GES Day 32: Staying the Course

I'm still riding a bit high off the TS trip, which is great.  Aside from the obvious (the confidence itself), I am happy that I have reached a point where I can be happy with a result where I don't actually make money.  Mel Levinson likes to talk about "baseball mentality", the ability to accept that not everything is in your control, and that you won't be statistically successful every time, even though you can make the "right" statistical decision.  We've also talked about the vast similarities between baseball and poker; this is one of the greatest.  In poker, there's even a word for it: variance.

So, I'm happy that I have come to accept variance, emotionally, as part of the game, and be pleased with making the right decisions, even if they don't achieve the desired results.  That, along with the steps I was able to take while at the tables as described in my last post, has led me to my current mindset - believing I am making progress, and that fact giving me hope for my long-term prospects within the game.

Next up:  SFPT August, tomorrow night.  If I can play as well as I did on Sunday, I will be in good shape.  My #1 goal is to not necessarily make decisions based on the Points Championship standings - my goal should be to play to win the tournament, and let the Points issue take care of itself.  But, I would be remiss if I didn't let the standings come into play at least a little bit.  For example, if people ahead of me in the standings are already eliminated, I should be able to take more liberties, knowing I will gain ground.

An update on GES:

Playing: none
Reading: last night, I finished the August issue of Bluff, and as always found it to be informative and entertaining.  One article in particular, by Alex Fitzgerald of Pocket Fives, seems like it will be helpful to me in the future, and I am going to take some notes on it later today.
Watching: technically, none, but the live stream of Poker Night in America's inaugural cash game live from Turning Stone starts in about an hour, and I plan on at least keeping one eye on that while I work.  Lots of big names involved - Matasow, Laak, Mueller, David Williams, Darvin Moon, Kristy Arnett, and many more.  It's weird to think of them all being at Turning Stone.

Another update to come after the SFPT tournament this weekend.