Some Goals...

With the new year fast approaching I thought it would be a good idea to write about what I hope to achieve in 2008. I'm hoping to set fairly realistic goals that I can refer back to from time to time.

Before I do that though I need to reflect on where i am now in terms of poker:

I play 5/10 full ring limit hold em. My bankroll is $10k, I keep $5k online and $5k in my bank account which can be deposited as required. I've taken shots at 10/20 and 15/30 in the past and did ok but I've never felt the need to move up to these limits. I was afraid of blowing a big hole in my bankroll. My game is quite good but there is definitely some room for improvement. I am a winning player.

That's pretty much how things stand as I write this. Next year will be the first time I have played poker on a full time basis for longer than 2 weeks. That doesn't phase me in the slightest though. Anyway, on to the goals.

1. Play at least 4 - 6 hours per day.

That one is pretty straight forward and is more about self discipline than anything else. I plan on keeping my sessions down to 2 hours and take a half hour break in between.

2. Devote 2 hours per day to improving my game / learning a new one.

I'm going to spend 2 hours of my working day improving my game. I am a member of a couple of coaching sites and the videos have really helped me iron out leaks etc. I'm also going to analise my sessions in pokertracker and make videos of myself playing so I can spot mistakes. I'm going to post more on forums like 2+2 and not just in BBV, actually I'll avoid BBV and NVG altogether lol. When I feel that my full ring game is sufficiently developed I'm going to use my 2 hours per day to learn 6 max. It's really about time I did this, too bad I'm a nit. I'll probably take 2k that's seperate from my bankroll and start at 2/4 and hopefully work my way up.

3. Move up

I don't have a concrete goal about the limit I want to be playing by the end of the year but I want to play higher than 5/10. If I get to 15/30 by the end of the year I'll be pretty happy. Full ring games above this level are few and far between, hence the move to 6 max. When I'm learning to play short handed my bankroll will be seperate and I won't be playing to make money. I'll pretty much move up or down as my bankroll allows, keeping the 500bb rule.

4. Don't tilt, ever.

Pretty important IMO. I've read a couple of poker psychology books and they have helped me a lot. I'll re-read these as and when required.

5. Make money.

Goes without saying really. I need to make money. I was very hesitant to set a goal in terms of money. If I make £25k I'll be very happy and that would make the whole thing worthwhile. I'm shooting for something in the region of £50k though :))

6. Get to Supernova Elite

The main reason I'm going to play on Pokerstars is their VIP rewards and I'd like to get to Elite by then end of the year.

7. Lose some weight.

You FAT BASTARD!! I seriously need to lose weight as I'm a fat fuck. I used to be really fit when I was younger but the combination of a knee injury and a penchant for Guiness fucked that up. I'm going to start running at least 3 times a week for a far as my lambert & butler stained lungs will let me.

I'll maybe edit in some more before new year as I'm pretty sure I've left one or two out.

Merry Xmas!