt that I needed a break to get my focus back and get my game back on track for a very profitable summer in Vegas. It just so happened that a trip I had planned for almost a year came at just the right time.

Over the years I have developed many great friendships through poker and one of the best is with Gamboooool20. Steve introduced me to rakeback and from that day we have spoke regularly and visited each other a number of times for sporting events. He came down two years ago to Texas to watch the Rangers v Indians on opening day and I returned the favor last season, taking in the Indians v Rangers. So when he gave me the opportunity about 9 months ago to buy a ticket for the NCAA regionals that were being hosted at the Q, I couldn't pass it up. I got up there a day early to celebrate St Patrick's day and it was great to be out having a few beers, not once thinking about poker.

The tournament itself was good to watch. We got some good teams in our region and although some of the games were too one-sided to make them enjoyable (Ohio St vs anyone) we did get a couple of close games. We had Marquette v Xavier in the first round and Marquette v Syracuse in the second round. I do however wonder how Jim Boehiem doesn't call a timeout when he has two left and is down by 3 with less than 30 seconds left. It seems to me to be the perfect time to settle the nerves and do what your paid for, to draw up a play to get a good look. Instead, he let them play and they missed a off balance running rushed 3 that sealed their fate. Disappointing that on the biggest stage its the coach that drops the ball.

Since arriving home from the tournament I have been getting my head down. I had a bunch of Flux work to catch up on and that took most of the first day. Its amazing how much growth is happening, in that I cant go away for 3 days without coming back to a mountain of work. Its a good thing and hopefully that growth continues throughout the summer. Having to spend a lot of time up in the air on my travels, I managed to spend about 5 hours reading through Baluga's book and I must say its worth every penny. I got home and couldn't wait to get back to the tables to implement some of the things that set a light off in my head. Its going to be a work in progress but I can already see that it is going to be profitable to add a lot of things I read to my game.

Ive got live poker tonight, followed by coaching and then more grinding. It seems like a never ending circle but it is rewarding and I just have to get through it. I am nine weeks away from Vegas and I am hoping that in the 68 days I have left before I leave that I get to go to the gym 50 times. So far, I am 1 for 1 with a visit planned later today.

Good luck at the tables.