What's Next?

Arrived home at about 4pm today and thank god for that, literally can't stand driving back, as soon as we get north of Oxford I just find myself getting depressed recently due to the fact there seems to be zero life beyond the M40 lol. Obviously I exaggerate but I ended up having one of those "car conversations" with my old man about it.. There we were listening to Above & Beyond in the car, catching up, talking about how sick Christmas will be etc etc. Then, it happened. I branch off onto the M5 to head the more direct route home and its soooo gloomy and dark and we are both yawning away and suddenly in a state of complete and utter disarray almost. Granted, I went to be at maybe 1/2 last night and woke up at 7.30am today but I do that in London consistently and I am never yawning at 3/4pm..the hustle and bustle keeps me sane. Odd really, guess I noticed it more cos I haven't been back in a good while. Still, pleased to be back without a doubt.

I intended to play a session tonight now that everyone is sick of mothering me and gone to bed but unfortunately I too am absolutely shattered so I'm going to try and get a good nights sleep, get up early tomorrow and enjoy an empty house to grind. I just checked through the schedules and there is nothing to play tonight on DTD anyway and very few on Bwin, which only leaves the 45s on Stars. There are 3 tournaments I can play in the morning on Bwin and then a few of the turbos etc start up on DTD and Bwin at 2pm so I'll certainly give them a shot. Although, its highlighted once again my need to get some money transferred to another site. I'll deal with that after xmas though, not got a lot of time beforehand unfortunately so its pretty meaningless.


Ok, I want to try and evaluate where I am at and how far I have come etc, albeit over a mere 70 tournaments and three weeks worth of play.

1) Volume - I have certainly maximised the volume I am able to put in. I couldn't have played anymore than I have done up until this point, I said at the start I wanted to strike a balance and I have attempted to keep to this, more or less.
2) Improvements - I have learnt a phenomenal amount over the last 4-6 weeks, namely from 2p2 and railing the likes of jonnyke and fenix35, both of whom have directly and indirectly taught me a lot. One of my main aims was to utilise 2p2 more, something I have done entirely imo.
3) I acknowledge the importance of PT3 more so than I did previously, hence the investment both financially and time-wise, when considering my desire to learn more about it etc
4) Altering my poker relationship with Jon somewhat. This is still something I want to work on but I believe it has changed, attitudes are better and we are slowly bouncing more ideas off each other and improving our respective games.
5) Profit - Now obviously my shipping of the tournament on Bwin three weeks ago was a phenomenal roll-booster and a much-needed start. As a result the roll stands at a handsome $2000 - 4x the initial deposit, demonstrating a net profit of $1460. My cash % is 11%, which I hope to improve on and represents total cashes of 8.


The Future?


Volume:

I want to differentiate between 45 man SNGs and scheduled MTTs firstly, which currently overlap on my spreadsheets and as a result I think provide me with some anomalies in the figures. Didn't really consider this at the time.
As I have stated numerous times, I will be depositing on Stars as soon as the Xmas rush is over and be grinding the $3/45s. As well as this, I have decided to deposit on Ladbrokes and one of Betfair or Titan Poker - depending on what software I prefer and whether a new laptop comes my way. I will play as much as I possibly can, which over Xmas will be fairly limited and unfortunately I am getting close to crunch time with university and I really want to pull my finger out. I will dedicate 2 nights per week purely for poker, without fail (once uni starts again) and I'll register from 6pm-10pm without fail. As a time-filler I'll play the 45s during the day or if I have less than 6 tables open I'll fill in some gaps. If I get uni work out the way or have more time etc then I'll play for more than 2 nights a week obviously but as a minimum figure I think its good to work from.

Improving:

Given my volume will decrease a tad over xmas I want to use that time constructively. I hope to have a session or two with Jon, not just to grind but also spend some time analysing hands, which I think could benefit us both. Once my bankroll reaches the $3000 point I will consider looking into purchasing training videos and such. At the moment the investment has been PT3 and other such software/HUDs etc.
2p2 is my main learning tool at the moment and the advice on there is invaluable. However, a lot of my posting has been on other hands and I need to post more of my own hands for analysis so I want to spend 2 nights a week over xmas looking back over hands I find interesting and gaining advice as well as discussing MTT srat on the site.

Balance:

Once uni starts again I want to be on top of my game both in an academic, poker and lifestyle sense. Academically, I WILL maintain a 100% attendance record until the end of term, I will be going to the gym 3 mornings a week and playing football once a week, every Thursday. Assuming I don't see the lads after NYE, I intend to stop drinking until Jon's 21st, assuming I see him for that. I already have a pact with the mrs for this and I have to give her £2 if I touch so much as a drop, think this will be a really useful experience and I would love to see how much it benefits me.
Once I have been to the gym in the mornings I will spend the day on campus, if I don't have lectures I shall be in the library - the way I have the evenings and weekends free to grind. I have 14 hours per week of lectures etc, roughly. I wasn't far off working that in one day 6 days per week in the summer. I can be on campus from 10-5 and get all work out the way by Friday without fail. Really want to maintain this and I think it benefits me financially, mentally and in terms of my general happiness, success and healthiness.


Targets:

I think it is relatively pointless setting any specific targets as such. I would like to get a bare minimum of a 2:1 this year in my degree with an average >65. This will take a lot of work. I want to lose 7lbs of weight and tone up more. I have lost a considerable amount over the last 4 months and now weigh 12.3st with a BMI of approx 20%..I'd like to see that at around 16-17%, hence why I want to shed a little more weight and eat far more healthily - the alcohol detox will go a long way!
In terms of poker, I just want to be able to turn up to the tables playing EV poker every single time without fail. In terms of figures - $4000 by March 31st, $10,000 by October 1st and $13,000 by 2011. As it stands I give little weight to these figures, they are broad targets I would like to achieve and goals I have set myself. First and foremost I want to be able to be comfortable sitting down at £50-150 buy-in tournaments, not because I can afford them but because I am EV in them. I want to bring my A game to the tables every night I play. I want to play in the UK Student Poker Championship in May. I want to reach a certain level in poker when my discussion of hands is advanced enough to be considered more widely. I want to utilise 2p2 a lot more than I currently do. These are more specific targets but something I will continue to build on as I progress.



As it stands this is all for now - apologies about the length of the post but I felt I want to get it down on the blog to act as a benchmark. I have a very good foundation from which to build upon and I'd like 2010 to be that building block on to better things. I don't want to rush things and I shall consider my options along the way but one thing is for sure - I am committed to this roll and I have never been more determined.