November Goals

So I had a very decent October, profit of close to $4k. I managed to put in a fair amount of volume as well as some decent study time so all in all a very pleasing month. With Christmas coming up next month it's pretty important that November goes well as chances are I'll pick up a temp job in December, not so much for the money but it's good for my CV if I show that I didn't just sit around while looking for a career and there should be tons of jobs going for the Christmas period. Nevertheless, here's a few goals I want to attain for the month.

1. Profit of $5000

$5k is around the higher end of what I think I can achieve this month but you need to set lofty goals to keep you motivated. Obviously binking one of the Big/Hot tournaments will get me there in one swoop but I'm relying on a steady stream of O8 and PLO final tables to get me there. Although first prize in these tournaments rarely eclipse $500, they are pretty attainable and my edge in the games, especially on final tables, means I expect to make a 1st/2nd place at least once a day.

2. Ship a Red Label

A red label being a Big/Hot/Omania/Weekly type tournament. Last month I final tabled around 5 of these tournaments, 1 Big and 4 Omanias, but achieved a highest placing of 3rd. Unfortunately due to the structure of these tournaments, the average stack at the final tables is normally around 15-20BBs and even less for the morning PLO8 Omania. The first place prizes in these tournaments are always the largest on the schedules so not closing out is costing me a lot of money. I still haven't actually won one of these tournaments outright though, the best performance being chopping the Hotter 11 as chip leader, so I'm really motivated to bring one of these home.

3. Show a Profit at 180 Man SnGs

Solely turning a profit should never really be a goal but unfortunately in this case it is. I normally start loading 180s towards the end of my sessions when I have 1 or 2 deep runs left because after playing around 10 tables at once for 5-6 hours my focus tends to drop. By keeping the table count up I can maintain focus as well as increase volume. This tactic also works because many other grinders are also ending their schedules and as such the fields become softer. Lately my results in these 180s have been noticeably sub par and wasting a few buyins at the end of my schedule is definitely hurting my bottom line. Over the course of the month I intend to study 180s as intensely as I did before, when they were my main games, and hopefully show a positive ROI.

4. Win my MicroMillions prop bet

PokerStars runs it's micro stakes tournament series again beginning the 14th November and to motivate myself to grind the schedule hard I have made a small stakes prop bet with a fellow O8 grinder. We made a similar bet for the MTOPS series and even though I had a steady stream of cashes throughout the series, my opponent actually won the HORSE event which pretty much locked up the bet. Hopefully I can do the same this time around as we all know $50 for shipping a prop bet is so much sweeter than the $5k orso for actually winning a tournament!

5. Only get really drunk twice

Hopefully this bet should be a lock. I drink a lot less now than I did at university but unfortunately that means my liver is out of practice and the hangovers are lasting a lot longer. Last month I lost a whole Sunday grind session because I was getting over a particularly heavy night and couldn't stomach focusing on a screen for the whole day. I say twice because I need to make two noticeable exceptions. Firstly, it's my birthday at the end of the month, which as we all know is a perfect excuse to drink too much. Secondly, PokerStars are running their second VIP Club Live here in London and last year I had such an amazing time that I cannot miss it this time around. Looking at the preliminary schedule, this year could get even messier than the last outing, so I'm pre planning my hangover this time around.


So there's a few of the goals I hope to attain this month. Obviously the "Find a real job" goal is still ongoing and the grind for that won't end until it has been attained, but for now these 5 poker/life goals will have to do. I'll post a summary of how I did at the end of the month and will probably reference these goals throughout November so be sure to follow to blog for regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Grimiscool) for general updates on life as well as other random musings. Until next time, here's wishing everyone good luck at the tables for November and speak to you all soon. Peace.