Inside 72 Hours

Your all access pass to the 75k On the River Invitational continues. As Tournament time for the 75k Invitational draws near, I reflect on the past three weeks of my poker play and develop a game plan for the upcoming tournament. You can't control what type of table you draw or end up at but you can control how you play at it. My game plan for this tournament is as follows: if at an aggressive table, play fewer pots but play aggressively in the pots that I am involved; if at a passive table, play more pots and do more post-flop play. It is Tuesday night and I will not play any more until the tournament. The next two days will seem like a routine walk in the park to me: get up, go to work, eat dinner and go to my 2nd job of running poker tournaments and then going home; go to sleep and start the next day all over again.

We are now inside 24 hours before the tournament and I begin packing my bags for the trip. Loaded with my ipod, laptop, few days worth of clothing, & cash- I am ready for the trip. Before heading to bed, I do a final check of emails and check my boarding pass online for the flight to Vegas that I have become quite familiar with. My poker buddy Kozmo and I head to the airport and are on board swiftly within 90 minutes of us arriving at the Denver Airport; which can sometimes be a nightmare to get through. We are airborne at 7am MST.

It is 9am and we are checked into our room at Harrahs. Registration is in a few hours and I'm abuzz with eager anticipation of getting a good tournament play time. This tournament's Day 1 will be divided into 3 sessions and the top 200 will advance from each session into Day 2. Amid the rugged pace the last 96 hours, the flu bug has hit me and all of my energy is sapped. I end up sleeping most of the day and barely get to registration before it closes for the day. I end up getting my wish and draw the 10am flight for the next day and will be able to maintain a normal sleep, eat and play schedule. As part of my pre-tourney/tournament ritual, I vow to not gamble too heavy or play past 8pm before or during tournament play. As an avid gambler, I have experienced the agonies of heavy losses in the pit, regular table gaming area and this has affected my tournament play. So, to not tempt fire or flirt with danger, I have chosen to abide by my own 8pm gambling curfew. If I am with Kozmo, I tell him to make sure by 8pm that I am back in the room or not on the gaming floor in any way. Thus far this year, I have done well by adhering to my self-imposed curfew. Another one of my "isms" or Cheweyisms is to not eat buffets or eat heavy on tournament play days, so that my energy level and alert levels stay consistent and to prevent the crash caused from carbohydrates/starches in foods. Following these "isms" will not guarantee that you will play well but will place you in a better position to perform well in optimal conditions. I'm off to bed, come back for Day 1 of the 75k Invitational.

I'll leave a spot for you at the table,
Chewey