I'm a married stay at home dad who has played poker now for 20 years. But I always lacked the seriousness, dedication, or drive needed to get anywhere with poker. Over my lifetime I am up more than I'm down but nothing to brag about. Lately I felt a new urgency to focus on poker again and grind it out online as much as I can.
GOALS
- average 1000 hands a week
- start at $0.25-0.50 and work up to next level
- play only cash/ring games
- make at least $15,000 this year
I've been lucky in life to have a family along with a supportive and successful wife. But I am dissatisfied with my lack of financial contribution. Going back to work right now is not practical because I am responsible for small kids full-time (although thats the backup plan once all my kids are in school).
But this year I hit the ground running with a number of personal goals including taking another shot at poker. I feel like I have a better understanding of the game than I ever did in my life, and being a dad and husband has given me a lot more patience and emotional stability that I lacked before. Last year I kept making kids and lack of time into an excuse not to play, but this year I started just playing whenever I can, usually in the morning or mid-day and maybe for an hour at a time or even less (it all adds up and I find playing even half hour a day helps maintain proficiency).
I've also been using DriveHud2 which is a huge help in analyzing sessions and overall play. February is the first full month that I tracked. I only played 2500 hands (still a big step up from 2023) and overall down around $140. But most of my losses came early when I was rusty and didn't have my head on straight yet, and donked off a few stacks overpaying hands like QQ and JJ. But I've been on the up in recent weeks.
A big part of my poker philosophy is just cutting losses in tough situations and waiting for the easy wins that always present themselves when you put in enough volume.
I also write a lot about poker. Usually I write after a bad hand or losing session. It helps me get over the disappointment and helps me develop ideas how I want to play. This year in particular I changed up some of my past conceptions and strategies and I probably I will post some of my poker ideas.
