Update - 2010 and looking ahead

So I have not posted a blog in a very long time. Since my last post I played pretty much exclusively MTT's. It was fun and i made alot of money reletative to how ive done at cash games/sit n go's but I just cant handle varience. Played like 1100 MTTs or so I think and made all my money in the first 500, then down 2k over the next 600, so meh, whatever poker you suck.

Some good things apart from profits came from my MTT dabble, I learnt that small stakes MTT are super soft and easy to own. I also learnt that varience is a complet bitch. But most importantly I learnt that higher and mid stakes MTT's see a huge jump in skill level from the micro buy ins and are actually pretty hard to be super successfull at. Just like all other forms of poker MTT are a grind and the main reason i decide to switch back to cash games for 2010 is that I hate having to put in 12 hours sessions, getting like 5 hours in and being like 'fuck this shit' but not being able to leave and anti tilt by doing something else.

That brings me to my goals for 2010:

1. Get coaching and improve so I can beat 100nl.
2. Make enough money so I dont have to work to pay for uni next year.(this year is sorted already!)
3. Treat my poker in a more business like and professional way.
4. Volume. But good volume, dont sacrifice quality for quantity.

Coaching

So I have actually already manage to secure myself a coach, who also makes videos for stox poker, and have booked ant payed for 10 sessions at 20nl. So far the first session went super well, came away with a huge amount of info to digest and process aswell as homework and things to do before our next session hopefully in a couple days. Basically just tackled pre flop ranges vs opponent types and where I was missing value in certain spot aswell as some stuff about double barrelling and 3 betting. So far so good.

Since the coaching session i have logged about 11k hands and am doing much better winning at 8bb/100 which is an improvement from my 0bb/100 at 50nl before the coaching(had to move down to protect roll as I needed to pay in advance and didnt want to go busto while spewing as I learnt).

I also renewed my stox poker subscription just in time for Dusty Schmidt to announce that he is resigning as lead instructor there, dissapointing to see my of my favourite high stakes players leaving but never the less will be trying to watch a couple of the video series on there over the coming months.

Other News

Joined up to the uncontested poker forums about a month ago and really helping my game alot to be getting decent HH analysis instead of the boring stuff on the other forums. Been fun for me to get to talk to the likes of zach and BW again aswell as a few more, as they are really good players who are thinking alot about situations and poker, I find myself to be lagging so far behind in the strategy department.

Will be heading back to school for another semester in about 3 days which is very boring and will put a dent in my poker playing volume no doubt. On the whole i was super dissapointed in my last years results but am glad i passed with satisfactory(compared to my peers) grades. I guess expecting all A's and A+'s is a bit much sometimes.

Im looking forward to 2010 and what it holds instore but mostly I am very keen to get through 2010 and seize the great opourtunites that await me about 6 months to a year down the track assuming everything goes to plan with my sporting endevours.

Good luck at the tables and may you pawn the noobs and slap the fish, while 8 bet bluffing nitty regs.