Updates and Evaluation Period (10/26/2011)

It seems I’m now officially a professional poker player that can’t win money playing poker. October will most likely end in another losing month. I’m down 3 buy-ins during my first 120 hours of play.
I have sessions where I just lose a buy-in and barely get involved. It’s like I bet-fold $500 and don’t win a pot. I also go through stretches of un-real card and situation dead during the worst possible times. I feel like I’m playing good, it just never correlates with the results. I was proud of the way I played during my 7 hour session Monday, but finished down -$400 for example.
Before I went on vacation I had 9 out of 10 winning sessions. Since I came back I’ve only won 4 out of the last 13, so I’m getting hammered right now.
I’m not really changing much going forward. This should be a 90% straight forward value oriented game. It seems very easy for other pros with comparable skill levels, but life is very difficult for me right now.
I’ve never had two losing months in a row before so this is really testing me mentally.
Evaluation Period:
I’ve decided as of today (10/26/2011) I’m under a “strict” evaluation period. The person being evaluated is me baglife, the professional. I should go into each session as almost a do or die situation. Every time I make a mistake I’m slightly closer to busting my roll and dropping to 1/2. Every time I make a correct decision I’m adding to my bankroll (regardless of the short-term result).
Evaluation periods are good. For example, if you’re being evaluated at your corporate job you are going to bunker down and give 100% effort for the time being. So right now I have no room for error or slacking, I’m under evaluation.
I want this to be a fresh start. I can only focus on the present, the past two months of misery are irrelevant. I can’t control what happened in the past, but I can control the present each and every hand. I want to look at every session very seriously. I want to say I was close to 100% happy with the way I played that session.
Going into every session I’m going to think about 4 things before I sit down:
1) Value, value, value. This is 90% of the game, don’t forget it. If there aren’t fish to take to value town at the table, change tables, or casinos. I have the roll to nut peddle $15 an hour until I string together another solid month or two (not that I’m aiming for this, but I need to do everything in my power to ensure a winning month). Start sessions even tighter than usual when down-swinging (aka now), it’s worth it to not be a psychological wreck early, this reduces fluctuations.
2) Keep pre-flop range and stack off ranges tighter than opponents.
3) Always be thinking about spots to expand aggressively from later positions. Take those spots when winning (you don’t always have to take them, it’s situational).
4) Focus on practices to keep calm and in control. Work on your breathing techniques. Try to at least stand up from the table every 2 hours.
The 4 things listed above should be enough to establish a decent win-rate at 2/5. I feel if I follow these 4 things at a bare minimum each session I SHOULD be able to beat the game and then some. If I follow them I pass the evaluation period, if not I fail. Or maybe I pass, but it still doesn’t seem feasible. So at the beginning and end of each session I’m going to ask if I really felt I passed or failed.
Hopefully I can look at the numbers at the end of the evaluation period. I’m going to ask a few questions and honestly answer them at the start of 2012. I will ask:
Do I really have what it takes to play 2/5 for a living during the next year?
Is it feasible?
Should we be moving in a different direction from poker?
If so why?
If not explain?
And during the next months ahead are we transitioning deeper into the game, or farther away from it?
-bag
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