That Time Of Year...

It seems like I do this fairly frequently, but never show the initiative to follow through.

This year is going to be different, because the reason I'm re-starting the blog is more focussed. I have 2 goals in my mind for this year...

1 - Lose weight and get back into shape.
2 - By the end of 2012 be successful enough online to quit my job and do this full time.

Neither of those goals are all that easy to acheive obviously, especially since the first one is so far away. I've gotten so hideously out of shape over the last 10 years of my life it's incredibly embarassing is the only real word for it. I was always a skinny kid, and then I just completely stopped doing anything that even loosely resembled physical activity of exercise, and started eating like a fucking pig, and now I find myself over 300 lbs, which is deffinitely an enormous wakeup call to change my habits and get back into shape. I've already gotten a gym membership, and hired a personal trainer...so hopefully 2012 goes well.

As for goal #2, it seems so far away based on results, but so close based on actual performance. I very nearly won the last $1k Super Tuesday of 2011, sitting 2nd in chips with 16 left when I got all in for every single chip in play in this pot:

PokerStars Hand #72884336463: Tournament #553010001, $1000+$50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level XXV (1400/2800) - 2011/12/27 23:46:49 ET
Table '553010001 13' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: akia86 (108205 in chips)
Seat 2: kevvybrown (154968 in chips)
Seat 4: gilcoe (90194 in chips)
Seat 5: Gorrioncillo (72048 in chips)
Seat 6: jkfrankfurt (139942 in chips)
Seat 8: TIESO.ES (130097 in chips)
akia86: posts the ante 350
kevvybrown: posts the ante 350
gilcoe: posts the ante 350
Gorrioncillo: posts the ante 350
jkfrankfurt: posts the ante 350
TIESO.ES: posts the ante 350
kevvybrown: posts small blind 1400
gilcoe: posts big blind 2800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to kevvybrown [Qs Qc]
Gorrioncillo: folds
jkfrankfurt: folds
TIESO.ES: folds
akia86: folds
kevvybrown: raises 3980 to 6780
gilcoe: raises 83064 to 89844 and is all-in
kevvybrown: calls 83064
*** FLOP *** [Ah Kh 2c]
*** TURN *** [Ah Kh 2c] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [Ah Kh 2c 3s] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
kevvybrown: shows [Qs Qc] (a pair of Queens)
gilcoe: shows [Ks Td] (a pair of Kings)
gilcoe collected 181788 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 181788 | Rake 0
Board [Ah Kh 2c 3s 5s]
Seat 1: akia86 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: kevvybrown (small blind) showed [Qs Qc] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 4: gilcoe (big blind) showed [Ks Td] and won (181788) with a pair of Kings
Seat 5: Gorrioncillo folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: jkfrankfurt folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: TIESO.ES folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Which crippled me down to 20bb, then ran AQ into Sir_Winalot's AK for the rest, or else that could have been the breakout moment so to speak.

In time it'll come, I've come to grips with that, and that it may take a while because I can only play a few days a week around my work schedule...but I have total confidence it'll come.

I've been very fortunate to be surrounded by many amazing players who have taken me under their wing so to speak and helped teach me the ins and outs of modern MTT poker...and for that I'm very grateful.

And, since coming off a ridiculous year in 2011, here's also hoping that 2012 has more big things in store for Griffin "Flush_Entity" Benger, who's the central figure in that afformentioned group of friends.

I saw he's listed on Pokerlistings list of "top 5 players to watch in 2012" which is cool as hell...

http://www.pokerlistings.com/top-5-poker-players-to-watch-in-2012-93335

For what it's worth, that's a pretty fucking good list too. Telks, Carson and Gray are all insane sickos online.

And who knows, maybe he'll get a jump start on it, he's down at the PCA right now, just completed Day 1 of the PCA Main Event, ended the day with 57,000 in chips, blinds will start Day 2 at 500/1000 so plenty of chips.

All in all, things are good, and hopefully by the end of this year they'll be significantly more than good.

From here on out this blog will be heavily poker oriented and some other stuff, but it'll also be much more frequent as a way of holding myself accountable for both the exercise aspect, and the poker aspect. That'll be starting right away because I intend on blogging about my session tomorrow...so let's hope it's something good.