It has been a while......

As I mentioned in my last post I was sure that getting and using Software/HUD would help my game so I bought Pokertracker. I only wish I had the time to figure it all out. Other than going through some reports and trying the HUD I wouldn't say it has helped me a lot. I find the whole thing to be sooo time consuming and difficult. I'm using too many different computers and the program seems to have a few glitches. I need a tutorial or something to help me set up my HUD and how to interpret what I am seeing. I haven't been able to get all my stored hand histories into PT yet so what I have collected to date isn't the greatest sample size.

Maybe it is helping, I'm not sure but my results have been good the last few months. The last couple weeks in particular.

Since this was intended to be a blog to inspire me and to track my progress on the way to steady profitability I better get back on track....

As a brief recap, I have been playing poker almost every day for about 6 years and I think my game is pretty sound. I have had some good results but overall I'm at best a break-even player. Considering the brutal rake and the odd moment when I donk off a months worth of progress in one hour I don't feel to bad about the B/E thing.

So my plan is to figure out what I can do to get over the hump. I have far to much time invested in this hobby to not make money at it or to quit.

During 2010 I have made these changes;

I started playing Live more. I joined the ONPTL and I have played about 25 live tournaments. I have been doing well (http://www.onptl.com) although now that summer is here I can't play as much and I have fallen out of the top spot at my venue. This has helped my game a bit. Certainly at live events and in live cash games. I'm not nearly as nervous as I used to be. Having tested and proven myself against good players live has certainly not hurt my confidence.

I have been playing live $1/2 when I travel. I have played in Halifax, Vancouver and Calgary in 2010 and have held my own. Again I think this has to help me grow overall as a player. As I also play at LacLeamy in Hull I think I have had a good taste of the skill levels in each region.

As I mentioned I bought PT but I am just at the edge of using it effectively. I have also poked around on Holdem Manager. I know these products will help my game. I'm a bit concerned about wasting too much time setting up PT right now until I get to see more about HM. I certainly have become more aware of my VPIP/PR/Aggre as compared to others I am playing with. Keeping in mind my sample sizes are not great.

I have been playing about 500 hands a day of .25/.50 Rush Poker on Fulltilt.

I have been playing .25/.50 on Partypoker. A site I rejoined purely because of the ONPTL.

I have cut my time on Pokerstars by about 80%. I love the game selection there but I'm doing pretty good on the other two sites right now and to be honest Pokerstars is a pretty tough site to make money on.

I'm obviously playing fewer MTT's and more cash now.

One of my biggest leaks was to join an MTT but not actually be able to finish it. Playing more cash games is saving me a lot of buy ins as I quit when I want now.

I have stopped jumping around within different cash game buy ins. Depending on my mood I would play anything from $.01/.02 to $2/4. I seem to have found my comfort level at .25/.50. I can make decent $ at it and I'm not freaked out by the buyin. So one of my new initiatives is going to be to continue playing at this level for awhile. I have started compiling notes and should soon have good information on the majority of my opponents.

I'm also hooked up through MystPoker and Jackseven to get some rackback from Fulltilt. I have only had 2 small deposits so far but $ is $ and every bit counts.

Finally I have a couple bonus's I'm working on clearing. I'm at 90% cleared for $50 now on one. Again, every penny counts.

I hope to be back soon with some stats, self analysis, leaks, and progress to date.

If anyone has some good info on HUD setup's etc, please drop me a note.