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 Operation: Starting Over
I have a problem with discipline...
I like to win. I am very loose agressive by nature.
I like to set the texture and pace of a poker game.
I am a winning player... usually.
It was often more fun for me to win pots than win money.
Unfortunately for my bankroll that was not my motivation for playing. I liked the excitement, especially the fear of losing.
For a very long time I couldn't play stakes within my bankroll. It wasn't the same type of "fun" for me.
I would often find myself in games where I had more than a month's pay on the table. It was exhillerating.
My goal this past year was to break even playing poker... strangely enough. I did a pretty good job.
I wanted to make my "learning curve" as steep as possible without it hurting too much.
If I had the buy in for a game for bigger stakes than I was playing, I would often jump in, head first... and hope for the best.
I have played every limit online up to 30/60 limit and 2000NL. "The best" never quite came... but I didn't go broke.
I kept jumping back and forth... moving money around.
The most important thing that I learned through this experience is no matter what your skill, If you play outside your bankroll... or don't allow yourself enough room to play, and lose... You will, inevitably, find yourself on a downward slide.
There have been a lot of posts lately about goals and where people are at after their short time playing poker. So, I decided to make my own.
I have been thinking a lot about where I want to take my game in the future. I have learned a lot about the game and what it takes to be successful. The way to win is to make less mistakes than your opponent. period.
Now many mistakes don't necessarily have to do with your play, but affect them none the less.
It is a mistake to play outside your bankroll.
It is a mistake to play under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
It is a mistake to play on tilt, or upset about something in your personal life.
Just like all other mistakes you can make in poker, often people make these mistakes and still win. They reinforce the idea that these things are okay.
Well, I personally will no longer make these mistakes.
Another mistake I made this past year was to play with no plan or direction. While it may be silly to force yourself to make goals about what you will win or what limits you will be playing in the future, It is important to have a clear path, to understand what you want from this game.
I was playing for fun. I thought that if I just dedicated myself to learning the game, everything else would fall into place. That didn't quite happen.
One thing I can be proud of is that I am better than I was a year ago. I want to look back each month from now on, and know that I could beat the me from the month before.
One of the ways that I will help myself do this is to set myself on a path.
I have withdrawn all but $1200 from my online bankroll. This is enough for 300BBs for 2/4 limit. 2/4 is the highest limit I have consistently crushed without a notable downswing. Therefore it will be my "starting over" point.
I plan to grow this bankroll each month without withdrawing or depositing, only moving parts from one site to another through neteller to take advantages of bonuses and such. I am not yet worried about how "big" I can get it, or how "fast" I can do it.
I was partially motivated to start this specific operation based on the 100K in a year? thread that Pingviini posted.
I will set goals on what I want to accomplish for the short term such as:
I have 2 bonuses waiting for me at Poker Stars, and one on Party.
I have to clear another 1000 FPPs for my Stars bonuses.
I can clear FPPs at about 100/hr multitabling 2/4 limit.
I want to clear my Stars bonuses by this Friday, and the Party bonus by Monday.
At that time I will reevaluate may bankroll, available site bonuses, quality of games, and come to another conclusion about the best way to devote my time.
Dr Alan Schoonmaker wrote about Planning Your Personal Development In the current issue of cardplayer. His bullet points were:
• Set good goals
• Objectively analyze your assets and liabilities
• Write a plan for reaching your goals
• Monitor your progress and revise your plans
I plan to take these four things into account on each step of my journey.
So far, playing 2/4 I think I have very few liabilities. My greatest problem is playing too agressively against 1) players who will call my bluffs and 2) Players who are runnning better than I feel their play entitles. e.g. I give too little credit to maniacs and will often throw money at them in places I wouldn't against a good player. Admittedly this is often a sound strategy as you have to put a maniac on a wider range than a rock given the same action, but I probably often assume the maniac always has nothing instead of objectively considering what range he may have and how my hand compares to that range.
My liabilities will increase with each step up the ladder, as my opponents get better-skills that may crush the 2/4 game become more common place. I will have to reevaluate each step and work on plugging my leaks.
My goal overall is to win money. This concept was surprisingly never that important to me before. I however cannot maintain my elitist attitude and confidence in my skills without concrete evidence, and money is how we keep score.
I also want to seek out more advice from my peers in the poker community. I have learned a lot on my own, and I have learned a lot from all of my friends at FTR, but I need to ask more specific questions, and actively search out some coaching from those more experienced than I am.
I have discussed poker coaching services with Fnord as he offers Here
Not because I want help with what hands to play preflop, or why I am losing money with overcards that miss the flop... but because I think it would be helpful to get one on one advice from another winning player.
I recently read a thread on 2+2 by BicycleKick (one of the winningest High Stakes limit players online) about how he was considering hiring Tommy Angelo as a coach. (a mid limit live player) because there is a lot that he could learn. You are never too good to learn from others.
So, if anyone has any advice on my upcoming struggle to go from winning play to winning money, please post your thoughts here. If anyone with experience at my current limit would like to discuss some coaching arrangements, (mutual or not) please PM me.
Updates to follow 
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Originally Posted by elipsesjeff
Haven't played any 5-max or higher stakes there, so. Good luck!
