A New Year

It's a new year and I'm reviewing and reevaluating everything.

I didn't win anything, in fact, I was down for the year. I've thought about that a lot, and it's not enough to make me stop playing, for several reasons:

1. The poker options were really bad. I live more than 100 miles from the nearest casino that deals no limit holdem tournaments. The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has done all they can to eliminate the charity rooms that they are supposed to be regulating. To give just one of the many egregious examples, one of the room owners was told that:

he could not advertise

he could not list the tournaments, or even mention them on his web site

he could not have the phone number on his web site

That is such an obvious assault against freedom of speech that I'm trying to stir up some publicity that will shame the MCGB into rescinding many of those rules.

2. Small sample size. Statistically, playing a few tournaments means nothing. Anything less than a few hundred tournaments is not a statically valid sample size, and says nothing about the ability of the player.

There were times when I could play live no more than twice a month. As with any job, someone's chances of making an income as a part-time player aren't good.

3. Outside factors and changes in my situation. I am still a caregiver for my mother-in-law. I agreed to do it, and I'll stick it out, but no one dreamed that it would go on this long. Starting with bringing meals and building from there, we have been in some way helping with her care for seven years.

That takes away time that I can play or study, but it's not the only problem. When I play poker my schedule is geared toward staying up late at night. If I go deep into a tournament that starts at 7 P.M. I could be playing well after midnight, then I come home and unwind for a few hours.

When I'm at home I try to sleep until noon so I will be completely rested before a live tournament. When I'm with my mother in-law I have to be up whenever she gets up, and the change is difficult. It's not unusual for me to sleep for just two hours each of my first two nights there.

I could go on, but this post isn't about whining, it's about taking a hard look at what I can do and what I can change. I have significantly cut my television time. If I have four hours free, I can't sit on my butt and watch TV the whole time. I need to put hours in, both studying and at the tables, both live and online.

A year ago I would have watched every minute of the two football playoff games on TV. Last night I watched about an hour of the first game and half of the second one. I used the three hours or so that I wasn't watching football for study.  I like to watch TV as much as the next person, but if I have to cut back my viewing even more, I will do that.  I can live without television.  I can't have another poker year like the last one.  There are some things that I can control, and I need to do that.

I'm sure that much of what I'm changing will be mentioned in future posts.  When I write these posts it helps me think about what I'm doing, and it's a good way of holding myself accountable.  I've been thinking about what things I should be doing every day.  Posting here probably belongs on that list.