Sorry that I petered out those last couple of days of the main event. First, I kept waiting for the WSOP to send daily results, and they never did, at least not to me. I don't know what happened. But I was also disappointed with the conclusion this year. After watching Phil Ivey and Greg Raymer get sent packing, I pretty much lost interest. About the only thing for me to do during the final table was root against Mike Matusow, and that didn't last very long. After he was gone, I tried to follow the action listening to Card Player's streaming audio live broadcast for a little while, but it started to seem like following $5 Party Poker SNG. I wasn't that impressed with the level of play, at least in the hour or so after Matusow was eliminated, and I found something else to do. But I do have to give a nod to Card Player's broadcast. I thought Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Jennifer Harman did an excellent job, during the time I listened. Unfortunately, the audio wasn't that great, especially trying to listen at work. I'd be turning up the volume and leaning close to the speaker, trying to hear the tournament director's announcement, and then Hellmuth's voice would come booming out, loud enough to burst my eardrums. Trying to find a balance between hearing the very soft background and the very loud commentators was difficult. But I enjoyed it all the same, and hope they do it again next year. And now that all the action is over, it's time to watch it all unfold on television. Last night was ESPN's first broadcast of a WSOP Circuit event and, although I missed the first hour due to work, I was able to get home in time to catch the second hour. I have to say that, although I've always preferred the WPT in the past, ESPN's WSOP coverage is starting to grow on me. The primary difference is that the WPT focuses on the event and the location, while ESPN focuses more on the individual players. Speaking of the WSOP Circuit, the 2005-06 season has been announced, and there's actually an event near me! Caesars Indiana, the site of my thus far first and only experience in a casino, will be hosting one leg of the circuit. I'm not exactly sure how they will be able to pull it off, considering the space limitations, but I'm already salivating over maybe having the chance to actually play in an event with "WSOP" in the title. If they hold to the same formula as this past year, the earliest events were just $200+25. I just may have to consider entering the field. We'll see how the bankroll is faring around mid-October. But here's a list of this year's events: World Series of Poker Circuit Events Grand CasinoTunica Aug. 11-25, 2005 Harrahs Las Vegas Sept. 6-16, 2005 Grand Casino Biloxi Sept. 29-Oct. 12, 2005 Caesars Indiana Oct. 19-Nov. 2, 2005 Paris/Ballys Las Vegas Nov. 9-22, 2005 Showboat Atlantic City Nov. 28-Dec. 9, 2005 Grand Casino Tunica Jan. 5-26, 2006 Harrahs Atlantic City Feb. 7-17, 2006 Caesars Atlantic City March 21-31, 2006 Caesars Palace Las Vegas April 3-14, 2006 Harrahs New Orleans May 18-28, 2006 Harrahs Lake Tahoe June 6-16, 2006 2006 TOC at Rio June 28-29, 2006 2006 WSOP at Rio Summer 2006 As for the status of my bankroll, I have to say it is a bit stunted right now. I've not been losing, mind you, but rather making regular cashouts. You see, in just a mere nine days, I'll be loading up the family car to take the wife and young'uns on our first-ever Florida vacation. This will be the first time the kids have ever seen the ocean, and, although they don't know it yet, their first trip to Disneyworld. (I'm hoping to keep it a surprise right up until we pull in the gates.) The most gratifying part of the trip is that it's being financed by the fine folks who play online poker. That's right, if you happen to read this after losing a big pot to me, you can take solace in knowing that you helped put smiles on my boys' faces. So, anyway, the bankroll has been holding steady while I have been cashing out each day's winnings to pay for my vacation, and that has led me to apply some interesting principles to bankroll management. First, since my steadiest winnings have come from five-card draw, that is the only game I've been playing lately. Second, as I mentioned in an earlier post, part of my problem in moving up has been that once I start winning consistently, my impulse is to play more and more until I eventually burn out and start losing. To combat that, I've decided to take a novel approach -- I decided to limit my winnings. Bizarre, huh? My theory is that once I reach a certain level, I quit for the day. But, I must admit, I haven't held to that limit too faithfully. When I first concocted this hare-brained scheme, I figured I had a good 10 days of poker left to ensure all of my cashouts would reach my bank account prior to leaving. And I figured that, while I pretty much had all the money I would need for my trip, an extra $200 cushion would be nice to offset the mandatory unforeseen expenses. So I set a limit of $20 in winnings each day. After that, I would quit for the day and come back to the table more refreshed than if I had stayed up half the night trying to squeeze every last dime out of a table until I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer. Therefore, in my mind, even though I was limiting my potential for how much I could win on any given day, I was keeping myself fresher and better able to win each day. The first couple of days, I held fast to this rule. As soon as my take on the day crossed $20, I quit until the next day. But then Friday came and I made my $20 quota while I sat down to play for 10 minutes before heading to work. After work, I decided that since the first $20 had come so easily, I might as well play a little more just to pad my vacation cash. Then, after I made my second $20 quota on the day, I quit. And it's a good thing I made the extra $20, because I couldn't win a pot Saturday and actually took a small loss on the day. Sunday wasn't much better. I was up and down the entire day, but actually managed to finish up $11. Monday was another $20 day, but Tuesday I doubled that again. And this morning, before heading to work, I sat down and promptly pulled in $50. So, obviously, I've abandoned the $20 limit, even though I think it has actually helped me. Maybe I need to set a higher limit, just so I am able to play a little longer each day, but not burn myself out. Oh well, we'll see how it goes.

Source: Trials of a Poker Apprentice