What Rhymes with Metatarsal?

If you felt your house shake Saturday morning, it was from every citizen of England fainting as their collective hope for glory collapsed in an instant. Wayne Rooney, the 20-year old striker for Manchester United and one of the most electrifying players heading into the World Cup lay writhing in pain. Rooney is everything England desparately needs: lightning fast, an absolute bulldog, tough as nails. And with the snap of a small bone in his foot, what could be is now in jeopardy. For most of us Americans, the NFL draft was where the real football was being shaped for 2006. For the rest of the world, the real football kicks off in less than forty days. Think Super Bowl, Summer Olympics, and March Madness, then square it, and you're starting to get it. What a blow, England.

Checking in on my goals after the weekend of a couple hours of poker play.

1. Don't lose my entire bankroll (check)
2. Have a positive month (check; +$638.47)

April was a bit of a disappointment in one respect, having been up around almost $1500, but it was really the kind of month you need to have. Dug myself an immediate $650 hole, went on a $2,000 run over eleven consecutive winning days (throwing in a $0.85 loss on twenty $0.25/0.50 Stud H/L). Lost $1600 in two days, more but was able to cut the second day's loss in half. Then a nice weekend finish. One thing I discovered last night is that it is impossible to two-table $10/20 (a real stretch for Mr. Single Table here) while also trying to watch Diner for the first time. Steve Guttenberg, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Timothy Daly, Paul Reiser, directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Good Morning, Vietnam). Well, Diner is a movie where these guys just talk and talk and talk to each other, so it's impossible to know what in the world is going on in the movie. So after being up $356 for the night (this after going out 10th and 9th in two SNG's), I watched the last hour of the movie.

Klopzi writes of taking a break from his blog last Monday (a la Pauly and others), as well as High on Poker's excellent post last week on blogs. One thing that helps me when I'm in front of an audience speaking (whether it's a large conference or a leadership team at a Fortune 100 company) is that I'm not in a play: I'm not trying to get all the words right from a script, but I'm just trying to share my knowledge and experience with the group. I think it's the same with these gay poker blogs. Too often, we feel a mix of a burden to live up to some standard that is in our mind of what we're supposed to write combined with a compelling need to have an audience, measured either by visitors or comments. I don't think it's about getting it right, being particularly clever or funny. My own view is that it's about doing what you do, documenting or exploring whatever is healthy or helpful to yourself. Your readers, who become these strange friends, often faceless but sometimes not, then get to interact with you, either chiming in, pushing back, or saying nothing. It's now how I start most days, sitting at this template and typing away. The different series I've done on Relationships and Children are just another way for me to try and figure out what this bizarre poker is for me and where I'm headed.

Sweetie and I were talking after I spent an hour on the phone with another blogger who called me to share what he's going through with his family and girlfriend. He plays poker for a living while also writing, and I think he's in his early twenties (maybe 23-26, something like that). His parents don't support his poker direction, and Sweetie and I had some very interesting discussion on the topic. If there is any time to try and make a go of this game, it is in a position like his: little financial responsibilities, no children, fairly early in his life. Yet telling others you play poker for a living at 24 is bizarre to say the least. Now, telling them you've started out in a telemarketing job or as an entry level clerk or in retail wouldn't give anyone the slightest concern, per Sweetie at least. Sweetie assumed that I'd love to play for a living, but I don't really think that's the case. I doubt I have the intestinal fortitude to handle the added ante of having to beat the game consistently. I like my comfort zone of playing for play money, for just myself. I'd love to play more regularly, play live more often, but I don't want to try and make a go of it. But we'll see. And is it creepy to spend an hour with a poker blogger? Well, I don't spend an hour on the phone with anyone, so your ear does get a bit sore. But I've really enjoyed meeting PokerSweetHome and his wife in London, talking for fifteen minutes with Shep, being invited into BadBlood's home to play in G-Vegas, sitting in the 1s with Linda in the 2s at the Bellagio. I enjoyed listening for an hour, adding a few minimal insights hear and there. Don't know if it was helpful, but hopefully so.

Goals for May? First, don't lose my bankroll. Second, crack the $10k mark (need roughly an $1800 month). From there, we'll see how it goes. I'd like to play more MTT's, but I need to play the simulator and do significantly better for jumping into that. I'd also like to play a WSOP tourney. I'm writing for a poker website as a total hobby and hope those funds can buy me into one of the small tourneys. It would be pretty neat for sure, but I want to at least have a fighting chance rather than just being a contributor to the prize pool, which is where I would be now.

I'll add links this week. If you have kids and didn't check out the Children and Poker series, go back the last seven or eight posts and catch it. Some very interesting stuff, especially the comments. With that, here is the next edition of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, in honor of Diner, where I see where this blog will take you.

• HammerPlayer: I've started looking at some web diagnostic tool to see what sites refer folks here. Hoyazo from New York. He explores strategy with alot of screen shots and examples, which is a nice change of pace for me. He also listens to Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN in New York, which I miss a ton. The absolute best sports talk radio show in the nation, bar none.
• Tales from the West Side: How I stumble upon other ATL poker bloggers is beyond me. I was expecting something from 82nd and Broadway, but here is a blog from BrainMc and VinoQueen. Will definitely have to check this out again.
• Poker through the Eyes of an Amateur: Matt Silverhorn, kaellin18. I've been here before. Matt's been improving his tourney play on the circuit, coming in third in the Mookie. Looks like that has been at the end of a tough run, so here's to a turnaround in May.
• President Dave Lee: For some reason, I always think David Lee is a Confederate general when I see his Will Farrell avatar show up in my comments. I don't know how to do an avatar like that, which I think is pretty neat. He always has lots of good insight when he comments on others' blogs, and I should come here more often. Seems like a very good guy, too.
• Little Acornman: I've never been to Scotland, oddly enough. And oh, how his Rangers have fallen after letting Mr. Reyna leave several years ago. His wife just lost her mother, which is tough. He's had a solid run over the last eight months, so here's to continued success.
• Lady Falcon: Another New Yorker, but a lady at that. A tragic post of her father lost, leaving, then being gone. Many of us definitely have alot to be thankful for, and her difficult times remind us of that.

Couple of final notes. Great article from yesterday's NY Times on how no one wanted to pick up American Idol when the two Simon's tried to pitch their successful Pop Idol from the UK. As always, check out Go Fug Yourself, especially last week's crazy posts on the MI III premiere with that wacky Tom Cruise. The last link on my blog is Steve Brown, a great theologian for those exploring faith. He has had a non-traditional journey to his ministry, and he is extremely approachable and very, very funny. Check out his podcasts or pick up one of his books. I've had a strong faith for most of my life, but his words in A Scandalous Freedom helped me transition to an ability to say a quick prayer wherever and whenever I like.

Looks like another beautiful day out there. Hope it will be for you, too. Thanks for dropping by.