So I deposited $100 in December to start off 2011 with that BR. If you happened to read my last post, I popped 2 micro FT's and got my roll up to a decent amount to play $50NL full ring, but I don't have the time to grind MTTs like I used to since I have the new job. I've been dedicating a lot of time to grinding full-table ring $50NL and have had decent success over the past 2 weeks.

I also accomplished one of my first goals for the year which was making Iron Man status on FTP while turning a profit. I can now jump into the Bronze freeroll and hopefully can make something happen there. I plan on grinding $50NL as long as possible, now that I have the bankroll up. I also am owed $200 from a friend, which I am trying to negotiate a Stars transfer for rather than cash. With the new deposit issues on Stars, I can't get money on there from my debit card (but can still get money on FTP). Hopefully I can get that worked out and I plan on grinding cash on FTP and playing MTTs on Stars when I have the time. Typically I can only play MTTs on Friday nights and Saturdays, but even now life is cutting into that time.

On the non-poker life front

My wife and I are finally ready to settle down and buy a house. We're looking at a nice area in Southern NH to build new, but I need a lot of things to line up properly between now and July. I do work in sales, make a base salary and commissions, so I need some of my bigger deals to start dropping and just put the commissions directly into my savings. Once I accomplish that, it's not cheap for furniture, home care, lawnmowers, snowblower, etc. etc. so I plan on being put on a much stricter budget than I am now, which means no more poker deposits. It's back to good old fashioned BR grinding like I used to do a few years ago. Truthfully, when you are forced to play well and make better decisions, typically you do play better.

My new job is GREAT. My boss is awesome. Everyone at the office is much nicer and it's nice to work for a company that I'm not actually worried is going to go under or layoff a bunch of people when you have a bad quarter. Especially when you work in software sales, it can be streaky. Very much like poker, sometimes you bink a few deals all within days of each other, and sometimes you can run dry for months putting in the same effort. I have a lot of pressure in February (end of our Q3) and then I'll have a lot of pressure in our Q4. Hopefully we can close some deals, and I can make some good money. My goals for the year at work for sales numbers:

- Make 100% of my number, book a weekend trip with the wife to Foxwoods or Mohegan for one of the small events.
- Make 200% of my number, play the NAPT Mohegan Sun ME ($5,200).
- Make 300% of my number, book the trip to play the WSOP ME.

Making 100% of my number looks really good. Making 200% of my number is very much a stretch right now. Making 300% of my number is downright next to impossible unless everything I have closes plus I find a bunch more. Always need motivation though.

With that, it's back to the grind on the $50NL cash tables!

Fate is a funny thing....

Nah, I'm just kidding. I've finally settled in at the new job enough to play some poker without going insane with stress. I dropped $100 into FTP in December, ran it up over $500. Took out $150 for no real reason, shipped $200 to a buddy (which he is pending cash payment to me), and then I've run the subsequent $150 back up to $425. So we're hanging in there.

I've dedicated my poker life to $10 and under MTTs (except on Sundays I splurge for the Double Deuce) and $50NL until I bink an MTT...or I just run up money playing $50NL. Either way, I'm just having some fun with the "funny money."

Work life has slowed down a bit. The life of a sales rep. Sometimes busy, sometimes not, but always trying to figure out how to close my business deals to get my broke ass paid.

Also looking for a house in Southern N.H. Hopefully will find something nice!

Those are my random thoughts. Here's to running good!

So I haven't had time to slow down and write a PocketFives blog due to poker, work, and life over the past few weeks. I actually never got a chance to say that my team won the YBL Championship with an exciting 3-run comeback in the top of the last inning. Unfortunately, my arm was not strong enough to go and it only made my decision to retire that much easier. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can get to planning those "poker vacations" for the next few years (before I have kids of course).

Needless to say I'm feeling great about my poker playing right now. Although the results haven't been spectacular, I'm getting it in as a favorite in almost every situation and I've had some deep runs halted by suckouts and losing flips. One time it'll come through though....

I was playing well in last night's $3r on Stars and lost 3/4 of my stack on T7cc shoving to my raise with AQo. Hit the T on the turn. Happens. I was also playing great in the mFTOPS ME until my QQ<AQ AIPF. A on the flop. Pretty gross but I got it in good.

I'm trying to focus on writing this while I have a lot of good things going on at work. This is the first job I feel super-secure in, I like my boss and my colleagues, and I'm having fun (which is huge considering my boss at my first job for 2 years was, in choice words, terrible and my second job at a small business I was always afraid we'd go out of business).

I am looking forward to a $150 deep-stack event on Saturday (25K starting stacks, 40 min. blinds) which I will hopefully do well in. My last live event was the Foxwoods $200 event a few weeks back, and I fell losing a QQ<AK flip in the middle of the pack so hopefully we'll run good and ship this time.

Well, that's it for now! Good luck at the tables and I'll see you there.