Posted by Padilla 1:57 PM
My Little Black Book...

I’m going to withhold dollar figures, but I’ve decided to keep track of my sessions this year. Since I had to read up on the tax code, I went ahead and read everything I could about gambling wins/losses, recreational/semi-pro/pro claims, etc. The IRS requires a diary if you claim to be a certain type of player, allowing you to claim certain losses. The diary should consist of:

Quote from “Miscellaneous Deductions, Gambling Losses Up to the Amount of Gambling Winnings”
1. The date and type of your specific wager or wagering activity.
2. The name and address or location of the gaming establishment.
3. The names of other persons present with you at the gambling establishment.
4. The amount won or lost.
End Quote

I want to be prepared in case I need to claim losses next year against my planned winnings in the WSOP. Ambitious…….but you have to set goals, so I did.

I think it helps in a few regards:
1. It allows me to walk away from a small win without giving it back. Small wins add up quickly, and when I write down every session, I feel better about small positives rather than any negatives.
2. It helps identify my winning games vs. my losing games, so maybe I’ll put a little more care into a certain game.

I think it hurts if I think too much about it DURING a game, like I did last weekend. It has also happened when I’m playing online, since my register is sitting right next to me.

As for my results, I’ve taken the liberty of assuming the amount of a big bet in a pot limit game is 3x the big blind and 5x the big blind in no limit games. I’m up just over 4 big bets per hour in cash games to this point, and down $140 in tournament play. Nothing to impressive or extensive (less than 100 hours), but I’ve already figured out that I need to be careful not to play Turbo SNG’s. If I don’t have time for an hour and a half SNG, I shouldn’t play!!

Just food for thought.
Now, back to Chewbacca's blog and Fro's tough (but not "bad") beats.

3 Comment(s):

Posted by  Junelli, at 12:12 PM, February 28, 2006  

Great points. Since May 2004, I've kept a detailed record of every poker game I've played in.

Although sometimes painful (when you're losing), it's a great way to judge your overall success. Without these records it's easy to rationalize whether or not you're truly achieving good results.

Things I have learned:

1. I play much better at $2-$5 PL than $1-$2 PL. I can protect my hand more.

2. I play better at NL than PL.

3. Northside is the softest game for me.

4. Zebra has gotten much tougher over the past several months. I used to win consistently. Now, not as often. There are a few players there that are much better than me, and I need to stay clear of them.

5. The $5-$5 NL game at Top Hat is juicy, and can produce big wins/losses.

6. Overall, my results are hindered by the occasional "disaster" nights where I lose very big. If I could eliminate those nights, or leave with a smaller loss, my bankroll would be much healthier.

7. I need to learn to get up with a profit. I always seem to get greedy and give back a substantial portion. I either leave well off my peak, or leave stuck after being up a fair amount.

8. I need to create a floor/ceiling on my wins/losses so I can know when to leave.

9. I am a large net winner in tournaments. Something like $5,000 in winnings on $1,500 in buy-ins.

10. I don't record online play because I have deposit records for that. Plus I can't win consistently enough to consider it anything more than a fun hobby.

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Posted by  Padilla, at 12:57 PM, February 28, 2006  

A few points of my own...

1. Thanks Mark...I think by 2 people admitting to this, more will realize that it's worth it if they are halfway serious about poker. That is, if anyone reads this crap.

2. I play too much not to record online play. More to the point, I don't play live as much as I'd like to, so my book would be rather bare without it, yet my poker bankroll would still change. That said, I don't record deposits and withdrawals, I record sessions.

3. Recording results also helps me drink less at the table, though I haven't really conquered that demon yet.

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Posted by  Dr Fro, at 10:54 PM, February 28, 2006  

It may be one of the smartest things I have ever done poker-wise. As a result of good record keeping, I know where I win and where I lose. As for the latter, I either fix leaks or avoid leaks and concentrate on the former.

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