Call it a comeback

So I guess I should begin by telling whoever takes the time to actually read this a little about myself. I'm 33 years old, married, and the father of four amazing children. I have a good job that pays well, so poker has been more of a hobby and supplemental income for me. I don't care too much for tournament poker, but love live cash games. I played pretty seriously in various home games/underground casinos, usually $200NL to $500NL (3/5 blinds). I would play 3-4 nights per week and did very well, putting my children through various sports, buying new furniture, and getting my family 100% debt free. I spent most of my profits on things like this, so my bankroll stayed about the same over the course of several years. I'm not reliant on money from poker, and I don't use money from my family's budget to play poker with.

About a year ago, I went through a change at my job and they put me on a rotating schedule. I now rotate between night shifts and day shifts every month. This had a dramatic effect on my sleep schedule and mental state. I quit playing live poker for the most part due to my schedule. I went into a depression for a while, as I was unable to work, sleep, and spend time (time that I didn't feel like a zombie) with my family. I dabbled with online poker for a while (Merge network), but due to my poor mental state, I was unable to play properly or concentrate on one game, and didn't have the mental stamina needed to succeed at the online game, even at the micros. I found Deuces Cracked, but the videos I watched didn't seem to help me. Fortunately, I stuck to the micros and didn't lose very much money. I hated my job, and my depression continued to progress, until my wife convinced me to get some help. After several months of therapy and sleep meds to help me with the constant schedule change, I was able to adjust to my work change and get back to the happy person that I was before. Sleep deprivation is a real thing, and it was kicking my butt.

Anyway, I won't go too much further into that, other than to say that you should make sure to be in a good mental state in order to play well at poker. I haven't played any serious poker since last winter, and now that I am in a good place mentally, emotionally, and physically, I am ready to start playing again. I logged onto this site for the first time in quite a while and saw TecmoSuperBowl's blog post here: http://www.deucescracked.com/blogs/tecmosuperbowl/87531-Lessons-Learned This is sort of what I want to do, only he put it more eloquently and thoroughly than I ever could.

I plan to make a return to the local cash games and work my way back up to where I was playing before. I'm also going to give the micros online another crack, and attempt to move up as far as I can. Online poker is so much more challenging! I will watch 2-3 videos on this site per week, taking notes, and work on my game from the ground up. Fittingly, I have watched the first episode of "From the Ground Up". I will finish this series, and then move on to some of the other video series mentioned in TecmoSuperBowl's blog post. I have deposited some money on America's Card Room (I hear good reviews so far), and will be starting off at 25NL. I have a sufficient bankroll for this level, and am not worried about going broke a couple times, as I have disposable income every month. My wife gives me some allowance after we pay the bills, so I can continue building up, even if I go through a bad streak while playing. :-)

My immediate goals are to improve my online game and become a winning player again in live poker as well. Long term goals are to become a winning player online and hopefully move up to mid-stakes eventually. Poker is not my primary source of income, so I'm doing this for the love of the game and for my own personal sense of accomplishment. I have no set timelines for anything, and as long as the quality of my game is headed in the right direction, I will consider my journey to be a successful one. I will be studying 2-3 videos per week as stated previously. I'll play at least seven 2-hour sessions online per week, in addition to any live games I go to. This blog will be a record of my progress, and hopefully I'll have some interesting stories to tell as well. I have been invited by a friend to play in a live cash game this afternoon, so this is day 1. Let the fun begin! If there is anyone who read this far, congratulations. :-) This blog is for me, but I hope someone else will find it interesting to follow as well. Feel free to throw in your 2-cents and advice. Thanks for reading!

Doug