DECEMBER 2006 ANALYSIS

Well, this blog is a ghost town nowadays, but I will still complete the yearlong saga that analyzes my poker skillset. I had some long ugly stretches this year but overall I came out ahead which is what makes it worth doing and keeps the wife from demading I find a part-time job. At times I was overconfident after a good month which led to poor play which ultimately led to losing months. Even during my best months, there were long stretches of losing interrupted by flashes of clarity leading to nice overall profit. November was a very strong and consistent month in which I netted just over ten grand. All months should be so good. I made sure I kept my game at a high level throughout December so that I would not end the year on a backslide and indeed I ended strong with my best month of the year.

TOURNAMENTS = $17,129

My whole month was basically made by two nights. One night, I finished second in a Full Tilt $75 tournament while concurrently chopping a three-way payout at a PokerStars $50 Rebuy event. About two weeks later, I closed out a $300 event for my biggest payday on the year. Interestingly, on the month I cashed in only 7 of 73 events - I would still like to see a higher ITM (in the money) ratio, but I can't complain much considering my ROI (return on investment). There were 20 top 25% finishes, which I consider the bubble, so 13 times I just missed making the money. I got every type of cooler imaginable in those bubble bustouts so it is nice to see variance sprinkling in a couple of wins on the month to even things out. I closed the month by buying into a $1000 event and duffing most of my stack off to Chris Moneymaker who was seated to my left.

I played only nine STT and made the money (top 3) in four of them for a $639.50 profit. The only place I lost money on the month was in heads up play. I won only one of five contests and finished $49.50 in the red. The one match I did win was the biggest buy-in of the five which kept me close to even considering the 80% failure rate.

CASH GAMES = $1987.50

My first December session was a cash game in which I dropped around $1500. Combined with my rough start in tourneys, I began the month about $3500 in the hole before turning things around. I erased my NLHE losses and tacked on $1591 in profit by the middle of the month when I pretty much stopped playing cash games. I made $25 at 2-7 Lowball; $258 at HORSE; $113 at Omaha Hi/Lo; and $520 in bonuses. I would have been happy to end the year winning almost two grand in the ring even without the tournament cashes.

DECEMBER TOTAL = $19,636.50

To find something to criticize, it would still be the old lament that I am not making the money often enough for the amount of tournaments that I play each month. However, I had a stretch this month during which I was in the zone for an extended time and was making smart decisions both pre- and post-flop while avoiding the usual pitfalls that have befallen me regularly in the past. I know I am capable of world-class poker even if I only achieve it rarely. I will be working on my consistency next year, trying to avoid the desperation gambits that needlessly bust me out of so many events in which I simply run out of patience. My cash game play is solid and profitable and I am winning consistently at all the games, not just Hold'em. I am pleased to end the year with a strong November and a stellar December and I look forward to playing even better and hopefully doubling my profit in 2007

2006 TOTAL PROFIT = $47,483