New Start #1001

Ok, well as the title of this first post suggests, this isn't the first time I have written about poker but I sure as hell anticipate it to be the last!

I recently spent ten weeks out of the game but in the last three days found myself missing it, wanting it again and letting it consume my mind again. My reason for stopping playing for such a long time was not as a result of any big loss, bad beat or anything of the sort, I just lost interest and had other things to concentrate on. However, I grew into poker with my closest friend, he still plays, he still has the passion, the belief, we are both winning poker players in our own right. We have both gone about it very wrongly however. I still managed to do this over the past couple of days but have asked myself many questions tonight and think, think I have found many answers.

Not all poker players are alike. Thats the first thing. Jon is a tournament player, he thrives off MTTs and indeed that's where his success lies. I once wrote about how my MTT ability is not as good as his and it only makes me suffer. I want to improve that aspect of my game but you cannot have it all overnight.

Why am I playing poker? I enjoy the game, I like the intellect and skill behind it, I like the social aspect and I like money pure and simply. The least amount of success I have had is through MTTs, plain and simple. The most amount of success I have had is with SNGs followed by cash but cash is difficult to monitor as thats where I have been "fooling about" most.

I have had big big success both online and live in fields of 30-50 yet this has been overshadowed by my determination to hit a big score in an MTT. I want to improve my MTT game and a way of doing that WHILST earning money would be going back to the root of my success, putting in a lot of volume there, learning and building a bankroll. There is nothing I find more enjoyable then sitting down and chatting about hands, I improve that way, I voice my opinion and its a common interest. However, its not EV or wise for me to effectively waste money on one of my weaker areas of the game just for the social aspect. I had a discussion tonight in which we discussed something that haunts every player...variance. Within that an article was discussed in which the author made a very valid statement - "tournament players should get used to waking up preparing to lose". A tournament pro, so I am led to believe, might have a cash % of 11-13%. I don't think I am the sort of person to be able to play some 150+ tournaments over the next 8-10 weeks and be prepared to be as successful as I would like just 1% of the time. That's not in my nature basically. Moreover, MTTs are not the strong point of my game so why chase it?

It boils down to finance fundamentally. Every single thing I have ever done wrong can be brought back to the issue of bankroll management. I first started playing again on Saturday and I was already back to old habits. I should not and will not do that with online poker. If I want to play some tournament then I should listen to myself - "live poker is a lot softer", well, I'll go and enter a live tournament and treat it as a night out, whilst keeping an online "roll" separate. I would like to get to the stage where I can MTT grind but that requires a roll behind one self as well as time and commitment, none of which I really have right now.

I need to ensure I have a balanced lifestyle first and foremost. Uni work, social life, health and fitness, work...none of these things can take a backseat so I want to ensure I get the balance right.

My plan - I intend to provide myself with 100 buy-ins for the $3.25 45 man SNGs on Stars. I shall deposit this on Thursday or Sunday depending on how I feel tomorrow (ill) and how much uni work I get done. Ideally I didn't want to play on Stars but I have since thought otherwise. I had a 70% ROI over some 100 games on the equivalent games but at a lower stake, yet at this level the standard won't be that much different. The traffic is uncomparable to other sites. The scope to improve is greater. The loyalty reward schemes are next-to-none. Generally the site cannot be beaten and its certainly the only place I can find something suitable.

Tomorrow I am going to draw up a ladder spreadsheet so I can ensure that I will not go bust, I stay disciplined and I stick with strict bankroll management. Along with this I will do a rough timetable of a maximum amount of hours I will play each week to ensure the balanced lifestyle. Finally, some targets of where I want to be after 2 week periods, including profit forecasts and volume targets. Basically the optimum schedule that I think will suit me.

Eventually I would like to move onto MTTs, whether it be 180mans or back onto the European software grinding. However, the fact is I need to improve that area and I can do this this way whilst also making money. Further, I just don't have the time to be able to put into mass volume in MTTs (the only real way of improving) nor the money to finance that. Hopefully this way Jon and I can still enjoy the social aspect as well as still helping each other out and discussing things, I can make some consistent cash (the key being consistent) and I can enjoy live events without it affecting my overall poker "career".

This has always been and always will be a hobby. A football team is organised. Going karting is organised. Playing rugby for school is organised. I have just lacked basic discipline and organisation. I intend to get this hobby back on track, organise it effectively and move forward appropriately.



I'll keep you posted. GL.