A Year In Review Delivered Over Days In Order to Demolish the Over/Under.

This time last year I was taking it on the chin at the tables. I had started online to play WWdN, a tournament that I have proved incapable of winning despite 3 or 4 final tables in at least 30 shots. I started a blog I thought to keep track of the money I was spending. I considered it a distant early warning to prevent me from becoming an addict or from reloading. In short order I found I liked writing in it just for the hell of it. In short order I found I liked writing.

It’s been interesting to see how many of my friends started just a little ahead of me. A year later, The New School is still looking good and running strong. To mark the 1st Anniversary of Flights, I thought I’d go month by month through the passed year at this blog and take note of the characters I’ve met along the way.

April 2006:
“I went on a journey of self-discovery this weekend on Pokerstars. Mostly I discovered I am an idiot.”

As true today as the day I put it down. Only three posts in the inaugural month and no comments at the time. I do vividly, somewhat self-consciously, recall writing those posts understanding there was little chance anyone other than myself would ever read them. I also remember feeling a little awkward about chatting at the blogger tournies because it always seems like everyone has known everyone forever. For anyone in that position now, I would submit most of the people you’re reading have serious psychological problems and can barely function in three dimensions. No need to be shy at all…

May 2006:

May began with E and Hoy dropping by Flights. E and I met across the table at WWdN (my first his second I think). Hoy and I met after I he accidentally bet into my aces while multi-tabling. He then proceeded to call me Lakaris, starting a trend that lasted weeks. I committed to starting the title of every post with the letter 'I', a fact I managed to do for 98 posts. A year later, I still consider these two guys a part of the inner circle.

Also of note, May 14th was the day I broke even as a poker player after starting 1200 in the hole dating back to the prior December. Jordan stopped by to let me know he liked my writing but couldn’t figure out what the hell I was talking about. Days of futures past indeed. Depsite enduring two truly mind-warping months where I have lost 3k in buyins and AA, KK, QQ cracked and cracked cruelly 15 times, I remain a net profitable player thanks to that glorious, FTOPS-run that was characterized by solid play and numerous dominated escapes. That it is now my turn to take it on the chin round after round despite playing reasonably well just goes to show that the math will always get you.

This was also the month where Flights really got noticed, thanks mainly to Trip, both for posting his now famous meme we all took a stab at, then pointing everyone my way to read my absurdist take on it. Bloody P’s comment on it was my favourite because it was a classic head-fake. It was here that Don, Mookie, Wes, Carmen and even the Waffler became names I looked for on a regular basis. With the idea that people were reading I began my quick plummet of the deep end.

May 17 was my first of many, many Mookies. It took me so long to win one of these mothas I may as well as just bribed Mookie to declare me a winner (would have been far more cost-effective).

June 2006:

Don lists me as a huge underdog in the Mookie and I final table it for the first time. The MWGB starts flexing its magic, but I remain slow on the uptake. Jordan starts the luck vs. skill meme that encircles us and howls like the Whirlwind. Mookie and I discover Don drives the DruggieBuggie. Having driven in it, I still can’t quite believe that fact. Hoff coins the phrase ‘Fear The Hoy!’ and I start droppin it like it’s hot. Felicia drops by to tell me I’ve turned her on (a trick damn few of you unwashed masses ever pulled off I bet). I suffer my first ridiculous MTT schooling at the hands of a donkee named smokkee. By now Jules and Kat are my honorary big sisters and Chris (WTF are you up to brotha?) is dropping by regularly when he isn’t swinging with his freaky neighbourhood.

Most importantly, June gave the pokahblogosphere a girl named Melinda. No I did not make her up. And no, I never really got tired of the ongoing surreality that was our online affair. Adding Waffles to the mix certainly signaled the end of it all. When Carmy and her started going at it…well, the end is always less tidy than the beginning of these things, no?

Okay enough for today.

MTF