March/April/May 2009 Recap

Cash game net profit = $541.69
Tournament net profit = $53.33
Total net profit = $595.02

As evidenced by my lack of blog updates, my poker playing has been minimal over the last few months. While there are multiple factors which have affected my playing time (less frequent gatherings of my regular home game bunch, other demands on my time, limited availability of funds, etc.), I realize that in the end it has primarily been a matter of not taking the initiative to log the hours that I should. After all, there's always online poker, not to mention the local charity games, which I believe can be quite profitable despite the poor rake structure.

On one hand, I'm okay with my reduced hours because I still firmly believe that you should never play if you feel like you HAVE to. But on the other hand, it's generally only when I'm too focused on the immediate results that I ever feel like I HAVE to play. And that's almost always the result of wanting to get back whatever money I may have lost after a few bad sessions, because making the time to play is never a problem when I'm winning...

I haven't forgotten that the only results that will really matter are my bottom line figures when my poker 'career' comes to an end. But with so many important lessons to have to retain/recall, it's becoming clear that I need to come up with a way to fully absorb the most crucial ones to the extent that they are second nature. Far too often, I'm finding myself making the same mistakes over and over again, and even though the complexity of the game is a large part of its beauty, I understand now that it's going to require a much more conscious, studious effort on my part to reach the level of play that I'm striving for.

System Check (monthly character assessment on a scale of 1 to 10):

Present-mindedness: 6 (-3)
This is the perfect example of how quickly one's poker game can slip without consistent and conscious maintenance. In looking back over several of the sessions I've played since March, I now recall succumbing to numerous bouts of tilt due to being highly results-oriented, though I was completely unaware of it at the time. Or at least not aware enough to do anything about it. I think the lesson here is that truly playing my 'A' game requires much, much more than just showing up.

Awareness: 5 (-2)
In addition to not noticing whenever I lost some control over my emotions, I can also recall paying far too much attention to the cards and not enough to all the other information available. Even though I'm competing with the other players at the table, I'm seeing now that the greatest challenge in poker (and probably most other competitive games/sports) is overcoming the natural tendency for one's individual discipline to come apart.

Physical fitness: 5 (no change)
Even though I've lost 15 pounds since my last update, I can't really take much credit since I've only been to the gym once or twice during that timeframe. I mean, I've been a little more conscious of what I've been eating, but short of some type of tapeworm, I really don't have much of an explanation. On the bright side, I'll probably be spending a lot more time out at the beach now that summer is here, which should help a bit with my focus/endurance at the poker table.