Trett Digest Volume 21

Once again I’ve left it too long since my last update. I guess that’s partly down to nothing hugely exciting happening here in my life but more so down to a lack of motivation that all bloggers suffer with from time to time. I’m now into my sixth year running FTP though and I’m determined to keep updates going on some level and not let all the hard work just get lost in cyberspace.

When I made my last update (21^st February 2014) I was at McCarran International Airport preparing to fly back to the UK, but I made a last minute decision to reschedule my flight until Monday 24^th February and spend the weekend with Martin Amer and his mackem stag-do boys. This was a decision I’m very pleased I made as I subsequently went on to meet a number of top class boys who I now consider to be good friends. The highlight of the weekend was heading to Marquee Nightclub over at Cosmopolitan on the Friday night, getting VIP bottle service and relaxin’ in a good vibe with good people. The rest of it was made up of playing poker in Caesars Palace, eating some nice food and shopping for presents for family.

I've now been back from Vegas for a little over a month, so I’ll give all my fans a quick rundown of what’s been happening this side of the Atlantic. A common theme I’m sure readers have picked up on is I often discuss openly that I’m trying to get in shape. In Sydney I was down to around twelve stone and felt fantastic but the exercise and diet required for that was never sustainable. I’m now a little shy of fifteen stone but still feel pretty good, I’m getting to boot camp once/twice a week and playing football two/three times a week, so I have my exercise in line but my diet needs a lot of work. I’m constantly eating Greggs or McDonalds for lunch and takeaways for dinner, no amount of exercise can counter a terrible diet. Overall I’m kind of okay with where I’m at right now fitness wise and I’ve just took on a ridiculous challenge for April. I’m doing a four week Insanity program starting Monday 31^st March with my boy Gaz, which is six mornings per week (Monday – Saturday) 6:45-7:30 of high intensity workouts. It’s going to be so tough but the fruits will be so rewarding. Love the challenge and love the pain. #garysidneyfitness

I’m also staying dry throughout all of March and April which I’m hoping will go a long way towards helping maintain my fitness and more importantly my commitment to this Insanity program. Poker will also be taking a back seat while I really concentrate on Insanity during April and my next game will be when the WPT visits Newcastle in Aspers on the 1^st May. It’s effectively a £660 buy-in as I will be playing all three start days. I’m excited about this and with a top prize expected to be around £30,000 it’s definitely enough to get the adrenaline going. #worldpokertour #letsplay #spin

Speaking of poker and I’m always surprised at how quick tournament poker is evolving in such a short time, it’s taking me a bit of time to adjust. Poker is certainly becoming less and less attractive as a means for making any money if you consider how just about everybody’s hourly rates have been undeniably affected over the last few years. I am a firm believer that with the current state of the industry, it would be a very poor decision for anybody young and unestablished to try to take poker really seriously. The variance is just so incredibly remarkable. Myself and other players from my generation were so fortunate with the timing of our entry into poker. 2002/2003 was a time when the economy was good and people were uneducated about the game. From talking with other friends and players around the world including UK, Australia and the USA recently, almost all agree that it would be a most daunting task to try to build from the ground up right now. #hardwaytomakeaneasyliving

Away from the poker table as I mentioned last October I’ve been sports trading. This is something I’m taking seriously and really enjoying. Like poker it comes with its challenges as trading conditions seem to be evolving rapidly. I struggle to motivate myself to trade alone so usually out on the road I pair up with Steve Brennan, Mark Nicholas, Dan McSkelly and on occasions Andy Blair. All of which are good crack and help the day go easier.

I’ll wrap things up with that and I’m likely to report back around the beginning of May to let you all know if I’m ultra-toned/ripped from Insanity and how I got on when the WPT visits Newcastle.

That’s all for now. #lifeofdantrett