My 2009 Poker Goals

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McTap03 | Poker and Life, Poker Articles

Submitted by McTap03, this article is a part of the Poker and life section.

With the new year now upon us, and me starting to play again (I took a brief unplanned hiatus over the holidays), I thought I would jot down some goals for the rest of this year. Since this is my first attempt at actually trying to plan long-tern (specifically for poker), please bare with me as I try to get all my thoughts onto this post.

Increase my BR
For me this would have to be my biggest goal for the year. I’m not planning on making so much money that I can quit my ‘day job,’ but if I can play steady smart poker each and every month, then my bankroll should go up. As for a final number, I would like to hit $2000 by the end of this year, which works out to about $125 per month, or around $40 per week. In order to accomplish this, I plan on sticking to my online bankroll management rule of a 25 buy-in minimum before moving up and 18 buy-in minimum before dropping down. I think these rules constitute playing it smart and safe which are key when trying to build a bankroll.

When it comes to my live BR, well that is just fictious money. I know I’ve mentioned how much I have made playing live at Mohawk Bingo Palace Poker Room (MBP), but all the money has gone to pay bills and other things, so there really isn’t a BR to talk about (unlike my online money which is on the site until I withdraw it). In order to increase my live BR, I will stick to tournaments under $100 unless my stats (I keep a log of all the money I’ve won/lose to know if I’m up or down) start to show that I’m going to be losing money if I play in a certain live tournament. In reality, I will mostly play at MBP where they max most of their tournaments at $58, with some in the mid $30 range.

Increase my knowledge/skill of the game
In order to increase my BR, I will definitely need to increase my knowledge and skill of the game so that I become a better player who can successfully play at higher levels. I plan on doing this by reading and re-reading all my current poker books before venturing off and purchasing any more. I will also look into joining a site that offers videos and training (possibly cardrunners or stoxpoker) so that I can have help in becoming a better player. I’m currently involved with PokerStrategy, whom offer videos, so I will also spend time there trying to improve my game. Another thing I will do this year to increase my skill is purchase Poker Tracker 3. This will allow me to analyze my hands, afterwards, and be able to start labelling my opponents so that I can adjust my play accordingly. I’ve used PT3 for several months, during it’s free trial, and feel that since the trial expired, my game has dropped. I will also look into other software options, possibly Tournament Indicator, that can help me make better decisions during SNG’s.

Blog/post more
Although this is a moot point, as all I would have to do is post about anything and could increase my posts, what I really want to do is post more topics that require analysis and/or feedback. This would include hands that I have played poorly and/or greatly so that people can review them and critique my style of play so that I may become better. I’m also looking to finish my “Why the cards matter least” series, as I only have a few more points left to discuss. The interesting part about wanting to blog/post more is that it doesn’t necessarily have to happen here. I currently belong to several forums (see links on the right side) where I get to provide and solicit feedback to many poker situations and increasing this will help me gain a better understanding on how to play this game.

Games to play
Since the day I started playing, I’ve been predominantly a tournament player. I’ve tried on several occasions to play in the online cash games, but have only bled money. On the other hand, tournaments, mostly SNG, have been nice too me, but when it comes to online MTT, I’m still waiting for my 1st cash. The same can be said for my live action, except that I have never played a live SNG and have managed to cash in several MTT (under 50 players), all the while bleeding money in the cash games. For this year, and in order to expand my poker skill, I’m thinking I should try to play some cash games and enter 1 MTT per month, at the least. This should broaden my abilities as they both require a different perspective on how to play according to the table dynamics. Another thing I will look into is trying to qualify for this years WSOP. This will only happen if I can increase my online BR to over 600 by the end of March, otherwise, my skill set is probably not at the level of play required to survive the WSOP. When it comes to live games, MBP offered a WSOP qualifier last year, and if they offer it again this year, I will try up to 4 satellites ($48 SNG) to see if I can make the qualifying tournament ($420 MTT). Note: I haven’t played there in 2009, so I don’t know if they are offering it again. Will know more when I finally make it over there.

Where to play
Currently I play solely at Mansion Poker and have been since last summer. The problem with playing at Mansion is that I really get nothing for playing there, except Bonus points that I can use to get into tournaments or for some of their merchandise. I’m coming to the end of my Bonus hunting and after that I’m not really sure I want to stay on Mansion as I have had some issues with their support team while trying to get something resolved. I’m thinking that this year I should probably try to deposit on a site that offers some sort of rakeback deal in order to get back some of the fees I pay. I know that PokerBRB and PokerSource offer some nice rakeback deals, so I will have to take some time to decide which one to go with, if I decide to go that way. Either way I decide to play, I will focus on increasing my player status so that I may get better rewards from the site.

Side projects
Some of you may know, the ones that I’m involved with, but I have several side projects relating to poker that I would like see come to reality. I’m not going to speculate on the details, but once they are finally in motion I will gladly shout it out loud. In the meantime, I’m planning on devoting several hours per month on each in hopes of making all of them a reality before the end of the year.

So there you have it. A decent list which I think I can reach success with. Hopefully all goes well this year.

Good luck at the tables.

McTap03

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