Study partner wanted (long)

[SteveM]

I apologize for the long post.

I’m looking for someone who has similar goals to mine and wants to work at improving their SnG game along with me. If that doesn’t interest you, feel free to stop reading – it will only get longer and more boring to you from here.

This post was inspired by the “Motivation to play gone” thread began by UATrewqaz in the Psych forum. In short, he is a successful part-time low limit multitabler/bonus whore like me. With many of the good bonuses gone and many sites closing to US players he was having trouble finding the motivation to play.

In my reply to that thread I said:

“I'm in the same boat. For the last few years I've been playing just for fun but have made a nice income doing it. The bonuses (plus unmentionable) plus various promos on top of my normal win rate made each session feel like it was going to be a guaranteed win. I would typically 6-8 table $0.5/1 to $2/$4 6-max at whatever site I could maximize $/hr. It was fun, it was profitable, and I was +2bb/100 over several hundred thousand hands. Then as the bonuses dried up and I got banned from my favorite sites I found myself not having the desire to play as much, for the same reasons that you articulated.

So I decided to change it up a bit. I took November "off" to retool and work on my SnG game. After playing limit almost exclusively for so long, this was a big change. I enjoy the difference. The games feel more exciting (albeit maybe because of the novelty factor) and I like the changes in strategy as the blinds increase and the table shrinks. I also enjoy learning something new, which is what drew me to poker in the first place. I've realized that lately I'd just been playing for the easy money. Even very profitable sessions were no longer "fun." Now that I'm choosing to take some time off from grinding and instead use that time to study, practice, and concentrate on improving my game I'm actually enjoying it more. If my training month continues to go well I'm hoping to hit the tables hard in December.”

I thought about this some more and decided that it would be even more fun and productive and motivating if I had someone to join me in my attempt to learn home to master SnGs. But for it to be mutually beneficial I think our goals would have to be pretty similar, so here’s some more about me:

- I play part time, maybe 10 hours/week on average, but it varies a lot.
- I have a job and family.
- For the last few years poker has made up a significant portion of my income.
- I take poker seriously and enjoy the mental stimulation and challenge as much as I enjoy the profit.
- I’m fairly risk-averse (see “family” above) and play below the levels my bankroll would allow.
- Although most of my play has been at 6-max limit games, I’m not a complete noob at SnGs or tourneys in general. I’ve got the basics down and have been successful in MTT and STT tourney play. I’m just looking to raise my game to the next level.
- My studying so far has consisted of learning pushbot strategy, re-reading HOH 1-3, ToP, and maybe a few others from my library. I frequent 2+2 daily (mostly lurking, but learning a lot). I have also recently purchased SnGPT and have been reviewing my tourney histories. There’s more, but it’s pretty random.
- During my practice/study month of November, the little bit of playing I’ve done has been at the $6.50 STTs at Stars. I’m doing well and look forward to moving up once I’m more certain about my game.

I’m looking for someone with similar goals and experience who wants to exchange HHs, sweat some STTs, and share strategies and encouragement. If you’re interested or have questions, please PM me or reply to this thread.

Cheers,
SteveM