Since last we spoke Pt.3
I would feel moments of anticipation heading into WSOP 2015, but nowhere near the dialed in mood of 2014. I made a post warning drafters not to overvalue me, and took way more of my own action feeling too guilty to sell. On some instances I tried self-motivating a bit: I was running several miles a day, and referencing some pretty negative stuff to force my competitive drive, but its affect was fleeting.
Poker-wise there were no real downswings or anything that might contribute to my bleak frame of mind. I was cheated for a healthy amount which is inevitable for somebody as naive as me, and played a few regrettable nights of online poker when I was too delirious to compete, let alone 4 table; I’m a horrendous multi-tabler. All the same, I was only a scam and some self-sabotage away from having a fine year. I think most of my mood was related to the apathy I felt towards a handful of cliquish shit-talking peers that I had considered to be friends, and being taken advantage of by some other people I had previously felt close with.
The past few years I’ve felt WSOP tournaments to be a nice reprieve from the tedious cash game grind, which is why I had chosen to forgo the amazing side-action in favor of large tournament fields. This year wasn’t the same however; I felt like I was showing up only because I knew I’d be jealous of everybody else had I not.
When WSOP did roll around, I felt I played fine overall, but I made mistakes here and there that I wouldn’t have made the previous year. I managed to final table the 10k Razz for the second year in a row, and busted out with a made seven that had to fade Mike Gorodinsky's own seven draw, but couldn’t; I think I busted nkenyo from the final table the same way the year before. I went deep in the 3k PLO8 and the 10k HORSE as well, but some bad luck in the PLO8 and a borderline decision in HORSE left me falling short of any real noise. With that having been said, my girlfriend Stephanie, who was working in the Draft Kings Lounge throughout the summer, along with our circle of friends kept the mood light ( see below ), and it was a fine time overall.
Team Bear 2015: Eric Rodawig, Matt Ashton, Steve Albini, and yours truly.
My punishment for my spew-y online sessions, and a sub-par WSOP performance, was that I wouldn’t be flying to Berlin to compete in WSOP Europe. I was giving up my chance to Danzer Danzer in his backyard! Instead, my girlfriend and I decided to pack up our apartment, our dogs, and head west to Los Angeles.
<3 Brandon
