My tournament life is on the line as I shove my short stack all in with 9/10 suited. The big blind snap calls and turns over American Airlines.

This is me getting my poker fix. It’s the annual foray into the heart of Nevada for some Texas Hold-em. That’s the extent of my trip. Despite all it has to offer I’ve yet to partake in anything remotely cultural. No Cirque show, not Penn and Teller, David Copperfield or even Carrot Top. Home to some of the nation’s finest dining, a good number of my meals this trip will be had off the felt. Bites of a reuben between hands, a greasy burger while waiting for the cowboys to land.

Let’s be clear, I’m no great player. I hold my own at our home games but am no more favoured to win than any of our other regulars. Across the table I’m not spying nervous glances sweating my dominant poker chops but outright laughter as my bluff is picked off and I’m sheepishly caught with my hand in the cookie jar.

Back in Vegas I’m getting schooled at the Venetian’s $130 tournament. I’m being broken down with surgical precision. I might as well be playing with my cards face up. The players are completely in my head and it takes them little over an hour to fleece me and kick me to the curb. It’s a wonder to watch, like breaching sharks feeding on hapless seals.

Then there’s the players with more money than sense. I have no idea why they’re sitting at the 1/2 small stakes when, for them, a $20 pre-flop raise is nothing more than a pot sweetener and $60 is a standard continuation bet. When I push with big slick I’m making the right call at the wrong time when their K7 off, two pairs and busts me out. But that’s poker.

That same rule applies when the suited connectors from earlier hits the flush on the river to crush the rockets of the good natured lady to my right in the photo (who made it to the threeway nonetheless). I’m in good tournament position to hit the final table which I manage to convert to a heads-up chop at the MGM. I manage a win the next day at Excalibar and with a couple of cash game sit and go sessions, my trip is completely covered.

It’s a great run this time out despite/because I’m travelling on my own. The usual crew can’t make my schedule and I couldn’t pass this small window of opportunity. Frankly Christina is a saint to even let me go. Not many wife’s would. It’s head clearing. I like the isolation and tinge of self-consciousness that comes with being on my own. Vegas standing in for Walden Pond. When everything is interpreted through the lens of self, every so often it’s good to clean the glass.