March! A month of plans.

February was a pretty crappy month for the Sleepy Lion. Fatigue, listlessness, and a total lack of motivation dogged me nearly every day. (Actual) work, poker (work), exercise- they all seemed impossible. Fortunately, the issue has resolved.

I feel good and I'm eager to get things rolling.

Poker Goals for March

1. Grind up for 1k. I cannot predict outcomes, but making some money this month would be nice. My earn in side games should be $15/hr, in tournaments I should make 25/hr. I want to put these numbers to work. At 20/hr, I should play 50 hours this month to make my due. So there's the real goal.
2. Establish fixed playing times. From now on, I plan to play every Saturday from noon-3 no matter what, Wednesday 5 PM- 6PM and 8PM-10 PM no matter what, and Thursday 6PM- 9 PM no matter what. I hope to add an additional 5 hours flex time per week.
3. "Coaching", writing, and Video watching. I need to talk to other people are playing to win more regularly. Hopefully through posts, conversations with friends, and sweating with shippopotamus, I will get enough insight. I will try to update my blog more often as well- every Tuesday and Saturday. I also plan to use some frequent player points and free demos for coaching sights besides cardrunners and stoxpoker.
4. Winning approaches. I need to improve my perspective on playing well. I will implement a "cool down routine" beginning this week. For every 30 minutes I play, I will review it for five. By the end of the month I want to establish a warm-up routine and an exercise program to improve my health and focus.

Some Insights: the crappy month has taught me a few things.

1. There can be no focus without perspective. I had virtually no perspective this month and I did next to nothing productive. My colleagues remain detached from such things and my girlfriend is no help. I only got a hold on myself once I took the time to gather my thoughts. I only had the courage to do this once my organization scheme deflated and got chewed apart by wild dogs.
2. Tom Dwan is a savant, but Phil Galfond is a genius. In his interview with 2+2 pokercast, Galfond talks about his perspective on things. He is focused, disciplined, and clearly considers everything carefully. I want to check out his poker videos very much.
3. The more a poker player wins, enjoys his/herself, has a positive attitude, and/or understand the dynamic tension between thinking and doing, the more likely he or she is fond of Tommy Angelo.
4. There is no price too high for a good perspective. If you want to improve your poker play, talk to other people about it. If you want to improve at something else, talk to other people about it. If you don't know what to talk about, take a step back and remove yourself from the equation.
5. If you don't know how to remove yourself from the equation, meditate.
6. Have a plan. It's much easier to amend a plan than draft one. This goes from the highest level to the lowest.
7. Video sites and poker software are a steal at twice the price. I wholeheartedly endorse stoxpoker and cardrunners. I have heard good things about one or two others.
8. I hate being fat, but I love eating. Who's fault is that?
9. I'm excited for the Durrrr challenge. How can a smart guy stand to lose if a bunch of halfwits get into heads-up poker.
10. I really want to Super Sattelite into two WSOP events.

The Professional.

Tommy Angelo, world's greatest poker taxonomist- he coined both the terms* Hijack and Buttoff- has done it yet again.

The Professional. Its ways are a simple, moderate path like "The Tao"**. Or as in the Zen tradition, it represents the finger pointing heavenward and the moon itself. Perhaps it is a poker player's superego.

No matter. The Professional doesn't care what you call it.

When you think about your play, you hear the voice of the Professional. As you think, the voice changes. Not because the Professional changes but because your ability to relate to it changes.

Running well?

Play well, says the Professional.

Running bad?

Play good, says the Professional.

Done with playing?

Don't play, says the Professional.

The Professional is the best instinct and the best decision in all of us, all the time.

It sees the angles and states the right action. How we hear it and if we listen are up to us.

* Hijack: the seat two off the button. By playing aggressively there, you remain too strong to be called lightly- thus you hijack late position's ability to steal the blind. Buttoff: when the button fails to react to raises from the seat right in front of it- the cutoff- appropriately, the cutoff become the new button.

**Or better yet the Art of War. A good general sees Death Terrain before he marches an army into it.

Welcome.

One of my new year's resolutions this year is to improve my poker play through greater consistency and dilligence. In the past, I have played a lot of poker with some "success". I have been a slight winner with periods during which I play a good focused game and reap good returns. However, it has required enormous time commitments and I have not had the opportunity to play with a bankroll I could keep separate from the rest of my net worth.

In 2009, I plan to:

1. Increase the value of the time I spend playing poker. Presently I goof around too much and don't take the poker-rest of life boundary seriously. It is too time consuming and each is distracting to the other.
   
2. Move up to mid-to-high stakes no limit hold em. Previously the highest I consistently played was $5 BB live and $1 BB on the internet. I have had some success with bigger shots. I would like to move up to at least one level higher, possibly more.
3. Return to my high level of limit hold 'em play. Before I got distracted by no limit, I was a very good limit player. I was comfortable at the highest stakes available in my area. I think I can still make money at this.
   
4. Play more high-EV tournaments. Tournament poker is dull, but it makes money. I need to play more of it.
   
5. Expand my poker repetoire. Although I do not think it is as dire as others may claim, no limit hold em is getting to be less appealing as a game. I want to perfect my limit stud and razz play,improve in omaha 8 or better, and learn pot limit omaha.
   
6. Increase the effectiveness of my study time. I intend to become a better "fantasy poker" player, responding to and generating hand discussions on the internet. I also want to increase my use of poker training vids and books.
   
7. Become better at identifying and discussing parts of my game where I am missing or losing value. This way I can discuss them as above.
8. Write about poker players and ideas I find relevant or fascinating.
   
9. Publish my progress and thoughts as an exercise in self-reflection, growth, and self-improvement. This way I can read and share my thoughts.

For the most part, this blog will be a way to permanantly record my efforts and their returns. Feel free to contact me about anything I talk about.