NEW ENDINGS

A new year signifies new beginnings, which is why, I suppose, so many people like it.

Throw out the old and bring in the new!

What do you do with your old things? Things like clothes, projects or even ideas? Do they sit on a shelf packed away in a box, or filed away in some type of folder gathering dust? What happed to that book you were going to write? How about the idea for that song? Where are those pounds you were going to lose last year? Are they tucked away under new layers of fat or did you in fact free those excess pounds from your body?

Lots of questions to ask and answer in the coming days as the New Year slowly fades into this year.

In looking at all the questions above perhaps the most important one isn’t there; How is the way I do things going to be different this year? If I don’t change how I do something, what I do doesn’t matter. Things will pretty much turn out the same way. Whatever I start may get lost in the efforts I need to put in the middle of doing something or another idea will go to waste.

Beginning something has always come fairly easy for me. It seems I have an idea a minute floating around in my head. So it’s easy to see how one can fall out and I start doing something about it.

Let’s see, what have I started recently? Well, writing this blog is one. Getting a wild idea to go on a poker cruise is another. I started cleaning out my closet. I’m beginning new relationships.  These are a few of the projects I’ve started recently.  Tasks, which are a part of projects, I’m really good at starting, managing and bringing to completion cause the timeframe is so short. But the larger piece, the project itself, I sometimes get diverted somewhere in the middle.

The middle part of something, like managing or maintaining whatever it is I start, has always been a bit of a challenge for me. I may start off like gangbusters, but somewhere around the middle, (perhaps when the hard work or discipline of something comes in) I find myself diverting my time and efforts elsewhere.

One must be careful not to start something new as a way of substituting facing the old thing that they were working on. Whatever the reason we get diverted, perhaps it becomes tediously boring, challenging, or just too damn hard to be worth doing, the excuse or reason we come up with is really at the root of who we are.  

It’s easy to start reading a book, but getting through the character and story development one can fall asleep or put the book down and look for something more interesting. I’ve been taught that there’s a big difference between being interesting and being interested. At the middle point of something, instead of looking to be entertained, perhaps I can focus on being interested in what is going on.

Once you get thru the middle of the book, project, etc., completing it would seem quite easy. Yet “ending off,” completing something can be the most challenging of all the 3 stages of doing something. There’s emptiness, nothingness or a void that we like to avoid at all costs.

Interesting to note: I’m having a difficult time ending off this blog post. I’ve even broken one of the rules in this 31 day challenge by editing. Ugh!

Endings and new beginnings, that’s what it’s all about as far as I can tell. As one year ends new one begins. Same is true whether we are talking about a task, project, relationship or the day itself. Embrace endings and new beginnings and make the best of it. Let me end off by saying this:

The dawn of a new year and a new day is a beautiful thing to experience.  Now let’s get into the challenge of managing it.

Enjoy the Journey!

Kenna

THE RESTING HURDLE

So I hit my first obstacle in my daily blog writing challenge. Instead of getting up early and penning my blog, I diverted into doing morning chores. It’s now 1:00 in the afternoon and my normal morning inspiration has left me. But like any challenge, there are going to be difficulties and hurdles to overcome, so I will stumble along like a runner in a marathon who has just developed an irritating inner leg rash.

I played the $250 NL event Deepstack at Venetian here in Las Vegas yesterday. I got there 30 mins late, hadn’t eaten and wasn’t feeling physically at my best. I’m just getting back on my feet after having been sick the past couple of weeks. So I got to my table ordered some food to eat and started reading Card Player magazine while I viewed and pitched almost every hand into the muck. Coincidentally the cards I were getting were as cold as my approach was to the game this day. I ended up losing my discipline and called a multi-limp pot in MP with Td3d, flopped a flush draw and getting it all in against a player who flopped 2 pair. I whiffed and was out after only 5 levels of play. My exit was actually a welcome relief, as I was feeling weaker by the hour. I obviously didn’t realize I was not in competitive shape when I made my way to the casino. Because my energy was low I just didn’t have the strength to battle through.

So one of the reasons for my late start today is that I slept in, trying to get some well needed rest. It’s hard when you’re used to running around everyday in this fast paced world to slow down and allow your body the rest it is telling you it needs. Getting sick may be one of the notifications the body uses to tell us to slow down.

I didn’t head down for day 1B today of the 200k guarantee tournament at Venetian.

I’ve learned my lesson and am staying home, resting and regaining my strength. Instead I’ll use the time to deal out some flops and practice some challenging situations that have come up in the past and better prepare myself for tournaments ahead. I also want to work on my backgammon game. My brother sent me some great resources to do that.

What is it about games that I love so much? I suppose I love the challenge that they present. Not just the challenge of defeating the other player(s), but in discovering and confronting my own personal obstacles and challenges that I have to overcome in order to win. I believe any game can teach you great things about yourself if you let it. In learning to overcome those challenges you become more then just a better player in the game, but the best become better people as well.

I have 12 more words in which to reach my 500 word goal and this last sentence put me over the top of that hurdle today. I’m sure there will be another one somewhere along the track, but with each day of showing up I’m gaining more strength and confidence that I’ll win the race.

