The Longest Year

2011 was the most trying year we’ve had in the modern era of poker. There’s no getting around it. The past twelve months saw the major online cardrooms closed off to Americans, and that unfortunate fact will forever mark this period in our game’s history. As of this writing, Full Tilt Poker customers have still not been paid their account balances, to which they lost access on Black Friday. Many American pros have scrambled to uproot their lives and play online poker overseas. Others, like myself, are simply waiting it out in the States, playing what brick-and-mortar poker we can until the online version returns. In short, it’s been a long year.

But in a way, the tumultuous events of 2011 perfectly illustrate the point of this year-end column I’ve been doing since 2005. Poker is a trying game, and psychologically we are wired to feel losses more acutely than wins. The guy who wins $5,000 but then loses $4,500 often experiences more stress and disappointment than the non-gambler who never bothered to play. To combat this phenomenon, I like to take time out to remember the positives, choosing three poker accomplishments to celebrate every calendar year. Here are my three for 2011.

1. Won a World Series of Poker gold bracelet, this time in event no: 52 ($2,500 Mixed Hold ’Em). Miraculously, I won my second bracelet in as many years. A reader blessed with a remarkable memory may recall that last year, in this very column, I lamented that even though I was beyond thrilled, I never properly celebrated the achievement of winning a WSOP event. I wasn’t about to repeat that mistake this year. Within an hour of my victory, I took twenty friends out for dinner and drinks, and did my best to revel in the moment. I knew that the joy of success is fleeting in this game, and I also knew that my second bracelet could very, very easily be my last, so I did everything I could to trick my brain into enjoying the win. By the end of the party, it felt almost as good as when I won the first time. Almost.

2. Made two other final tables during the year. I had a bunch of other deep runs in 2011, and ended up with three final tables all together. I only broke through for the one big score, but one big score a year is plenty.

3. Represented the United States in the inaugural duplicate poker Nations Cup event in England. I might have more to write about team poker, about the duplicate poker concept, and about playing poker on a large Ferris wheel (the Eye of London) in future columns, but for now I’ll say that it was an absolute privilege to play for my country. Sure the tournament itself suffered from many logistical snags, and our team result wasn’t what we wanted, but the Nations Cup provided a fantastic opportunity to travel and to promote the game I love. I only hope I have the honor to play on future American teams. Next time we’ll be sure to bring home the trophy.

Now comes the part where I look at the resolutions I made for 2011 at the end of 2010, and assess how I did in keeping them. Here goes.

2011 resolution: Make a concentrated effort to study and play events in the winter and spring, so that I am in peak poker form in June for WSOP 2011.

Grade: A. I did a pretty damn good job with this, especially considering the jumbo-sized wrench that was thrown into the works by Black Friday. I played five different East Coast tournament series before April, and even flew to L.A. (I am generally loathe to travel too far from home outside of the summer) for the LAPC. I then played an additional circuit event in May before heading off to the WSOP. I like to think the work that I put in paid off.

2011 resolution: Include poker study time in weekly schedules.

Grade: C. I sought out a lot of good, young players to discuss poker with this year, and I know that my overall strategy has vastly improved as a result. But the point of this resolution was to force myself to sit down every week and study—hand histories, concepts, instructional videos, whatever. I never carved out a schedule to do that.
2011 resolution: Eat healthier over the course of long poker tournaments.

Grade: C+. I did better with this earlier in the year, but somewhere amidst the long stretch of the WSOP, everything went to hell. I rent a house while I’m out in Vegas, one would think I could prepare a few meals in my kitchen while I’m at it.

And finally, new resolutions.

For the past few years, I’ve said the only New Year’s Resolution I need is to prioritize my life and put in enough hours on the projects I want to work on. That still holds true. But let’s make some poker resolutions, just for fun.

2012 resolution: Stay current on poker trends by talking with knowledgeable players.

2012 resolution: Do not complain about anything poker-related. (With my WSOP success, I have in fact vowed not to complain about anything poker-related until the 2013 WSOP.)

2012 resolution: Eat healthier over the course of long poker tournaments.

2012 resolution: Do what I can to promote the legality of online poker in the U.S. In 2011 I wrote a column for The Washington Post and appeared on CNN in support of the cause. Let’s see if I can build on that next year.

Whether you’re playing from Malta, Mexico, Canada, Macau, or in the brick and mortar casinos right here at home, I wish the best of luck to my readers in 2012! In many respects, we have nowhere to go but up.

Matt Matros is the author of The Making of a Poker Player, and a featured coach for cardrunners.com.