Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Mmm, pokery...

So I've got the whole week off from work. While I've got assorted chores to do and holiday bidness to take care of, I've also been logging a steady diet of poker and blackjack the last few days.

Can't say I have any grand epiphanies or insights to relate. In a good way, poker increasingly has become a grind, in that I've pretty consistently been hitting my marks for months now. I'm probably guilty of getting a little lazy and complacent, cruising the 2/4 and 3/6 waters, chasing bonuses hither, there, and yon. But, you know, supplemental income is nice and it beats the hell out of actually working for it.

One nice trend of late is that I'm getting better about shutting it down when I hit my stop loss limit or my profit goal for the day. Yeah, it's arbitrary, and yeah, the cards can heat up and erase a -30 BB hole in a matter of minutes, but honestly, that's not the norm. More often than not you keep playing, keep pressing, keep playing less than your best game and digging a deeper hole into your bankroll.

I have a harder time quitting when I make my nut for the day, especially if it comes quickly. I usually mentally block out a certain amount of time for playing, normally a couple of hours here and there. It's hard to give that time back, especially if I'm up, but lately I've been forcing myself to do it and I think it's the best course of action. Honestly, I loves the poker but there's a whole wide world out there and too many freaking more worthwhile and enjoyable things to be doing. As long as you're at whatever arbitrary goal you set for yourself (assuming it's a monetary one), don't be afraid to walk away if you're up big early. Party Poker ain't going anywhere and the cards will always be right there, waiting for you the next day.

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