Enjoy the Journey!

Kenna

ROLE PLAYING

ROLE PLAYING

I played $2-5 and $5-10 at Venetian yesterday booking a $750 win in 2 hours of play. I only played a couple of hours because I got a late start (around 10 pm) and was feeling tired around midnight.

I didn't play my role of poker player very long, because most of the day I played the role of friend, helping someone else move. Isn’t that always fun? It wasn’t that bad actually. In between stops I salvaged my sanity by playing Backgammon on my phone. Helping someone move I think is just one of the tasks that the role of friend is almost obligated to do. As is picking up or driving someone to the airport. It's not something we like to do, but something of an obligation that goes with that particular role.

Role playing is something we all do to survive in life. Whether that role is Friend, Husband, Doctor, C.E.O., Wife or Poker Player, there are things that are great about the role and then there are things that keep us wondering what the hell we're doing playing the part. I wondered actually as I looked around the room, how many people were aware of the different roles they play in life. And if they were for what reason? Oftentimes I’ll ask someone at the table “what do you do?” out of curiosity of their chosen path of survival. Knowing how a person spends the bulk of their day can tell you a lot about a person and how they'll play poker. I have found that oftentimes what a person does off the table affects how they play on the table.

Most of the people I played with last night did not see themselves playing the role of poker player. That playing poker was actually some form of escape from their normal, everyday role in life. 

Poker is the type of game that appears to be quite social, yet offers you the opportunity to zone out or cave in to your own personal space. It’s a game where there’s hours of boredom followed by moments of sheer terror, forcing one out of their hole just long enough to remember their alive.

I had one such moment last night in the 5-10 game. I decided to open-limp UG with QQs and slow play them by flatting to a raise and a call, something I rarely do out of position. The flop came 8-9-4 rainbow and I checked. The initial raiser bettor bet 80 and the caller flatted. I then check-raised to 240 with 3k behind. The raiser now makes it 580 with 2500 behind and the flatter tank-folds (probably JT). I can’t see working my way through this hand to the river by flatting here, so it seems to me that my play is to raise or fold if I think I’m beat. Looking at my opponent I couldn’t tell, so I faulted on the side of aggression. I re-raised to 1180 to either get value and protect the best hand or perhaps get a bigger pair to lay down fearing a set of 88’s or 99’s by 4 betting and the size of my raise. It looked like I was baiting and wanting to get it all-in. The question is; if he shoves do I call? I don’t know. If he did I could only beat TTs or JJs and it would seem rather crazy for someone to make such a move on a 5 bet, so probably not. But I didn’t leave myself much room to fold committing almost half his stack with my bet. It was a tough spot to be in, but one that thankfully went my way and contributed to me having a winning night.

I'm reminded as I write this that "winning" in any game requires playing that role well. Whatever the game or your role in life, play it well my friends. No matter the game (Marriage game, Business game, etc.) if you can't play your role well, have the courage to pick up and leave the game. Remember, sometimes folding is the best play.

Kenna James

WEAK ADVANTAGE

I had a really awesome New Years Eve this year. The evening festivities were fun, taking in the Maroon 5 concert at Mandalay Bay and strolling the outskirts of the Las Vegas blvd. watching the fireworks overhead. It was a great time of celebration and dancing in the streets with good friends.

The day started out with me playing doubles tennis with 3 tennis pros! Wow, what a treat to play with such talent. Everyone wanted to put something on the match and of course me being the weakest link, my team needed a spot. We settled on the spot of my partner and I starting out 1 game up and 15-0 every game for the match. Alas it was not enough and we went down in flames 2-6 / 3-6. Although I lost the match, I was reminded of  a valuable lesson I learned in poker early on:

Play at a level in which you can successfully compete with your competition.

What our pro opponents did that I quickly recognized is make very few mistakes. They excelled in execution. Nothing fancy, but basically just kept hitting the ball back, (mainly to me of course!), focusing on the weak link in the chain.

Whether playing live or tournament poker, focusing on the weak links at the table is where your profit is made. Whether your missing a shot in tennis or making an unprofitable call or bet in poker, the result is the same, a loss and a gain.

My personal challenge early on in poker was accepting that I was involved in a competition and in competition my job was to defeat the other players. More specifically, to play profitable poker my job as I came to learn it was to beat up on the weak and take their money.

I resisted this and avoided this every opportunity and as a result paid a heavy price.

Instead of going after the weak players, like some idealistic robin hood, I would search out the better players and go after them. Instead of looking for the weaker games, I would look for and play in the biggest game in the room in some egotistical show of brazenness that oftentimes left me battered and bruised with a big slice of humble pie.

Growing up with a sister with downs provided special challenges. Oftentimes my family and I were the butt of jokes and made fun of by the other kids in the neighborhood. We were shunned in many circles of a small town. I remember one incident in 3^rd grade in particular in which another student was being beat up on and I lashed out and dove in to fight the bully’s. A rare show of courage at my young age, but I was so fed up of others beating up on those who couldn’t adequately protect themselves.

