I enjoyed a rare day off yesterday - simply because my job is so damned busy that I'm staying late almost every night.

The union I work for has a system of health insurance qualification which involves deadlines for filing contracts. Inconveniently, those deadlines always fall at the end of the year, which is always busy because of holiday parties, holiday shopping, and time off from the office. This year, my office thankfully gave me a couple of extra days off, because the holidays fall on weekends. It's really nice, because I'll get to do a lot more snowboarding. However, it also means crunch time is even more crunched as well, which means staying until 7pm every night and getting in at 8am.

It was nice to have a day off from poker, though. It gave me time to enjoy the fact that I've come back from a pretty disasterous downswing with my poker game and bankroll intact. I'm actually now in a similar financial position to the one I was in about 5 weeks ago. The two important differences are the $100 in rakeback points I've additionally accured...and the improvement I've noticed in my play over the last 1000 games.

Things are generally good.

One thing that I do lament, outside of the poker universe, is that I missed my martial arts test this past weekend. I was prepared for it, but unfortunately could not afford the cost of the test with all the holiday expenses. I'll have another opportunity to test in March, and I'm sure at that time I'll have enough money to do so. I will undoubtedly be encouraged to double-test, as I actually currently know almost enough material for two tests anyway (I'll actually probably be ready for three in March). Provided that I pass, I will advance from Assistant Instructor to High Rank Assistant Instructor, and I will be three or four ranks away from earning my 2nd degree black belt. At 2nd Degree, I will be automatically promoted to a full instructor.

One has to be careful as a black belt in a martial art discipline, because it is really quite easy to become complacent, and to rest on the laurels of your previous challenges. The belt system, an all-important litmus test for progress, becomes less significant, in a figurative and literal sense. Before black belt, you are gaining an entirely new belt every three months. After black belt, you may change belts every 3 to 5 years, and only alter them by adding small stripes to delineate progress. As a result, self-motivation becomes important, as the routine becomes, well....it becomes much more of a GRIND.

Sound familiar?

A good friend quipped to me two days ago that the eventual enemy in all this, one I had gained enough experience, confidence and knowledge, would be the GRIND itself. I think he's absolutely right. Today, I was unsure I even wanted to play poker when I woke up. When you invest 4 hours every day into something, there are times where you simply do not feel like playing anymore. How do we get past this....especially while losing?

Again, the key is self-motivation. In martial arts, you always find spots for improvement, if you look hard enough. It doesn't matter if you are 1st degree, 3rd degree, 5th degree. There is always room for improvement. I've seen 4th degree black belts capable of anything you can imagine humbled in a split second by the Grandmaster for a slightly incorrect stance.

Indeed, I did play poker today. However, since I was grinding so hard in front of a computer screen at work all day, I decided to play less than my daily cache - just 18 tourneys. It actually doesn't matter a whole lot for the remainder of the year - I will maintain my goldstar status simply by playing about 135 more tournaments this month, and I have no way of pushing through the Platinum, nor can I earn any more stellar rewards this year. Thus, I'll probably be picking less spots to play, and making sure that I'm fresh when I do.

Oh, and it was another up day....although nothing to write home about. Still, a slight win is a slight win...

Current Bankroll: $958.88
FPP Balance / cash value: 11983.62 / $191.74
Total tourneys played: 1829
Average buyin: $8.99
Total amount invested: $16,434.50
Total poker profit earned: $208.80
Total additional cash bonuses earned: $100.00
ROI (including cash bonuses and points) : 1.27% (3.05%)