Brian ‘bfizz11’ Fite has used goal-setting to become incredibly successful in poker

In mid-June, Brian ‘bfizz11’ Fite created a blog that outlined a special bankroll-building challenge. Starting with $1,000, his goal is to get to $50,000 before he leaves Mexico to spend some quality Christmastime back home in Texas. Fite is a goal-setter, driven by a desire to accomplish anything he sets out to do, so it’d be a surprise to see him fall short of $50,000 before December hits.

Another goal he has is to get healthy. To accomplish that, he’s done away with meat and is making strides to go full-on vegan. He’s also adopted a vigorous exercise routine, stopped drinking alcohol, lifts weights six days a week, walks his pit bull religiously, and is writing a curriculum for a poker training program. Somewhere in there, he sleeps.

“There is a lot going on over here,” he said, perhaps selling the gravity of the situation a bit short. “I stay very busy. Balance is not my strong point because making money and building a foundation for my future are what consumes my mind most of the day. Going vegan and exercising don’t strike me as daunting tasks either. They both feel like things I have been putting off, and I was a college athlete and have always been into staying in shape. The stars have just aligned lately.”

The stars aligned so well that Fite final tabled the PokerStars Sunday Million last weekend for $63,000, his second largest score ever and his biggest one in seven years. Call it the perfect storm of events: wholesale life changes, financial targets to hit, and a focused mind.

“I used to feel myself getting a little nervous, maybe even cold with sweaty palms,” he said of running deep in the past. “I don’t remember the last time I felt nervous at the table, and SCOOP was a nail-biter for me. I had a 12th place finish in the $1K SCOOP Super Tuesday and a deep run in the $1K SCOOP Main Event. It was then that I realized I finally had the unshakable confidence I had always desired. The money doesn’t faze me at all. I just really want to win.”

His bankroll-building challenge is the latest example of how goal-setting can pay off. His discipline and focus from the challenge, and from his life changes in general, invariably led to his big Sunday Million win.

In his bankroll challenge, he’s abiding by strict guidelines of games he’ll play:

  • $1K to $5K bankroll: $22 and under only
  • $5K to $10K bankroll: $44 and under only
  • $10K to $20K bankroll: $55 and under only
  • $20K to $30K bankroll: $109 and under only
  • $30K to $50K bankroll: $320 and under only

“I have some pretty ambitious big-picture goals,” he said. “Things of this nature produce growth and exposure. They bring out the best in me and make it tough to slack. I am putting myself out there to accept money in return for poker mentorship, so it’s not something I take lightly at all. I want to improve in all areas and I have been guilty of becoming complacent in the past. These things help ensure that complacency won’t happen. It’s also great content for my students. They need all of this material, so in a way I’m just doing my job.”

Bankroll-builders have been around for as long as poker. Chris Ferguson once turned $0 into $10,000. Bracelet winner Chris ‘Fox’ Wallace wrote an article on bankroll management that’s one of the most popular strategy pieces ever on PocketFives. And now Fite put forth his own challenge. But, can an Average Joe, the poker player a bankroll-builder is targeted at, really emulate success? Do challenges like Fite’s still serve a purpose?

“I think I have a big advantage because I was a 180-man pioneer and made more money at those games than anyone back in the day, so I think people are sort of anxious to see if I really can make $50K in six months at sit and gos,” Fite said. “I already have a decent number of followers and a lot of support, so for me it feels very easy and I am highly motivated to produce results for everyone watching. Some are watching for entertainment and others are watching to learn. But if you are not a profitable player, then following my progress will be tremendously helpful.”

Fite has over $3 million in career online tournament winnings and is three months removed from scoring his second PocketFives Triple Crown. None of that would have been possible without success in 180-man sit and gos, which were his bread and butter.

“I was one of the first ones to step really far outside of equilibrium strategies and focus on exploitative play,” he said of his 180-man prowess. “It earned me a lot of money for a long time because the knowledge needed to adjust to me wasn’t readily available. I also had extensive experience in single-table sit and gos as well as 45-mans. I moved into 180-mans when other pros were saying they were too high-variance to be beatable.”

If he completes his bankroll challenge, it’s inevitable that another challenge will follow. Maybe it’ll be going full-on vegan. Maybe it’ll be bringing a certain number of pupils to his home for poker training. Maybe it’ll be writing a book, which he’s wanted to do. The sky’s the limit.

“I want to be efficient with my time,” he said of his knack for hitting goals. “I want to plan my day on paper and cross things off a list as I get them done. I want to have a list for the grocery store and be prepared, hitting all the aisles in order and perfecting it each time I go back. Setting goals and making lists are great ways to keep your eye on the prize. The feeling of crossing goals off a list and making new, bigger, more advanced goals is a self-esteem-booster as well. It makes you feel good and makes all the hard work feel easy when you are sitting on the mental high of success.”

Keep that in mind the next time you hit up the grocery store and spend an hour wandering around in circles.

Fite also owes some of his success to Hugh ‘Bigbluffzinc’ Drummond, who works with BBZ Staking. “He has spent a lot of one-on-one time with me and had faith in my game even while I was on a huge downswing. And to my biggest supporters – my parents, girlfriend, lenballs1014, and all of the others – I am very grateful and lucky to have you all. Thank you.”