Well, after brief hiatuses in November and December, I decided to hit the virtual felt come the turn of the year – a brand new start, no mistakes, no unforced errors, no losing my patience and so on. And then… BANG. $640 down before 2007 had even got off the ground.
It’s pretty demoralising when you start the year off with a loss. My New Year’s resolution (or aim) was to play more and earn $35,000 for the year, but with the bad form I’ve been experiencing, I’m already beginning to doubt that I can achieve what, last year, was a more than reasonable target.
But to just moan about the ban doesn’t get me anywhere. It’s happened and I have to adapt. As a result, I’ve been forced to tweak my game. Before I could play pretty tight and wait to be paid off by some donkey, but those opportunities seem few and far between now with my opponents more willing to release hands. Therefore, I’ve added a little more flair to my game by broadening my pre-flop raising hands and bluffing more frequently.
I’ve also noticed more Europeans at the tables. UK and Canada have always been present, but now I see players from Slovenia, Russia, Hungary, etc. So whilst I have lost my American fish, I have gained a few amateurs from Europe. The Germans seem to be particularly weak, so instead of crossing paths with the stronger nations, I’m scouting out tables made up of Eastern Europeans.
So basically, I’m having to be more picky. I can’t just sit down at a table of random Americans and be expected to make several hundred in a couple of hours. I’m going to have to be way more selective now and ensure, predominantly via poker-tracker and basic note-making, that I’m not seated with capable opposition. Obviously I don’t always know, but I soon find out, and when I do, it’s time to find a new table, and pronto. One of the mistakes players make is recognising that their opponents are tough and choosing to remain at the table. Madness when you think about it.
I’ve been playing at 12pm-3am recently instead of my usual 3-6am. I want to catch the Europeans when they’re tired and more likely to slip up. Although I had a poor start, which I hope was due to bad luck, I am now finally in profit thanks to a good last couple of days. The day before last I hit quads after flopping a set under a set. All the money went in on the Turn and I hit my miracle out on the River, so I guess the tide’s finally turning. Here are my results for 2007:
1st Jan = -$640.77
2nd Jan = +$280.38
3rd Jan = +$46.57
9th Jan = +$371.62
10th Jan = +$394.82
Gross = +$452.62
Phew, after that crappy start and a poor end to 2006, I was beginning to think I’d never return to winning ways. The worst thing in poker is not knowing whether you’re unlucky or crap, and although I’m up for 2007, I’m still praying that it’s not the latter.
I’m still playing $1/2. I keep getting urges to return to $2/4, but I told myself that I had to turn my 2k into 4k before I jumped back up, and I’m determined to keep to that. I actually think the $2/4 is a weaker game, but It’s good for my discipline, so I’ll carry on grinding. Speaking of discipline, I haven’t tilted at all yet. Considering that I’ve been grinding my ass off, I’m quite pleased by that.
Perhaps that is partly due to a new approach to my session. As well as ensuring that I play no more than 3 hours, I am also winding down the last 30 mins by playing just the 3 tables instead of the usual 4. It’s the final stages of the session where I tend to do my bollox, so hopefully this counteracts that and helps me focus on those latter, but equally vital stages.
I’m going to play again tomorrow, but after that it’s out to Bolton and then onto Copenhagen for the EPT, so I’m going to find it hard to find time. But I’ll keep plugging away whenever I get a spare moment. I was always taught that hard work got you places and I’m going to continue applying that work ethic to online poker. Hopefully one day all my efforts will be rewarded in full…