The Year in Review
I feel like 2014 was a pretty special year for me, especially the tail end where I managed to heat up setting me up ideally for 2015. I feel like in this time I learnt about myself, alongside with my determination to grind through the dark patches and kept the passion for the game, something I was only able to recognise how I would deal with it when it came about.
I managed to play 328 days out of a possible 358 (Took a week long holiday in Spain during the year period), bringing me on to my first goal of the year:
Goals
Play 300 days minimum in 2015
Whilst I've proven to myself I can play more than this amount, I feel it is a solid point to aim for as the past year was lacking some balance during the times I had very little money and drove myself to grind every day to try and see the other side of the slope.
I currently live with my girlfriend who is very understanding and completely understands the life and budget swings of poker, I don't think I spend enough time with her, doing what makes her happy. We have a very strong relationship and can only be glad of all the support she's shown throughout the year, hopefully this year can become more balanced whilst still putting in the graft at the tables.
Break the top #300 on PocketFives
Whilst it's not a measurement of ability, it is a measurement of hard work. The rankings are something I religiously check every Wednesday, and feel the top #300 is a realistic target for the year.
Continue to focus on game selection
I feel this is something I do relatively well at the moment, and with stars changes effecting games (e.g. all rebuys being raked, rake on bounty MTT's rising) it's something that needs great focus. Unfortunately I will have to sack off rebuys as the rake increase doesn't make them too sustainable, and will continue to try and avoid turbo MTT's where I can as I understand they are very difficult to sustain a regular decent ROI in due to increased variance and thinner edges.
Force my way into high stakes
Kind of hard to list this straight after a goal based on game selection, as obviously the higher the buy-in the tougher the field will be (most of the time). I want to become more focussed and improve my game so I can continue to move up stakes and have a solid enough ROI in higher games to make them worthwhile playing.
Review more!
Standard goal for all poker players I believe, although much more difficult to put into practice. Thankfully in thebigdog09 I have someone who is always pushing me for a review a few times a week, he's better at this than me and I have to step my drive up so we are both motivating one another, as supposed to it mainly being him motivating me. That along with being backed by pads, in a stable with a bunch of hard working regs sets me up perfectly as I feel I have everything at my disposal with no reason as to why I can't 'move up the ladder'.
I see many regs this time of year saying they are going to get better at it after a poor year and usually suggest that their volume has been poor too. I don't believe in becoming a withered reg so to speak, when I hit a point in time where I go a few days or more thinking meh, can't be bothered with the grind today then it's probably time to find a new line of work.
Too many people see poker as an easy alternative to work, when realistically if implement properly it's a really tough alternative to work. I don't know of many people who work 10 hours a day at least 5 times a week, as well as having to go home to do more work to make sure they are prepared for the following day, that thrown in with no guarantee of money makes for a tough life.
To a happy 2014, and hopefully an even happier 2015!