December 2010 Review

Bye Bye 2010.

December has been a relaxing month with minimal poker play.

The month commenced with a 2 day trip to Paris. On my return I became sick for about 2 weeks which pretty much set this month up as a low volume episode.

I played exclusively at NL100 with the only variations being Euro tables mixed in with Pot Limit and No Limit. My play was pretty bad and I estimate this months spew at around $300.

I ran the volume pool on 2+2 this month even though i decided not to participate. Its good to be involved in the poker community away from the tables and to make a contribution. I may run the pool again on another occasion if the guys thought i did a good job.

I managed to cash again in the Turbo Takedown and also received a nice repeat cash bonus


The final numbers for December are as follows:

26,000 Hands Played
6,588 VPPs

-$14 (Cash Game Losses)
+$33 (Tourney Winnings)
+$100 (TT Repeat Cash Bonus)
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+$119 (Total Month)


The Full Year numbers as at the end of December are as follows:

206,606 VPPs

+$5,745 - Jan*
+$3,385 - Feb*
+$467 - Mar*
+$1,620 - Apr*
+$1,234 - May*
-$1,555 - June
-$360 - July
+$1,208 - Aug
+$1,198 - Sept
+$1,974 - Oct
+$4,442 - Nov
+$119 - Dec
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+$19,477 (Total YTD)

* indicates winnings attained as a part-time player


One of my targets for this month was to play a full day as I would need to for the SNE chase. I did not manage to do that due to being ill and laziness.
I did however trial 3hr sessions, which will be the maximum chunk that i will do in any given session. I plan to do 3x 2.5-3hr sessions per day with breaks in between from Jan 1st. I have to say that they were quite comfortable and manageable. Each session I trialed was playing 24 tables. I played 26 in one session.

Its been very interesting to see the guys finishing up their SNE chases on the forums. Some of the graphs that I have seen on PTR have been scary to say the least. I have seen 2 players with $35k downswings at NL100/ NL200 over 2-3 months as they desperately go after VPPs.

I am really looking forward to going for SNE next year and wonder what will happen in Jan/ Feb as this will dictate whether I really go for it from 1st March or whether I re-evaluate my goals

The summary of the year was as follows: began the year on a heater from Dec 2009. This continued into Jan where I had my best month ever, bagging just under $6k. I played on FTP as well as Stars in Dec 09/ Jan 10.

My run good continued into Feb. In March I went on a 2wk holiday and the month was pretty relaxed. I picked up the volume in Apr and also decided to play for a living. I resigned from my job and was allowed to leave at the end of May while still being paid till the end of July. This gave me the opportunity of dual incomes for 2 months.

The worst possible thing happened in June when I went on a mega bad beat downswing having my 1st losing month in well over a year. This continued into the following month and I decided to take it easy last 2wks of July before I dropped down to NL50 to work on my game. I improved and made money in Aug, Sept, Oct and Nov.

I made close to $20k in the year which is not bad but also not good enough for 2011. The minimum I need to make me Happy next year would be $60,000.
Now all that's left this year is a nice NYE celebration
Happy New Yr to All....!!