Motivational tasks and goals!

Imposter

I'm just thinking out loud here!

Do people set themselves goals to acheive in order to motivate themselves to improve playing poker or how do people motivate themselves to improve/move up levels/whatever?

I used to have goals like building the bankroll to X amount and then i'd move up a limit or cash out some or whatever. Lately I find I am just wandering. I play different games depending on my mood (level of concentration sortof) or I mess around trying to learn new games without any real plan. This has worked surprisingly well in learning stud and omaha but I feel this approach isn't good in the long term. I also feel that most of the time i'm playing below my bankroll but other than holdem, i'm wary of playing the level of games I should be.

So what sort of targets to people set themselves in trying to improve their play? Do you set aside a set amount of time for book reading on the game? Do you play outside the limits of your bankroll occasionally to keep yourself interested?

Another thing I find is that i'm always saying i'll cash out when I get to X amount. I've cashed it out but it's still sitting in a bank account and is still considered as part of my poker bankroll. What do others do with the part of their bankroll they don't usually need?

Culchie

Imposter wrote:

I'm just thinking out loud here!

Do people set themselves goals to acheive in order to motivate themselves to improve playing poker or how do people motivate themselves to improve/move up levels/whatever?



I used to have goals like building the bankroll to X amount and then i'd move up a limit or cash out some or whatever. Lately I find I am just wandering. I play different games depending on my mood (level of concentration sortof) or I mess around trying to learn new games without any real plan. This has worked surprisingly well in learning stud and omaha but I feel this approach isn't good in the long term. I also feel that most of the time i'm playing below my bankroll but other than holdem, i'm wary of playing the level of games I should be.

So what sort of targets to people set themselves in trying to improve their play? Do you set aside a set amount of time for book reading on the game? Do you play outside the limits of your bankroll occasionally to keep yourself interested?

Another thing I find is that i'm always saying i'll cash out when I get to X amount. I've cashed it out but it's still sitting in a bank account and is still considered as part of my poker bankroll. What do others do with the part of their bankroll they don't usually need?

Meet your twin.

I keep my online bankroll in neteller, and continuously cash out to it from sites, I keep just enough online in the sites as per my bankroll requirements.
I've never 'upped' my ante from the $10 - $15 online buy-ins since I started playing for money about 14 months now, and I'm way way ahead at this stage for these.

I think it's now time for me to move up to the next level....Time to mix it with the Fatboydims, Ocallaghs, Shortstacks and Hectorjellys of the poker world now.
I'm reasonably confident I can hold my own at the tournaments.

However...I've never gone near cash games, so that's another thing I'll be trying this year, and I'm actually very wary of this, it's disconcerting to know you can lose a hard earned tank immediately, something that tournaments has has always protected me from. So I'm going to have to serve a painful apprenticeship here I think.


I now keep an offline bank roll as well, €50+€5 being my biggest buy-in yet, although Drogheda cost me €100 one night, but made the money so that was OK.
I'm going to stick at these levels, but aim to play the big tournaments (such as citywest festival etc...) but only if I earn the reg fee or preferably win a satellitte.
So I'm taking the approach that these big buy-ins are going to be my prize and reward, if I win consistently beforehand.

I have a book on the go all the time, just finished 'Big Deal' last night, next up is '5th Street', and 'Suicide King' is there ready and waiting ...not to mention that Annie Duke's DVD is on the way to me at the moment:D , along with Helmuths endorsed new book 'Kill Phil'.


Oh yea, I want to learn how to deal & shuffle properly and do a few chip tricks, although not doing how to do chip tricks works in your favour I find in live games amongst strangers.


Game On !

RoundTower

Imposter wrote:

Another thing I find is that i'm always saying i'll cash out when I get to X amount. I've cashed it out but it's still sitting in a bank account and is still considered as part of my poker bankroll. What do others do with the part of their bankroll they don't usually need?

Spend it, or move up! More or less all the money I have in the world is my poker bankroll. If I lost it I'd have to get a job, but plenty of people do that. So my money sits in an AIB account earning 0.1% interest. I have a certain amount of money on Tribeca, enough for a few buyins at the very biggest games, and a few hundreds scattered round other sites, and that's it. I don't have long term investments of any sort, but if I had a really big touch, I suppose I'd make some.

ianmc38

I cash out any winnings once i hit a certain amount. I never let the funds in my account go below a certain amount. The money i cash out i spend. I don't move up levels or at leats havn't in a while as i am playing and winning comfortably at my current level in cash games and get a decent return for the a mount of time i put in.

djkeogh

my goal at the moment is to make up for a tilt about a month ago where i lost a good bit. Slowly clawing my way back and once i hit my taget I cash out set another target and hopefully when it's hit I'll move up a level. Currently playing low stakes 15 seater tournies on All-In with the first 3 paid. working at about 40% on them so am making some decent winnings. first place in one pays 7-8 times the buyin which is great. Usually finish up in under an hour as well. Looking forward to making my first purchase solely from poker winnings.