January is in the books

Due to my recent lack of ability to finish in anything worth wild in the last week, I am closing the month of January and taking a few days off from playing poker. This month was a good month, only suffering in the end... here is the break down:

Tournament Count: 73
Total Buy-Ins: $829
Total Payouts: $1,453
Total Won/Lost: $624
Average Won/Lost: $9

From January 22nd to the 28th I donked $117 or about $20 a day. Seems ever since I placed the third time in a row in the WPEX Guarantee tournament, I've been getting cold decks from WPEX and FTP. Overall, it hasn't been a bad month and I feel like I need some time off before going into February. I might jump in the Mookie this week, but that will most likely be it.

Since it's the end of the month, I wanted to revisit my New Years Resolutions I made in the beginning of the month. I feel this is the only way to be honest with myself if I am ever going to achieve my goals.

• Sharpen my ability to read opponents by focusing on everyday observation.
  

I've been working on trying to remember things that I normally wouldn't remember. I also have been taking regular doses of Ginkgo Biloba hoping that this will help sharpen the mind. I haven't noticed too many benefits yet, but I will keep working on it.

• Play more live games at casinos.
  

Only played there once this month. I been talking with some of the SJPC guys and we are thinking about a bi-weekly trip to A.C. as a group. If this comes through, then I will be able to complete this resolution without problems. If not, then it's going to take my own will power to make that long drive to A.C. more often.

• Become more physically fit.
  

Well, less than 30 days and I have lost 10 pounds and have noticed good results in a boost of stamina. My whole point in this was to be able to stay more sharp when playing long games. I haven't noticed too much benefits yet while playing cards, but personally I feel better when I wake up and I have more energy as the day gets later. My only fault is in the last few days I've been slacking on my daily exercise.

• Move into $40-50 regular sit and goes online.
  

I actually seemed to moved down rather then go up. Maybe this is the reason for my last few days of being sucked out on and loosing money. My original idea was to transfer a bunch of funds to one site and then play in their higher limit games. Since Neteller stopped transferring its made this plan sort of difficult to do. So instead, I've been trying to grind out $10-$20 SNGs to build up enough of a roll to play in the higher SNGs.

• Regularly finish ITM in 45-90 SNGs.
  

I placed consistent for a few days in the larger games but haven't done much since. I'd like to finish a lot more as time goes by. This is really a goal that should be revisited in March or April.

• Take down a big game.
  

No multi-thousand dollar win yet, but I have attempted to play in them. We will see how next month goes.

• Play at a low limit, short handed World Series NL Hold'em side game.
  

Again, another goal sort of ruined by Neteller. The idea was to build up enough money in online winnings to play in the WSOP low buy-in even for "free". While I feel I am on a good track, Neteller no longer transferring funds will make this difficult. I need to get involved with more live games.

• Play and win Sats.
  

Haven't done this at all and I really should. The few times I did play Sats, in December, it seemed like the players were complete idiots. I got drawn out on a few times and it left a bad taste in my mouth. But I know I am solid enough to win a few of these and even turn them into cash when playing in the tournament. The only way I am ever going to play in Sats is to schedule something. Next month I will play in 5 Sats. This may seem small, but as I meet my goal I will higher it up from month to month (pending my results). I need to start somewhere on this one.

Well it's going to be different not playing poker for the next few days, but I will keep myself busy I'm sure. I still have lots of things I want to do even though I have completed everything on my "to-do" list that I spoke about last blog.

For everyone who reads my blog: Cheers, I hope you had a great month as well.

Goals for February

• Play in 5 Sats
• Read Mathematics of Poker
• Post more poker strategy talk and hand analyst on the blog
• Take down 4 Guarantee tournaments on WPEX
• Final Table a Mookie on FTP
• Get back on track with my exercise
• Build more confidence in my game
• Visit A.C. at least twice