[rabman50]

You can do it!

[eanderson85]

[aceragoff]

I would propose trying to change this goal to something you can guarantee you can accomplish. (You could get sucked out on several times heads up.) Faraz Jaka was talking about this for new years goals.

E.g. I will play 3 times per week, for every month I don’t have a win I will up it. (No win in January, up to 4x per week). No win in Jan or Feb 5x per week until you catch up.

This way you are the core of success or failure. The success is you playing, not the wins, but you win time by actually winning.

[jim]

+1 this is a great point @Aceragoff well said

[roger_graphex16]

Aceragoff, thanks for the reply!

[jim]

Good luck Roger! I know you’ve got what it takes, so it’s just a matter of time. Focus on what you can control – study time, playing at your best, making one good decision after another – and the results will come. Cheers to the start of a great year!

[elvida]

I am very much in favor goal setting for the year, but I would humbly suggest that you have set goals that will not actually lead to better play. A better approach may be to set what are known as SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time Bound) which are often used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy research and treatment (some models use slightly different words for some letters). The TLDR; bottom line is that you want to set goals for your behavior (i.e., the things you do) rather than outcomes (things that happen to you). If you increase behaviors (that lead to higher EV decisions) you will have better outcomes. Maybe not all the time, but in the long run. These behaviors should also be achievable and realistic in the time frame you have, and you should be able to quantitatively measure them. This will give you the best idea if you have made progress towards your goal of improving your poker game.

This can be harder than it seems. Appropriate goal setting will at times take some creativity and focus of its own. Some examples (though not an exhaustive list) are as follows: Instead of focusing on the wins (out of your control) set up goals concerning the number of videos you will watch or events on RecPoker in which you will participate. As stated by Aceragoff, set play frequency goals rather than winning rates. Create a means to MEASURE how frequently you are paying attention. Count the number of hands that you reached showdown with the range of hands that a villain had when you are NOT in the pot. Set goals for how frequently you will 3b, cbet, double barrel, and other behaviors that incrementally increase aggression in your play. Set a goal for the number of poker podcasts you will listen to (Everybody needs more Jim Reid in their lives). If you can afford it, use of PT4 or other poker tracker is invaluable in setting goals for poker play behaviors. Highly recommended.

Finally, the biggest problem with “New Year’s Resolutions” often is that the “feedback loop” is too long (to quote Nick Howard and give this posting a “Poker Feel”). To decrease the feedback loop timeframe, set up SHORT term goals (days or weeks) that indicate your progress to the longer goal (year). This will increase your accountability to your goals as well as allow you to measure whether your goals are now achievable in the time frame. It will also reinforce your good behavior! This will likely lead to a further increase in “good poker behaviors,” which will likely lead to better poker outcomes. Further, you can modify goals if you are coming up short and remain motivated even if life jumps in the way of your poker goals.

Good luck in your quest of poker development. We all will be watching and hope for your success towards your goals!

[roger_graphex16]

Hi Elvida, thanks for your reply. I did have specific behavior goals in my opening post but edited them away before hitting save. As for my poker studies, I intend to spend 1+ hour/day: watching all of the learning videos here on Rec.Poker (Chris’s Deep Dives are first) and using PT4 to replay every home game before I register in another one. And for the times when I’m driving or working around the house, I plan on relistening to all of the the Forum Post podcasts – (I downloaded like 15 of Steve’s oldest ones this morning.) And as for increasing my focus when playing, I will minimize distractions by having the TV off and Twitter closed. I also have started updating all notes and colors I assigned to players back in 2021 and perhaps most importantly, I intend to increase the time I take to make my decisions as I get deeper in the night – i.e. there’s no need to open jam 66 from middle position and go out in 10th place as quick as I did a few nights ago. It’s not a biggee if I don’t get 12 wins…I’ll be fine just lasting longer in tourneys. Regards!

[jim]

love this

[elvida]

Sounds like you got them (Sorry if it felt I was telling you something you already knew). I look forward to your tournament victories!! On the nights I am not playing!!!