I am still on “break” since my last post. Though it isn’t really a break from the game itself, more of just a break from playing. Through this time, I have actually probably been thinking more about the game than I would otherwise. For a while there, I was all dried up on what new stuff I could learn and this break has opened my eyes to new facets of the game that I can apply right away.

This is the longest stint away from the tables that I can remember in a long time. Though I have played a short session here and there, it was really just to test out some theories that I have, and not really with the intent of getting back into the grind.

Sometimes you need to take a step back to take two steps forward. I feel that is what I am doing through this process. A while back I spent an extended period of time working on the math behind limit 5 card draw. Through that period, my game became that much better. It really helped me be able to put hand ranges on my opponents as well as become an overall more skilled-aggressive player.

Fast forward to this lay off. I have been watching all kinds of videos from PXF and browsing forums soaking up as much info as humanly possible. I have been thinking about specific NLH situations and applying a strong, well-thought out analysis to each. I am yet to see if it all proves to work, but that will be the fun in trying it out in the future.

Speaking of PXF videos. It used to be when I first joined, and I joined from the beginning, that I would just take in the information from each video and have the outlook that it must be right. By having this outlook I never really sat down to analyze the thought process behind each play.

Recently, I find myself questioning some of the play. Not necessarily because it is wrong, but because I might have a different mindset about a how a hand should be played, or I am not factoring in certain information. Also, I might add it is in no correlation to the quality of videos, as I believe PXF to be a great learning tool that any poker player should take advantage of.

However, after doing most of my analysis it proves the pro to be right, but other times I feel that I have enough evidence to side more to a different line of play. The pros can’t always make the right play. No one can. Besides one post I made in the PXF forums, I haven’t really shared any of my thoughts of the plays, something I probably should do more in the future.

I am hoping that this is a sign of me taking that “next step.”

I am excited about playing again, though I am still disappointed that I let my BR slip so much just as I have done so many times before. Though, this time I did manage to not go broke.

I plan to start playing again this weekend, specifically letting the 5 card draw PL WCOOP event being my welcome back party.

You say, well that is out of your bankroll……that is what got you in this mess to begin with. I currently have some saved up W$ and I am planning on using it there. I plan on playing win or lose. But right after that tourney, it is back to dropping down to levels I haven’t played in a while, back to the grind.

This time though, I plan on treating it more like a business. With a set amount of hours of play per day. I plan on multi-tabling more, getting more games played in a specified period of time. This is my stand against everything that has been holding me back thus far. I am moving forward from this point on, with or without variance, and not looking back.