Before I write my next blog about my background in poker, I felt like I needed to write something more current. I recently decided to start playing more tournaments. Frankly, because I know a lot of guys that are doing pretty well in them that just aren’t very good and now that I’ve played a couple, I know it to be true for a lot of other mid-level tournament players. At least that has been my experience in the iNinja Main @ Canterbury Card Club in Shakopee, MN and the MSPT Regional at Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia, MN. The competition was definitely better at the iNinja, but even the ‘pros’ there made a ton of mistakes. However, what I had to remind myself was that you will not cash in most tournaments, no matter who you are. Also, you will go long and far between major cashes. It’s not that I’m completely new to tournaments. I played my fair share of online MTTs back in the day and did pretty good at them. I’ve also played in a few single-day, casino tournaments and one HPT Main in the mid-2000s. But I am a cash game player. I expect to see my results much more quickly than a tournament player. I’ve mentally prepared myself for these tournaments, but it takes constant reminding after I bust out. Maybe that is normal in the tournament world, but not so much in mine. With that said, it has been very fun and educational so far. I have really enjoyed the people I’ve met and have learned from them even if they don’t know it. I have to admit that I was disappointed in the MSPT setup, but I won’t rail on them. I just don’t think I’ll be back to the Grand Casino. Now, I am looking forward to my trip to Vegas to play in the WSOP-C at Bally’s. I know there will be better competition and more opportunity for me to learn and grow my tournament game. After that, I’ll be looking to play in the MSPT @ Meskwaki and hopefully some of the RunGood series once they are announced. I will also try to play any of the iNinja tournaments because I really enjoyed the structure, the players, and the founder, Issac. In between, I just plan to keep working on my tournament game and going deeper in the future. I really look forward to my first cash and my first final table. I know they are coming soon. Thanks again for the love and support! - Troy Sheets
