9/1/2010--Week and month results, and a lot of changes

I'm not going to say much about my weekly or monthly results. Over the month I was about even, but there are so many big changes going on that they will get most of the comment in this post.

So many things are changing, both with the way I approach poker and with outside influences, that this post won't have a main topic, and there won't be any flowing narrative. I'll just list my results, followed by a paragraph on each issue. I'm sure I will address some of these issues in more detail in future posts.

HOURS, 8/21-8/28
Administrative 4.00
Study 2.50
Playing 23.75
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TOTAL HOURS 30.25

PROFIT AND LOSS, 8/21-8/28
Starting bankroll $87.62
Ending bankroll $60.00
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-$27.62

PROFIT AND LOSS, 8/1-8/31
Starting bankroll $57.62
Ending bankroll $54.14
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-$3.48

There are things going on in my extended family that could take up a lot of my time, and I have no idea how much. It could in some weeks be just a few hours, and in other weeks much more than that. How long the situation will go on is also undertermined, but certainly at least a few months. So as far as my poker playing, everything from actual hours spent, to tournament choices and planning, will be affected.

I am pretty much settled into my morning schedule now, and it will be necessary for a while, especially in dealing with the family issues. I woke up at 1000 yesterday, and was disappointed that I slept so late. My alarm was set for 0530 and I turned it off--I guess I'm not yet THAT commited to being a morning person. I have in general been getting up between 0700 and 0900, and I'm working on steadily making that even earlier.

I am playing a lot more MTTs and a lot fewer small tournaments. This means I will have a lot fewer cashes, and more losing weeks. But when I do cash, the average cash will be much larger. It is interesting to see if I am up or down for the week, but that number will become less and less meaningful, as one big cash in a tournament of 5,000+ players could make a good month all by itself. (One player on 2+2 who multitables MTTs reported that one day he played 20 of them. He did not cash in the first 19, but a cash in tourament #20 put him even for the day.)

I will still log my weekly hours, to keep myself honest and to help me keep my nose to the grindstone, so to speak. Having ADD means that imposing structure on a problem makes it much easier for me to perform well. But as far as balancing my hours between administrative, study, and playing time, again, only my monthly results will really have any relevance. I'm now playing mostly MTTs, and when I start a 5,000-player tournament I have no idea if I'll be playing for 5 minutes or 5 hours. That, coupled with the family issues, means that trying to balance my work hours over a time period as short as a week doesn't make much sense. I'll try to get in at least 30 hours a week, but that won't always be realistic--at least I don't think it will. Everything is in flux right now.

I'm pretty happy with the way the MTTs are going. I'm making the right plays most of the time, and I'm getting enough small cashes to keep me about even. I've had a lot of losing all-in hands (usually holding the best hand) where winning that hand would have moved me well up in the standings. When I get knocked out of a tournament holding a hand that was 75% to win before the community cards were dealt, it really doesn't matter, or, to put it in poker terms, getting upset about losing with the best hand is "results-oriented thinking". Poker isn't about short-term results, it's about making good decisions, knowing that it will pay off in the long run.