A glimmer of hope

I haven't made much progress settling that staking problem I've had. Unfortunately it seems that guy has no real intention to do anything about, and I can't really force him. I can't even pursue a lawsuit given that my friend (who's a lawyer) said that most gambling contracts are unenforceable. He doesn't think I could win. I'm probably just going to be stuck the whole $40k.
On the bright side, I'm actually winning at poker again. My bankroll is in a precarious state though, so some people have offered to loan me money if I get too low. I'm grateful for their support, but I really hope it doesn't come to that. Gambling with borrowed money is dangerous, because its not like you have steady income. If you lose, you're just in a deeper hole than you started in. If I get really low, it might be time to get a job. It's tough to imagine being on a normal 9-5 schedule again. It would take a lot to get adjusted. I might pursue a propping job at a casino if that's the case. The extra hourly income should be enough to stabilize the short term swings. It wouldn't be a bad idea to just work and then play poker on the side though. I'll have to make that decision if I go on another downswing.
Honestly though, I think I'll be ok as long as I don't let myself get screwed out of another huge chunk of money again. I know what my winrate is at different forms of poker, so I can just choose the lowest variance routes for a while until I rebuild some.

I have another staking deal set up, but this time I'm much more careful about it. Even though I trust this person a lot more than the last, I'm being more cautious as well. I make sure the marker is under his name. It looks there is no problem for now though, I played and got paid out cash. That's close to the idea situation to not get screwed. Basically, since the marker is in his name, they go to him for money, but give me the cash when I win. That allows me to make sure the money is split in a fair manner. It helps that the guy staking me has been very fair and equitable in my past dealings with him.

As I write this, I'm waiting for a friend to come pick me up. It's gonna be my first trip to vegas in quite some time. I'm pretty excited actually, although I don't really know why. It's not like I'm actually going for a particular reason. Maybe I'm just happy to get away from the LA scene for a bit. I dunno.

I'm just really hoping my bankroll is healthy for the WSOP, because I don't want a repeat of last year where I don't have a big piece of myself in anything. I really feel like I'm gonna win a bracelet, I've been close so several times, but needed to catch a break in the end stretch and couldn't do it. This time I feel like I'm even better than before, and not just in pure technical ability. I feel like I have better tilt control this time, and I know how to manage my time during the WSOP better. Things are stacked up for my corner this year, if the cards fall my way, I know I'm ready to take it down.

I'll see across the felt.
Bryce

March Update, with a bit more.

March	Cash Games	Live	($53,514.00)
		Online	$0.00
	Tournaments	Live	$3,935.00
		Online	$0.00
	Poker		($49,579.00)
	Staking		($1,410.00)
	Other Gambling		$4,012.00
	Month's Expenses		($400.00)
	Net on month		($47,377.00)

This looks a lot worse than it is.

First off I didn't actually lose 50k in cash games, but it's complicated. The short story is that I got staked in a really big poker game and lost. Due to a few communication issues, my backer is disputing the loss with me and thinks I should be responsible for 40k. I think that's absurd, but unfortunately I think it's gonna go the wrong way for me and I'm going to be out 40k. Hopefully it works out, or at least we come to some sort of settlement. I'm really tilted about this whole thing, and it's made me really jaded about doing any kind of financial transaction in the poker world. Maybe I learned this time, god knows it's happened enough times for me to know better.

Aside from that, this happens to be coinciding with a cash game downswing. Given I've been selling out my action in the bigger buying tournaments I've done well in, this all adds up into a pretty crappy month for me. Even if I somehow got all my money back from this 40k dispute, I would still be in the hole like 7.5k.

The only good news is that I feel like I'm playing amazingly well. I know I'll turn it around in poker, I'm just hoping I do so before the WSOP starts because my bankroll is hurting right now. I really don't want to sell off as much action as I did last year. I'm owed a fair chunk of change right now too, most of the people who owe are doing their best to pay me back, but simply can' pay the whole sum at once.

Luckily, I've done pretty good in my other gambling, mostly chinese poker. I also got set up with a 50% rakeback poker account online at a small site that still serves US customers, and they have some pretty decent games running. I haven't tried cashing out yet, but some other people I know have, and haven't had any trouble. If that all works out, I could make some pretty decent money playing online.

Anyways, March has been a really stressful month for me, I'm kinda glad it's over. I learned a few life lessons this time. Hopefully I'll run a bit better and make some better life decisions in the upcoming month.

I'll see you across the felt.

BRyce