Well, today is my first day as a professional poker player. I have decided that for the first month I will chronicle my sessions/thoughts every day.
First, my daily goals are:
1) make $100
2) make $200 - Goal 1 allows me to maintain my current living status if I work pretty much every day. This goal will allow me to only work 5 days a week and increase my income by 25%.
3) Get in 5K hands a day
Obivously more is better, as I will inevitably have bad days. And I don't expect to meet my goals on a daily basis. But it does give me a target and baseline.
So, my first half day was amazing. Got to sleep in. Then I went out and tasted wedding cake. Got some lunch and went to work. The first thing I noticed is that it is much harder to keep up a decent set of tables during the day. I was rotating constantly, which was a little annoying. And I also rollercoastered a ton. I started out up 50, then down 40, then up 50, then break even, then up 140 (where I ended my session). Considering I split my levels between 25 and 50, those were some pretty decent swings. But I already made my first goal and got in 2800 hands, so I will have to say it was a very successful first half day. I'm feeling really in control at the tables and am loosening up a bit.
Feel so relieved right now. The last couple of weeks have been hell, just because I was waiting to get on with the next stage. Just killed me to pretend to work for two weeks.
How To Play Pocket Kings
2 months ago
Not sure it's been said before, but why quit when you're only at 2800. Setting a monetary goal per day for yourself may not be an achievable goal. However, a number of hands per day is explicit and attainable. It seems to me that if you earn $140 today and lose $50 tomorrow (after peaking at 5k hands), you're netting $45 average for the 2 days.
ReplyDeleteDo you plan on playing until you hit your $100 goal or until you hit the 5k hands?
You can't control the variance of a session, thusly you can't control whether you win or lose the session overall. It seems you should set a goal that is truly measurable and attainable.
Finally, why quit when you're [seemingly] playing well? If you've come back from a $50 downswing to swing up +190, why not continue to play if you're able to, without tilt?
Dunno if the comments make sense or are useless, but it seems to me that you should reconsider how you make your goals. I think Dusty Schmidt has a section on this in his book Treat Your Poker Like a Business. Perhaps check it out - or check out his excerpts in Card Player magazine each month.