Today we will talk about setting New Year’s goals. This Thought is in response to a question by Muskoka, who asked the question on my Forum.

Before I get to that, the forum registration has increased to 161. Some of the increased membership is because I mentioned the forum in a recent column. Welcome to all of you newer members. Please feel free to post questions and answers. Last week I put s couple of errors of my own (look just below this entry) in part so you could see that we all make mistakes and the only real error is to fail to use them to learn.

Setting poker goals in an interesting issue. It makes little sense simply to say, “My goal is to make more money” or even, “My goal is to move to a new limit.” The question is how to do this.

I suggest you look at two things. First is the process of winning at poker. Some of this a strategy and some is other stuff (we will get to it). The other thing is self-assessment. You must be able to look critically at you and assess where you need improvement.

In strategy, perhaps you discover you are paying off to many bets on the river. Perhaps you keep finding yourself with the second best hand (say, kicker trouble). Or maybe you fail to raise often enough to either build pots or eliminate opponents. Do you bluff enough? Change gears? Respect opponents play and raises? Here are two examples for me: In 2006, I stayed in too long on occasion when I should have gotten away from hands. I did not bluff-raise enough. I ignored some strong gut feels. i will work on these.

There are dozens of strategic points during a hand. Figure out which ones you’re weakest at, and focus on them.

OK, the other stuff. Maybe you lose focus, play tired, drink too much in casinos. Maybe you stay in bad games chasing losses. Maybe you play on line but watch TV, and send e-mail at the same time. Maybe you hate bad beats instead of loving them. Maybe players can put you on tilt by talking, singing, slow-rolling you. You can understand these issues and set goals to eliminate or minimize them.

Back to the table. Do you read hands well? If not work on that. There are methods to improve this. How well can you characterize opponents? Do you trust your reads? If you make a big laydown, does it bother you? If you get caught bluffing, does that trouble you? If you toss the best hand away, do you let that affect your play? Can you play the same winning as losing? Can you tell whether the game is good or bad? Do you watch for opportunities to get into better games, or do you take the first seat offered and sit there all night?

If you can recognize these things, you can set goals, be more aware and work on them. Improvements in these areas will add to your potential win.

Some other thoughts: on his website, Barry Greenstein rates the worlds best players. You may want to look at his brief criteria. Also, my friend, Dr. Alan Schoonmaker has studied the subject of goals extensively and written several columns about it. You can find the beginning of one such series here.

Noted author Lou Krieger used to write an annual column stating his goals. He was kind enough to mail me some samples. I include it here (the layout may be poor from the copy/paste into this format, but the words are the important thing). I thank Lou very much for allowing me to use this.

ON STRATEGY: NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS, 1999
by: Lou Krieger

Another year has quickly passed, and it’s time for my annual New Year’s resolutions, along with an invitation for you, the reader, to adopt some or all of them as your own. Here’s my third annual report card, self-assessment, and list of goals I’d like to achieve in the coming year.

Learn Another Game (Grade B): I gave myself the same grade last year. I’ve continued playing and writing about 7-stud/8, which is still a relatively new game for me. There are usually 7-stud/8 games at Hollywood Park and the Bicycle Club — casinos I often frequent — and my choice of games usually depends on which appears to offer better winning opportunities. In the past six months Crystal Park introduced a $20-$40 R.O.E. game. It’s a “mix” game that alternates between Razz (7-card stud played for low, with a 5-4-3-2-A the best possible hand) Omaha/8, and 7-stud/8. The game changes every half-hour with the dealer rotation. Playing R.O.E. has afforded me an unbridled opportunity to hone my skills at three games simultaneously.

R.O.E. has shown me that some players can be very strong in one or two of the games, but extremely weak in another. This creates winning opportunities that simply do not exist when forced to confront these same players at their best games. What amazes me is that players who fall into this category almost never recognize their limitations. If they are strong in Razz and 7-stud/8, but weak in Omaha/8, they seldom see or acknowledge their Achilles heel, and almost never assess their results on a game-by-game basis.

Being a jack-of-all-trades really pays off in mix games. A good mix game player is like a decathlete who is seldom world class in any of the individual events, yet good enough in a combination of sprints, middle distance, hurdles, jumping, vaulting, and weight events to wind up on a Wheaties box and be regaled as the “world’s greatest athlete” if he wins Olympic gold.

I’m certainly not a gold medallist in R.O.E. Not by any means. But I’m pointed in the right direction, and I try assiduously to learn something new about these games each time I play.

