January 2008 Recap

Cash game net profit = -$168.56 (105.15 hours of play)
Tournament net profit = -$538.21
Total net profit = -$706.77

Well, Atlantic City definitely hurt my numbers for January, but we'll just have to hope that the lessons learned will end up being worth the cost.

I'll start with the usual online tournament results:

Tournaments played = 32 (7 MTTs; 25 SnGs)
ROI = -59.83% (-77.64% in MTTs; -36.01% in SnGs)

Online tournament count is up, but the sample size is still too small to provide much meaningful information. If anything, the poor ROI just reminds me that I need to be reviewing my hand histories to search for possible leaks.

The cash game numbers are a little surprising to me. I really thought that I had lost a lot more than I did, but I guess it's just human nature to dwell on the negative. Even the other players in my home game have pointed out my extended string of bad luck, but these numbers definitely make me feel more comfortable about playing my same old solid game until the storm passes.

Another thing that has probably made my bad luck streak seem even worse than it was is the fact that money has been very tight lately, especially after the hit I took in Atlantic City. The $560 I spent on the tournament was 'fun' money, but I definitely wasn't budgeted for the additional $600 that I lost in cash games, video poker, and craps. On top of that, I may have mentioned in a previous post that I have a rental property that I recently put up for sale. Well, it's cost me nearly $5K since December just to get it market-ready. This is a lot of money for a guy who only works 25 hours a week at his real job, and there are clearly some budget issues that need to be addressed (and bad habits that need to be broken).

But first, a review of January's goals:

"1. First and foremost, I have to stop letting my ego affect my decisions; this is very possibly the most important improvement in my game that I'll ever have to make."

I've definitely improved in this area. It's a conscious effort; I still occasionally have to talk myself out of trying too hard to catch a bluffer or take down every hand when I'm on the button. But for the most part, I've been able to focus on just making good decisions from hand to hand, which I believe is the primary reason that I was able to minimize my cash game losses for the month despite the terrible cards.

"2. Develop the discipline to stop playing as soon as I know that I'm too tired to play."

I'll give myself a B- on this one. Whenever it's been completely clear to me that I've been too tired to play, I've either stopped playing or refrained from starting in the first place. However, there were a few sessions in which I played a little longer than I probably should have; I think it's just a matter of being more cognizant of my level of fatigue.

"3. Play more online poker."

I've been saying this for months, yet I still seem to find reasons for not playing on a more consistent basis. Despite my online hours being up for the month, I really need to develop a more structured schedule.

Goals for February:

1. Do a better job of managing my money. No more stabs outside of my poker bankroll, no more spending outside of my general budget. I need to do my best to live like an absolute miser until I develop better fiscal discipline.
2. Set aside specific time for general study and to review my play. A couple of hours each Friday should do it.
3. Play a more structured online poker schedule. Right now, my goal is to play every Tuesday and Thursday night as well as Sunday mornings.