Tarrytown
Well, I wrote a brief tidbit on here a few days ago, but I should probably express my feelings a bit more clearly, and this is probably the best place to do it.
Obviously, a lot had to go right for me so that I could go 15-5. I don't really think I got incredibly lucky or unlucky with regards to tile drawing this tournament (for example, I drew 19 of 40 blanks, pretty average.) but I was definitely very lucky in a lot of other regards.
1. The tournament was 10 minutes from my house, so I didn't have to worry about a long commute, and I got to sleep in my own bed. This definitely gave me an advantage.
2. In several games where my opponents had me dead to rights, they blew it or hit a terrible draw (or I hit a miracle draw) and I snuck by with a win. I made my own stupid mistakes, but was never really punished for them.
3. The games where I reeeally drew badly were mostly against higher rated opponents who I was going to struggle to beat even if they didn't draw particularly well. (I think both of my losses against my lower rated opponents were winnable, whereas my 3 losses against higher rated players were probably unavoidable.)
However, A lot of this has to do with some changes I directly made, mostly one change in particular. I was a LOT more focused this tournament than I had been in the past. I knew this was an issue, but I was always afraid and unsure of how to work on it. No more. I have started going to the gym recently, so I have more energy in that regard. I went for short walks in between rounds, so I wasn't letting past games distract me as much as they potentially could. And obviously, I had to play well enough to even be in a position where I could pull off a miracle and win the games that I should not have won.
This is what I did differently this tournament, and the results speak for themselves. Obviously every tournament can't go as good as this one, but this is still a huge step in the right direction. I feel like I'm finally focusing on the right things. Now then... What can YOU focus on to make you better? YES!!! YOU!!!
Obviously, a lot had to go right for me so that I could go 15-5. I don't really think I got incredibly lucky or unlucky with regards to tile drawing this tournament (for example, I drew 19 of 40 blanks, pretty average.) but I was definitely very lucky in a lot of other regards.
1. The tournament was 10 minutes from my house, so I didn't have to worry about a long commute, and I got to sleep in my own bed. This definitely gave me an advantage.
2. In several games where my opponents had me dead to rights, they blew it or hit a terrible draw (or I hit a miracle draw) and I snuck by with a win. I made my own stupid mistakes, but was never really punished for them.
3. The games where I reeeally drew badly were mostly against higher rated opponents who I was going to struggle to beat even if they didn't draw particularly well. (I think both of my losses against my lower rated opponents were winnable, whereas my 3 losses against higher rated players were probably unavoidable.)
However, A lot of this has to do with some changes I directly made, mostly one change in particular. I was a LOT more focused this tournament than I had been in the past. I knew this was an issue, but I was always afraid and unsure of how to work on it. No more. I have started going to the gym recently, so I have more energy in that regard. I went for short walks in between rounds, so I wasn't letting past games distract me as much as they potentially could. And obviously, I had to play well enough to even be in a position where I could pull off a miracle and win the games that I should not have won.
This is what I did differently this tournament, and the results speak for themselves. Obviously every tournament can't go as good as this one, but this is still a huge step in the right direction. I feel like I'm finally focusing on the right things. Now then... What can YOU focus on to make you better? YES!!! YOU!!!