For 1999, I resolve to continue playing 7-stud/8, along with R.O.E., and to continue writing about them in this column. I also plan to play more pot limit poker in the coming year — something I planned to do in 1998, but didn’t. My sole experiences with pot limit were a few tournaments, and a small pot limit game at BARGE. I enjoyed them, and will look for situations where I can play ¾ and learn ¾ while not hurting myself too badly in the process. I’ll keep you apprised of my progress.

Never Go On Tilt; Never Play Less Than My Best (Grade B+): This is a recurring resolution — as it was last year, as it is this year, and as it will be in future years. I graded myself a B+ in 1997 and 1998. I’ve achieved my personal goal of not going on tilt, and I seldom played at less than my best. My emotions were under control and I avoided my personal bugaboos: playing too long, and playing when I’m tired. In 1999 I’ll do just as I did in 1998. When I become tired I’ll go home, go to a movie, or do something enjoyable that puts substantially less money at risk than poker.

I’m fortunate in this regard. I live in Long Beach, California, and I’m 20 miles or less from The Bicycle Club, Crystal Park, Hollywood Park, Commerce, the Normandie, and Hawaiian Gardens. There are more tables within 20 miles of my house than in the entire State of Nevada — and as many readers have pointed out in letters and e-mail — I’ve got more tables within a 20 minute drive than they have within a 1,000 miles of home. The point is this: For me, there’s always a game available. Anytime, day or night; it doesn’t matter. Given that availability, there is no reason to ever play at less than my best, since I can leave with the certainty that a game — more likely, a whole bunch of games — will be there wherever and whenever I want to play.

Narrow the Target (Grade B): I was a grade B in 1997 and I’ve awarded myself a “B” again this year. While I’ve continued to narrow the target, I believe that this is the area where I can make the most improvement in my game.

While I’ve worked to become even more selective about the hands I play, room for improvement still exists. Think about it. If I learn to either release or refrain from playing one additional losing hand every six hours — surely a modest improvement — I will save, on average, $120 in a $20-$40 game. While this may seem like a small improvement, it has huge financial ramifications. Avoiding a loss that averages $20 an hour will plug a major leak in my game.

I’m not certain how many hands I’m playing that I shouldn’t, but I am bound and determined to avoid playing hands that appear to be money losers. After all, the money you don’t lose, you don’t have to win!

Last year I resolved to limit the number of times I put myself in speculative situations where the risk outweighed the reward. I’m going to redouble my efforts this year. In fact, this will be my singularly most important resolution for 1999. I’ve reached the point where I think my technical skills are pretty good, and I believe I can increase my profits much more significantly by avoiding losing situations than I can by adding any new, fancy plays to my bag of tricks.

Model Successful Behavior and Play (Grade A): This is another of my continuing resolution — and one that has never given me any trouble. I gave myself an “A” the last two years, and an “A” this year as well. I will never settle for less.

Because I’ve written two books and am a columnist for this magazine, I believe I have an image to uphold. I realize that a public persona does not seem to deter boorish behavior from other well-known poker players — or highly paid professional athletes and celebrities for that matter — but this is very important to me.

I love poker. Like many others, I function in the poker community and a number of other communities as well. While one seems to run into an abundance of ill-tempered louts in card casinos, I’ve also found poker players to be incredibly generous, bright, and among the most vibrant, interesting people I’ve ever met. Many of my closest friendships were initially made at the poker table. I want to give something back to the poker community, and the easiest and best gift I can bequeath is to live always to high and honorable standards.

In fact, if you choose to adopt any one of my resolutions as your own, I would urge you to adopt this one. If more of us pledge to play at the highest and most ethical standards we can, the poker community will be a better place for it.Keep in Touch (Grade A): Once again, I have corresponded with well over 1,000 players. I am regularly in touch with players in Australia, Canada, England, Switzerland, and South America, and I love it. In addition, I am a regular reader and contributor to the Internet newsgroup, rec.gambling.poker. It is a forum I’ve enjoyed immensely as well as a place to continue expanding my knowledge of poker theory and strategy. As long as these fingers can dance along a keyboard, I’ll respond to every e-mail and letter I receive.

If you have any unique New Year’s resolutions of your own that you’d care to share with me — or if you simply want to adopt one or more of my resolutions as your own — please let me know.

Best wishes for the New Year. I hope 1999 brings you glad tidings.

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