January, the month that was

With January now over its time to look back and review.

Its been a good month and a profitable one for me. Last month saw my bankroll drop below $300 at one point which was a concern not for the money but because it had been my 4th losing month in a row. Prior to that I had four profitable months so it was disappointing to have plateaud and no longer be moving forward.

So here are my OPR numbers for January:

Period Full Tracking Last 120 days Year 2010 Year 2009 Year 2008 Year 2007 2006 (>?) 2010 January 2009 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2008 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2007 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2006 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January with estimated RA expenses (and bounties in FTP Knockouts) without estimated RA expenses (and bounties in FTP Knockouts) View by Game Game Size All Holdem NL Holdem L/PL Omaha Omaha HiLo Other Games

ITM Finishes 1st 10 1st ties 11 2nd 8 3rd 13 4-10th 58

MTT Avg. Finish% Early 2% (10%) EM 6% (20%) Mid. 45% (40%) ML 35% (20%) Late 12% (10%)

HU/STT/MTT * Prizes Profit ROI ABI AFS R/A ITM ITM Heads-Up 2 player $0 $0 0% $0 0 0% 0/0 0% Single Table 3-10 $0 $0 0% $0 0 0% 0/0 0% Multi Table 11-45 $1,559 $228 17% $3.37 45 0% 90/395 23% Multi Table 46-180 $123 $12 11% $2.22 115 0% 13/50 26% Multi Table 181- $35 $19 129% $2.51 4247 33% 5/6 83% $1,717 $260 18% $3.23 109 0% 108/451 24%

January broke a few records for me. Firstly it was my most profitable so far surpassing the previous best back in April of $211. Secondly it was a new record games played as I chased the PokerStars SilverStar VIP level. It surpassed August when I played 402 and the 451 from this month doesn't even include the 70 18 man games I played last night.

Another good stat was the 10 first place finishes which is a new monthly record. Back in August I had 7 wins and 12 seconds compared to this month's 10 and 8. The actual first places make such a difference and I'm pleased with first to second ratio which I think shows the improvement in my final table and heads-up play.

The next goal is to get my bankroll over $1000 (currently at $640) which would be a significant milestone after starting with just $12. I had hoped to do it sooner but I'm still learning and developing my game so just getting there will be great.

After a crazy last week of non-stop grinding, I'm taking a few days off to have a break, get to the gym and catch up on a few other things. When I get back on PokerStars again I'll be back playing the $3.25 45 games and maybe some 18 mans as well.