That time of the year to look back on our 2013 poker goals and
set new ones for 2014.
BlondeFish;357078 wrote1) Continue cashing in the excellent tournaments at Casino Rama, Brantford and OLG Slots.
Check.
2) Increase my win rate in 2/5 &/or 5/5 cash games.
Fail. I was much unluckier in cash games than with similar hands in tournaments. Most of the time, getting a set will win you a decent pot which happened in my tournaments, but in my cash games, they usually lost in huge pots, such as the
$1,700 pot I posted about. Due to my consistently much higher win rate for tournaments, my forum poker advisor has agreed that I should prioritize as many tournaments as possible instead of cash games.
3) Find other strategy-oriented players that play similar games and learn from each other how to keep increasing our win rates. In case there is a lurker who has also been winning in the above games, please PM me.
Fail so far, closest I found were Wetts1012 and ReefAquarium, but like almost all members, they're playing a lot less in casinos. I know I'm not a pro and nowhere at the level of the University of Waterloo pro posse, but hopefully I'll find somebody in 2014 to discuss hands from the same game and EV-maximizing strategies.
4) Finish reading my poker books for a change, especially the ones I got from the authors directly.
Finished reading three advanced books, but need to practice implementing the advanced strategies, plus a couple more books not yet finished.
5) If PartyPoker (former #2 down to #5) continues to be not worth using my online bankroll there to play, then become pot-committed to playing live: buy a cellphone, progressive lens eyeglasses, snow tires, etc.
Check, it will take awhile for ex-PokerStars exec and Canadian Jeffrey Haas to reverse the negative goodwill bwin.party created from the online player community, so I have bought all the items. I can see the board better than before, but still not easy from the table corners with the bad low-index small cards that casinos other than Playground uses. Also bought a Motomaster Emergency Roadside Inflation Kit, which came in handy on Christmas Eve when we loaded the car with gifts then noticed a flat tire. Will renew my roadside protection service this week.
6) I'll be baaack grinding the high-rake crapshoot satellites :p for Fallsview Poker Classic. Try to win a satellite to WPT/WSOP Montreal, WSOP BC, or Blue Water Classic.
Check. Despite being screwed out of a $5,000 WPT Montreal package when the PartyPoker crapware kept freezing me out on the bubble, I won satellites to BWC and WPT Fallsview.
7) Participate in a cash game study group, possibly including Skype.
Check.