Shit, I’m getting fancy-play-itis again. I’m frighteningly predictable here. I start winning a few SnGs, build up the bankroll a bit, then I get lackadaisical and start making unnecessary fancy plays to try and maintain my interest. Bankroll slides a bit, until I get re-focused on steady, geologically sound play, enabling me to win a few SnGs, and away we go again….

Last night, I was chip leader in a SnG (don’t even remember which site I was on, a sure sign of over-playing) with only 4-5 players left. I could’ve safely coasted into the money, but started throwing my chips around like Gus Hansen on ecstasy, making unnecessarily large bluff bets into desperate shortstacks and getting burned until I ended up bubbling out. I did this TWICE at two different sites in one night. Sheesh. I really need to step away from the tables for awhile until I get the focus and concentration I need to be successful.

I do the same thing with golf. If I step onto a course now, with little or no practice for months, I’d probably play ABC golf, aim for the middle of greens, and play bogey (or slightly worse) golf. If I play a couple of times a week for a month or so, eventually I start thinking I’m freaking Tiger Woods and start doing goofy shit like “I think I can fade it around that tree trunk in front of me” or “I’ll play a low hook around the pond in front of the green” and start writing 8’s and 9’s on the scorecard. I’m almost better as a purely instinctive player, letting natural ability take over, rather than consciously attempting elaborate plays. So, I’ll probably take the weekend off from poker to try and get my mental game back to the fully-upright and locked position. Hopefully, I’ll come back strong on Monday.

Debate 2 Prediction (domestic issues):

Kerry : Tax breaks for the rich, blah blah blah. Jobs going overseas, blah blah blah.

Bush : Family values, blah blah blah. Homeland security, blah blah blah.

Audience : Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

TV Audience :

Talking heads : Kerry won. Bush won. Kerry won. Bush won. Blah blah blah.

Here’s a quick quiz for all of you: What did Bill Clinton promise in his debates with Bob Dole? What did GW promise in his debates with Al Gore? What about Kennedy and Nixon?

Answer: NOBODY REMEMBERS. These “debates” are waste of time. A more effective election tool would be a simple questionnaire that asks about “what they would do” rather than “what do they think about what happened”. For example, let each candidate write 100 words on “What I will do about the eventual collapse of Social Security” and “What I will do in Iraq” and “What I will do about protecting our country” and a multitude of other topics. Black out the names of the candidates, have people choose their preferred answer for each question, assign a weight to each question based on relative importance to that voter, and have a computer recommend the candidate that most closely meets their most important views on the issues. I think it would be a revelation to both sides how much the views criss-cross the aisle, and how the media and personal views skew the message one way or the other.