Poker in 2019: Good Start at the Boat

Prior to the beginning of 2019, I had never kept consistent records of my poker wins and losses. In the past, some players were amazed at how I could play poker and not keep close track. Well ... in truth, I just didn't care a whole lot, being a recreational player. I did keep track of my wins and losses on some of my Las Vegas and other trips, but I never kept a comprehensive accounting of my poker play. However, as I have been able to play significantly more poker over the past 18+ months, I figured that it was about time for me find out the truth. Am I a losing player? Am I a winning player? Am I the new version of the old poker blogger Waffles -- the ultimate break even player?

I consulted with poker buddy Pete P Peters, who recommended a poker app to me. Thus, beginning on January 1, 2019, I have kept careful track of my in-person poker play, which so far has consisted of $1/2 NL and $1/3 NL Texas Hold 'em games.

Some findings so far:

1) I am 4 for 4 in cashing in sessions in my closest poker room, the Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria, IL. The games at Par-A-Dice are kind of like a public home game, with the tables largely populated by regulars. This, of course, helps when you are familiar with the players and how they play. I am running a tidy profit at the boat and certainly hope that ir continues.

2) I am 0 for 2 in cashing in sessions at Central Illinois Charitable Games. I ran a little bit better in 2018, but have gotten slaughtered there so far in 2019. I've gotten pocket Aces cracked and lost set over set, lost several hands when I had the second best hand, and probably played a little reckless due to some frustrations. I have not gone back for almost six weeks since I was not having success. Cash games are available approximately two Saturdays each month.

3) I came back from Las Vegas with the slimmest of profits over a great number of hours of play. My biggest profits were at Trooper Thursday at Westgate and at Harrah's. My biggest losses were at Mirage and Bally's.

So ... I will end the first two months of poker in 2019 with an acceptable profit. I will continue to  add in subsequent poker sessions throughout the year. I did not particularly like the poker app I was using, and was surprised to see that after entering a certain number of cash sessions and tournament sessions (when I ran out of free cash sessions I added additional ones as tournament sessions), I would be required to pay a fee to add additional cash sessions and another fee to add additional tournament sessions. Since I didn't particularly like the app - no thank you. Instead, I will do as poker friend Luke Johnston suggested and just put my totals on a spreadsheet. I might not have the fancy per hour info and the like, but at least I'll know where I stand in the calendar year.

Are there others like me -- players who have chosen to live in blissful ignorance of what the true numbers are?

Thanks for reading!

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