Generic end of year post

As 2007 draws to a close, its tradition to blog about the year gone by and make a few goals that one will never stick to.....

So here goes.

2007 was possibly the best year of my life, if not the best than a worthy second to 2002 (I partied a lot and punched way above my weight in the opposite sex department basically). I moved in with my girlfriend, which has been brilliant. I left my old job at Norwich Union to play and write about poker and both have been financially very rewarding.

Poker highlights were probably winning a couple of big buy-in tourneys on Stars and a brief top 5 ranking in the $100-300 6 max SNG leaderboard on Sharkscope. I also had a deep finish in a GUKPT and a couple of final tables at Naps in Sheffield. The best thing was definatly my 4th place finish in the Omaha event at the Pokernews Cup in Australia – sharing a final table with Lee Nelson and Tino Lechich in my first ever Omaha tournament (I won my 2nd one the other week on Pokerstars).

So I’m not going to get too greedy with the plans for 2008, if I can replicate the last 12 months I will be happy enough. As much as I would like to win a WSOP bracelet, I’ll be aiming to find weak cash games and good value tournaments as a priority. For example, I was toying with playing every other GUKPT event this year, using my cash game rakeback – but now having seen the schedule I’m more inclined to use the bi-monthly £1000 to enter several side events on the GUKPT tour, they look that good. Especially the Omaha events, this is an area I think I have an edge in despite only being a decent PLO cash game player – plus it’s such a rare tournament game I could realistically get in the PLO European Rankings for an ego boost.
So here are a few plans for the year, if I achieve only a few I’ll be happy:

Win a Satellite
Despite playing in plenty of big events, I’ve always either bought in direct or been sponsored, I’ve never actually won an online supersat. I won my seat live in last month’s Waterford Open, but I would at least once win, maybe a GUKPT seat, just to say I have.

Win a Ranking Event
This is pure vanity, and I don’t care what the event is, but I really just want a trophy. After a 3 way chop this year in a festival at Napoleons we played just for the trophy and I went out first of the three – I really wanted that damn trophy even though I got the exact same payout. Tournaments are as much for show as they are for dough and I want to break this duck as soon as possible.

Study
I’ve really really got into my pokertracker in the last few months and I’ve fixed a few leaks. I enjoy studying too, so I am hoping to dedicate several days a month to just studying my game and others. The harder you work the easier it gets. I'm even toying with getting some top level coaching and/or coaching someone myself.

Irish Open 2008
It’s not really a ‘good value’ event, in that lots of great players will be there, but this is an event I covered this year with Pokernews and it just looked so much fun. I’m not usually one for playing in events where I doubt my ability to win, but I’d make an exception at this one. Hopefully by winning a supersat and crossing two off the list.

Keep doing things other than playing
Unlike a lot of poker players/writers that I know, I am a player first and foremost. Writing is just something that fell on my lap, but now I’m established I never want to give it up. I love writing and I think I must be the quickest writer in the world – I can write so much in such a short space of time (Which is why it often looks like I’ve written whole issues of WPT Magazine). Playing is always my priority but I want to increase all these great opportunities I’ve been given as a writer – maybe even one day a book (I reckon it would take me a weekend ).

The above is really just pipe dream stuff, my real aim is to lose weight, see my friends more and continue to win enough money online to put food in my mouth and keep my girlfriend in new shoes.