Outlook on Play (and January)

I took a decent-sized break from poker at the end of '08. I didn't play at all in October, under 30k hands in November, and about 15k in December. I paid off some debt, spent money on presents, went out (barely), and basically didn't think too much about playing.

So during this little break, the thought kept entering my head that I might be rusty when I got back in '09. What was my goal for '09? Did I want to put the hours in? Would the break have been disasterous for my game? I wasn't playing yet, but I was thinking about what was going to happen if/when I did for '09.

Now this month has come to a close (one day left but I'm not going to play tomorrow), and I did well for myself. I felt like I was "comprehending" what I was doing. There was so much less guessing what the other guy had. There was much more planning per street ahead of time. Things just began to click. I ran good; I ran bad. I ran more good than bad. I ran above expectation this month, and that is DEFINITELY something I have to keep in mind. I have to remember that I need to play better and to appreciate a good month. I need to keep putting the effort in and keep the concentration up as well.

With rakeback included, January was a solid month. $10k month was pretty close.......