Playing poker is so freaking exciting. I love it. I am doing O.K. only up about one buyin since last week but that O.K. too, it's just how the game goes. Overall I'm happy with my play I did get alittle spewy late Friday night. I shouldn't have played I was alittle to tired. But my bankroll is growing ahead of schedule which is spectacular. I was suppose to be at $500.00 plus 100 from rakeback by the end of the month. But right now my bankroll sits at $582.00 without rakeback.
I am always looking for more friends who play poker. So if you happen across this blog and you wanna connect and discuss everything related to poker then leave me a comment and let me know. We can chat via IM, Email, ect about poker. Also if you have a blog, let me know I would love to link to it.
See ya on the felt,
Brandon Mark 
I went out of town this weekend for a business seminar. Therefore, I have played very little poker compared to last month. None the less, I am off to an amazing start. I have already earned a profit of $161.22 at $20NL exceeding my goal of $100 net profit this month. I have quite a ways to go before I hit my goal of earning $100 in rakeback. However, there is still a lot of time left this month. I hope I continue winning this could be a big month for me.
Thanks for reading,
Brandon Mark 
January was a wild month and I am going to count it as a month of victory but it was barely so. If you have been reading my blog then you will remember this post, where I discussed my goals for the year. I have them broken up by each month. The month of January I was playing $20 NL at Cake Poker, with a plan of earning $200 profit. Half of the profit from poker and the other half from rakeback. According to plan my bankroll should be at $400 after rakeback and it is.
However, I didn't hit that goal till just now which is actually the 2nd of Feb. I ended up with $60 profit for the month from my play. The first week I was way ahead of plan but my bankroll has flactuated up and down from 120 up to 380 since then. So it has been crazy to say the least. Although I only earned $60 from my play I have earned approximately $150 in rakeback. So that total will take my bankroll over the $400 total where it should be. My goal remains the same for February so let's see what happens. I suspect I should hit the same goal again, let's just hope this time it's not as stressful.
Thanks for reading,
Brandon Mark 
So last week I had hit my goal of earning $300 by the end of the month. This week I swong all the way down to $115 and am now back to $188. It was ridiculous, most of that swing was down in a 48 hour period and then back up over 24 hours. During that 48 hour downswing it was like I could do nothing right. I played tight and all my hands were called and eventually out run on the river by very loose opponents. I tried to combat this by being alittle more aggressive and it didn't matter they still called and I got out run.
I held myself together for the most part and I am proud of that. It was very frustrating and nerve racking. I probably didn't play quite as well due to frustration and aggravation but overall I can't complain. Part of my issue was I should have just continued to play very tight. I got alittle loose trying to play back at these loose calling stations. I still would have had a big downswing but most likely could have slowed it down by at least 30 to 40 percent.
I have a week to get my bankroll back up to $300. This is possible, but even if I don't hit $300 in earnings I will hit my goals overall for the month if I can at least get to $250 because I expect to exceed my goal on rakeback. I should be pretty close to $150 in rakeback versus the $100 I had planned on.
Keep winning big pots,
Brandon Mark 
This was a response I just posted on a buddy's blog. It was in response to this post http://vizer02.blogspot.com/2009/01/to-stay-pro-or-notthat-is-question.html . As you may read below I was alittle passion about what I was saying but similar questions to this come up often on poker forums. I think people go thinking about it all wrong.
If I may... when making decisions like this you have to look at what is it you want to accomplish? In 1 year, 3 years, 5 years etc. If you goal is to quickly settle down and get into some sort of a routine then so be it. Take the job, but in the end you have to ask yourself what are you looking to gain ultimately from that job? You have to look at the same thing with poker and ask yourself the same questions. I often hear online pros make BS comments like, "I need to do something that is more fullfilling or I need more social interaction or I need to be impacting the world more".
Then somehow they come to the conclusion that a job is the answer? I can promise you one thing the guys who like playing poker and have jobs are probably saying something like, "I never have time with my family, I work way to much, I'm underpaid and unappreciated, I need to play poker professionally".
It's the classic 80/20 rule. We spend so much time focusing on the 20 precent we don't have we never really appreciate the 80 precent we do have. This is true if you are playing poker already or have a job.I think the most important question is what do you want to do in life. Travel the work, make a boatload of money (I know thats prob not you) or get married have 2.5 kids and the picket fence. Then you have to figure out what avenue will be best for you. Some jobs will get you there and some poker pros can get there with poker. Once your mind is made up. Then I would focus hardcore on that path with a singularity. Start reaching your goals and dreams as fast as you can. Live by design not by default.
Oh and back to the BS about poker not being fulfilling and not impacting the world... this is true of most people's jobs. Besides its not what you paid to do that has the most impact it's what you do with the time you aren't being paid and what you do with the money that is being paid to you. On the same note.. it's not what you for a living that defines who you are; its what you do that defines who you are...
I hope I helped bro,
Brandon Mark 
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