I won tonight.

I’m not sure, but I think I have taken down 4 out of 5 of the last home games I have played. It might me 4 out of 6.

I used to play a lot more than I do now for various reasons before I met my girlfriend. None of them have to do with her. I did a bit better than average. Enough to stay in the positive, enough to keep playing, not enough to quit my day job.

When I first started playing poker, I kept a spreadsheet of wins and losses, and the graphs were fun to look at, but at some point this seemed like work. Especially once I started factoring in time. I’d sit a table for literally 10+ hours and come home with and extra $200. Not bad money, but you also have to factor in the times I lost as much cash in a lot less time. Once I figured it out, I factored my hourly rate of earning somewhere around $6 an hour. This alone was enough to make me want to quit. But then a friend pointed out, “If someone wanted to pay me $6 an hour to play a game I enjoy, I’d do it” Good advice.

I gave up on the idea of the spreadsheet. Started just throwing whatever I came back with in a bucket, casino or home game, didn’t matter. This was also my change bucket. The pocket coins went right in there. When I wanted to play, I’d drop my credit cards and my debit card in the bucket, and grab how much ever I was willing to lose that day. This went on for some time, then my transmission went out on my car. I was able to pay for nearly half of it out of this bucket.

I forget to start the story where I started this whole thing after winning like 3 home games in a row. My initial investment was $20. The graph went up slowly until i gave up on it, but it was going up!

Anyway, after I met my girlfriend, I’d still play the occasional home game. I was on what they call a losing streak though. So I don’t think she got why I liked playing, The way I figured it, and still do, I get to spend an evening doing something I enjoy, playing a game that still probably averages me about $6 an hour, but with these wins behind me, and least she doesn’t have to wonder why I bang my head against a frustrating game that I was losing.

I’d have to lose like next 12 home games to erase my losses. Possible, but improbable.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the tag line, I think I only took home like $340 tonight. The rest was cash I had ready to play in the cash game after I was knocked out. I didn’t dip into it, so I really feel flush (poker pun). It’s all going to be spent on crap for the house. I’ve even abandoned the bucket at this point. I’m going to take some time off from playing after this win. you can’t lose if you don’t play.

And I don’t feel like losing.

Laters.

Message to the girlfriend: Good morning! I’ll call when I wake up. Or come up when you feel like it.