2017 was a year with a lot of ups and downs. If that was not the case, it wouldn't be poker. I had eight months where I made money (net profit after tournament fees) and four where I didn't. My balance on Juicy Stakes Poker is $237.84, just a little under the minimum $250 withdrawal on that site. At one point my balance was getting close to $300. The big loss in December wiped out a big chunk of that Overall, I'm happy with what I was able to do.
I did the best I could with what I had to work with. Most of the year I had little or no money to work with. Yes, I was growing my online bankroll, but I didn't have access to that money. Twice this year the printer was down for a few days because I couldn't afford to buy toner. A month ago I was sitting in a beat-up office chair that kept sinking down.
We made good decisions. I had to do poker on a shoestring budget so that we could accomplish some things. We are making good decisions as a family. We put a lot of money toward paying off all of our debts. We pay for everything with cash or use a debit card.
We own our home free and clear. When my wife retires all of our debt will be gone. We have a significant amount saved for retirement. We can fly at no cost because I am a retired veteran--all we need to do is find a military flight with space available.
The plan for 2018 is simple. Keep doing what we're doing. My wife will do her usual great job of managing the family finances. I will keep growing my bankroll until I cash out sometime this year. I started with around $40 (I don't remember the exact amount) on Juicy Stakes Poker last year, now it's $237. I was mindful of variance and almost always played within a bankroll of 100-buy-ins. Last year played $1 tournaments until I had almost $200, then I started playing $2 tournaments. When I found a really good $3 tournament I played it, but my average buy-in was always under $2.
I'll just keep doing that. I'll be the tortoise, not the hare. By the time I'm playing $4 tournaments I will have a lot more options for when I can play. I can of course still play some $1 tournaments, but when I'm playing higher that doesn't stop me from playing a cheaper tournament if it looks good. Not being tied to the same two evening tournaments every single day will make a huge difference.
The one thing that I have not mentioned is Americas Cardroom. When I make my first withdrawal from Juicy Stakes Poker, some of that money will be used to get a starter bankroll back on Americas Cardroom. When that happens I can play almost any time of day or night because STTs (single-table tournaments) on Americas Cardroom run almost all of the time with an average playing time of about 45 minutes.
I expect big things in 2018.
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