Last year i was happy with my performance i made 88k from 880 tournaments, $100/comp. Thats pretty good and although 880 tournaments sounds a lot it really isn't, i have started the new year on a new regime. I am play a set tournament schedule each night that improves my efficiency and hopefully my bottom line!
This approach was partially brought about by the forthcoming closure of Tribeca, i have been very reliant on Tribeca to provide my gaming, i now realise it is risky to rely entirely on 1 site. So i have spread my play more, extending too DTD, Full Tilt and Poker Stars, i may even make a return to Party.....ok maybe not.
Anyway as of this year i am following a schedule that means i start playing at 8PM each night with 4 tournaments. They are the Tribeca $20k ($19.8 rebuy) the DTD £12k (£50+£5 freeze) the Poker Stars $25k ($50+$5) and the Full Tilt $20k ($150+$13 freeze) playing just these 4 comps each day would massively increase the number from last year. I am though adding more, dependent on my state in the '8PM 4' the other comps that fit on my short-list are the $10k $69+$6 freeze on Full tilt at 9PM the £8k (£25+£2) on DTD at 9:30pm the $50+$5 freezeouts on both DTD and Stars at 10PM and the $15k ($28.35 rebuy) on Tribeca at 10:45PM
The big surprise for me is that lack of the $100+$9 on BSQ (Tribeca) at 10PM, they went and removed the guarantee on it just before Christmas and i now no longer see it warranting screen space as it takes a long time for little potential reward.
After that first wave of tournaments i have the second wave that consist of a $20 rebuy omaha and holdem comps on stars, together with the $50 freeze and $28.35 rebuy on tribeca. This month also see's the best comp of the night, the $100 Freezeout on Mansion with a $100,000 g'td pool every night! It starts at 3PM and as far i haven't seen it break 500 runners. Valoooooooo.
The question is how often am i going to play these 'full shifts' part of the enjoyment of playing poker full time is allowing yourself time of when you want, i think last year i got the balance wrong, i took far too much time off and wasted potential earnings, this year i want to really knuckle down and be more professional about it, i want to be able to purchase some property so i have another source of income, then i can sit back and let the money roll in.....well not quite.
So how often will i play this year, at the moment i have it in my head to play all the GUKPT events and each of the Brighton Festivals, that actually equates to quite a lot of festivals (10 GUKPT and i think 8 Brighton) the key here is that they are not week long excursions where i am wasting money on expenses etc, in Brighton i will be able to play online if i am knocked out early and the GUKPT are 3 day events so i will spend minimal time away and less on expenses. There is of course the need for days off to enjoy myself, at the moment i can't see myself 'working' on Tuesdays, i am having a lot of fun down in the Casino on Tuesday nights in the £20 rebuy, it might not seem like a 'night off' but it is, much enjoyment to be had. I will also take time out for little trips away, i would like to go to Vegas a couple of times this year and i would also like to head to Florida for a bit and rent a plane (i am a commercial pilot for those of you who are new to the blog) and have some fun doing that, it was the best time of my life when i was living there whilst training, even though i was a little poorer!
I know i haven't mentioned cash games yet, and that's for good reason, i am just shit at them, the sooner i convince myself of that the better, i made dust last year on them, it's just a waste of time for me, i could spend the time to get better and really learn them but i really don't see the need, i can make enough through tournaments. The one game i will be coming back too though is NLHE HU SNG's these are a great little money spinner for me and i will play these when i find myself not in a game, so before 8PM if i am up and at the PC, and then after the nights comps if i bust early.
I guess what i am saying is no more pissing about, lets earn some money!
For now though i am on a train bound for Reevio's house (Jamie-Host from Blue Square) which basically undermines all of what i just said about taking time off, still it should be fun!