Poker Goals Revisited

Now that I've boosted my bankroll over $10k and have had two WSOP cashes, I think it's time to revisit the topic of what role poker plays in my life and where I want to take it.


For the last 5 years poker has been a hobby and a vehicle for me to become good at a skill. The following is from a blog post in November of 2006 about how I got started playing poker (http://poker-reads.blogspot.com/2006/11/how-i-got-started-in-poker.html).


"As I started playing poker, I realized that it could be something that I did for myself and that I could use it as a way to realize my full potential in something that I was passionate about. So now, I have made it my mission to become one of the best. I know that it won't happen over night, but the great thing about poker is that I can play it the rest of my life. "


This statement is still very true and I strive to improve my skills every day. But now that I've finally reached a higher bankroll level, I can start playing at higher stakes than I have been.

Now I realize that winning $15K isn't life changing money or that now I'm rich and can play any tournament I want. In fact that is far from the truth. But this was a major milestone that I've been shooting for for a while and it now enables me to play consistently at higher levels. It is a catalyst that will catapult me to more significant bankroll gains. But even more significantly, cashing twice at the WSOP in pretty tough fields has given me the confidence that I am on the path to reach the levels I am shooting for.

But let's keep things in perspective. My new bankroll isn't even close to "high stakes" or anything like that. But what it means is that it will afford me the ability to change the role poker plays in my life. I will use this to go from "casual part-time low stakes hobby player" to "mid-stakes local player and part-time tournament circuit player". I can now go to the juicy local $2/$5 games if I chose or not feel like I'm playing outside of my bankroll when I get invited to a $200 or $300 local tournament. With proven results at the WSOP, I can also start hitting up 2-3 WSOP Circuit or WPT events each year and play a handful of preliminary events (not just one), feeling confident that will be one of the best players there.

From a financial perspective, I can start using poker as a way to supplement my family's income. I was on that path a couple of years ago when I decided to leave my job and become a partner in X3 Sports. I cashed out all but $250 in Poker Stars and any money I won live was used to pay for groceries while finances were tight. Now, however, X3 Sports is doing well and my monthly paycheck is a little more stable. My plan is to now take a percentage of my poker winnings and use it for semi-regular side income that can be used for extra spending cash, a family trip, etc. Ideally, I would like to use it for fun things that we can do as a family. At the same time, however, my bankroll is not at the point where it needs to be to allow me regularly play the tournament circut and to accomplish my ultimate goal...a WSOP Bracelet. So the majority of my winnings will still go back into my bankroll so that I can continue on the path upward.


So far, my progress has been relatively slow if you compare it to the majority of successful 20-something year old online pros. I simply don't have the time to play 20 tournaments a day. The bankroll gains that they might see in a month will take me over a year. That being said, I know that it will still take some time to reach the $20K & $30K mark. I also know that I will see bigger swings now, but I'm prepared for that. I've always been good about managing my money and I've been playing long enough now that I am mentally prepared for dips. Again, it's not like I'm going to start playing $500 online tournaments or anything. But I can start consistently playing ones like the nightly $150 on Stars where the payouts are much better. I no longer have to subject myself to the $3 rebuy or $27 - 45 man turbo sngs. From a live perspective, I will make more of an effort to regularly play the local tournaments (Tuesday/Thurs night, Bentwater, etc.) and possibly the $2/$5 cash games (although I still enjoy tournaments more).

From a commitment standpoint I also plan to start playing more, both live and online. Whether I needed to or not, cashing in my 2nd consecutive WSOP has proven that I am good enough to use poker as a way to make money for the family. I know my wife has never doubted my abilities, but coming home with cash certainly helps the next time I want to take time away from my family to go play poker. If anything, I think it helps me fee less guilty about it.

2009 WSOP Results

So I just got back from my 2nd trip to the WSOP. I played event #36, which was a $2K NL Hold'em event.

Two years ago I cashed and while I played good, I also ran like crazy hitting 4-5 sets along the way. This time I didn't run especially great, but I played really well. That doesn't mean I ran a lot of fancy bluffs necessarily, but I picked my spots well and I made plays based on my stack size and the situation in front of me.


Out of 1,695 players, I came in 47th place for $9,096. I truly felt like I was going to win the tournament and was playing great. Unfortunately, when I shoved my 8M stack with 88 into an aggressive late position raiser he woke up with 99 and I was out. I still feel like I was one of the best players in the field and had a great chance to take it down.

The next day, I also played in a $300+40 nightly event with 215 players. I made the final table and once we were 6 handed, the blinds were rediculously high (and I had to make my flight) so we chopped it for about $6K each.


So $15K in 3 days...I'll take it.

What were my keys to success? Going into the event, I wrote down a few rules for myself in order to stay focused:

1. I will remain calm, focused and aggressive
2. I will make my reads first, then consider my cards
3. Each player will be a faceless, nameless body with patterns and tendencies
4. I will not bring baggage to the table
5. I will not force the action
6. I will be fluid
7. I will fear no man
8. I will make plays that I have confidence in
9. I will change gears and adapt to table dynamics
10. I will make decisions based on my reads, not based on what a book or forum says I should
11. I will not worry about what others think about my play
12. I believe that I will win
13. I will play to win without fear of busting out
14. I will always be conscious of how many chips are in the pot
15. I will trust my gut feeling
16. I will accumulate chips on the bubble
17. I will have fun

Of those, there are a few that were really key to playing well at this type of an event. While I've never been one to put pros on a pedestal or be intimidated, it is very easy to create pre-conceived notions about how someone will play (i.e. young online pros are always hyper-aggressive bluffers). So #3 was really huge. Also, being someone who doesn't regularly play the tournament circuit (but knows who all the successful live and online players are), it is easy to fall into the trap of either wanting to impress them with your play or not look foolish making a mistake they would critize or laugh at on the forums. So being a perfectionist, #11 was important for me personally to play my best. But ultimately #15 was the most important one. I've been playing for 5 years now and regularly study the game. I know what the best play is for the situation and I was able to both win and save a lot of chips by trusting my instincts.

In addition to the rules listed about, the following are other reasons I played well and lessons I learned from the trip:

• I concentrated on my breathing, especially when not in a hand and getting a dry run of cards/situations to play in. It helped me prevent getting impatient and also helped to keep my head clear and focused


• I allowed myself to get into a state of being relaxed and calm, which allowed me to take the time to trust my instincts and eliminate emotional decisions


• I counted the chips each pot (weather I was in it or not). This allowed me to understand my opponents betting patterns and quickly calculate pot odds. But it also helped keep my mind active and prepared for battle.


• I proactively made reads on each situation, assigning hand ranges, and considering plays before even looking at my cards.


• I stayed disciplined and made tough laydowns, even when I was getting anxious to win a pot


• I took advantage of my image. In one situation I used my tight image to shove 42 off-suit on a re-steal when the small blind was not at the table and the button raised. In other situation, I over-shoved KK to get a call when it looked like I may have been on tilt.


• I followed the same physical routine each hand as to not give off tells


• I was really good about not giving away verbal information about my style, the cards I play, etc. through "casual table talk"


• I stayed confident and never second guessed myself