The Mansion promotion and "The Art of Poker"

First about the Mansion promotion: It was a huge success for everyone. The Pittsburgh win made 5,000 people happy and somewhat richer. Thanks to Miami for the missed challenge call. This TD was the key IMHO - after that the Dolphins handed the game over to Pittsburgh.

(Source: NFL.com)

I had decided to hedge the game and I'm still happy with the decision. It was much better for my health and I enjoyed the game much more. I can imagine the pain of all who had PIT -4.5 without a hedge. The interception TD must have been a great relief for them. Even with the hedge I was more on the PIT side as I hedged it to win $551 with PIT but only $408 with MIA. So I'm more than happy with the result.

We will never know if everything would have gone o.k. with the refund but anyway - I cashed out after the game and I received the money about three hours later. I could imagine they had a lot of withdrawls to handle so they showed real class here. Mansion went from "not-so-important-to-look-at" on the top of my list (right after FullTilt and PokerStars). I'm not doing much sportsbetting anymore but having somebody in the portfolio like Mansion who offers poker and sportsbetting is a real good thing.

And now something about poker: In a few hours I will be on my way to Schenefeld for a great two day tournament with very player friendly conditions. I will meet some people again and some I just know from the internet so this will be a great weekend regardless of the result.
But being out for dancing last night some thoughts came to my mind. You may know that dancing is my second (or better first) passion. And I consider dancing a form of art. For me it's not just movement to the music its the way to interpret what happens in the music. Pick up the flow and go with it. As I said in a post before you have to learn the basics first but as you improve you can put them aside and concentrate on the connection between the music and your feelings. And if you get to this stage you will experience how the music together with your movements can create something special and unique.
I encountered that this is similar in poker. You have to master the basics first. But beyond that point you have to pick up the rhythm and the flow of the game. You can't control the flow of the cards and you can't tell if you're on a cold or a hot streak before the streak is over. But you can evaluate your circumstances: the other players, the room were you are, the stage of the tournament, the overall atmosphere etc. All those things together with the (good or bad) cards you receive are your "music". Pick up this "music" and find your own way to move to it. If you get the right connection to your "music" then you will be able to get good results (regardless of your cards). This is what I call "the art of poker"

Hopfully I will be able to feel comfortable with the "music" played today and tomorrow... ;-))