Monday 1 September 2008

2nd Chance

After some serious soul searching I've decided to go back to professional poker. Partly because I feel I have really learned from my previous mistakes and partly because i can't stand failing.

So... 2 weeks today I go back to playing poker for a living with some major adjustments to the way I played in the past.

I've gone over some things which i didn't feel were big issues at the time but shit all adds up and 10 small problems can turn into a major one pretty fucking fast.

Firstly I've sorted out my workspace. I used to play squeezed into a little corner of the lounge with my big fuck off 30" monitor dominating everything. I've finished off my "garden office" (thats a pimped out shed to you and me) and this has made a huge difference. I feel pretty relaxed out there, it's comfortable and I get peace to work... usually.

Limit Holdem is the devil. I'll only be playing limit if the games are particularly good or if I'm in the mood. I'm good enough to be playing different games profitably without beating my head against a wall.

Another mistake I made was trying to re-tool my game too much. I know I can play solid winning poker without trying to over think every small decision. Coaching and websites etc. are superb resources but it's not going to work if you fuck about with your game too much. It's fine bringing in other ideas but it can get to the stage where you aren't playing your own game any more.

Motivation was a big issue for me but I think I'm over that now. If I don't make it this time then I don't get another chance. Failing once is motivation enough for me to succeed this time. I've also set myself minimum daily targets which I must achieve.

Alcohol is out until I've hit my targets. I lost far too many hours getting pissed instead of playing.

Discipline goes hand in hand with motivation and is another aspect i struggled with. In order to stop me from quitting while up a bit or after 10 minutes (I did that a lot), I've decided to grind out some SNG's to keep me at the tables. This will probably be short term but should help me put the volume in. I'm going to throw in a few MTT's and mix things up a bit.

This time I'll make it work.

3 comments:

ROSSI said...

good luck in your 2nd attempt. how much of a bankroll are you using (if you dont mind me asking!)

millar said...

Thanks mate.

I had to put some money in after withdrawing most of my bankroll when I quit 1st time.

I'm looking at a starting bankroll of about $6k but I have about $2-3k I can deposit if needed.

I'm not one for playing above the limits of my roll so I should be ok. (famous last words:))

Anonymous said...

Best of luck with going pro again. I have a little dream where I can get to NL100 and make a living from it.

I could probably do it if I stopped getting pissed and actually played some decent volume!