April will be goot.

Deciding on full ring or 6-max

So I've been really hopping between full ring and 6-max lately. 6-max is actually going fairly well, but like I mentioned in my last post, one of my goals is to play a lot more full ring. The reasoning for that is basically because FR is my bread and butter game. Eventually I would like to be playing the bulk of my hands in 6-max simply because it's more profitable and it will accelerate the learning process for me. As it stands right now I'm very inexperienced with shorthanded play, so I think I'm going to stick with FR until my bankroll swells to a size where I don't need to worry about profits too much (say 4-5k).

Now while I'm saying this with what sounds like full confidence in me abiding by my new rules, I seriously doubt I'll be able to keep myself off the 6-max tables. I just want to make sure that the bulk of my hands are played at FR for the moment because I just plain need the money.

My recent progress has been pretty good this month and my bankroll has gotten to a point where I'm comfortable playing 100nl. I played another 8-tabling session today and it went very well. I also dropped down in stakes to 50nl and tried 12-tabling which results-wise didn't go great (-$10 over a short span), but I felt comfortable playing that many tables. It's definitely hectic and I won't be able to do it long-term with my current monitor, but...

FPPS spent!

The reason I'm practicing playing more tables is because I'm getting myself a new monitor or two! Well that is unless I change my mind by the time my goods get here, but I'm pretty set on this. I spent around 55k FPPs on three $250 futureshop gift cards and Sklansky/Miller's No-Limit Hold'em Theory and Practice (autographed!). There is an issue though: I can't support three monitors with my current setup. I did look into how to make that possible though, and have basically figured out what my options are.

I can either buy a 24" monitor (~$400+) and have some left-over money (<$300), or buy two 22" displays (~$250+), an extra video card (to allow for a three monitor setup; $75) and leave myself with small pocket change. Still deciding on that, but I'll have plenty of time as the gift cards have yet to be mailed still. Then again Stars never ceases to surprise me with the speed of their deliveries, so I could be in for a surprise sooner than I'm expecting.

I'm still kind of longing for that Canon Rebel Xti, but that's just something I can't afford right now. Being able to play more tables with my new display(s) will actually make me money with enough time, so that's what I'm getting. Maybe next time I save up 59k for the camera I'll nab it up, but for now I'm fine with the monitor.

It was quite a while since I'd bought myself something with my poker winnings and I was starting to forget to treat myself with the fruits of my labours. Poker was almost becoming a chore at one point, but I'm happy at the moment :) I was actually going to write a whole blog entry on this subject (treating yourself, not me being happy). I can't recall who it was, but a well-known poker authority and author (Greenstein or Harrington?) basically suggested not to be too nitty with your spending. Money management is very important, but if you're not spending your winnings on 'fun' things, then you're turning poker into a normal, life-consuming job which is obviously no good.

To be honest I don't even think I have space to set up two or three monitors at the moment...I might have to do some rearranging of my workspace here to make it all work. I can't complain though, it's a nice 'problem' to have :)

Spring is in the air!

Yeah that's right, a whole section dedicated to the weather. It's been beautiful lately. It's not quite spring weather yet, but it's creeping up on us. Right now it's like 8C but the sun is so bright it makes it feel like it's summer. I guess it's all relative - this fall I'll be complaining about how cold it is when it's the same temperature.

About my apartment, it's still up in the air. The current tenant is moving to a house (hence why we're getting the apartment), and I have to keep my share of first and last rent on-hand for when she does move out. Unfortunately it's pretty hard not to spend money that's sitting right in front of my face when I'm this broke, so I have to exercise a lot of discipline. The new place is going to be massive, very open and lofty and I'll be getting/making myself a new desk for my new monitors. I'll post some pics when it's all finished.

glgl!