2013 reflections
In terms of poker, It was my worst year financially, but nothing devastating or remotely close. I've always been disciplined financially in poker and whether or not that's prevented me from being in the poker limelight at times, it's kept me comfortable at the stakes I'm playing and thus far has provided me a great way to earn a nice risk adjusted return on my talent. I believe for two straight years I've probably been below expectation at the biggest stage in Las Vegas which is super frustrating as a player who has dreams of winning WSOP bracelets. Dedicating time and being away from a normal life to compete all summer in Vegas hurts when results aren't what you expect, but I can't think of better fuel for the fire for next year.
Emotionally, I feel like I dealt with the worst of it in poker, battled, got better, got mentally tougher, more original, and ultimately continued to love the competition. I always tell people who ask that poker has to be as close as anything to professional golf albeit it with thousands of players around the world capable of winning any single tournament. It's always a thrill to be in the hunt of any tournament and often whether you cash for thousands or hundreds of thousands comes down to the flip of a coin (bounce of a ball.) I can't remember a time where I've felt more prepared to deal with it as a professional than right now.
I went to some amazing places in 2013; Iceland, Deauville, Monaco, Prague, a tour de Scotland, Berlin to name some and think traveling the EPT is as fun as any poker tour out there. I love the feeling of heading out to a new place knowing I have a shot to win a huge tournament.
Health wise, I definitely cut down on miles of running and focused more on HIIT exercises either some form of no weights exercises for time and still love running 200-800m intervals when the weather permits.
2014 goals (poker focused)
1. Stay in the moment.
How to get there: meditate 2 times a day minimum. Meditation was lost of me for most parts of 2013, but I firmly believe in its power. Meditation is often for me about thought awareness and letting the mind be still for minutes even changes the course of the day. My favorite underrated way of meditating is listening to a song and just following one instrumental line in it and thinking about only that. I also like yoga and will set to do it at least twice a week in full sessions.
This goal is listed as number one because I believe it to be the single most important factor to success in anything.
2. Win a major live poker tournament (WSOP, EPT, WPT)
3. Win WCOOP or WSOP player of the year
bc why the hell play a full series if you aren't trying to win it all.
4. Win WCOOP bracelet 2
Winning one is cool, winning a second puts you in another class of champion.
5. Win 1 tournament a month online.
I want to focus more on outright winning since that's the completion of a poker tournament. Thoughts of laddering up in prize money crept into my head too much near the end of the year. While this is generally an important thing to evaluate in final table play and incorporate into ideal strategy, it can't dominate my thoughts. Factors change so quickly that I always want to be prepared to close. Setting a goal will help me keep this in the forefront of my perspective.
6. Win 1 Sunday tournament every 8 Sunday sessions.
7. Review every Sunday tournament played on Monday morning.
I also want to review lots more of players I respect when I get the opportunity to play against them.
8. Find joy/peace in every moment.
I feel very lucky to know I'm happier and a better person when I compare my performance to the man in the mirror. I can only achieve my max. What others are doing is just noise whether it be in poker, life, on Facebook or whatever. One of my favorite quotes from a man I admire immensely:
Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.
John Wooden
That's really just a better version of the commandment "thou shall not covet thy neighbor," but it's something I want to focus on because the biggest disappointment would be selling myself short because of effort, focus, dedication in any one year. Leaving the 2012 WSOP in Vegas, despite very few positives, I felt I had given 100% in every tournament. In 2013, I can think of three instances where I knew I was in lazily "gamble" mode in tourneys operating against instinct, not respecting the game or players playing it because I thought I had some right. After all, shouldn't they know I won the Sunday Million? Which brings me to my next favorite quote from my high school soccer coach
"today's newspaper lines tomorrow's birdcage"
It won't happen again in 2014.
On poker and my life in general:
I realize that poker probably won't survive in its current form for another decade. States are segregating player pools in the US. This process is also happening worldwide stunting the growth of the game all over the world. The next boom will probably be in Asia, and I doubt I'll be able to globetrot chasing the game forever. Also, corporate and government greed will continue to be threats that poker players won't be able to unite against. Also, personally, it still looks like playing poker in the USA for a living will be a joke (limited online market.) Much like any boom in any business industry, poker will shake out into a mature industry that can't sustain growth under the current environment and I'll find something else.
I always have said since the moment I dedicated to playing poker that I'll take a look year to year and see how I feel about it. That being said : BRING ON 2014.
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