2008 Results

Well, up until now, I have not ever been able to put up a results post because A) I didn't track my play, and B) I had nothing to be proud of. That all changes for 2008.

While I won't be playing pro for a living in 2009 by any stretch of the imagination, I am 95% sure I had my first profitable year. The breakdown is as follows:

Online Misc - ($72.03) - 3033 Hands
This category is the only one in 2008 that saw me in the red and includes satellites, shootouts, steps, my Battle of the Planets payout, and the Stars "Double or Nothings". Obviously there's room for improvement in this category. I really got rocked when I experimented with about 16 of the Turbo Double or Nothings one day, otherwise it looks as if this category would've been profitable, too. So I'm not too concerned about what I lost here.

Online Cash - $70.83 - 124 sessions - Avg. $.57/session - 9905 Hands
While I played anywhere from $.01/.02 NL on Stars to a couple of quick sessions of $.10/.25 NL, I primarily played $.05/.10 NL on Full Tilt. Obviously I didn't play a lot, and that's not because I don't like cash or anything. In fact, I really enjoy it and think I could play it profitably online. I would just prefer to play a little more meaningful stakes if I'm going to be playing cash and earning rakeback. Therefore I continue to cut my teeth primarily in SNGs and MTTs, trying to snag some sort of a bankroll breakthrough. But its nice to mix in a weekend of cash on Full Tilt maybe a weekend every month or two and earn some rakeback. If I can ever get rolled for even $.25/.50 or $.50/$1, I think I would be significantly more inclined to play cash more often.

Online MTT - $86.84 - 51 Tourneys - Avg. Buyin $7.60 - Avg. Finish 940/2638 - 5606 Hands
I'm proud to have turned a profit, albeit a small one, in MTTs. While the big cash I'm after continues to elude me, I am proud of consistently finishing in the top 35% or so of the MTTs I play. I am happy with the occasional micro to medium cash to remain profitable and keep myself bankrolled for MTTs, and think the breakthrough is coming. But the end of the year and a couple glimpses at missed final table opportunities definitely has me starting to understand why the successful MTT players live by a hard and fast motto of "go big or go home", because there is nothing exciting about being a consistent micro to medium casher, and the hunger for more is burning pretty hard for me right now. And I think the nourishment I'm after lies in the 6:15 PM CST $11 1R1A. Bottom line, I am thrilled to have been profitable for MTTs in 2008, but for 2009 I would almost rather see a big negative or a big positive.

Live - $213 - 25 various sessions
For 2008 this category included 12 monthly homegames ($5 tourneys, one rebuy @ the end of the night, $.25/$.50 NL side games), 6 $1/2 NL sessions & one $3/6 Limit session, one casino tourney that I FTed, & another small collection of various homegames with similar low stakes to the regular game. It was nice to make a small live profit this year, including an 11 months & counting profitability streak at the monthly game. I didn't play nearly as much in a casino as I did in 2007, which I despise, but also don't regret. Try and figure that one out. But with any luck, 2009 will provide more opportunity to do so, because I think my game is in much better shape to be profitable. But for this year, I was happy to nickle and dime a little money in the homegames and keep the big money in my pocket. The key for 2008 was bankroll management and focusing on fundamentals online.

Online SNG - $254.80 - 401 SNGs - Avg. Buyin $6.52 - Avg. Finish 5.37/12.07 - 30281 Hands
Its no secret that I consider this my bread and butter. While I may not pull huge numbers, this is what I do and have played the most of, and know the strategy best for. In a horrendous skid eventually ending in going broke on Full Tilt at the end of 2007, I only played one SNG on there for my last $1.25. The other 400 were at Stars, where I took money I made from a couple of freerolls and bounced around from $1.20 to $5.50 to $11 and back down between January & July, then finally made a pretty quick progression through $5.50 to $11 by September, finally dipping into $22s at the end of September but running horribly. So I eventually found my home at $11 throughout the end of the year. What's fun is I saw marked improvement over the course of the 2nd half of the year and think my SNG game is on point. I'm finding it a lot easier to know when to apply pressure to my opponents in the interest of getting them to fold, when to get away from marginal hands that will only get me in trouble, and playing very fearlessly, but in a profitable way. Now if I could find a way to port this confidence to the MTT arena, I think that would be the key to the breakthrough cash I'm after. Anyway, being comfortably in the $11 range, bankroll wise, allows me to excersize the whole "the money should be meaningless" concept and play the players, the cards, and the situations, and if I bust, on to the next one, but with the peace of mind that I played it right. I am very "zen" when it comes to SNGs these days. Its kinda nice.

So, 2008 was a big year, producing just over $550 in profits in around 50,000 hands. So its around a penny a hand, but hey...its profit.

Incidentally, I have come out ON FIRE in SNGs in 2009 and have for all intents and purposes already matched my entire 2008 profitability in 12 SNGs, including one 2nd place in a 45-max, and two wins in 27-max. So I'm on the verge of dipping into the $22s again, but will tread lightly because I don't want to throw a very fortunate start to 2009 out the window.

As for 2009 goals, in general they're pretty "duh", but I think for me they are legitimately achievable. Basically, improve upon my profitability and continue to move up in levels if bankroll permits and as I see fit, lock up that damn big score in MTTs that I've been saying I'm "on the verge of" for 2-3 years now, and continue to plug away at cash and move up in levels there as well. In general, if I continue to focus on improving upon my game, the rest will fall into place.

I think that's more than enough for now. Thanks for tuning in, and I'll check ya later!