2011: A Poker Odyssey

After Black Friday, I became pretty depressed. Some people grinded (ground?) online only for the money, but I really loved it. The thrill of waking up to 25-table on a Sunday for over 12 hours is something I miss more than I can express.

After the dark cloud floated away a bit, Collin helped me to be able to see the sun again. I used my new found free time to co-author The Superuser ($.99, Amazon), and Pro Poker Strategy: The Top Skills ($3.50, Amazon) with my husband.

Writing a novel was one of my life-goals, and it was nice to step beyond the scope of editor for the non-fiction book. We wanted a concise text that really drilled the most important concepts in poker for all skill levels, and from the positive feedback we’ve received, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve succeeded. :)

A surprising result of Black Friday is that it has actually made me a better poker player and coach (for Drag the Bar, Poker Strategy, and Team Moshman). When multi-tabling, I often had only a second to make a decision, whereas in the live high buy-in tournaments I transitioned to this year, I had nearly unlimited time to act.

I also learned from playing against some of the best players in the world this year in WSOP and WPT events. Vanessa Selbst helped drive the point home to me about taking as much time as one needs to make the best possible decisions. Annette Obrestad, who played the laggiest of any woman I’ve ever encountered, inspired me to study up on my 3-betting ranges against hyper-LAGs.

Barry Greenstein, who was one of the nicest famous pros I’ve ever encountered, helped me avoid fame-tilt in terms of the potential to be nervous while playing with people that I’ve watched on TV a lot. He also explained to me what “GOAT” stands for, when I complained that he tweeted such a horrible pic of me that a friend called me a goat. LOL, apparently it means “greatest of all time.”

Also this year, Katie Stone organized The Grindettes, which also includes Jennifer Shahade, Jamie Kerstetter, and me. We have all become close, and their insights have been invaluable to the continued evolution of my game. I’ve had a lot of fun doing the weekly Grindettes segment with host Mark Hoke on Short Stacked Radio, and I think 2012 will be the year of the Grindettes! I’m also thankful to Katie for founding the 2+2 forum “That’s What She Said,” from which I’ve been fortunate enough to make many more poker-playing girlfriends.

Also this year, I moved to Vegas (which would be totally perfect if only I could play MTTs online), went on the best vacation of my life in Paris with Collin, became an aunt, and watched my little sister graduate from high school. Even though I can’t boast a deep run in the WSOP main event this year, I feel like I won; I am incredibly lucky to have my husband, family, and friends in my life. And, as un-poker player like as this will sound, having their support means more to me than winning any tournament ever could.

Happy holidays! :)