Today, Wednesday Dec 27, as I sit and reflect on my year in amateur (and very low stakes) poker in 2023 - I am pleased to report two rather fun and somewhat surprising results.
1 - Tournaments
For the first time ever, in 2023 I included my WSOP events, which included multiple 1K entries and a 1500, all of which I did not cash in. I did have a small score in a Daily Deepstack, but the trip overall results wise was a complete four figure bust. All told, I played over 60 events over the past 12 months, on par with the previous five years - and I'm beyond thrilled to report that with all those small tournaments plus the big ones at the WSOP, I shockingly still ended up in the green!
UP - $860 in PROFIT
Truly, I'm beyond thrilled to be ahead in tournaments, as I had long ago figured that I was going to finish stuck for the first time in over a decade in tournament play. My two biggest scores in casinos were about $500 in the Commerce and South Point respectively, I had several nearly equally big scores at the Moose and three $400+ cashes in my own home game tournament, including a 1st place in February.
That said, I also had a lot of goose eggs and a lot of disappointing runouts. Filtering my results a bit, I see that I managed to stay profitable in both the online streets and in the live ones, both were in the green - in live play I'm only up just over $660 (which makes sense considering I dropped almost 4K in the WSOP) and up over $200 online, up a bit in my friends group and down a bit in my Moose league.
2 - Cash Games
This was a banner year for me in cash game play in every way, including volume and results. Since I started tracking my play in 2012 I have logged just over 300 cash sessions, but over 80 of them came in 2023 alone! I am a bit gobsmacked to report my profit, simply playing in ultra-low stakes ($100 buy in, .25¢/.50¢ blinds) is...
UP - $5035 in PROFIT
No that's not a typo, this is rather crazy! Were it not for me dropping $160 just last week in my garage, I would've posted a 5K profit! I still have a chance to do that though, as my last live cash game of 2023 is coming up this Friday. EDIT UPDATE: Mission accomplished - I finished up $200 in profit on Friday the 29th, putting my final results in 2023 at a $5035 profit.
I played about 2/3 mix games and a third NLHE only. My time was divided to about 70% Live play, in my garage and at the Moose - and 30% Online with my SoCal and NorCal friend group. I am just super pumped right now, I knew I was up, but I had no idea it was this much!
*******
Altogether I'm very pleased and very relieved that I'm well into the black, considering the overall low volume and low stakes that I play.
And I am very much looking forward to another year of amateur play in 2024. As always I will have to temper my expectations for how much I can play, as I know I am busier than ever at work (which is a good thing, as I am pretty fond of my job, plus I'm guaranteed to cash) - but as far as how well I will do, I can confidently look at who I am going to be mostly playing against, as well as the handful of shots I will be taking (in the WSOP and elsewhere) and simply say - if I run good, why shouldn't I have even better results?
It sounds arrogant I know, but I caught myself saying it aloud the other night on Zoom with some of my close poker friends - "I feel I have a real advantage in this game". They took it well, considering they were playing poker with me at the time, ha ha. But they knew I was mostly referring to the other players at the table but not on the Zoom. Mostly.
And that feeling that I have an edge, certainly extends to my two main live venues- the Moose and my garage as well. And frankly, I also feel it in small tournaments and cash games in card rooms. Mentally, I'm in a very good place right now with my game and my expectations.
******
It has taken me the better part of two decades of playing this game, but I've finally stumbled onto the ultimate golden rule - Never let your opponent(s) know that they've gotten to you. My brother just casually mentioned this to me a few weeks ago, and it hit me like a lightning bolt.
I've seen a half a dozen of my contemporaries live this by example, right in front of me for years, and I never really grasped what they were doing. Stoic, non-plussed, no matter how bad a beat they take. It's not because they are robots or without feeling, it's just that they don't want their opponents to catch on that they've been affected.
It's deceptively simple, it's downright brilliant. And I'm going to do my very best to latch on to this concept going forward. I may not always succeed, but now that I have such a great specific mandate to drill down on - I know I'm going to do even better at controlling my reactions to terrible plays and terrible players.
I know I will likely still fail on occasion, to bite my tongue, but I'm really resetting mentally this month - and with my brothers words ringing in my ears, I think I'm going to do very well at maintaining an even keel.
That is my main resolution, to never let on that I've been affected by the cards or the bad play of others.
And if I apply that in tandem to my other revelation...
Oh, what's that? You haven't heard of my other revelation? Well that's probably because I didn't mention it.
As many times as I've written about my long term goals and aspirations here on this blog, including recently - it wasn't until this very month of December that it kind of just dawned on me.
I was perusing my home poker blog, and really really digging the great pictures and accounts of all the tournaments and cash games (way more cash games this year than last, like three times as many) and it hit me - I absolutely achieved what was most important this year, having a lot of fun and hanging out and sure winning, but the fun, friendship and fellowship are ultimately what matter the absolute most to me about poker.
And so going forward, I'm still going to work hard, study and fucking go for it when it comes to deep tournament runs, final tables and titles - but I'm exhilarated to grasp and understand finally that the ultimate goal of FFF (Fun Friendship & Fellowship) is 100% obtainable every year and the absolute best part of the game and really, THE ENTIRE REASON I'm PLAYING!
It is the one part of the game of poker that I absolutely can control - and I aim to do it every year for as long as I have the physical and mental faculties to play. I already get chills looking back through the 15 years+ in my home blog at how great it has already been - I can't wait to look another 15 or more. It is already a great Legacy, and I'm stoked to keep that going.
And yes, never give up or surrender my "big" goals of a deep run in a big event - but understand that the BIG picture is all about the great joy of the game with friends both old and new. This is a goal that has already been achieved to great affect, and I can keep achieving until I quite literally drop dead!
Sounds like a plan!
******
Yes, I'm excited and hopeful that 2024 will yield great "results" - tournament cashes, final tables, and monster pots in the cash game streets - but I'm just as excited to know that no matter what the cards bring or no matter how many times I punt away a chip lead or a big cash stack - I've very much already won in the game that matters, and will continue to do so as long as I am able.
 |
| The greatest game, so blessed to take part. |
No comments:
Post a Comment