Every time i write a diary i try to pick out at least one hand from which i can teach you something , i also like to explain specific tells or strategies , however i have recieved several mails from readers saying they like the way i explain my thought process so this year i hope to do more of that , today however i will give you some golden rules.

Don't play tired

Don't play if the return on your investment is poor

Don't play if you are unhappy

Don't play if you are not confident/focused

Don't play because you feel obliged/was successful last time

The reason for the above is i broke all of them here in Paris !

On Saturday i played a £30 No Limit with the Blonde Poker Forum users , 113 players , at 3.40am i won and picked up a £1000 , i drove home and was in bed by 7am , up at 12.30 for lunch with my daughter and her partner , the following day i arrived in Paris at 18.53 and after dropping off my case went straight to the casino , the event €1000 Pot Limit Omaha only had 10 entries , Sabine asked my advice and i said change it from a rebuy to a double chance freezeout , this resulted in i think 25 entries.

My first thoughts were don't play , i was tired , the first prize would only be approx 10,000 , i had not heard whether i was to be re signed by UK Betting which was frustrating , but i thought , as it was my suggestion to change the format coupled with the fact i came 4th last year and i had just won a £1000 i'll be allright.

Wrong ! Learn by my mistake , i played so bad it was embarrassing , the ACF have put up Plasma screens showing constant reruns of WPT events , i was so unfocused i spent most of the 80 minutes i lasted watching the show rather than the game , eventually my demise was down to two hands .

AK QT , flop was 8 T Q , first to act bet pot , the preflop raiser passed , i decided if the bettor had the nuts he would have checked as there was no flush draw and put him on a wrap , reraised all in with top two and a gutshot , he called with the nuts , rebuy !

I then dropped from my second 2500 to 1900 , when i found KK J9ds in the BB , there was a limper and a pot raise , i reraised to get it heads up as the first limper had only 475 total , he called and after much thought the original raiser who had bet 200 called my 750 bet , we had a side pot of 550 , flop was 4 6 7 rainbow , putting him on AA or high cards i figured he had missed and bet all in for 1150 to pick up the side pot , he kept checking his cards and finally announced call , his hand was 56 89 ! , he had called the extra 550 preflop with a hand to crack my assumed AA and had flopped the nuts , amazingly so had the all in player , no miracle runner runner flush came and i was out .

Not a good start to the year , the first hand i should have passed or just called the flop bet and passed when i didn't improve on the turn , the second , once i missed the flop i should have check passed , having had such good results last year in Omaha i was disgusted with the way i played and can only put it down to the rules i had broken , first resolution of 2006 , don' do it again !

After i wrote "Tournament Rollercoaster" i became known for my honesty and frankness in writing , as much as i enjoy writing about great plays and the successes and pitfalls of playing the circuit i feel it is important that when i make a complete balls up you should also get to read it so you can eliminate these faults from your game , admittedly this is very rare for me and hopefully once i know either way about my sponsorship i will be able to refocus and play my A game.