Bragging, moaning, book reviews and voting....

It's been another few weeks since I last posted. This is becoming a trend eh? Oh well I guess I am getting lazy when it comes to blogging. Maybe I'm blogged out!

Played one live tournament so far this month up in the Green Isle Hotel for the Bruce festival, I was pretty happy with how I played although was a little disappointed at making a final table and nothing more. As always there is only 3 prizes in poker tournaments. 1st 2nd and 3rd. Any lower than that and it is place money in every sense of the word. Id much rather win one in 50 than to place in 15. Exotic Dancer has placed in every 3 mile chase imaginable over the last two years but nobody wants to own him. Everyone wants Denman.

Maybe I shouldn't be as pessimistic. We can't all win and we can only use the cards we are given. But then again a poor workman always blames his tools. But then again I'm not a mechanic.... Okay I'll stop now.

I'm playing in London next weekend in the GUKPT final which I'm v excited about. It is practically an Irish Open considering the buy-in. I satted in a few weeks ago with Paddy Power and this should now be my last major tournament of the year. I think I'll have a good chance as I am playing well at the moment and I have recaptured the feel back in my game which had been lost somewhere in the middle of the Nevada desert since last summer.

The reason that I say this is because I'm back playing online, properly. I've played 10,000 hands so far this month which is unprecedentedly high for me. I have not played as many hands in a month all year. I am trying to clear the $3000 bonus on Bruce and it is proving to be a very useful form of blinkers for me to get some hands in.

That's twice I've refereed to horse racing in this blog entry. I really am becoming a sick gambler. No seriously, I am. I have never felt gambling being an issue for me as strong as I have this year. Having money is a burden I wasn't used to and it seems to be burning a hole in my pocket at times. Gamblers anonymous seems a bit drastic but I certainly need to cut down on sports betting or I will be leaking out anything that comes in and more. It's like anything else in excess, it's just not good for you.

Hmmm I'm reading Barry Greenstein's book at the minute and he warns against complaining and bragging being the two dullest conversation forms. It's incredible how I've managed to articulate both so well in this entry! I must say I am enjoying the book. It is a most unique poker book that touches on the many things required for life as a professional before you even approach strategy. It is one of two poker books that I have enjoyed immensely this past while. The other being the Las Vegas big game cliff notes entitled 'the Professor the Banker and the Suicide King'. It is interesting that both books are non-theory based, I hope this doesn't say something about my appetite for improvement!

The last two theory books I read were both hugely disappointing. Dan Harrington's book 'Harrington on Cash Games Vol 1' and Daniel Negreanu's 'Power Hold'em strategy'. The former is a dull after-thought to a fabulous trilogy on tournaments. The latter is nothing other than a money spinner for Danny N and his chums. The section on small ball is merely "okay" with the rest rather awful.

This month's Poker Ireland piece is now up on the site. I take a look at something which has been annoying me continually of late, bad behaviour. It has crept in quite silently this past while and it seems to be the American TV producers who are encouraging this childish, classless behaviour. Dara O Kearney being one of the many victims of this nonsense upon his exit in the Green Isle last week.

Finally, there is now a poll on the site which I will be using for next month's final Poker Ireland article of the year. In what should be a fun piece I will be crediting the achievements of the year within the Irish poker scene with the performance of the year vote being the headline award. Get your votes in!