Time to get back in the online game. I backed off when I started back up in school, but now that I realize how easy even upper division business stuff is, I think I can get to work. The key for me is to remain sharp mentally. I have fared well playing small stakes limit cash and then got into tournaments and did well with the $4 180s on Stars.

I need to keep poker a small part of my life, and deal with the downswings. I remember the last time I played alot online and I was whoring through PSO, I went absolutely nuts at Paradise playing .5/1 limit to clear that bonus. It was unreal, I would sit down with $20 at 3 tables and almost immediately would have about $40 at each table. And this lasted a couple of weeks, and I decided that it was an indicator of my true talent level. Well, it stopped of course, and I didn't keep it in perspective. I am an unusually calm individual in every aspect of my life, except for during bad runs in poker it would seem. And even though I have turned a nice little profit from the online experience, I always end up cashing out during a bad run out of frustration and swearing it off.

So I am gonna take one more stab at being a well rounded and focused poker player who is prepared to deal with the good and the bad equally well. I have some things working in my favor to give me the best chance I have ever had of being successful at this.

My parameters/goals for myself:

-One tournament a night. I am going to be mixing it up between $4 180s, $5 45 man SNGs, and just regular old $5 FOs. If I have had 3 short lived runs in a row, on the fourth night when I bust out in the first orbit when aces get cracked, I am not going to fire up another one that night.

-My goal is to build my roll up to $600 so I can transfer it over to Full Tilt and grind away that bonus at limit cash, then spread money around to play tournaments/grind bonuses elsewhere. In the interests of keeping it simple, I am going to just focus on building to the $600 first. One other flaw I have is impatience to reach my goals, so I don't want to look too far ahead to something which might be more than a year away.

-No cashing out. I don't know until when, but that time is far enough away that for now I am just not cashing out, period.

-Just play good poker.

-No playing poker in the evening if I neglect something else during the day. If I decide to pass on my jog, no poker. If I decide my homework can wait for another day, no poker.

-Take my time during a hand. I'm in a hurry to do things too often. Especially post flop, I want to stop, think about the action thus far, put opponents on a range, etc., before making my move.

I may think of more stuff between now and when I can start playing again, in which case I will add to this post. I can't play until next weekend, as my funds won't be available from epassporte until Friday afternoon (the money is out of my bank account, I don't suppose there is any chance of convincing them to release it?). Saturday morning will be my first possible opportunity, and that may not work either. I am going to use this time to think more about how I want to go about this and will jot down any more ideas if they come to me. Suggestions welcome, naturally.