Back On the Road Again

Poker is exploding. I don't think I have to tell you that. Every time I think it has hit a plateau and can't get any bigger, it does, unbelievably. Lost in the shuffle a little bit, though, has been the actual players, or at least our sanity! Casinos these days schedule so many events, many of which coincide with other events at other casinos, that most players' heads are spinning a little from shooting from one city to another so rapidly. Does this mean I am complaining? Hell no. I love my life, and couldn't be having a better time doing what I am doing. Yet, it is a little nuts.



The funny thing is that I know my schedule is much tamer than those of many of my peers. In fact, I'd bet that it is downright relaxing when compared to some of the other players' schedules. I joked around with Alex Vuong that so much of our lives is spent packing that I had to acknowledge it with a column. With that said, let's take a little slice from the poker calendar and look at this past January. I want to give you a little glimpse into the traveling life of this poker player, circa 2006.



Things started off with a bang in New York City, probably my favorite place in the entire world, as I had a fantastic New Year's Eve there. I was also in town to help a friend, who is an artist, try to design a new brand of "poker wear" for the masses. He has some good ideas – along with some not so good ideas – and I was happy to help him out and hopefully push him in the right direction. I am hoping he can get his line together in time for the World Series of Poker, but I'm not sure that he can pull it off. I'm sure you'll be waiting with bated breath.



From NYC, I headed off to the site of the next big event, Nassau in the Bahamas. Rough life, I know, eh? It was paradise! No doubt, the PokerStars event is circled on every poker player's calendar, and for good reason. It is such a beautiful place and inspires one to kick back and relax, which is something that we all probably need to do a little more these days.



The trip, unfortunately, filled with a little too much stress for me, as I was one of the chip leaders for most of the first day, but ended up coughing it up completely by the end of it, and was knocked out. I spent the rest of the trip beating myself up about it and not taking the few days off to enjoy myself and relieve the stress a little. This was a mistake, as all of those knockouts take their toll after a while, so it's better to be nice to your psyche about it when you can.



I didn't have too much time to dwell on it, though, as it was soon time to head back home. I hopped on a flight back to Los Angeles and was stoked to get a few extra free days in before heading out to the next event. This provided some time for writing and working on my website, joesebok.com, which will be coming out soon. Also, I got to sleep in my own bed! This fact must never be overlooked. There are few things in life as awesome as getting to sleep in your own bed after a ton of time on the road … that and getting to wash clothes!



Of course, the suitcase never really gets unpacked. It just gets set on a chair in my room and I pull out the dirty clothes that need to be washed. I then reinsert them quickly, and off I go once more.



Next, I was off to Australia, and who wouldn't love that? It's an amazing country, and Melbourne, where we were playing the event, is a beautiful city in which to spend some time. Also, it was summer there, which meant that I could go running outside, which is the thing that bothers me most about all of my traveling during the winter months. Man, it's hard to work out regularly on the tournament circuit. If things continue the way they have, maybe I should call my site manyouarefatjoesebok.com.



At any rate, Australia was great, but the poker was a little frustrating for me. I went out toward the end of the first day, but I wasn't too upset this time, as I thought my play was fine. I just got unlucky. The girl who knocked me out actually said, "I know this is a bad call, but I am going to call you." It was a bad call, and she called me – and busted me via her runner-runner straight.



There was no time to waste, though, as I was now off to Mississippi. There was not one, but two events to play in Tunica! Now that is economizing, and I like it. Unfortunately, my recent trends continued, and I didn't make too much noise in either event. I did amass a nice amount of chips in the World Poker Tour event, but ended up bowing out early on the second day. The World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit event was only a five-minute affair for me, but I didn't feel too bad about it, as I couldn't have done much in the one hand I did get to play. Sometimes it just breaks that way.



Again, there was not much time to dwell on it, as I was heading East to the Borgata in Atlantic City. This was my first visit to the Borgata, and I enjoyed my stay there. What was the highlight? It has a great gym where I could go running. I know, I am probably starting to sound like a broken record, but running is my mental sanctuary. It's how I can be completely alone with my thoughts, along with my music, and ruminate on what has been going on with myself. Whether it is my game or some other issue, it is invaluable.



Now, this event went a little better for me, and I was able to cash, finishing 56th. I wasn't satisfied at all, but at least I had made some headway. I did climb the ladder, and my high point was probably at $200,000 in chips, good for eighth at one point. Unfortunately, I ended up driving the car off the road again, and didn't make the final table. You just have to give it your best and then move on. And for the purposes of this column, literally …



Aah, finally it was time to head home again, on the 30th day of the month. It was time to relax, chill, grab a few drinks with friends, and just generally enjoy some time off. What? What's that? There is an event at Commerce Casino that starts the afternoon we land? All right then, let's get on it! There will always be some time to relax later. I think I have a couple of days at the end of August …

Joe loves to hear that you think he's nuts – er, the nuts. You can e-mail him at [email protected].