Most of us approach poker from a very casual point of view, which is understandable considering that only a very small percentage of even serious poker players treat it as a full time job, from where they get their primary income. What I’ve noticed from my own experience, however, is whenever I go into a poker situation with a set plan, I get more accomplished, which is why I eventually started scheduling my entire poker year with a list of things I wanted to get done.
Here are a couple of ways you can try to plan your poker year:
1. Make Your Tournament Schedule
If you know what big live and online events you want to participate in this year, place them on your poker calendar so that you can allot the time and money needed to ensure that you’ll be able to attend. This doesn’t have to include smaller weekly events such as SNGs, unless you want to be really meticulous.
2. Set Goals and Accomplishments
Want to walk away from 2012 with a NL Hold’em title in your pocket? Write that down as one of your goals for the year and you’ll find that it’ll be a lot easier to try and hit that accomplishment, versus if you just keep the concept rolling around in your head without ever having tried to seriously tackle it. This can be similar to the poker to-do list that we discussed before, but with a tighter deadline.
3. Establish Trips and Experiences
Have an itch to get out to Las Vegas or Atlantic City? The best way to guarantee that you book your flight and actually show up is to put it on your calendar next to your tournament schedule. Even if it’s only one major trip a year, it’s still important to make sure that you follow through and make it happen. If you do decide to visit the Silver State, don’t forget to check out my “Three Vegas Poker Musts” that you can try out for yourself.
Chris
- Chris Laquinta is a magazine editor, content specialist and poker fanatic with 10+ years writing experience and over 1,500 published articles. Chris is a naitive of Southern California, where he spent his entire life learning gaming concepts and theories from relatives that had been former professional gamblers. He currently resides in Torrance, CA where he works as a professional content writer and part-time SNG professional.
