I have been playing real money poker for about a year and a half now and what do I have to show for it? Nuthin. What is this due to? A mixture of things - bad money tracking, lack of focus and control, ambitious goals. So rather then just playing the game like I did this year, I’m going to make some specific changes as listed below.

1. Give Myself A Proper Bankroll I’ve decided to give myself a proper bankroll for the year - $AU2000. A lot of money for a person in my case. It’s a bit excessive as I only spent about half this on poker this year - but I have no way to track this. The reason I gave myself so much is that this cash will be all I will be spending the entire year on poker - whether online, live in the casino or in home games. I’ll actually be able to make some realistic choices on how I spend it to - so I don’t go crazy one day and to buy in for $250 at a 2/3 game at Crown or play multiple SNGs at a home game (something which I have done). I’ll be tracking everything I spend too so I can see what games I am actually good at and what games I should stay away from - and to track hot and cold streaks too. Of course, I’ll keep you in the loop.
2. Break-even for the year Really this ties in with number one, but I felt the need to separate it. As I wrote earlier, I have nothing to show for the year in my poker play. By at least breaking even for the year, I can be proud that I accomplished something whether it be my skill of the game, my bankroll management, or my plain luck. Going broke is not an option - so I will be making sensible decisions on what I play based on how much money I have and what the proper limits for me to play are.
3. Improve my game and eliminate distractionsReally two different points but they are similar so I’ve grouped them together. Playing online especially, I get way too distracted and worry more about reading web pages or listening to music then playing the game. If I’m going to play poker, poker has to be my 100% focus - nothing else. By improving my game in this regard, I then have to turn to the books and the web to learn new elements, and improve those elements that I may not use in my game enough right now.
4. Stop worrying about getting the bad side of the coin so often While I can usually control my emotions, I need to stop worrying about bad beats and worrying about folding winning hands. It happens so often that I just need to let it go and move on, so rather then re-read hand histories and paste them to my friends or talk about bad beats I will just focus on the positive and only the positive.
5. Focus on what I’m good at and learn what I’m not good atI have made a little bit of money from playing low level NL holdem yet I lost it when I moved up in stakes. In 2007 I am going to play where I am comfortable in hopes of beating those people who are not comfortable more often. I’ve also taken to playing Ohama Hi/Lo, Razz and 2-7 Triple Draw, all games I don’t properly know how to play. Before I take to these, I need to sit down and learn more then just how to play them, but the basics in the same way I did for NL Holdem.
6. Qualify for the Aussie Millions 2007 and Win a decent cash tournament These two I tried to do this year and never really completed, despite getting close. I am able to cash in the smaller tournaments however I have not been able to do so in the bigger ones, even if it means I am satelliting my way in. With an improved focus and improvement in my game, I feel I will be able to do this.

Hopefully if I can cover all of these, I will improve my game and when looking back at the end of next year, have six new goals to set poker wise. Here’s to the new year of poker.