My big day is coming up!

Sunday is the big day! I'm qualified for a $25k tourney and getting a bit nervous. This is only the 2nd live tourney I've ever played in. The first was about a year ago, Holis and I played in a tourney in Austin, TX with 100 people total. I finished 14th and he finished 11th.

Well, I'd have to say that my poker skills are a bit more honed now than they were back then. I've had a chance to play a WHOLE bunch of online tourneys and several live games. I have to leave my house by 6am in order to make it on time. Now my fear is that I get sucked out in the first hour, or worse yet, the first hand. I am getting advice left and right now. 'Play tight', 'Don't bluff at all the first hour' - that kind of stuff. I play tight anyway so that won't be a problem and my bluffing game is not so good yet.

Well, wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed. $10k for first place would be a nice little Christmas present.

Mama needs a new pair of shoes! (not really because if I want to buy one pair, Hubby makes me get rid of 2!)

Are some poker players bipolar?

Now let me start by saying that this is in no way, shape or form a dig at those people who actually have been diagnosed as bipolar, but just an observation on my part.

You have these people that sit down at a table, and immediately they have a mood swing, from jovial, happy-go-lucky to hard nosed, bad ass. And as long as their chip stack stays about the same - so does their mood. When they start winning the mood makes an upward swing, and if they become the chip leader their mood goes to a confidence that boarders on arrogance, until...

God forbid they start loosing their stack, particularly on a bad beat because then comes the downward slope of the 'disease'. Coming out on 'full-tilt' mode they start pushing all-in until either they double up a couple of times or they get busted out completely. If they go out the tilt lingers for a few minutes as they leave the table and let everyone know exactly how good their vocabulary of curse words is. Then it's back to the nonchalant attitude of "I did my best, that's just poker" kind of deal. Nevermind that they lost with 9-4 offsuit in their hand.