Tomorrow marks the start of 2020, and the start of my efforts to put some structure around my time at the poker table. In order to do that, I've been doing a lot of thinking about *why* I play. Do I play to pay bills or support myself? Nope. Do I play because I love the time with my fellow poker players? Nope. It turns out, I've realized that I play for a couple primary reasons:

• Discipline is crucial to success at poker, and this is an area where I have struggled, both on the felt and away from the felt. Sticking to the plan over the course of this year would be a huge win for me as a player and a person.
• I like the competitive nature of the game itself. There was a time when my results indicated that I was a legitimate winner. I don't know if this is the case anymore, and I am committed to finding out.

The Game Plan

$2,000 starting bankroll, starting at $1/2 and $1/3 NLHE (whichever the lowest limit happens to be where I'm playing). If my bankroll goes below $1,000, I need to stick to $1/2 NLHE until I've recovered back to $2,000.

When bankroll hits $5,000, I can take a shot at $2/5 NLHE . If my bankroll goes below $3,500, I need to stop playing $2/5 NLHE until I've recovered back to $2,000.

When bankroll hits $10,000, I can take a shot at $5/10 NLHE . If my bankroll goes below $7,500, I need to stop playing $5/10 NLHE until I've recovered back to $10,000.

Let's Talk Tournaments

Bankroll <$5,000 - Single Buy-In Maximum of 10% of Bankroll
Bankroll $5,000 - $10,000 - Single Buy-In Maximum of 8% of Bankroll
Bankroll $10,000 - $25,000 - Single Buy-In Maximum of 6% of Bankroll
Bankroll >$25,000 - Single Buy-In Maximum of 3% of Bankroll

Goals for 2020

[ ] Play at least 250 hours live cash games
[ ] Played at least 10 live MTTs
[ ] Grow my bankroll to $10,000

Thanks for your interest. Tomorrow will be my first session. As you can see, I'm not expecting to put in a huge amount of volume (married w/ kids), but I'm excited to see what I can do with my limited time at the table.

good luck

Thank you!

Currently en route to the airport, heading to Cleveland due to a work emergency. Looks like tonight’s session will be happening at JACK Cleveland. If memory serves, their lowest limit is $1/3 NLHE. Hoping to play as ABC as possible and hopefully have some hands to post.

January 1, 2020 - Getting Things Rolling

First session is in the books! Generally speaking, things went well. I was extremely card dead for the majority of my session (2.5 hours, which will probably be right around how long I usually play), and basically just played two big pots at the very end of my session. I’ll share the hands later today on my flight home, but one hand I shipped the turn with a gutter and an over after my opponent slowed down. He called and I got there. A few hands later I got it all in pre-flop against a player who had about $230 on the table with KK vs. his 99 and he blinked a 9 on the end.







Current Bankroll: $2,151.00
Change Since Last Update: +$151.00

January 22, 2020 - It’s Been Some Time...

It has been quite some time since my last/first update. I hadn’t played for a couple weeks because of a death in my family and my youngest breaking her foot. Crazy start to the year.

Anyway, since the last update I’ve played three more sessions. One disaster session where I lost $800 over the course of a few hours while everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong, and then a couple small winners in Tampa. Pretty happy with the process so far this year. I haven’t tilted for a single hand, and I’ve stayed out of the pit completely. I’m confident the results will follow.



Current Bankroll: $1,585.00
Change Since Last Update: -$566.00

February 6, 2020 - A Couple More Sessions in the Books...

It's been a couple weeks since my last update, but things have been going well over the two sessions I've played since my last update. Generally, I'm finding myself getting back to being comfortable at the table, and I'm enjoying playing more than I have in a very long time.

I'm up $408 over my last two sessions, and I'm almost back to my starting bankroll. I've also played in two rooms that I never visited before. Delaware Park in Wilmington, DE and Encore Boston Harbor outside of Boston. I thought it'd be fun to keep a map of the rooms I've played in since starting the PG&C thread.



I'm hoping to play at least a few hours while in Los Angeles early next week, which will add my first west coast poker room to the map for the year.



Current Bankroll: $1,993.00
Change Since Last Update: +$408.00