Well, I never really thought I would start blogging again, but I figure now is as good of a time as any to resume. 2008 started off with a bang for me. I came in 2nd in a 3+R and managed to make a bunch of other final tables with a couple of wins scattered here and there throughout January and February. Everything was going great, but for some reason at some point in March I just lost the drive to continue grinding MTTs. The following months in 2008 would prove to be extremely difficult ones for me. My personal life, while never exactly being extraordinary, was really affecting my poker game. I was never motivated enough to grind consistantly, and my game really suffered because of it.

In the summer of '08, I moved back to NYC to once again live with my girlfriend of 5 years and try to go back to college. I was pretty broke when I moved in, but I had a little cash to work with from selling my car, so I decided to start grinding daily while my gf was at work. It paid off eventually that summer, when I won the weekly 20k freeroll on PS for almost 3k. Unfortunately, because of my unrealistically high rent, I was forced to cash out and never was really able to build a bankroll. For the last couple of months I have been flat broke and trying to grind extremely small stakes with absolutely nothing to work with. (Work in NYC is not exactly easy to come by, especially in this economy and with my limited skill set {lol}.)

So anyway, now that I've let you all in on the background of my prior year, let's get back to the real subject at hand - Goals for the year 2009. I managed to build myself a little bankroll now of about $1700, mostly thanks to Greeson for staking me in a $33 mtt a couple of days ago that I was able to chop 4 ways (Again, thanks man), but also because I played in a Micro Stakes MTT weeklong competition hosted by Mr. Blonde which my team (Sicktight311 & TpocketT) ended up winning. That competition really gave me my confidence back, and it has already paid big dividends. I'm also entered into the OT month-long MTT competition, which I am very excited for. My short term goal for February is to help my team win that competition with as many wins and FT's as I can manage.

Now, for the long term goals for 2009-

* Follow proper bankroll management, which I have never been very good at. Kudos to PokerStars for the "new" table restrictions option, it has really allowed me to avoid tilting my entire roll away.

* Make at least $25,000. This is definitely going to be the most difficult goal, considering how low my bankroll is, and also because I've only made about $40,000 over the last 4 years.

* Learn more about the game. I haven't done alot of reading, I've never watched any videos, and I rarely discuss strategy with anyone other than Tpocket. I feel like talking with some other solid players and hearing things from their point of view will allow me to explore angles I have yet to uncover.

* Learn to balance poker with the rest of my life. This is going to either tie for the hardest or be the hardest. I've never been able to do it well, but I really think with a little more effort I can make myself happy in both arenas.

Alright, well that's all for now. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'll even write another blog, or if I do when I'll get around to it, but it felt good. I've heard it's good to express your goals in public, that it might make you strive harder to achieve them because of the added pressure. Here's to hoping that happens.

Best wishes and hope everyone else on P5's can accomplish their goals for the new year as well.

- Sangwich