January Review

Before I can get into what's been going on so far in February, I first need to wrap up January. It was a pretty interesting month, and I definitely took it up a notch from my December play. I started the month at the $50NL tables, but decided to move up when the uncertainty of online poker made moving up a little early the right move. It paid off very nicely, in both profit and bonus money. I don't add my rakeback total till I know the final value for the month, and it was $864 this month. Here are my Jan stats:

Profit: $2078
Hands Played: 50,789
Bonus/Rakeback: $2043

Let's take a look at some of the goals I set for Jan:

Play 50,000 Hands

It came down to play on the last day, but I accomplished this goal. 50k hands should be pretty easy for anyone playing full time. I know I should be playing even more than that, so my Feb goal will reflect that.

Make $1300 in bonus/rakeback

Earning $2043 I really crushed this one. $1300 is the bare minimum of what it will cost me to live each month, so I want to crush this one every time. I think I might challenge myself a bit more in Feb, and go with double living expenses as a goal.

Study 10 hours a week

I spent a good amount of time on forums, along with working on my game with my roommates. I think I still need to put a little more time into this. I'll be working on my game even more with my friends, and scouring the Internet for some good poker knowledge.

Practice excellent bankroll management

I feel that moving up to the $100NL tables was an excellent example of good bankroll management. BR management is all about making the most you can will your roll while keeping your risk very low. The are many factors that play into it outside of exactly how much money you have. All signs said that moving up was the correct call, not doing so would make me a bankroll wussy. Not moving up when you should can cost you a lot money. While it is better to err on the side of caution, learning when to move up is a very important skill.

Overall, I am very happy with how the month went. I accomplished all my goals and am ready to hit the tables hard again in February. Here are some goals for the upcoming month:

Play 55,000 hands

Feb is a short month, but I think a 10% increase in hands should be pretty easy. I picked up my playing time in the second half of Jan, and if I keep that up this should be easy.

$2600 in Bonus Money + Rakeback

Now that I'm at $100NL double monthly expenses is a very attainable goal. If you are able to make that much more than you need you can make sure your savings are in order, and then invest whatever extra you have. I think it's very important to give yourself a very strong financial base. Lots of poker players I know play just enough to cover all their spending, but have nothing else to show for their efforts.

Improve my game

This is a pretty broad goal, but I want to do everything I can to be a better player. Everyday I want to do one thing that will improve my game and help me to win more money. If I can do that Feb will be a very very good month.

I would like to hear everyone else's Feb poker goals. I'll be started a thread in the forums about it. If we know what your goals are we can do everything we can to help you attain them.