The Big Breakdown
It's been about 5 months since I've been on this journey (3 months of writing on TwoPlusTwo) and wanted to take an honest look at how I'm doing for better or worse.
Hours Played and Hour
I've played approx. 220 hours prior to starting this thread and 160 hours since Day 1 here for a total of 380. I averaged about 110 hours a month in November and December. When January hit, I thought I could pick up the pace, however, I'm only averaging about 50 hours of a month. Work has been more demanding over the last few months than expected. While I'd like to focus more on actual poker hours, the high salary and extreme flexibility in my career needs to always be the first concern. As things are starting to settle down again, I'm hoping to get at least 70 hours during my upcoming 10 day poker trip.
380 hours
Games: Mostly 1/2, 1/3 (some PLO (heater) and 2/5 mixed in))
Profit: $9,539
Hourly: $25.10
At this limit, I wasn't really concerned about the money as much as the growth. I feel like a completely different poker player than I did even 3 months ago when this thread first started.
Mental Game
I went from someone that played $100 buy-in at 1/3 because they would tilt too easily losing a $200 stack, to someone that can buy-in at $500 and lose a few stacks and not go on monkey tilt, I've made huge strides in this area. I feel like Jared's Mental Game book was a big part of this success, I can't speak highly enough about his book and audios. I'm at the point where I understand that variance is a gift. Without variance, it would be chess and only the best of the best would make any real money. No thanks, I much rather have weaker players go on incredibly heaters and continue to come back to the table. Just like a casino, I know I have to lose in the short term to win in the long term.
Happiness
I love my profession. I've been able to work in South America, Europe and S.E. Asia whenever I felt like doing a vacation/work month. On slower days, I'm able to bust out work late at night and mix in poker throughout the day because all that matters is the results. I have a great girl, amazing friends spread around the globe and starting to make some cool friends in the local area (only been here since Summer). Poker is like an instrument, it continues to get more interesting the better I get at playing it. I've traveled to so many great places and met so many awesome people because of the game. I'm still trying to find the right balance between work, home and moving up stakes. The journey is incredible.
Casino Enthusiasm
If I'm going to be honest with myself, listening to people moan and complain at the poker table all day (especially at low limits) is frustrating. I'm torn between wanting to make the game social and want to throw on the headphones to avoid listening to another player want to wash the cards or blame the dealer for a bad river.
Diet and Exercise
I'm failing miserably. I haven't made it a routine and I'm making excuses why I either don't have time to eat properly or why I can't make it the gym. I recognize this happening, I look forward to revisiting this at the end of the month.
What's Next
I'm really looking forward to venturing into heavy Omaha Hi, Omaha/8 and Big O. I want to eventually be diverse enough where I can play some the different mix games and my knowledge and bankroll continue to climb. NL is great, I've accelerated my understanding more in the last 3 months than probably the last few years. I just feel like there's more out there for me.
As I travel on these different poker trips this summer, I look forward to meeting a bunch of new people on similar journeys. Reading the different goals threads here on 2+2 really help me stay focused. This might be one of the few groups of people that I know (indirectly) that can relate to my own daily ups and downs.
I want to get my diet and exercise under control so I can have the energy to continue this journey. These crazy late nights were much easier in my 20s.
Last edited by PotLuckNeeded; 04-16-2017 at 04:57 AM.