V is for ...

We had 33 runners for our Saturday night tournament.

I ended up working late, so I brought a Subway Meatball sub to eat before I bought in. That didn't go as planned, due to the steady flow of late comers. I ended up eating about 3/4 of it, and then gave up and bought in during the 2nd level.

I could tell that I was just not mentally "here", and the only way that I was gonna win was to catch some sweet cards. The only cards that I caught were Q2, J5, 93, etc. The best hand that I had all night was AJ. I did raise preflop, and everyone folded. Someone who was away from the table missed out on QQ.

By the first break, I had 3100 chips left. I didn't even take the AddOn, because I knew that I would be lighting a match to a $10 bill.

In the first hand after break (200/400), the UTG player raised to 1200. I looked down at JTs. This seemed like a good hand to gamble with, and shoved for 3100. UTG called with two red Tens. I completely missed the board, and finished in 25th place.

We are about halfway though our third season for Dave's Saturday Nights, which runs from September to May. Overall, this season has been dreadful for me. We have had 18 tournaments so far. I have no wins, three Final Tables and three cashes (2nd for $200, 3rd for $150, and 5th for $70). My average finish is 16.9 out of an average of 32.5 players.

The "good" news is that I am only down $130, which is only four buy-ins. The last two season have been profitable for me, so I have no reason to think this one will be any different. Tournament success is all about the long term.

So why am I doing so bad this season? Is the answer A) I am running bad.  B) I am playing bad. C) I am too distracted with running the game. D) We have more player this season (32.5 avg) than last season (28.4 avg).

The correct answer is E) All of the Above. I've been playing poker tournemants long enough to know that all tourney players go through Ups and Downs. Right now I'm in a Down, but it will pass. It always does.