$10,000 in 30 days

$10,000 in 30 days.

That's my self-issued challenge. I'm going to try to do it playing only 1-2 no limit. No tournaments or bigger games - just killing the same game 40 hour per week. In order to do it, three things have to happen :

1. I need to play well.
2. I have to play at least 40 hours per week.
3. I can't run bad - I don't have to be super lucky, just not really unlucky.

If I had to bet (I think about odds a lot), I'd make myself a 2-1 underdog to do this.It's basically $60 per hour for 40 hours for 4.5 weeks. That's a lot of grinding.

The reason I'm doing this is to see whether I am ready to make the kind of money I need to stay in this for the forseeable future. I want to be at around 10k per month. As of yet, I haven't made the kind of time sacrifices needed to do it - and that's fine. I've made enough to get by averaging 20-25 hours per week. I have to find out whether I can handle the mental grind of an increased playing schedule.

I'm going to upload some quick video blog updates detailing how I'm doing.

I have until October 22 to do it. Wish me luck!

Still Playing

Hey,

I'm looking forward to writing regularly in the blog again. As the summer fades away, I'll have more down time inside, and am planning to do alot of writing. I've actually written a few pages detailing poker strategy. They are a little too detailed and "pokerish" for this blog, but are fun to write. I may start another blog and try to circulate it within the poker world. I think I have alot to say about how to win at small and mid-stakes live poker. Maybe someone wants to pay to read it.

For the last half of August and first few weeks of September, I only played a few days a week. I took some time off and tried to do as many fun things with Amber as I could. Then she started kindergarten and I made sure to be there when she got off the bus, etc.,

When I have been playing I've been winning regularly. Mostly I'm playing 1-2 no limit, and crushing it. Here are my last 3 weeks results :

8/31 - 4 hours, +$924
9/1 - 4 hours +$67
9/7 - 5 hours + $694
9/8 - 4 hours +$412
9/9 = 4 hours +$155
9/10 = 8 hours +$421
9/14 = 4 hours -$612
9/15 = 4 hours +$260
9/16 = 4 hours +$561
9/17 = 4 hours +$347
9/18 = 4 hours +$614

Total = 49 hours = + $3843 $78.42/hr

That is an absurd rate. I can't keep it up. Obviously I'm running well. However, I am amazed at how differently I play this (1-2 no limit) game than even a few months ago. I have a completely different style. I used to play fairly solid, and rely on people to make mistakes. Now, I am raising constantly, and forcing people to play uncomfortably big pots with me, when they almost always make mistakes. When there is more money on the line, people make HUGE errors. They are either too scared, and play too passively, or want the pot so badly that they are overly aggressive. I am cultivating a maniac image, when in actuality I'm in complete control. For every one big pot that I'm losing, I'm probably winning 4.

For now, I'm going to concentrate on continuing to kill this game. There is no real reason, other than ego, to play bigger - and leaving with full racks of chips almost every time satisfies the ego quite nicely.

As we settle into Amber's new schedule with kindergarten, I am going to try to get back to 30-40 hours per week. It's just too profitable not to start paying babysitters, etc., Obviously my priorities remain being there for her as much as possible.

I want to give myself a challenge, like "$4000 in two weeks," to keep myself motivated. I'm working on the details.

Let me know if you're ever down at Foxwoods!