I took a two year hiatus from poker basically because I had thrown myself into it too much, too fast, for too long, and eventually got burned out. Right around the time I started to lose interest Congress passed the UIGEA and that pretty much took all the poker wind out of my sail. However, last month I got the itch again and started to remember all the things I missed about playing poker. The itch eventually needed to be scratched and on December 13, 2008 I decided to redeposit $100 and get back in the fray. Although I respect all forms of poker, I only play no limit hold 'em and there's enough intricacies within that one game like full ring, 6 max, heads-up, MTT's, SNG's, live, and online to keep my interest. When I played online before, I thought SNG's and MTT's were fun and did mostly those and had decent results, but I've come to believe that ring games are best for building a bankroll and learning the core principles of poker, so I have been and plan to continue to play those @ full ring almost exclusively. I'm a big believer in strict bankroll management and only play no limit hold 'em when I'm rolled with 30 buy-ins and drop down a level when I hit 20 buy-ins for the level I'm @. Additionally, I never allow myself to lose more than 5% of my total bankroll in any one day and I never put more than 10% of my total bankroll in play @ one time. To me, having and following sound bankroll management strategy is even more important than being a good player.

My goal is just to see how high the glass ceiling is for me. How many levels up can I climb? A level is 100 big blinds for a no limit game - $2NL (L1), $5NL (L2), $10NL (L3), $25NL (L4), $50NL (L5), $100NL (L6), $200NL (L7), and so on. Since I've been burned out playing before, I'm also going to try hard to not let that happen again by focusing more on the things I like about poker, less about the things I don't like, and simply not allowing myself to get too immersed in it. Poker is everywhere 365/24/7, so slow and steady wins the race.

I'm not making any goals related to hands played, win rate, or a specific level to achieve by a certain date, although I may note some of those stats as I progress or regress. I just want to keep moving up levels until I can't move up any more while focusing on playing solid poker, maintaining a healthy poker mindset, having fun on the journey with the process, and always learning and growing along the way. And just getting knocked down a level will not prevent me from rebuilding and trying again multiple times if need be. Will I make it past $5NL, $200NL, $10,000NL, or more ... or less? Who knows? But, a little over a month and a little over 11k hands since starting back up playing $2NL, I'm up from $100 to over $150 @ 24BB/100 or 12ptBB/100 and ready for my first jump up to level 2, $5NL. I'll stay there until I drop down to $100 (level 1) or rise up to $300 (level 3).

If for some reason I get lucky and enter an MTT and cash a big win or get some kind of prize like being part of a milestone hand, that will NOT count towards my bankroll to move up a level. Only money earned from beating a level may be counted towards moving up a level.

You would think EVERYONE who plays poker would try to see how high they can go, but I honestly think some players don't test their mettle as much as they could. Capable ones might get distracted clearing bonuses or "maximizing" their win rate on 24 tables @ once or just don't get momentum going due to constant fund withdraws. I think others get content with winning @ a level or just aren't comfortable moving up to certain stakes even if they're rolled for it. And of course, there's that 60% plus or minus @ every level that simply can't beat it and give up. I'm only going to focus on climbing the ladder and then AFTER I reach a point where I know I can't move up anymore is when I might give consideration to bonuses, withdrawing funds, or finding the multi-table sweet spot.

I don't anticipate that I'll post dailies on my progress, instead likely just when I move off a level or maybe if I'm stuck @ a level for a long while, but possibly more if I have any pleasant revelations or difficult problems. We can also hash out theories why some players are able to move up and some aren't and the main differences between the levels.

It's time to find out if the sky is the limit or if the limit is the sky.

How High Can You Get?
Level 1 ($2 NL) - 12/13/2008 @ $100 -> Winrate for level: 24BB/100 or 12ptBB/100 over 11k hands (As of 01/22/2009)
Level 2 ($5 NL) - 01/22/2009 @ $150
Level 3 ($10 NL) - ??? @ $300
Overall Winrate 24BB/100 or 12ptBB/100 (As of 01/22/2009)