After narrowly missing out on a bracelet in last year’s World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, I ventured to Las Vegas at the start of June with a bundle of dreams and a parcel full of high hopes packed tightly into my luggage. And given that the legal age for all things exciting in Vegas is 21, there would be no 18-year-old girls blocking my path to glory this time.

Sadly, however, I’ve spent much of my time walking around my hotel room with double-thick slippers fastened to my feet and a sense of intrepidation. Given my current run of form, luck, or whatever you want to call it, I’m convinced I must have cracked a mirror in my hotel room.