Improving and adjusting your game....

I had an awesome weekend...Although lately I've been really hurting in my golf game. I'm usually the guy that goes to these best ball tourneys and struggles to put together enough shots to include on the card...even though you only need two drives! I was obviously apprehensive about going. I made sure everybody knew not to count on me for anything! They all know what happens my left-handed karate chop swing hits a golf ball and it's not a pretty sight. I talked to a friend of a friend who golfs almost everyday during the warm months. He was also at the golf weekend/tourney/get-together in Bethel Maine. It's at this old country club in Bethel Maine and it was quite a nice place. I asked "please help...I need you to watch me and give me a couple of swings and give me some tips"....so he watched and told me "You really do suck"..."Just kidding..I'll help you out". So he gave me some tips on how to adjust the grip and to "not pick up your front foot like your swinging a baseball bat!". So I practiced some more shots and began to find a a golf swing. This was all one hour before the best-ball tourney! This is an annual golf weekend that has 18 holes of golf for 3 days in a row. The first day is a regular 18 hole game (The weather sucked on Friday in Maine though) and the second day is an 18 hole Best-Ball scramble. The third day is a Best-Ball shotgun tourney. There is also lots of booze, grilled food, and poker after the golf. The condos are right on the golf course and we were able to use the golf carts to go to and fro the clubhouse...talk about lazy!

I'm at the first tee and all of the golf teams are watching (8 teams-four apiece)..I usually would just pick up the ball and club and go to the next hole but not this time! I crushed my first drive (with the used Wilson fat-shaft 1 wood that I bought a couple of days before that) and never looked back that day. I also hit this incredible 15' foot chip that landed in the cup to give us a birdie on a par five! It was a chip that had to land 4' or 5' feet above the cup and roll backwards and lo' and behold it falls into the cup ala Tiger Woods in the 2005 Masters! My friends all started screaming...it was a shot that will probably cost me a lot of money due to the fact I will probably get as addicted to the game as I have with Poker.

This talk of adjustment to my game reminds me that I need to make adjustments to my Hold'em tourney play. If I make the money it's usually with a very short stack..I need adjustments! I've read books and articles up the ying-yang but I still can't build up the big stack with any regularity. I'm at a crossroads with my tournament play. I most definitely play tighter live than online....It's just natural for most to do the same thing. I need adjustment to my game...and I can't find the right ones. What some people think is wrong seems to be right for others. It drive me nuts when I see the WPT and you see some pro go all-in with a flush draw on someone who has a big pair...It's not the act of putting someone else all-in on a draw...But the reaction from the ass-kissing hosts! If an amateur did this..and they do...they get killed by the hosts. "I just don't understand what they think they are doing vince!"...."I wouldn't go all-in with only a flush draw!" I know that they are at a final table but that makes one think that they do this to get to the final table in the first place. I guess I'd be interested to see how the pros manage to build there stacks and make final tables often...if you're lucky enough to know a pro then you might actually get an honest answer. I've read Championship No-Limit/Pot Limit by McEvoy and Cloutier and it's a great read...but it seems to be outdated for today's game. I'll have to find a book about today's NL Texas Hold'em tournaments and how to beat them. There are three that come to mind...Harrington On Hold'em, Little Green Book, and Kill Phil. I wonder which one could help me adjust my game the most....

The Gemini tourney was of course a great time also...I got home still hungover from the weekend and almost short-stacked my way to a final table on one of the tourneys...oh well...it was still fun...

Oh and this also:

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 7330476