Sept. Review

As the time goes by so quickly, I get lost in months and days. I frequently have to be reminded which day of the week it is or what time of the day for that matter. It all revolves around changing shifts(am/pm), changing locations, and generaling just being a traveling construction worker. Sometimes, you have to wonder when you were home last or where you were last week. Throw in the idea that you spend a good amount of that time playing poker on a computer and things can get a little foggy. It's already the 5th of October and it seems like I just posted here a day or so ago. Slacking a bit, so on with a review of September.

Here are the numbers for the month as a whole:

211 games/ITM 47.87%/ROI 16.48%/Profit $279.89

So by the end of the month, the roll has allowed us to start playing at the $20 level again(Cake). That has led to some rather startling results. I've been on a rather nice heater for the beginning of October. I've played 45 games so far and am showing a profit of $150.10!! As a matter of fact, the BR at Cake has surpassed the $1,000 mark(profit+bonus $). To bring all the totals together between all three sites, the BR has grown to $1,141.02. After approx. 10 weeks of running, we have reached 10% of our present goal. I had thought of putting other expenses against the totals but I'll save that for another time in the future.

Let me explain my thoughts on this. Result orientation can be the biggest hinderence to playing well imo. Although having goals that represent dollar amounts can be a nice way to keep track of your endevours, whether or not you are making the correct decision in poker is another animal. The obvious answer to playing well would be that you make money. Unfortunately, that isn't nearly the case. I have been spending a bit of time reviewing the games I've played before the project began and the way I'm playing now. Night and day can be the only true contrast!! Being able to differentiate the diffrences is becoming even more fun. I have learned that money is how we keep score, yet sometimes I think there are other ways as well. We have player comparisons(ie rankings, stats, etc) that can be looked up all over the internet, which can also give us a feel for how we are excelling. There is forum after forum that we can compare our knowledge against and see how our views agree or disagree. There are even books that you can toss to the curb when you finish reading them because you know they're hogwash. So, even though the money can be a nice reward for our endevours, it shouldn't neccesarily be the only way we gauge our advancement in the game.

Which also brings up another topic. POKER IS A GAME!!! As I have watched so many players completely lose it in the chat boxes, I wonder how many of them remember that. As with any sport or board game, there will be a winner and a loser, and all results can be recorded for prosperity. Brings me to a lovely example of the game I love to play. At a local bar, there is a "free" tournament that is played 4 or 5 times a week. No limit texas holdem is the game and the winner receives a $15 bar tab. Tracy(da wife) decided that she was going to play this past weekend and called to let me know. I was amazed because that isn't in her normal repetoire of things to do on a Saturday evening. Especially when I had told her before that the folks that play in that tourney are not the nicest. So, long story short, she gets knocked out in 5th or so, and has an overall miserable go of it. Why? Because there are of few people that play in that tourney that think it's the WSOPME Final Table!!! Any mistake made during play is resounded across the table until another error is found. For myself, such talk is amusing because I already know which way the chips will flow. For other people like my wife and many other people who want to play because it's fun, these "professors" and all around morons basically kill any form of enjoyment that normal people get from the game. Personally, poker is a hobby that makes money and is so deep in it's complexity, I would still play without the cash incentive because it's fun.

Not really sure what that last paragraph was all about but since I typed it, it must be important. Gotta love this blogging thing. To nip this in the bud, progress is progress and hopefully October will be a huge harvest for us all. Good luck at the tables everyone!!

Rodney