drunknknite
He was winning,
but he didn't see it
and I escaped - as usual.

-Levon Aronian

Hello Again Friends

By drunknknite
Hi.

I've been away from chess for a while. It probably requires some explanation. I went to Vegas for a chess tournament and left Vegas imfatuated with No Limit Holdem...

I used to only play Limit Holdem, which is ok, but then my friend started turning me on to no limit a couple months before I went to Vegas. After I lost the first round of the National Open, I decided to jump in a No Limit game to pass the time til the next round. I ended up playing all weekend and then when I came back to Reno I kept playing constantly. Hours and hours. Then I went to Israel for 2 weeks. I read poker books instead of chess books and started devoting more and more time to poker. And less and less time to chess. So for the past couple months I haven't really spent any time on chess.

Also contributing to my disinterest in chess was the fact that a good friend of mine would not give me an opportunity to make up our game from when I was in Israel and I was forced to take a forfeit in the Club Championship. Although I probably could have still won the match, I lost interest and didn't devote adequate time to chess during this match. My opponent played well and I lost 2 out of the three games. He wanted it more than me.

I also think that after gaining 200 points in under a year I needed some time to consolidate my growth. This has happened to me before. Sometimes it lasts a couple months, sometimes it lasts a couple years. But I always come back hungrier and stronger.

I am deciding whether to play tonight at the Reno Chess Club, the only reason I'm leaning towards not playing is because I know I won't get a strong game. On the other hand maybe I need a game against a weaker player just to get back in the mood. I'm definitely planning to play the Western States Open. Either way, I have over 10 games that are sitting there waiting to be analyzed. I should start working on them while I watch High Stakes Poker. :)

This bluff is so sick, they both just sat down this was the first hand of their session:


 

7 comments so far.

  1. likesforests August 14, 2008 at 3:10 PM
    I used to stay up all night playing Hold'em in college. Of course, back then 'No Limit' meant $32 (it could've gone higher but I didn't want my roommate to go broke). I assume you've seen Rounders and have read "Zen and the Art of Poker"?

    But c'mon, you're the only blogger I know of that went from <2000 to >2000 while blogging. You're like our mascot, our proof that we can do it. You can't quit now. ;)
  2. Chessaholic August 15, 2008 at 9:18 AM
    Good to see you post again man. I hope we'll get to see those 10 games, your analysis always kicks ass :)
  3. chess addict August 16, 2008 at 11:02 AM
    Hi! can we xlink with my chess blog which features daily chess updates and news? just let me know and i'll add you..thank you.
  4. PGaf August 19, 2008 at 2:10 PM
    so i just read your blog for the first time in a few months, and i thought it was pretty funny that my call motivated you to come.
  5. Polly August 24, 2008 at 4:23 PM
    Damn, another chess player sucked in by the poker demons. Noooooo! Say it ain't so. As much as I love various card games I can't get get myself interested in a game where it's all about the money. I know there's a lot of probability and psychology involved, but just not my thing.
  6. drunknknite August 25, 2008 at 7:24 PM
    likesforests - i've seen rounders a ton of times but never heard of that book. i appreciate the mascot comment, plus i really want to make master so i'll be back in full force some time soon.

    polly - yup, poker sucked me away, if you still need that info for vegas email me at kevingafni@gmail.com, i don't want to give names and phone numbers out over this site, i hope it's not too late but i'm almost sure it is.
  7. Anonymous August 26, 2008 at 6:51 AM
    And don't worry, I won't sell your e-mail to the spammers.

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