The Vegas Gameplan

With Vegas only one week away, it's time to set out my gameplan for the 3-week duration. First off, let's be clear that this is more or less a make or break trip. Since September I have only managed to earn £2k from live cash-game poker. I've learnt loads and appreciate I've made some big mistakes but this is just not going to be enough to sustain a healthy lifestyle should I carry on at the same winrate over the next year. Unfotunately, although I still have the bankroll to plug on into January and February (and possibly March and April as well), if Vegas proves to be unfruitful it looks increasingly likely I'll be looking for part-time work come the spring of next year. Now although we shouldn't really slap on results-orientated or monetary goals, I think it necessary in this instance.

As such, with a 20-day trip to Vegas and complete freedom to play $1/$2 and $2/$5 cash-game poker whenever I want, my target is to make $3000 by my return to the UK on the 15th December. This is my goal. This isn't to say I will stop when (or if) I hit $3k, but this is what I wish to make if I am to consider the trip to be a proper success. $2k will be satisfactory but $3k is what I'll need to confidently carry on with the business. Let's move onto the plan and how I'm going to attempt this... This chart shows the venues and stakes along with the minimum and maximum buy-ins:

Now unlike my last visit in 2011 where my goal was to visit all 20 poker rooms, this time round is more about winning dollars. From top to bottom and in groups of four they are: Group A, B, C and D. My aim is to play a minimum of 40 sessions (around 1-5 hours per session) by building up from playing the $1/$2 game at Group C and D venues at first (10 sessions), then moving to playing $1/$2 at Group B venues (10 sessions) before graduating to playing $1/$3 and $2/$5 at the Group A locations (20 sessions). Of course, my system will allow fluctuating between the groups (depending on mood and how well I'm doing) but this is generally how I see the campaign going.

As for buy-ins, it'll be max buy-ins at the $1/$2 and $1/$3 games with a $700 buy-in at the $2/$5 games (~£400) which may rise to a full $1k buy-in when (or if) I get the confidence to do so.

One more week to go...