I got money in da bank, shawty what you drank?

I think I'm too easily discouraged sometimes. Either that or I just expect too much of myself. I don't know why though, since I've consistently underachieved pretty much my whole adult life.

I've been doing a lot of "results" studying lately. While I can't be upset that I've been consistently winning every month for an entire year, a part of me still tells me I suck ass and need to play more/do better/win more. When I started playing, I wanted to not only make enough money to survive and prosper, but I also wanted to increase my bankroll each month, as well as have an increasing monthly income. Now, if averaged out, since last November, my monthly income has technically increased, its no where near where I probably should be if I played properly. There really is no need to be lazy. Sure I can live and be satisfied making 5-6k/month, and probably should be grateful that I can even do it in the first place, especially when compared to the horrific alternatives for employment. But when I look at those numbers, and realize that with an extra 2-3 hours a day of "work", and double my income, it makes me a little sick that I don't.

Sure, 60-70k/year is pretty damn good for doing nothing. And yes, what I do is nothing, don't be confused. I play about 3-4 hours a day and then sleep for 14 hours. It is a fulfilling, multifaceted lifestyle I can assure you. But honestly, how long can this go on for?

Since the "ban" of online poker, and the subsequent shutdown of Party Poker, the games on Poker Stars have gotten a shit ton tougher, mostly due to the illegal immigration of refugee Party players. As I posted earlier, I had my worst month in October, achieving an overall ROI of 8%.

I spent an hour or so the other day Sharkscoping every regular player I could think of. It's extremely convenient that a program/website like Sharkscope exists, as I can gauge and compare my winrate with that of my opponents. As compared to cash games, where no real database exists. Knowing where you stand compared to everyone else allows you to truly know how good you are in an absolute sense. By knowing how you rank, it allows you to get a good sense of how much improvement is possible, and how far you've gotten. At least that's the way I see it.

Anyways, after scoping out the competition, I only found a few (3 or 4 out of about 100) instances of players playing the $60/114 games with an ROI over 5% over any significant sample size after the fall of Party. The 2+2 forums are littered with posts about players not being able to achieve the ROI they have gotten used to as well, and this evidence just supports it. While I'm glad to see that everyone - even great players - are experiencing lower income streams, it still sucks balls for me.

And really, isn't "me" all that matters?

So, assuming things stay relatively the same for at least a few months, I can continue to expect about an 8% ROI. Which basically means if I want to significantly increase my average monthly income, I'm really going to have to put in some serious hours. And because I just don't see these games being a goldmine for any sort of long term time frame, I really need to rape them dry and just try to save up as much from it that I can.

This goal sort of conflicts with my other goal of spending as much money as possible without destroying my bankroll. It sucks but if I have excess money I tend to spend it fairly quickly without considering the smart alternatives. But hey, buying shit is fun and I'm still young right?

Fuck being responsible.

With that in mind, I'm pretty set on buying a next gen console. I've been pretty excited about getting one since I haven't had a console since my beloved N64. For a year now I held off getting a Xbox360 for a PS3. Now, since PS3s are apparently going to be sold out for like 4 years, I've been looking around at alternatives. The Nintendo Wii has really started to appeal to me. I've always been a pretty big Nintendo fan boi, but lost interest with the Gamecube and their age 12 and under target market. Now while the Wii still has a ton of cutesy 12 year old girl titles, they have a bunch of guaranteed kickass titles, and not to mention the controller. I really need to try one out before I buy it because Nintendo has a pretty shaky history with gimmicky type peripherals and consoles (anyone remember Virtual Boy?). But the demo videos on the net are pretty boner inducing. If nothing else, the Wii will own the home multiplayer game market with games like Mario Party and Super Smash Brothers. And since I can play most of the PS3 games on my desktop anyways, I figure a Wii may not be a total waste of money.

Plus, you can actually fucking buy one!

So hopefully that controller isn't gay and stops responding within the first month. If it doesn't, the Wii might really revolutionize things in the gaming world. So heres to my next money sink!