Taking the next step

Well it's done. I've hired a poker coach. It's something I had been thinking about a lot for a while, so when I stumbled upon SplitSuit's website and watched his videos, I decided to hire him. I've had my first session last sunday and while I have to admit that I probably did not get as much out of it as I could have (my fault, not his! my head was just spinning trying to integrate all the small things he told me), it got me to question my approach to the game, how I play some hands and react to some situations and in general why I do some things. The main things he got me working on was bet sizing. It's a part of the game I had never really paid enough attention to. He gave me some rough guidelines that got me to think back about it and change my approach. It's still early, but I feel like it's all starting to click and I feel much more solid about my game already.

I can't wait for our next session.

As much as coaching helps, it ain't free. So how does that affect my overall yearly goal of moving up to NL50 by the end of the year? Well, I actually think it's going to help me. I definitly feel more comfortable with my game and even though I've only played a few thousdand hands since our first session, I have a feeling my winrate will be better than it was. (I know, I know... not tough to have a better winrate than the breakeven stretch I was in!). Also, I got a nice rakeback deal and a few bonuses that I'm looking to clear in the next few months. So I'm pretty confident that I'll be playing NL50 in 2009 and hopefully even before that!