Two weeks from getting my bar exam results, shitting bricks. Poker wise, I was trying to figure out whether I should keep playing stud w/o the cryptos or switch to something else.

After the last year, I am closer than ever to switching to something else.

Was playing .50/1 I think...and donkaments...had $10k roll or so. Now the roll is $40K (plus I have given the wife approx $10k) and I have started taking shots at 3/6.

then:

- i think it was about a year ago that i was living in japan interviewing for the job i currently have (and love).

- iirc, party had just closed its doors to US players, and i was registered as a US player. this was devastating for plo8 players - the poker world was effectively turned on its head. it was difficult enough to find times to play when i was in japan (conflicted with work hours), and the party withdrawal just killed poker for me.

- my mother-in-law had a relapse of cancer. my wife went back to korea to take care of her mom for a few months.


now:

- i love my job, and i love living in the US again.

- an ecology of plo8 games and players has developed at full tilt, and i actually think the ecology is "healthier" and more dynamic than it was at party. i'm able to play much more now.

- the good news is that the cancer treatment for the mother-in-law was "successful", and the survival rate is 80% chance of 10 years or more.

- one sucky think about where i live now is that the internet connection is really flaky. as such, i usually have to go to a cafe somewhere to play long sessions of poker.

- one thing i've noticed about btp is that there are A LOT more mid-stakes players (400-1000 buy-in) than there were last year -- and the amount of money made is pretty obscene. good job, btp!!!