May was a solid month, though a bit bittersweet because it started off phenomenally and then took a pretty sour turn. I can’t complain about the bottom line, but let’s see what kind of progress I’m making on my yearly goals.
Resolution One: Keep Grinding NLHE Cash Games
Goal 1: Earn $X in NLHE Cash Games
Still chugging along at not-quite-on-track-but-satisfied-nonetheless. I’ve played about 165K hands, which I’m happy about as well.
Goal 2: Earn Supernova status on PokerStars
I’m on track anyway, having maintained by Platinum status for the month, but I’d really like to win a Poker Stars WSOP satellite for the cash overlay and the 100K VPPs.
Resolution Two: Diversify My Income Streams
Goal 3: Monetize This Blog
The WordPress upgrade I promised way back when is finally under serious development, thanks to minimal effort from myself and considerable work on the part of my girlfriend.
Goal 4: Get Back Into Coaching
I finished up the first group seminar and was very happy with how it went. All three participants have told me they were as well, and one of them has already arranged some individual sessions.
I’m not going to start another group seminar before the WSOP, but I am open to taking on a few new individual students. Cost for individual lessons is $250/hour. I probably won’t run another group seminar until after the WSOP, but when I do, cost will likely be $100/student/hour. I generally aim to work with students for 5-10 hours over the course of a few weeks, and the lessons are designed to run very efficiently. There’s a lot of content packed into every session, ensuring you a ton of value for your money.
I’d say my target audience is cash game players currently playing smaller stakes (50NL-400NL) who want to transition into bigger games. I can help you think about your game in a new way, identify leaks, and deal with the tough spots with which the more difficult opponents at higher stakes will surely confront you.
Hit me up at foucault82 (at) yahoo (dot) com if you’re interested. Tell me a little about yourself, what you currently play, and what your goals are. Of course I’m happy to answer any questions as well.
Goal 5: Market My Writing
Well, select articles are now available in Finnish, which is pretty cool. Not much else to report, though.
Resolution Three: Improve My NLHE Skills
Goal 6: Use Poker Tracker More Effectively
I’m currently enjoying my free trial of Hold ‘Em Manager. I feel like a total traitor for saying this, because I’ve long been a huge fan of Poker Tracker, and their support is out-of-this-world. That’s not a trivial thing when dealing with database issues.
I must admit, though, that HEM seems to have much better functionality. I like their HUD, I like their filters and reports, and I like their graphs. I’m probably going to buy the full version and convert.
Goal 7: Finish the Year with a 4BB/100 Win-Rate at 5/10 NL.
My overall win-rate right now is 1.83 BB/100. More impressive, though, is that it’s at 7 BB/100 over 17K hands at 25/50 and 8 BB/100 over 34K hands at 10/20.
Surprisingly, I’m barely breaking even over 100K hands at 5/10. I’m guessing that’s some combination of game selection and luck, which have both been considerably better at the higher stakes.
Goal 8: Play 50,000 Hands of Heads Up NLHE
I only played about 2000 hands this month, but for the year I’m at almost 10BB/100 over 22K hands. I’m hoping that a recent policy change at Full Tilt Poker will make it easier to find action going forward:
“Due to increasing complaints of players occupying many tables alone, Full Tilt Poker will be introducing limitations on the number of heads-up cash games that a player can be sitting at while waiting for an opponent.
Effective immediately, a player is permitted to wait at only one table for each betting level and game type, and at most four tables in total.
For example, you may sit and wait for an opponent at $5-10 NL Hold’em, $5-10 PL Hold’em, $10-20 NL Hold’em, and $10-20 PL Hold’em, but you may not sit and wait at more than one table of any one type, and not more than four tables in total.
The limitations only apply to the practice of occupying many tables while waiting. If you are actively playing at a heads-up table, you may then begin waiting at another table of the same type. There is no restriction on the number of tables you may play (other than the normal limitations on active games).”
When I first received an e-mail from FTP with the subject line “Notification of Seating Limit Policy”, my heart skipped a beat. I feared this might be some doomsday e-mail telling me I couldn’t play more than four tables or something. Instead, it turns out to address a practice that majorly pisses me off, which is a bunch of regulars sitting alone at four or more heads up tables and refusing to play anyone but fish.
When I’m looking for a game, it’s incredibly annoying to have to scroll through 60 open tables filled with the same 10 players who I know won’t play with me hoping to find a single name I don’t recognize. And of course since I refused to stoop to that level of douchery, the odds of a fish choosing to sit at my one open table were considerably lower. But that all ends today, woohoo!
