Out of State
Friday, December 30, 2005
Last night I received my $50 bonus from Gaming Club....and then proceeded to give it away like a certified donkey.
The game was 6-handed .25/.50 NL ($50 max buy-in). I was a little lit from some sangria with dinner (which is a whole other story) and I was anxious to play. Unfortunately, it was one of those second-best-hand nights. That said, I blame myself for playing marginal hands and being aggressive and passive at the wrong times. Repeatedly. Consistently.
Stated plainly, I sucked.
Bottom line is, I was in not in a poker state of mind, regardless of my impulse to play. This is the largest leak in my game, and I will have to defeat it in order to move up to the next level. If I get to pay tonight, it will be a test. Usually after a night like last night, I'm on extended tilt for a day or two. So, I'm going to try to avoid that all together by only playing if I am ready (yeah right!).
I've decided that it is time to use the $50 BestBuy giftcard that I got from VPP. I plan on buying a dinky MP3 player for under $30 and then buying some PC game. I may go Chipper's route and try WarCraft. The key for me is to find a game I can play INSTEAD of poker when I feel like playing but are not focused. As for the MP3 player, I don't need anything that holds 10,000 songs. A good 4 hrs of music is MORE than enough. All I need is something that has FM radio and can play some trance music when I'm playing live. A little bit of trance music goes a long way for calming the nerves and focusing my attention.
As for the ESPN Fantasy Poker, I've changed my mind. Let's just lay it out there and have whoever wants join up. If we can work out some sort of betting pool after the fact, then great. If not, we'll play for pride. Go to ESPN Fantasy Poker, Donkeys Always Draw game, password: HEEHAW!!! Don't forget those exclamation points. That's 3 in total.
With HUC2 done, could there be an HUC3? Maybe, but probably not for a while. These things are tricky because they involve coordinating people from all over the world. The HUC1 was quick because we had 8 devoted players. HUC2 lagged because with 16 players, it's a bit harder to coordinate. People are now asked to pay their bet ($25) straight to the winners after the fact, a good month or so since the payer played their last match. I have to imagine that there is a better way. An HUC3 could be very interesting, but right now it seems like the DADI events are the way to go. Maybe after another DADI or two we can get a really large field that is willing to give their $25 immediately. One can only hope.
Final thought. It's time to set a new goal for the next year. This year's goal was to win $1200 for the year, $100/month. I've reached that with $55 to spare as of my AC trip. That doesn't include the $450 in gift cards I earned through VPP and PSO, which arguably should be considered. After all, my goal was to see if poker was worth the time, and I got just as much benefit from those giftcards (my large TV purchase) then I did the other $1200.
But that is this year. Next year my goal is $1800. Joaquin suggested that I make it 3x my current goal, but I don't think I can realistically expect that sort of growth. The bottom line is that I don't play high enough stakes online and I don't play enough live to really justify anything higher. If I go over and above, then so be it. I just think $150/month is an appropriate goal right now.
Look, Daddy. Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets the nuts.
posted by Jordan @ 8:57 AM,
7 Comments:
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At 9:33 AM,
said...
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Wrong. Every time a bell rings, a donkey gets the nuts. At least that's what I've noticed lately.
That's a good goal Jordan. You are right about us not setting our goals too high. I have no doubt we could beat the games at higher levels, but we don't have the bankroll to support the swings, thus we stay at the levels we currently play. I'm with you on that one.
I like the DADI route right now. Those tourneys are a blast and hopefully they will continue to grow and become a regular bi-weekly, bi-monthly thing that we can look forward to. That being said, I would still be down for another challenge as well. Maybe I will try to think of the next challenge.
Have a good New Year bro.
G -
At 10:05 AM,
said...
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Warcraft (World of Warcraft)--Is a timesink. If you never have played a game of this nature prepare yourself for a game that never ends. It will suck you in if you have an addictive personality. You have been warned.
Call of Duty 2...Shootem up game can easily stop at any time and return.
Later and have a Happy New Year!! -
At 10:25 AM,
said...
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Thanks guys. Kip, maybe you are right. I like shooting things. Do I need a controller or will a mouse/keyboard do?
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At 10:30 AM,
said...
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Once again, I state my point that for as much as you play your goal should be 3x what you are at now. There has to be a time here and there where you take a shot at hight limits and once you do well three sessions in a row you will find that you should be playing at that level and beating the game. It will take some adjustment but in the end you will find with your level of play that 1,800.00 is a LE- (low expectatiion on the negative side). Just my humble opinion, but I'm willing to put a 20.00 spot down that you will blow that number out of the water if you play serious this coming year.
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At 10:30 AM,
said...
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Mouse\Keyboard will do.
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At 12:38 PM,
said...
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I think this may become its own post, but in response to Joaquin, I have to explain my reasoning. I SHOULD be ready to move up in stakes. But sadly, I am not. My bankroll stands at about $300, which makes 2/4 limit doable. 3/6 however would be foolish. If I am only breaking even at 2/4, which has been the case lately, then there is even more reason not to move up. Is it reasonable to think that I can win $150 a month at 2/4, assuming that my other $150/month will come from live games? I don't think it is impossible, but that is giving me a lot of credit in my live games. In the end, I want to have a reasonable goal. If I can surpass it, then I will change my goal mid-year when my progress is clear. Most important to me right now is to build my bankroll so I can take the swings at higher stakes. That and play good poker.
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At 4:55 PM,
said...
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$300 at 2/4 is not a good way to go. I would say $1000 is the bare minimum you could get away with at 2/4.
By the way, wouldn't it be easier to set a HU tournament through Pokerstars? It would only take a couple of hours instead of the weeks that the usual HU challenges take.
