2/23/08 & 2/24/08- DB "Weekly Wrap Up"

2/23/08

Breakfast ($0)
Lunch ($2) I brought two Clif bars to the casino.
Dinner ($6) Pizza after casino
Alcohol ($3)
Misc. (+$70) Poker profit at WI. It was a surprise that I finished up yesterday given that I got all in twice with the best hand and got bad beated both times. The true power of going south with profits is revealed!
Total: ($70- $11= $59)....($59+$32= $91 ahead of budet for the day)

I view poker as an entertainment expense, not so much expecting to lose the money I invest, but always planning on the worst case scenario of dropping my trip bank roll. Over the years, I have learned to never expect to win or count on making any sort of steady profit in poker. For me, it just doesn't work that way. I can say with confidence that the times I have made any sort of notable money in poker was when I least expected it. And, conversely, my most brutal and frustrating financial losses in poker have come when I was over-confident and expecting to win. The potential variance associated with any singular session of poker is so high the only thing you have control over is yourself and the decisions you make. Now when I go to play cards, I try and think through every possible scenario I may run into that day and think about how I can best react in each instance. Then I remind myself that all I can really do on any given session is to play tight solid poker. Then I sit down and play like a nit and hope that I make less mistakes then the people I am playing against. I also avoid drinking alcohol while playing at the casino.

2/24/08

Breakfast ($9) Treated Lace and I to Bagelfactory breakfast from weekend poker monies.
Lunch ($0)
Dinner ($0) Dinner at Mom's house and regifting a bottle of wine as our offering.
Misc. ($0)
Total: $9...$23 ahead of budget.

Thanks to a decent showing at the casino this was a monster financial week for me.

My weekly budget total is $224 meaning that I allocate $224 in expenses to cover all my meals, alcohol, and miscellaneous expenses each week. As I have stated before, this is a very lenient budget, maybe too lenient. But as I have also previously stated, setting a budget that you can regularly beat keeps you in a good frame of mind.

Admittedly, the way I monitor my weekly spending with respect to this budget is bootleg and would probably make anyone with any sort of accounting background see spots but it works for me. Including my poker profits this week, I actually beat my budget by $224, plus I saved an additional $33 over and above that. Like I said, that is a monster week that I am very proud of.

Unfortunately, I have to keep in mind that this week is an aberration. It is not likely I will come anywhere near this sort of weekly performance in the near future unless I am gifted money or have a stellar poker week. Contributing factors to this perfect storm of a week were house sitting at the Cass' (with me eating all their food) and me making ~$77 in poker profit this week. I only point this all out because I could actually see my neurotic self getting bummed out next week when I am far behind this week's blazing pace. I do enjoy the saving game though =)