Another day, another dollar, as they say. I had a serious return to roller coaster form today, and while it is damn fun, it isn\\\'t always the most sane of rides. I came into the day with 125k in chips and everything just want wrong from the jump.

I was opening way too many pots and trying to throw my weight around a little bit, and it showed in a terrible way, with me dropping down to about 75k in the first level. I was obviously pretty sick about it and desperately needed to tighten up a bit, which I did. I slowed down and started opening less and playing better hands. Of course, my chips jumped back up to around 130k, almost immediately. You would think that I would just be able to play at a slower gear and see the tournament through. Literally every time that I tighten up just a little bit I go on a sick run. You have to remember, of course, that my slow gear is probably still faster than most people\\\'s fastest gear, so it\\\'s all relative. Poker Radio

At any rate, just as I was feeling good I got moved to a new table, which featured Gus Hansen. This was funny, as we had just said literally two hours earlier, that we had never played together and how it would be nice if the first time was in a few days at the final table. Nope! Sooner than that! Now, it was here that roller coaster really kicked in. I went from 130k down to 70k, all the way up to 180k, and then back down to 80k, before finally finishing up at...yep...125k...exactly where I started. I shoulda just stayed in bed, yo...

I did play one hand pretty badly against Gus and lost some chips that way, but other than that I was pretty happy with how I played at that final table. At least I got back to even for the day, and still slightly above average.

More from tomorrow, where hopefully I will still be alive when we hit the money...and obviously far beyond that...

I\\\'ll talk to you kiddies...

peace,
J


Music for the day...

Level 1: Postal Service, \\\"Give Up\\\"
Level 2: Ani Difranco, \\\"Evolve\\\"
Level 3: Freddy Jones Band, \\\"Lucid\\\"
Level 4: Jimmy Eat World, \\\"Chase This Light\\\"
Level 5: Incubus, \\\"Make Yourself\\\"