My birthday is this weekend. I’ve been blogging all my poker games for one year now. (I started here and here.) After one year, how did I do?
$689! Six hundred and eighty nine dollars.
I did pretty damn good. Almost 700 dollars in the black! My usual games have only twenty dollar buyins. If I played a game a week, we have about $1,000 invested to get $1,700 back. That, my friends, is a very impressive ROI. And I don’t think I played a game a week. Being that far ahead in a zero-sum game is a fine showing.
In addition, I’ve undoubtedly improved as a player. Over the course of the year I’ve developed many good tools, learned how to play many hands. Thanks to the constructive criticism of my devoted Muttroxians, I have worked to overcome my natural passiveness at the table. I am still a value player at heart but I have added bluffs to my arsenal.
If I’m not good enough to conquer Vegas, I’m at least good enough to hold my own and feel that I’m one of the best two or three players in my neighborhood.
And I’ve had a great time doing it. I’ve entertained myself for around 120 hours as well as got to know colleagues and neighbors. If I had only broken even I would still be ahead. Even on nights where I’ve been mercilessly crushed I have enjoyed playing.