All in perspective

Busting out of today's event in the third level - before the payouts were even announced - sucked. No way to sugar coat it - it blows that I didn't last longer.

But let's put it into perspective. (And realize that I'm putting this into perspective in a restaurant in Vegas, sitting next to four Lambourghini's, after having eaten a delicious fillet with roquefort sauce and a few glasses of chianti)

This was an AMAZING experience / vacation. I've met / seen in person just about every living "star" of the poker world. Not only that, I played at their level... This is the all-star game of the poker world.

I've met many of the people that I only know "online" - some of whom I consider pretty good friends. These are people who I would trust - without hesitation - with large sums of money. And they feel the same way. Dantes (now Jer), swede (now Andy), Bond (Tony), SirWatts (Mike), Deeb (well, still Deeb) - was good to put faces to names...

And the vacation's not over. I'm registered in a tourney at seven tonight, and odds are I'll play another one at noon tomorrow. This is fun stuff.

But the thing that may have really put it into perspective for me most was a thread on 2+2 about behaviour at the tables. Basically, some pros were complaining about people coming up to them and "outing" them. Basically letting the fish know that they are pros. In that thread, one very well known pro - Shane "Shaniac" Schleger (sp?) responded to another guy who was mocking the fish for playing these high buyin events for entertainment by saying that playing poker for fun is something he would LOVE to be able to say he does.

That's the level I'm at. But more than that, I have a fundamental understanding of the game and of the strategy, which gives me a realistic chance at these tournaments.

I see these people playing for a living - guys that are really good at the game - but they've lost the love of it. What's the point of playing if it's work for you? (Then again, I know people who make a lot less doing a job they hate a lot more...)

So I feel like I've got the best of both worlds - the satisfaction of knowing that I know what I'm doing, along with the excitement that comes from only doing it once-in-a-while.

So to the inevitable bunch who will say to me that I "lost" on this trip - I may not have won, but there's no chance that I lost.

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