Mean Gene

Hitch Up The Spurs, Climb Back in the Saddle

Got a spot of good news the other day. The company I've worked for the last year decided that keeping me around full-time wouldn't adversely affect the stock price, so I'm no longer a temp. Well, I'll be officially hired once I pass the drug test, which unfortunately I should do with flying colors.

I like the company, really like the people, like the job pretty well, like the fact that we're moving into a brand-new building on the North Shore at the end of the year. It's not my dream job (Pauly and Otis already took it) but whoop-de-do. I quit a job about 2 1/2 years ago because I hated it so much that jumping out my 38th floor window at times seemed less a horror than sitting in my cube. I was laid off last June from another job, which turned out to be a ridiculous blessing in disguise, as that job turned into a waking nightmare as well. I came to my current company making more money as a temp, with a commute cut in half, and a fantastic cafeteria. Which I just purchased a fish sandwich from, and said sandwich was delish.

It's a load off my mind, and it's a load that's been there for, oh, 2 1/2 years. Actually, a lot longer than that. So I'm happy. Lots to learn, lots of training to go thru, but that's A-OK with me. Got a nice bump in pay, the benefits are very good...and I actually get PAID TIME OFF. Yowza.

When I got laid off last June I pretty much stopped playing poker. I cashed out for a little vacation we took, and I told myself I shouldn't waste time playing when I should be looking for a job. I pretty much stuck to my guns, with a few toe-dips along the way. I'd wager that I've played fewer hands of poker in the last year than most bloggers play in a weekend.

That's about to change. Not immediately--I'm not going to jump into the online fray right away. But in a few months, when I'm more settled in my job and summer has turned to fall, that's when I think I'll start up again. I'm doing things a bit different this time. I'm not depositing fifty bucks and hope I can nuture it against the threat of bad beats. I'm not going to play unless I'm properly capitalized, and I'm not going to play if I'm worried about the money. I want a totally separate bankroll, I want it large enough that I can play my usual low-limit game without fear, and I want to gradually improve both my game and my bankroll so I can move up in limits.

When I quit last year I was a middling SNG player and a break-even limit player. To some extent I know why I was so awful at ring games, and I believe some of those flaws can be easily corrected. Some flaws I'm too obtuse to figure out, which is why a long course of study is in line before I start playing again. To that end I bought Ed Miller's Small-Stakes Hold-Em last night to start rebuilding my game. Which was constucted of Soviet-era cement to begin with.

The numbers don't lie--I wasn't a very good poker player. And that was my goal from the start--to become a very good poker player. Not the World Champion, not a professional card shark. Just very good. So, time to get back to work on that.

I'll be playing some poker this weekend, as I'm off to the lake again for more beer and boating and late-night Hold-Em. Got a few games lined up here in the 'Burgh as well. It's gonna feel good to get back in the saddle again. Can't wait to write up that first bad-beat screed. Yeahhhhh. Not that I'll actually post it...

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