3 x 2 =1

Yes this math problem may seem to confuse...but to me it makes perfect sense. I have just come off yet another fun week of VPP league play and I had a great time. The banter makes me smile, the competition pushes me to play better and I can just feel the love....

And it gives me a great deal of confidence in my poker play...

Let's do some fun poker math here;

3 times second place equals first place in the standings.

Last night I mentioned briefly that, gosh darn, I just can't seem to crack that second place nut...and it bugs me. Dave W was quick to respond that 3 second place finishes in 4 weeks is nothing to frown at, but I am.

I wonder if other poker greats were happy when they only got seconds. Do you think Doyle ever said, "Second is good enough", or "Well it's better than third.." I doubt it. If he did, he probably wouldn't be the poker great that he is today.

If I am content with such a finish, then I needn't improve more. I can stop reading, hey Dave, don't worry about sending out my next batch of books...I don't need them. I'm good enough...I CAME IN SECOND!!!

The first second place finish made me happy because all of you guys intimidated the heck out of me and I was thrilled to bits to realise that I was in a similar skill bracket.

The second second place finish made me smile but I was beginning to wonder what was up with my heads up play

Now that I have hit the third second place finish I am finding it somewhat problematic. There is a real chink in my poker armour that unless I solve the problem I will always be one place off of the very best prize. One place off getting the cruise, or one place off the elusive I-Pod, or one place off the biggest money available.

I understand that I can't win them all. No poker player can. And I understand that I should be thrilled to bits with my current poker league standing... and I am... But gosh golly gee...I sure would like that little banner at the end to stop telling me that I'm "the runner up" in this week's tournament!!!

So VPP boys I shall leave you with this. Over the next week I will be studying with great vigour. Not about continuation bets and first in vigourish, but about one thing and one thing only...how to play heads up poker, and how to play it well enough to win.

Be well until next week...

And thanks once again to all of you who have been helping me to improve my game.

K

Must Write Blog

It's been awhile. Two weeks to be exact. It's not that I didn't want to tell you what was up with me, it's just that I've had such a fantastic run the last couple of weeks that I couldn't pull myself away from the tables long enough to let you know how things were going. In the last couple of days, things have slowed down, so here I am.

Each night the following mantra has been flowing through my head:

"Must write blog before I play poker"
"Must write blog..."
"Must write blog.."

As tends to happen when things are going well, I begin to question the limits that I'm playing and whether it is time to move up. The inner dialogue goes something like this:

"I'm ready to do this. I could be making SO much more money"
"I could lose so much more money"
"I should do it"
"I'm scared"

Then, I'll go ahead, buy into higher limit tables, get heart palpitations every time I slide any money into the pot, play a game different than I usually do, lose more money than I'm comfortable with and end up at the lower tables anyway. Only to go through the same, painful cycle a few weeks later.

The thing is, I'm sure that if I gave it a little time, I'd be fine at the higher limits. Lately it's been a bit better. I've moved from the 25 cent no limit tables to the 50 cent tables. It's still small potatoes I know, but I have two kids to get through Montessouri school, a mortgage and many years before I can retire.

I have had a great month. I have quadrupled my bankroll. I have excelled in some multi table tournaments and my sit n go average isn't bad either. When I look back at where I started back in February and the amount of knowledge I have amassed since then, I have to be proud of my poker progress. This is no weekend lesiure for me. This is my future. And I'm good at it.

And it is so much fun.

Hope to see you at the tables!

Be well until next time

K.

Maybe I'm Not So Bad Afterall

Well...I just finished my first crack at the VPP fall league. And what a crack it was!! I had a slow start, but picked it up as the evening progressed. I shouldn't tell you this, but I just stuck to the fundamentals and after a hard fought evening, with many worthy opponents (probably much more so than I) I ended up coming in second to scottyp.

One of the more interesting parts of this poker journey is trying to figure out how I compare to others in my level of poker skill. If I were wise, I wouldn't even worry about it, but I do. When I was a volleyball player, I'd be the one looking at all the other teams and thinking.. "Oh they're so tall..." instead of "Oh they're tall and probably slow..I'll just stick the ball in the corners." Even tonight, when I sat down at the table my first goal was not about making the money, I just wanted to make the points. Then, I wanted to make the final table. And once I was at the final table, it was so fast, I didn't even get a chance to really think about my goals.

My husband always says to me, "Why don't you just always strive for first"

"I don't want to get disappointed," says I.

"You're good enough to beat those guys you know..."

"Well, they're pretty good.." says I.

"So are you.."

"Ya but.."

And it continues.

I think that for me one of the things that is holding me back in my poker learning is belief in myself. I need to consider myself worthy of playing at any table I sit down at. Building my confindence may actually be more important for me than building my bankroll. Because once I know that I can win, I will.

So, I would like to thank all those players who finished below me this evening for contributing to my growth as a poker player.

And, with all of you as my witnesses here this evening, I want you to know some of the goals that I have set out for myself (and please, please, please, hold me to them, Okay?)

-I will earn my way to a tournament in a warm place via satelites
-I will pay for half of my children's education with poker earnings (they attend a private school)
-By 2008, I will be a semi-pro poker player

Lofty goals I know...but...I came in second tonight. And that's a start.

Ahhhhh. Everything is right with the world today.

It's just so nice when you have a successful night of poker, isn't it?

Be well until next time.

Kaycee

P.S. Oh..I almost forgot. I don't want to be too demanding, or take up too much of your poker playing time, but if you read my blog, would you mind leaving a teeny, tiny comment, just so I know that people are looking at it. I would love to know your insights too. Thanks