So I decided to play some anyway...

After being on life/nicotine tilt last night, I talked myself into not playing poker. So I opted to study some poker to get my mind off things. I read a bit of the NLH Theory & Practice book (which has to be the hardest read of any poker book I've read..It's like reading a math book, but it's loaded with info) and I watched a StoxPoker video. Everytime I study I poker, I want to play directly afterwards. This time was no different.

By the time I decided to play it was almost 8:00 p.m. I wanted to watch the Hokie/Jayhawk game, but decided I'd play an hour instead. I need to get my hours this year if I want to meet my goals. I played almost exactly and hour and won 3 buyins in under 500 hands. That helps ease that nicotine deprivation tilt.

I'm trying to be more organized this year and poker is no exception. I think I've mentioned it before, but I set up a spreadsheet where I can keep track of my hours, hands, and winnings. I can see my hourly rate and how many hands per hour I'm getting. I guess I'm averaging about 350-360 hands per hour with 6 tables. Last night I took on a few more tables and still had success. I did lose another AA vs. QQ all in preflop battle again last night though. That's 3 in a row for me when that happens. I run bad :)

So far this year, I haven't put up an astounding number of hands of poker, but I have put in a few hours considering the holidays and all. According to my spreadsheet, I'm making $22.50/hr on the tables. That's not sustainable at the $25 tables as far as I can tell. According to Pokertracker, I'm making $14/hr at the $25NL tables (with a 7.25 PTBB/100) winrate.

Overall, I'm happy with my results at $25NL. Much happier than I was at the $10 tables, but I'm playing a style more conducive to the microstakes. I've really worked on my game the past few months and it's nice to see some results for my efforts lately. The bankroll now stands near the $900 mark. I'm going to try to put in 10-12 hours of play over the weekend and barring any disasters, I hope to be well over $1000 by Monday. When I hit $1000, I will start incorporating some $50 tables into my play. The $50 level is exciting for me because that's the level where I feel I've got the potential to make some money at this game. If I can beat $25NL for $14/hr, $50NL should put me well over $20/hr. This is decent money. Where else are you going to get a part-time job making $20/hr? Around these parts, NOWHERE! In fact, full time jobs making that kind of money are few and far between in Smalltown, WV. My ultimate goal is to surpass that $100/hr mark one day.

That's enough rambling for today. Tonight, I plan on grinding out a bunch of hands. I intend on breaking the 2000 hand mark and if the games are good, I might shoot for 3K hands. I think today or tomorrow ends that FTP Double Points promo, so I want to take advantage of that as well. So far, I'm around 2000 bonus points that are due to me from FTP. I'm still well shy of anything purchase worthy in their store. I'm saving up for an iPod Touch.