Katrina. Tsunami. Ground Zero. My bankroll. Get the picture? The last two months have been bad. Very bad. Poker has brought me to my knees. I really can't explain how a losing streak like this can happen. For three years I avoided "the big one," but finally it was my turn to become poker's red-headed step-child. I haven't busted, but my bank has sunk to dangerously low levels. Dangerously low. A lot of things have contributed to this streak: --Summer: I haven't played nearly as much as when I was writing this blog. I've goofed around a lot, and many days poker hasn't been a high priority. That is going to change. --Tilt: I've lost some money on tilt. There have been days when the cards have been so ruthlessly bad that I've chased in games I shouldn't be playing in. Whenever I've chased, my bankroll has been erased. --The best hand....is no good: I have never seen a string of hands where I am 50% or better to win run so bad. It's been like standing in the middle of bad beat hail storm without a helmet. After a while your head really starts to hurt. Despite a horrible stretch of cards, I still have a small bank and am not in any debt. In other words, I'm still in the game. Maybe writing this blog will bring back some of the discipline that led to the first rising. Right now, anything is worth a try. * OK now it's time to get a few things straight. Yes, I am still playing poker for a living. That could change in the near future. On November 19th I will make my 2nd attempt to pass that stupid test and get my degree. When I pass (there is no if this time) I am going to consider my options. Depending on what I do, this blog could again come to an abrupt end. Some other things that are changing: I may not write everyday. Some days I just don't feel like writing. Other days there is simply nothing to write about. Some days I may tell about a wild trip to the grocery store to get a corn dog. When monumental stuff like that goes down, everybody will be in the know. Also, no more posting my bankroll. I'm keeping that my business. And even if I did post it right now, it's so small you might not even see it. Last time I started this blog, and "officially" playing poker for a living, I watched "Rounders" again, and it got me pumped up. Ironically the other night I watched another classic movie about poker, 1965's "The Cincinnati Kid." I'm pretty sure it's the first movie I've seen Steve McQueen in. I'm not much of an older movie buff. This show did it for me though. McQueen is the ultracool "Cincinnati Kid," the guy who says he will beat "the man" in the final showdown, thus becoming "the man." "The man" The Kid wants to beat is this older poker player who seems to be past his prime. But in the end, surprisingly, very surprisingly, it's the older player who ends up taking McQueen's money, busting him and then some. I thought to myself: damn, I get mercilessly whooped for 2 months straight, and then this guy, who goes by "The Cincinnati Kid," who gets all the ladies, and who smokes a cigarrette cooler than anyone has ever smoked since tobacco was discovered, loses as well. This movie, along with what has happened in the last two months, have reminded me once again how poker mirrors life. Nobody is invicible to losing-- to having the worst of it. I was riding high for a long time, basically two years, and then in about 3 months I've been reduced to a player who is happy to come out ahead at the end of the day. Still, you have to put things in perspective. My house is not underwater. And I'm still in the game. Special hello to my dogs: Pam, Quincy, and Francis. Roof roof. OK, shuffle up and deal.

Source: ** Phoenix Rising **