Somehow, almost half of the 2007 WSOP has gone by in what feels like the blink of an eye.
Although I've only participated in about five of the 27 bracelet events that the Rio has held, I still feel as though I've been bouncing around Vegas like a headless chicken, still trying to get used to the heat, still trying to get my apartment situated and my rhythm established.
A lot of players have been paying lip-service to the notion of "balance"--the need to create structure within the void of this poker life--and, especially during the WSOP, to the importance of avoiding burnout. Despite arranging my 2007 WSOP schedule around a more limited, concentrated group of events, I'm still finding that balance hard to achieve and the fatigue difficult to avoid. It's hard enough figuring out which events to play and which to skip, let alone finding the time to update my blog(s), catching up with friends whose path I usually cross only during the WSOP, and generally maintaining a positive social life.
Like junkies whose dealer ran out of the good stuff, readers of my blog have been hounding me to pick up the pace, to put more of the experience of the Series into words, but often times I feel at a loss. I'm actively trying to not get "caught up in the moment" this year, and I don't want to stop dissect the events taking place, but rather appreciate the long summer in Vegas as one distinct part of the whole, the "whole" being life on poker tour.
The amount of action this year is so staggering, it's also a chore just to take stock of who's kicking ass at this year's Series. There's something about the WSOP, no matter how poorly organized and oppressive, that brings the poker out of people. The WSOP might be only one part of the whole, but at the same time, it's almost certainly the hub.
I have to marvel at players like Humberto Brenes and Scott Clements, who seem to be at a final table every time I check updates on the internet. At players like Phil Hellmuth, whose hunger for bracelets awakens a perennial poker beast each summer.
I still believe my best chance for success is to stay laid-back and hope that enables greater concentration in the few events I do play. I'll be playing tomorrow's $3K NL event, and I am extremely excited for the inaugural Heads Up No Limit Championship, beginning on Tuesday.
Tonight, I'm going to see Bill Maher perform standup at the Hard Rock, and I'm psyched for that, too.
