Adios Vegas

Well, I'm heading back to New York tomorrow, so this will be it for my blogging.

I played another handful of small tournaments this week, but unfortunately was unsuccessful in each. I actually played quite well in one Mega Stack event at Caesar's that had ~530 entrants. The top 54 places were paid and I finished 60th, just outside the money. That was the closest I've gotten to cashing without doing so in any tournament this trip, so it was a little frustrating to walk away empty handed after 11 hours of play.

I didn't make it out to the golf course this week - I couldn't bring myself to miss out poker playing opportunities in the last few days I had.

Anyway, I can't say I'm ready to go home, as I have really enjoyed my time here. I'm sure it will be tough for a while as I re-adjust to life without poker. There were a total of 3 days over the past month when I didn't sit down at a card table, and excluding a few brief moments in the middle of the month, I always looked forward to my next session.

Financially the trip was a great success, driven entirely by my single large payday. After covering all of my tournament buy-ins, cash game losses, and other expenses (condo, car, etc.), I will still be able to claim the majority of my Caesar's win as profit.

From a poker perspective, I am actually very unhappy with my results. I have played in ~20 tournaments of varying sizes and buy-ins, and the big win was my only cash in any of them. Considering that 10% of most tournament fields are paid, even an average player should be able to cash in 1 out of 10 tourneys. It is true that I found myself unlucky in a handful of events, but that is no excuse. I just didn't play up to my ability a majority of the time. I think impatience often got the best of me, and I tried to push in spots when it was uncalled for. I should be able to use it as a learning opportunity if I am ever able to do this trip again (and I really hope I can!).

I wish I had more pictures to share, but sadly my camera didn't make it out with me most days.So

I guess that's all I've got... big thanks to everyone for the support, blog comments, e-mails, etc. Those of you in NYC, I look forward to seeing you once I am back in the city!