Hella Hold'em

As I've mentioned, I'm playing in an online poker league this year. It's part of the reason I took the summer off from going to school (because the league plays on Monday nights, and my classes would conflict). It's a good thing; I need a break from school. I work full time at a school, and I work part time at another school, and I go to school half time. That's enough school for me. It's been a crazy three years. Time for a brief break before I go back to real school in the fall.

I've decided to pursue another master's degree - this time, a Master of Fine Arts in a digital media program (that I will configure to focus on photography). Assuming I can get financial aid ('cuz lord knows I don't have the cash to afford such luxuries!), I'll start the program in the fall. I've already been accepted (which was pretty exciting, since they only accept 15 students per year into the program). Fingers crossed that all goes well!

The poker league will be done by fall, and I'm not sure if I'll do it again. There are pro's and con's to being in an online poker league.

Pro's:

• It's online, so it's convenient. I was able to make our games even while I was vacationing in New Mexico or out of town at a conference.
  
• It provides a regular schedule for playing poker, which can often get relegated to the back burner when life gets nuts. Having those regular games scheduled and having paid a league buy-in are good incentives to make it to the game.
• It's an interesting dynamic to have a long-term series of small competitions, where any one bad night can be negated by better performances later on.
  

Con's:

• It's online, so it's easier to blow off. I'm not going to see these people to get ragged on when I miss a game.
  
• Being online, I also find that if I'm not in the mood to play, or I've got other things going on at the time, I just shove my chips and log off. If I had to travel to a game and was then playing live with other people, in an environment with chips and cushy table rails and whatnot, I might take it more seriously.
  
• The season is several months long, and it's hard to keep the eye on the prize over such a long stretch of time.
  

I haven't done particularly well this season. I'm around the middle of the pack points-wise, after having missed one game and blown off a couple others. I did win one tournament, which was fun, but I haven't dedicated myself to the cause as I should have.

Still, I'm glad to have a reason to play cards a couple times a month, because it keeps me in the game when life might otherwise find other things for me to do.

Have you ever played in a poker league? Was it a good experience?