Funny, this seems so long ago, even though it was less than three months ago that I posted the last entry.

To make a long story short, I have rebounded and am earning a solid 2BB/100 in Party 5/10 6-max through several tens of thousands of hands. It's a mediocre - perhaps slightly above average - win rate, but I feel good about it, am comfortable with my ability right now (I'm far from the best on this site, but at least I'm a solid winner), and feel that my game will continue to improve with continued effort. I learned how to defend my blinds and play back at my opponents. I also play three or four tables now, but I rarely meet my target of 500 hands per day for the week. Just too busy at work.

I spent about three weeks trying out MTT's, after which I decided it was too much devotion of time during hours I would rather spend with my spouse.

I've also spent some time checking out GamesGrid, where I was able to earn about $50 per hour just from the bonus and VFP pay. I'm up there, but 80% of my profit was from bonus money.

Anyway, this operation is officially over, as I don't feel it is fruitful for me to post my progress and I doubt anyone was ever really all that interested. As far as progress towards my goal, I will not reach my goal of $20K by the end of June unless I suddenly get a long vacation from work, but I have been able to pay off my debts (except for my mortgage), which has freed up some cash flow that I will be using for investment property rather than a car. Ultimately, I believe that a solid job with the additional income afforded by poker (or another hobby that generates siginifcant income) is a quick and fun way to financial independence, and I will be devoting a significant part of my time to promote this idea.

Poker is freedom.