I’d hear the term ‘stop the rot’ a lot when I used to watch football on the TV. In particular as an Aston Villa fan. Whenever they went on a bad run, it seemed to be the automatic phrase for both players and manager alike to spout during an interview. But it’s amazing how just grabbing one point – or dare I say an actual victory – can turn things around. It must be a confidence thing, a matter of morale, or a mere reminder that you’re not as crap as you once thought.
The same mystique seems to apply to poker. Despite the luck factor, a downswing can be totally overturned by one winning day. It’s bizarre how it works, but that stopping of the rot, even if it’s just a $1 winning session, can spark a comeback of Rocky proportions. Personally, poker is a form game, and for whatever reason, wins and losses seem to come consecutively.
Heading into the Pre-Grading I was suffering from a downswing that had me questioning my ability to win at the game. I’m not sure how or why it started, but one day I just seemed to develop the inability to turn a profit in a session and so began a nightmare of losing sessions I felt powerless to overturn. Sadly, the Pre-Grading proved no different, and despite my best efforts, I ended the 80 hours $375.37 down having multi-tabled $1/2 six-handed ring games.
Being a workingman, I was scheduled to update the Bolton GUKPT from Friday to Sunday and was travelling up on the Thursday, so this meant I had just three days to complete the Pre-Grading. Fortunately, I play enough tables that I can dust off the required hours in just a few sessions, although on one of the days I was forced to play a longer session than I am used to and ended up losing more than I would normally have. This, however, proves the distortion of the line between completing your hours and playing to the best of your ability. It’s a line that too often I cross, and instead of taking breaks, leaving it for another day, etc, I play on when deep down I know that I won’t necessary be +ev.
These were the two main reasons why I wanted to participate in the Grading. One, to stop the rot, and two, to improve my discipline. I also wanted to embrace a challenge and considerer the Grading an excellent opportunity to learn from others. Of course, the Irish Open package was also another motive, and I felt I had a strong chance of success, but unfortunately, I have decided to make myself illegible for this reward. The reason being is that I don’t think, as an employed member of the company, that people would delight in my winning the package. People get disgruntled upon rejection, and if I was to get there ahead of them, I feel fingers would be pointed and accusations of bias made. Although I can assure anyone of total transparency, and certainly the avoidance of any supposed bias, the mere possibility that people would think otherwise would be detrimental and potentially harmful to both myself and the company.
However, my initial motives still remain, and, if I am allowed to, I would still like to participate in the Grading so as to improve my game and become a better poker player. Although the lack of gold at the end of the Rainbow means I can’t justify going that extra mile in terms of contribution, I would still like to try and complete the hours and assist the other Graders with my experiences and thoughts. A seat in the Irish Open would of course be nice, but stopping the rot would be even nicer.
