I have lots of poker content to blog about, including another decent win at the International in PLO cash - £1500 at £1/2 PLO in six hours - but I wanted to get some personal stuff in there.

In eleven days I'm going on my first poker trip of the year, which I'm massively looking forward to. Cmyr, Joe, Supersnort and I are all going to Paris for the Paris Open of Poker, at which I 'won' (favourable chop, then played it out and I won the trophy) a round-of-each event. It's held at the Aviation Club de Paris, which is a beautiful, old building on the Champs Elys©e. Isabelle Mercier used to run it. When I was last there, it looked like it was hectic, mad, disorganized, French, but in fact it was run pretty smoothly. The French are also, on the whole, rather donky - any French out there reading this blog, don't take offence. I remember a hand of a‚¬2-2 holdem, with a raise preflop and a call, checked round on flop and turn, and the preflop raiser shoves all-in for something like a‚¬250 into the a‚¬20 pot and gets called reasonably quickly by ace-high, which was good. They love their small pocket pairs, their flopped middle pairs, their draws on paired boards in PLO, and tilt very Gallicly. Which is to say, loudly and with flair. When quizzed on why he didn't want to come, a friend explained that he didn't like the french - jokingly, of course (I actually really like the french, on the whole, and would love to live in Paris for a year or so). My response was standard: they make bad poker players and good cheese, and I'm a massive fan of both. That line of argument almost convinced him to come!

So it's the cash games over there that really appeal to me, though I do intend to play a couple of their a‚¬500 tournaments. If the structures are good, and I remember them being so, and the opposition is as donky as in previous years, my expectation is probably near enough a‚¬1500 if I'm playing well.

We're at the festival from the 28th to the 5th - missing the main event, which would be a pretty big shot at a‚¬2k. Even if we hadn't prebooked the eurostar, I don't think any of us would even be trying the satellites. The reason being that we're actually missing what may be a similarly juicy festival in London at the same time, at the international. We're back in London on the 5th. The main event is much more affordable than Paris - £500. I've been playing tournaments pretty well recently but success has evaded me. It's entirely reasonable for me to hit a big score pretty soon, with the intention of breaking from both of my stakes in the next few months. That said, I've been running pretty good for the last six months or so, which means my comeuppance is due soon.....

So, for the miscellaneous part. My friend Stuart recently had his second child, another baby boy, called Freddie. Congratulations to Stuart - one or two of you may know him. He was telling me the other night about how his first boy, Max, had been incredibly naughty and generally difficult since finding out another was on the way. Apparently he asked his dad a couple of weeks ago 'when the new baby arrives, am I going to have to live with someone else?' When Stu told me this, I shed a tear and felt incredibly moved. Not much makes me cry - Of Mice And Men, The Kite Runner (which I just finished), and this, is all that comes to mind. Having previously thought of myself as emotionally sterile, albeit a good few years ago, it's nice to be reminded of the fact that I am capable of being deeply affected by these sorts of things. There was a certain sadness, empathic, I think, in considering how that child must feel - but at the same time, I was happy, but it's difficult to put my finger on exactly why.

Stuart has recommended a book to me, given our recent and lengthy discussions on poker psychology - Kill Tilt Now. He says that there's not much in there that, having read Tommy Angelo, I wouldn't know already, but that it reinforces what we already know in an effective way and introduces the practice of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming). I already actually took a couple of hours of NLPish training about eight months ago, and it helped on a basic level, the idea of calm and taking everything in around me, rather than having a billion different thoughts rushing through my head and not having anything settle, not having any focus. Apparently this book will (with practice) help my tilt issue - and I still have one, as does everyone to some extent, whatever they tell you. Apart from the fact that, if there's anyone out there who doesn't tilt, they don't need to tell you, if someone claims they don't tilt, they've just been running good for a long while.

I'm currently reading a book that, to my shame, I've not read yet, despite having owned for almost a year while playing live lots - Joe Navarro, 'Read'em and reap'. I felt it important to make a commitment to myself, having burnt out on books for a few months at the end of last year: I will only ever read one book at a time; if I'm reading a book for any professional purposes, I will take notes. This way I can absorb and internalize ideas without having to reread the book; which means that the second time, I know the material, and am reading so that I truly understand the concepts and reasoning behind it, as opposed to my previous method, which was to read, think 'oh that's nice, I like that' and forget about it entirely and/or completely misapply the advice next time a situation requires. If these musings interest you, I'd advise you to read some Schoonmaker, specifically 'Your Best Poker Friend'.

That's enough uncoordinated ramblings for now, I feel. I'll sign off with the admission that my 'new poker video format!!!' appears to have failed, or simply requires more planning and effort that I'm prepared to put in at this stage, so will be shelving it for the time being. I've not quite done as much work as I've promised, which means that by the time I leave for Paris I intend to have recorded four videos for Cardrunners, all live sessions, as well as having written at least one more article for Poker Player UK.

GGWPNH, ttyl.