Life Balance:
Greetings everyone. So far this month I have been continuing to read a couple of poker books, as well as follow the blogs of a couple of my favourite pro poker players.
The main point that has been hammered home by http://www.philgalfond.com/it-
I think Phil is such a great writer, and obviously a genius when it comes to playing poker.
Anyways, back to my situation. Right now I get up every morning, work untill 5pm at my job in a computer repair store, mess around for an hour or so (either playing with my daughter Jessa, or sometimes playing Fifa 12 online with my good friend Rob Atha), eat dinner (which recently has been a lot of takeout, due to complete lack of inspiration when cooking), then play poker for 2-3 hours, then bed around 11:30-12:30. Rinse and repeat Monday-Friday. Weekends are normally spent mostly cleaning house, and playing as much poker as I can during the peak times.
I occasionally watch an episode of lost (we're up to season 5!) with my wife in the evening, otherwise I have no 'other' life outside of my job, and my poker. I live in a very small town, so there isn't much I'd be interested in doing other than grinding away, trying to build my poker career.
All is not lost though. Hopefully within the next 3 months we will be moving to Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln has around 250,000 people, with a lot of things I would want to do with both Jessa and Tasha. Also, (most importantly for me right now in terms of what's missing) I have a group of friends down there that I would hang out with. There's also a great foosball scene in Lincoln, so I wouldn't feel so rusty when I hit tournaments.
There is only two things that are missing from Lincoln when I think about my perfect life. My mom and sister (I hate that they are missing out on my daughter growing up), and the best online poker solution. Ideally I would like to move back to the UK (home!!) where poker is far more accessable, and also tax free whenever I decide to take a shot at being full time.
For now though, Lincoln is a great option to take.
Monthly progress:
As far as this month goes, its been pretty interesting. I have found it VERY hard to not look at my total bankroll/sharkscope stats, or other monthly stats. I know I'm floating somewhere around the $5k mark, which annoys me that I know that! I haven't checked sharkscope once, but whenever I look at EV graphs I can work out how many buyins up or down I am for the day/month. As of today I'm gonna try not to look at EV graphs either. Bankroll will be hard not to look at, given it displays your bankroll everytime you register a new game. I'll try my best to not look at it though!
Playing wise, I think I have played pretty good. Last night was the first night where I felt I tilted a couple of games, otherwise its been a good month so far. I think all of my games have either been $50's or $78's, with the exception of an accidental mis click register to a $40 super-turbo. Action has definitely been slower, with a lot of the $78 games being against regs that sit me. It seems that my stats are not quite worthy of open sitting a $78 lobby yet! I am getting mostly weaker players sit me at the $50s though, which reassures me that my play is solid.
Goals revisited:
Goal wise, I don't think I will be able to hit 415 games. I was naive to think I could, in hindsight. I am going to Las Vegas on Wednesday for a big foosball tournament, and won't be back untill Tuesday the following week. I simply can't make up that kind of lost ground in volume. What I WILL try and go for though is 'water status' on CarbonPoker. Its the equivalent of platinum star status on Pokerstars and will get me around $218 in rakeback for the month If I hit it. As long as I keep playing $50's and $78's then I don't need to play as much and can get away with around 340 games for the month. Still tough given my Vegas break, but definitely achievable with hard work.
Hope this wasn't too much of a ramble! Good luck everyone!
