In April, 2009, I finally got the courage to quit my full-time job and take up poker professionally. For a while I held on to my previous job as a part-time job, but near the year's end I decided to eliminate it as a distraction. Now that it has come and gone I can happily say that 2009 was a successful year. Financially, poker wasn't what I dreamed it would be, though it more than covered my expenses(and in reality I'm more liberal with my spending than I am on paper). The lifestyle it allowed me to live, to me, really is priceless. Making my own schedule day to day is a freedom that I value highly. There's also a certain satisfaction I get from deciding when and how much I'll work, being directly in control of how much money I make(not in the short term of course), when I'll take breaks or vacations, how hard my work will be, how efficient I want to be, etc. That said, if there's one criticism of myself that I have it's that I might have taken too many breaks in 2009. I consistently fell short of my volume and profit goals. I wouldn't trade the life experiences this afforded me, but looking forward I would definitely have appreciated if I had put in some more hard work. All I can do is try harder this year.
A few realizations and thoughts from 2009:
- Given my current skills, I've found that I play more solid poker while 6-tabling. This might be worth the sacrifice of the time efficiency of 9-tabling, as I would likely experience less downswings/a more steady climb/strong feeling of certainty in my play given the extra thought put into each decision. Of course, it would be more ideal and profitable to increase my abilities to accomodate 9-tabling.
- My expectation in super turbos on Full Tilt is lower than I previously thought, though I'm still not entirely sure what it is. I am currently experiencing about about a 2000 game break even streak, which strongly influences my data of a somewhat small sample size of super turbos. Even Snuffie381's numbers have been slowly coming down(though also influenced by an extremely large and recent break even stretch), so I'm not sure what to think about it. I know there's still plenty of room for me to improve and raise my expectation.
- I absolutely need to get some sort of HUD and database program up and running. Too many of the regs are running them, even some of the bad ones, for me to be playing without one. I bought Hold Em Manager, but have been having trouble getting the HUD functioning. I'm going to get it installed and working on my new poker PC once it arrives(hopefully just in time for me to dominate February).
- I need to make studying a constant priority. I sometimes lose touch with what the correct plays are when I run good or bad for an extended period of time and don't take the time to study. I want to elevate my game this year and the next. I don't just want to feel confident, I want to feel like I am the best/as good as it gets at SNG's.
- Poker is most profitable when I am able to get in the zone and focus for an extended period of time, and repeatedly make the correct decisions. This is best accomplished when there are minimal or no distractions.
- I need to set up a dedicated poker PC. I want to get used to playing in the same space to try to give me a sense of focus. Also, hopefully it will be able to easily handle up to 12-tabling with Hold Em Manager. I want to get away from using wireless internet to play poker, and instead wire the PC directly to the modem. This will help me avoid some of the problems I have had playing with various laptops. I'd like this computer to have all the note/hand histories on different comps, so I will have to start combining the files.
- I need to get in volume regardless of how I am running. Running bad only effects you in the short-term and you only lose when you stop playing.
I'm sure there's more I'd like to get down, but those are the main things that come to mind right now. Anyways, it all leads up to where I am now in my poker career, and where I want to be. Here are my goals for the new year:
- Make $100,000 net profit including tourney winnings/rakeback/staking/all bonuses.
- Make close to an average of $10,000 per month.
- Get used to playing 4000 games a month. Have at least 1 5000+ game month.
- Set up a complete command center for poker, including all desireable software. As far as hardware goes, I'll need a 30-inch monitor at some point, and maybe a bigger desk.
- Improve poker skills to the point where I feel fully educated in SNG's.
- Learn to successfully 9-table.
- Update my blog more frequently and try to make this website more interactive
That $100,000 sure seems hard to reach starting from $0, but I want it bad. I don't think there's anything else that would make me feel as successful this year. Here are my results so far for January:
I also received a $400 year-end bonus for Ironman.
Less than ideal, but I've been on a pretty rough run for a while. I peaked at around $1400 near 700 games, then hit a straight spike down over the next 100 games that cost me everything I had won. I know I'm due for a bounce back, but I've been having trouble playing through the run-bad. I'm going to drop tables and stick to 6-tabling to focus on making solid decisions. I'd like to salvage this month as much as I still can and get in at least 2500 games. I'll recap it in the beginning of February. Until then, good luck.