(Edit 5/1/09) I moved past the 2.7k bankroll mark with 1.3k withdrawn, and I'm taking my first shot at 100nl - 5k hands and up a few BI. I'm learning a lot about poker, though I still suck. I would like this operation thread to accomplish 3 things:

1. Inspire other beginners
2. Journal my progress
3. Collect useful links

I had a break through in late September, 2008. In the past six months I've gone from 10nl to 100nl, from less than $500 to $4k total in bankroll + withdrawals.

I use this thread to post "articles" to inspire beginners and to help me think more clearly about poker, and I update these first couple of posts to keep current info and good links readily available for me and others. Several beginners have thanked me for my posts. As long as beginners like them, I'll keep right on. Writing down my thoughts helps me more than anyone else. Experts can bypass them. There are many other places on this site to look for great players' advice on poker. Here are some of my "articles" and posts.

Contest Winning FTR Strategy Article

Exploitation and the FTC Theorem

Poker Inspiration

1. Fight Club
2. Poker: The Crazy Bitch
3. Rubbin' is Racin'
4. LOL Wife-aments

Beginner's Digest Article

Microstakes Misconceptions

Poker Guide

Noobie's First 5k Hands at NL10: Guide, Links and Advice

For any Beginners or Noobs out there, the biggest key I've learned to winning at poker is to develop the discipline to move up levels. The discipline to admit when you suck and work hard to improve. The discipline to stay at a level and grind your way up patiently. The discipline to move back down if the variance gets you and you hit your stop-loss. The discipline to keep working, to keep logging hands, leads the biggest thrill in poker: changing your internal image of yourself. I used to think of myself as a "winning 10nl poker player." I now think of myself as a "winning 100nl poker player" which is a very cool change.

I have found that excellence at the poker tables is a habit. Playing my best poker every hand. Quitting when I'm tired. Focusing 100%. Not playing so many tables that my win rate is affected. Winning at poker becomes habitual after a while, and any lack of success due to bad play really starts to make you angry. Which is my frustration. My A game beats 50nl pretty well and is competitive at 100nl, but my B game loses and my C game would be horrible spew (haven't see it much lately, but I shudder at that thought!). In the past, I played my B game a lot just because of how life goes at my house. Patience and playing well every time is the goal. I like to win.

Good luck at the tables!