My Kindom for a Trophy

Putting a lot of hours in online and eeking out a bit of profit, thank god for rakeback which is a huge difference maker and I don't think I could ever play at Stars again as a result (plus the fact that I am currently banned) as its turning a so so month into a pretty respectable one. Nothing majorly interesting going on which is proven by the fact that I'm getting excited by the prospect of a VC Poker hoody which is on its way. I look terrible in hoodies but after losing some weight I'm too small for the sponsored shirts I have to wear at poker tournaments and it will be nice to have something different to wear than the polo shirts that make me look like a darts player.

Anyhoooo, next week is the biggest non event of the year (after New Years) – my birthday. I really don't care about my birthday's generally, no idea why, but this one will be particularly uninteresting. A few of my mates have already made plans (as its bank holiday weekend), some others have fallen out with others (making it hard to get them in the same room together) and two others get married this weekend and are on honeymoon for my birthday. So probably won't be doing much other than going for a curry with the guys and watching Sheffield Wednesday vs Preston with the missus (most of mates are Blades so she has to come with me).

But I am going to spend most of my birthday week in Nottingham at the DTD deepstack festival, starting at the £100 scalp event and possibly having a few beers at the tables (added value folks, come and get it) and deffo playing the PLO event on the Sunday. Which gets me to the point of this post:

Next Saturday is my 29th birthday and one away from possibly the most landmark of birthdays, the 30th. It's about now that most people go a bit crazy and try and make up for a wasted lifetime in 12 months and go skydiving/backpacking/working in a Donkey sanctuary etc – usually in the form of making a 'things to do before you are 30' list. I won't be making a list.

Thanks to poker, I managed to tick off a lot of things I probably would be adding to said list if I'd have stuck with my old office job, including being my own boss, getting out of debt, saving money and travelling the world. Although there is plenty in my life I haven't done, I'm very content with where I am and where I appear to be going.

Online cash is going ok, not brilliant, but ok and I've committed to making the next couple of years as much a learning experience as a moneymaking one. My writing is going better than I ever thought possible, I have to turn down work I get so many offers and I'm getting recognised at festivals on my writing work alone (which panders the old ego a bit) – I think maybe one day I want to write a book as it seems a logical step, but not a 'how to play poker' book as who needs another one of them?

But there is one thing that has been bugging me lately. I've just been reading up on Marty Smyth winning another PLO title on top of his WSOP bracelet, World Open Trophy and Irish Open Title and it reminded how there is one thing missing in my house – a trophy cabinet. It probably also has something to do with the fact that I am well into the Olympics at the moment and have been pondering on how sweet it would be to win a medal of any colour.

It's pure vanity, but I really want to win a live tournament for the sheer sake of winning a trophy and I am going to make it my aim before I am 30 (I will take a second/third place trophy too) to have something to put on the mantelpiece. I've won loads of online tournaments in the last few years and they are all about the money and nothing more plus I have made plenty of live finals, but I really have a hankering for a physical trophy and a title (ie. Dinnington Poker Masters 2009 Champion).

It's obviously very minus EV to want to play tournaments for this reason alone and potentially rejecting a good value tournament because no trophy is on the cards is totally stupid, but I’m sure that money would most likely come with it anyway unless I went OTT with it. But that is the aim for me before the big 3 0.

My priority will always be make a steady income and get money saved in the next year as it is right now, and online cash games will always take precedence over live tournaments, but my own personal quest will be to take down a ranking title before I’m 30. Not necessarily a massive one and to me this one had ‘side event’ written all over it rather than a GUKPT or a GBPT. I’ll still be playing those, mainly thanks to the good folks at VC Poker, but I’ll be using a bit of my own bankroll too for some more side events. DTDs deepstack seems a good place to start (winning a normal tourney at DTD wouldn’t count) and some of the side events at GUKPT Bolton next month also appeal.

It’s sad I know and totally goes against my mantra of turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, cash is king but its a demon I’d really like to exercise and if it makes me a bit of money along the way, then happy days.