By nath on October 2nd, 2007 (more posts by author)

I didn't cash in the WCOOP main event, and as I've been saying for some time, I'm quitting tournaments for a while.

I just haven't been having fun playing tournaments lately. Instead, I've been feeling pressure to win, expectations of winning, and failure and disappointment as a result, not the fun, free-wheeling gambler's mentality you need to be successful in tournaments-- the ability to just roll with the punches and get your money in and try to push people out of pots-- and most importantly, [i]not be afraid to lose[/i].

Until I can start playing tournaments like that again, I'm not going to play them for a while. Instead, I'm going to try a steady grind at shorthanded and heads-up cash games. My expenses are low right now because I'm not travelling anywhere (at least not expectedly), so I'm just gonna move down to some lower-stakes games where I can regain my confidence, have fun, and not be afraid to play the way I need to play to win.

Reports from the journey forthcoming.