A Year in Review

This has been, at times, a tumultuous and triumphant year for me. My first column from earlier this year was a look at how I was making a humble return to somewhat low stakes to work on my fundamentals and recover my bankroll from the mess the last two years had made of it. I worked my tail off in those lower stakes games for the first part of the year. Hard work and dedication can do wonders for your confidence, as can running well. I know for sure that I played great in the $8-$16 hold‘em and Omaha games that I played in leading up to March and April, and, along with making good playing decisions, I was making good bankroll decisions. There were plenty of times I found myself wandering past the $20-$40 and $30-$60 games wanting to jump in because they looked so juicy. I refrained. This was a big step for me. One of my flaws as a poker player is taking shots a little too early. I wasn’t ready for it and these weren’t players I was familiar with. If I was going to do it, it would be on home turf at a game that I frequented more often.

I finally took that shot in April and it didn’t go particularly well. I lost the first session or two that I played, but I played in good games, kept my emotions under control, and had a strict stop loss. Before too long, I was having winning sessions when I would go play at my regular casino and things were looking up for my bankroll.

I took a couple weeks in May and June to head to the WSOP for a light schedule of tournaments. I was incredibly efficient, playing in ten total events, eight $1,500 buy-ins, 1 $2,500 buy-in, and the main event. I made two dinner breaks and cashed in both of them, with a second place finish in the $1,500 limit Omaha-eight-or-better tournament, the largest ever tournament of its kind. I was backed for these tournaments and was happy to clear a ton of makeup. It’s always rough running deep in a tournament and not winning, so I was quite disappointed with the second place finish. Herbert Tapscott, who got the win, deserved it and he turned out to be a super tough heads-up opponent.

After the WSOP, I put my nose back to the grindstone and tried to put in a ton of hours. I played a few tournaments here and there, but it was mostly cash games on my schedule. I’m now playing $20-$40 limit and $5-$5 no-limit as my main games and I feel comfortable with the bankroll I have for those games.

One of the reasons I found myself in the situation I was in at the beginning of the year was the troubles my wife and I had been having starting our family. After a series of life altering disappointments, we found out in March that my wife was pregnant. We immediately went to see a specialist to help us keep this baby alive and after 10 months of a difficult pregnancy, biweekly doctor visits, a grueling 21.5-hour labor, and two days in the neonatal intensive care unit after mom and baby had really high fevers at birth, we brought home a beautiful baby boy. He’s been happy and healthy and he’s growing incredibly fast. He sleeps relatively well. In fact, he’s sleeping on me as I type this article. This has been a heck of a roller coaster ride, but we’re so blessed to finally have a little one in our lives.

I’ve taken a few weeks off from playing since he came around, but having that little child to take care of definitely gives me a different perspective on working hard. I was starting to get a bit disillusioned with poker, but I realized that it’s one of the only ways I can make the money I make while getting to be with our baby on a schedule of my choosing. I would definitely be hard pressed to find another job as perfect for me and my family as playing poker. I guess I’ll be here for a while after all.

My goals for next year are to finish my degree at Texas Christian University, where they’re being very helpful in letting me finish up with just two classes left until I can graduate, to average 40 hours a week playing cash games (with a few weeks of vacation of course), and to find as much time as I can to spend with my beautiful new family.

It’s always good to look back on your experiences and reflect on what they have taught you. The thing that I learned that was most helpful to being a successful poker player at the limits I play in is learning to recognize when I’m not playing my best. When I find myself getting upset or tired, I make sure to take a little walk away from the table in order to clear my head. When that doesn’t work, it’s time to quit for the day. Having a clear head and making good decisions is the key to being a successful player.

One other thing that is important to my success as a poker player is game selection. It’s important to be able to play a variety of games profitably so that I can move to whichever game is best at the time. It doesn’t make sense to stay in a bad game, especially when you play for a living.

The other thing that I’ve learned this year that has been helpful in developing my game is studying away from the table. Looking back at hands, participating in forum discussions, and writing these articles has been a huge help in developing as a profitable poker player.

I started the year as a struggling $8-$16 and $1-$2 Pot-Limit Omaha player with no kids and I’m now a comfortable $20-$40 and $5-$5 player with a beautiful baby. Things sure can change in the course of a year and I’m hoping that by this time next year I can report similar improvements. ♠

Gavin Griffin was the first poker player to capture a World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour title and has amassed nearly $5 million in lifetime tournament winnings. Griffin is sponsored by HeroPoker.com. You can follow him on Twitter @NHGG