Downswing.

I have been going through a bit of a downswing over the last few weeks, biggest bet I had this year was as fail and the biggest tournament I played this year was also a fail. Add to that I lost a small bit online and a few bad results in live cash and things have gotten a bit tight for me.

Taking all that into consideration I just took a break for a few days and decided to get fit. I do this every few months, that is I decide to get fit, not actually get fit. This time is different I hope, I've gone at it with the usual gusto that I tear into anything new to me. In the last 72 hours I have joined a gym brought the kids swimming, started to bring the dog on long brisk walks and joined a yoga class.

The plan is that I go to the gym 4/5 times a week, bring the kids to the pool at least once a week and give this yoga crack a go. My first yoga session was last night and I have to say I really enjoyed it, I have had a bad back ever since I started playing football and both my hamstrings are in bad shape so I really think I will benefit from it. Yoga is a little like poker in so far as you need a lot of patience and if you get a good seat draw you'll enjoy it a lot more.

Since my last post I also attended the funeral of Sean Gregory. All funerals are sad affairs but the funeral of a young person (Sean was 43) its particularly tough. There was a massive turn out and a good few lads from the poker circuit turned up. Sean was a real character in Irish poker, one thing I will always remember about him is is genuinely  loved to see the lads he was with doing well.
He was in my corner the first time I ever played a omaha tournament, I had luckboxed my way to the last 2 players and after watching some of my questionable plays he came to the conclusion that the only chance I had against Big Al was if Al got drunker than he already was. Sean kept buying him drinks but the bar closed and after a while big Al did in fact turn around the chip deficit after a long battle and win.

He will be a massive loss to the live circuit, there are not many people around with the type of infectious enthusiasm that Sean had, even after he got very sick he was very upbeat about the whole thing and had a positive out look on life. He must of known he did not have long left.  Talking to one of Sean's close friends a few months ago in Newcastle he told me that the warnings were there that something was seriously wrong for years but Sean did not get it checked out properly.  By the time he did it was too late, maybe it would have made little difference we will never know now.
R.I.P. Sean