Not enough hours, but I'm happy with the money

First, the bad news.  My work hours this month were terrible.  I'm always tryng to put in at least 40 hours a week, but when I couldn't play, except for an occasional live tournament, it was very hard to be motivated.  It's like my situation as a musician.  I should practice, but since I'm not performing anywhere, there doesn't seem to be any point..

But music and other things I want to do are definitely on the back burner.  I need to hit poker hard and turn it into a going concern.  And that takes time, or as poker players say, putting in the volume.  I need to make as much as I can as quickly as I can, because without a decent bankroll (more about that in a future post) I can't make decent money.  Most or all of what I win in the next few months won't be spendable income, or money that I can put back into the business.  It's all about getting a bankroll that's big enough, so I can earn enough, to do those things.  I'm not sure what that number is yet, but it's probably between $500 and $1,000.

So, I need to get the hours in, and now that I'm playing poker almost every day, I'm much more motivated.  But it's been an adjustment to change my sleeping and work habits.  And there's always the problem of being Available Guy.  Last week my daughter-in-law was sick and wound up in the emergency room, and there was no one to pick my grandchildren up from school.  The other three grandparents were all working outside the home, so Available Guy got the call.

It's always great to see the girls, but still, that was a day that Available Guy came to the rescue, and I had no idea how to plan, how long I would have the kids, and when someone was going to pick them up, or if I would have to take them home or to the other grandparents.  So,the whole day was blown up, and I haven't come close yet to getting a 40-hour week.  But this week, with three days left to go, I have 23 hours in, so I have a decent shot at it, finally.

The good news, of course, is that I made some money, moe than doubling my bankroll.  I deposited $50 on Americas Cardroom at the beginning of the month, and now I'm at $115. My next big goal is to get up to $250.  At that point I'm close to being bankrolled to play $5 tournaments (playing with 50 buy-ins is the absolute minimum for proper bankroll management.)

The $5 level is important not only because the prize pools are bigger and I can win more money, but also because at the $5 level there are a lot more tournaments with the kind of structure that fits the way I play.  Most of what I'm doing right now (small tournaments with fast structures) is a bit outside my wheelhouse--I can make it work, but it's not what I'm best at.