Thanks for the welcome Matt. Becoming a part of another poker community is actually an idea I've grappled with and then discarded a number of times over the past few months. Not for the lack of interest or in the belief that there's little value in it. On the contrary, having started playing poker in the hey-day, the post Moneymaker era, putting an eye to the keyhole and witnessing the rise ... and fall of so may great players, I have a massive appreciation for the benefits of being part of a broader poker society; it was more of a reaching a personal nadir in my belief that anything sustainable could ever come of it. I've dabbled on and off over the years, using poker as a form of entertainment, sometimes as a diversion, sometimes as a naive dream that one day I could join the ranks of the greats. I studied, I won, I lost, I moved up, I dropped, I built bankrolls and lost them again. The seemingly endless cycle of the social player who could almost taste that next level.
So why start again now. Well, I am a bit older and maybe just a tad bit wiser -a although the jury is a bit hung on that one at the moment. Nonetheless, this may be a my final shot at full poker immersion and I thought I'd share some of that journey on this platform. So without further our story thus far:
Its been a bit of a mixed affair. With a limited bankroll in place, I've stuck with a basic NL5 x 4 tabling strategy on Stars. Circa 6,200 hands under the belt for the month thus far at a 2,73 bb/100 win-rate. So not earth-shattering by any means but I have worked out quite a few kinks in terms of establishing how I wanted to approach the game. And even more importantly, I've been focusing on the mental side of the equation. The basic premise I've crafted is that at these levels I could play ABC TAG poker and pretty much grind out a much better win-rate. But by upping my aggression, spending more time on analysis and playing opponent ranges, while I've foregone short-term win-rate, I'm positioning myself much better for a stronger game further down the line. Also applying discipline when planning sessions and being able to quit when behind. - maybe not the most +EV decision in the short-run but I think there's some good upside benefit in future.
So the key at this stage is on Focus (playing an A-game over a predefined session, dedicated post session analysis), Flexibility (Not getting into a formula-based approach even at these levels. Adapt to circumstances and players) and Fun (has to be that or else what the hell's the point anyway). That's the overall framework I'm structuring my game around.
Targets are certainly there but at this stage, it more about making the right decisions in each session and on each hand and letting the money take care of itself. At the moment the first target level is $200, where I'll look to move up to NL10. Lets see how we go over the next week.
Current: $164.73
Next level: $200.00