I found these personal feelings and considerations carried over into my budding career as a poker player. Standing up to pros at the poker table was like standing up to the bully’s in school. I couldn’t differentiate the two and oftentimes left the poker room with nothing but lint in my pockets.

One thing these losses did provide me with is thicker skin. I also developed the courage to stand up and compete with the best, as I had to improve my technique and skills in order to survive. Quitting was not an option for me as I also agreed with the philosophy “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

I learned that if you’re going to play with the pros, you better have a pretty big spot or advantage going into the match. That advantage lies in the skill of application of the knowledge you acquire in playing the game. I may have lost a lot of money learning the game, but I acquired a lot of knowledge sitting and playing with some of the best.

Kenna

http://goinswriter.com/my500words/

I awoke to an email that inspired me to pick up my pen (keyboard) and begin writing my blog again. I enjoy writing even though it holds many challenges for me. The discipline of writing on a consistent basis and my faulty grammar being a couple of them. I also tend to fall on the perfectionist side when it comes to doing anything, so the fear of putting something out in public that is not perfect, but flawed with incomplete thoughts, sentences and rambling gibberish (that none could possibly make sense of or find interesting) also finds me the victim with a dry pen.  

The challenge in the email, which sent me to the link above, was to write 500 words a day for 31 days. 

It sounds simple enough, but in my experience following through with anything for 31 days, is quite a challenge.

One of the ways of overcoming that challenge is to not allow myself to over-think, analyze or edit what I'm writing. 

Instead, I am to tap into my spirit and allow the words to flow from whatever inspires me at the moment. And so without further delay in explaining what I'm doing, let me get on to doing it. 

It feels like I'm jumping into a pool of cold water, still in the air, but already committed to the impending doom of the cold water that awaits below.

I have high expectations for myself in playing poker in 2014.  I just turned 50 a couple of weeks ago and am now officially qualified for any senior poker event. For some reason these fields are perceived as weaker. With a field filled with experienced players I'm not quite sure why that is the case. I suppose that most feel that us older players have lost a step. That we've become passive and fearful in our approach to the game and that leads to a cautiousness and tentativeness in playing our hands. In my experience being overly cautious, passive or tentative in competition does lead to defeat.

How can one who has experienced great loss not become cautious or tentative? It would only seem natural and would also explain why someone who is 21 and has not experienced loss of any significance would face the game with such reckless abandon.  When the two combine in battle (experience vs. youth) an interesting non verbal dialogue goes on. Now having been on both sides of the fence, I hear it more clearly. I see the "young gun" make this bold and brash play while the elder statesman shakes his head in disbelief while saying to himself "if he only knew what awaits." Ironically the young gun sends back the consideration "Foolish old man. Risk or Rust baby!" The bottom line is that each is risking at a level that is acceptable to them based on their own individual experience.

We've all won and lost in poker. In my book it's how you handle each that determines who you are. 

What happens when I win? And I've been winning a lot lately. Well, it's quite different now then when I first started that's for sure. I'll be writing about my wins and what I do and the experiences that come with being a winner.

What happens when I lose? I've been given an interesting perspective on loss by my mentor Eddie Walters. "Winning tells you what you're attached to, but it is in losing you discover who you are." Adopting that consideration has allowed me to see loss in a different light. To not take loss as a negative, but rather a positive and in doing so not see it as "bad." Instead I view loss now as a learning opportunity. One in which allows me to grow both personally and professionally as both a poker player and a human being. Without the fear of loss of money hanging in the balance, even at 50 I have the courage necessary to compete at the highest levels. These blog entries will be the story of that journey.

Enjoy the Journey!

Kenna

The Hero, the Villain and the Sheriff

 

I witnessed an interesting hand play out tonight in a 2-5 No Limit game at the Red Rock Casino. I’ll change the names of the players involved, hitherto be named:  The Hero, The Villain and The Sheriff.

Our “Hero” opens the pot from EP with a raise to 30. The Villain in MP, makes it 90 to go and the Sheriff in LP, comes along for the ride. This re-opens the betting for our Hero, who promptly 4 bets it to 285, which sends the villain into “the tank.” After 2 solid minutes of heavy thought and asking how much each player has behind, he moves all-in for 1k. The sheriff, with a shrug of the shoulders, reluctantly puts in his remaining 600 into the middle, which sends the action now over to our Hero once again.  Who, by the way, is sitting on pocket Kings! Put your self in this situation now and in 30 seconds, decide what to do. Go!

The reason I gave you 30 seconds was because that is what our Hero had before he quietly mucked his hand. Knowledge and experience of playing with the villain surely helped him in this spot, but still it is a tough spot and that surely will put to test ones discipline. Remember, you’re staring at a pot that has over 2k in it and you have two kings!

A nice lay down was made by our Hero, as the villain, after being called by the sheriff, reveals AA. The sheriff, in true form, flips over A6 of spades. The board ran out A-6-7-3-3 and our villain shot the sheriff, but not our Hero. Who, by the way, quietly got up a couple of minutes later and took a walk, before returning to play with a clear presence of mind.

There are a couple of valuable lessons to learn from this hand and I hope you’ll take them with you when you play.

Kenna James

Professional Player and Coach

www.kennajames.com