Hi everyone

I'd like to introduce myself for those who don't know me-my name is Gareth and I'm an MTT reg playing small and some midstakes tournaments across PokerStars, Full Tilt, 888 and William Hill. I play as missy_gazell or Gazellig on most sites and I also produce training videos for GrinderSchool and Red Chip Poker.

If you want to read about my history in poker than you can check the about me section on my website http://www.onthehousepoker.com. I have made a modest income from poker while I have continued to teach Music, but the goal is to play and coach more poker eventually and do less music teaching, although I don't think I ever want to stop the latter as it allows for a great balance. It keeps me in the classroom too, which helps me to continue developing as a teacher.

I have decided to start this thread to keep myself motivated through August as I continue my transition from small to midstakes MTTs. I will be playing everything up to $22 MTTs and $5 rebuys. I have improved my volume considerably recently and my goals will revolve around volume rather than results as goals and targets need to be something I can control.

August goals

[ ] 20 sessions
[ ] 2500 VPPs on PokerStars
[ ] 600 tournaments

Session goals

[ ] 125 VPPs
[ ] 30 tournaments

I may add more goals as the month goes on, but these are the main ones to start with. I have already started my session today and this will count as Session 1.

Thanks for checking out the thread, Gareth.

First session of the month went ok. Had a deepish run in The Hotter $16.50 finishing 71st out of 6,231 and then busted in 18th of 1,002 in an $11 reg speed on Stars. After a final table finish in each of my last four sessions in July I was slightly disappointed, but it's unrealistic to expect a final table in every session.

In terms of my goals I was some way short of volume after starting late, so will have to pick things up in the next session or add another session to the target of 20.

August goals

[ ] 20 sessions - 1/20 (5%)
[ ] 2500 VPPs on PokerStars - 102.25/2500 (4.09%)
[ ] 600 tournaments - 21/600 (3.5%)

Session goals

[ ] 125 VPPs - 102.25
[ ] 30 tournaments - 21

Not a particularly great session, deepish runs in the $5.50 1r1a (33/674) and $13.50 KO (65/1178), but bricked quite a lot else. Significantly off the pace for 2500 VPPs and 600 tournaments, so will add a few sessions in over the month. It's definitely been a slow start to the month, but should pick up next week - next session on Sunday (after a trip to The Emirates for Arsenal vs West Ham) or Monday if I get back late and then probably every day from then onwards.

August goals

[ ] 20 sessions - 2/20 (10%)
[ ] 2500 VPPs on PokerStars - 178.25/2500 (7.13%)
[ ] 600 tournaments - 41/600 (3.5%)

Session goals

[ ] 125 VPPs - 76
[ ] 30 tournaments - 20

So it seems that the height of summer is the worst time to set a volume goal as everyone wants to get out in the sunshine and enjoy the weather while it lasts. As such my volume has been super poor and I've actually only played four sessions since the start of the month. I only played a handful of games in my last two sessions, but I did find that lowering the table count allowed me to focus more. Best result was a 5th place finish in a €20 MTT on iPoker for €112. Not setting the world alight, but was a session saver.

August goals

[ ] 20 sessions - 4/20 (20%)
[ ] 2500 VPPs on PokerStars - 237.25/2500 (9.49%)
[ ] 600 tournaments - 56/600 (9.33%)

GL! any graphs?