Goals: Part 2

The New Year is always a good time for setting annual goals. Some might consider a year too long to work on one goal, and others might say it isn’t long enough. Let’s get into more depth about goal setting in general, and setting poker goals in particular.

Someone came up with the acronym S.M.A.R.T. for goals. The letters stand for the following characteristics of a good goal.

Specific: What exactly is the goal?

Measurable: How can you measure your progress and how do you know when you’ve achieved your objective?

Achievable: A good goal should force you to work hard to fulfill it, but it shouldn’t be impossible or even extremely unlikely. (For example, the goal of running a four-minute mile is impossible for me, and the goal of winning the main event at the WSOP is extremely unlikely.)

Relevant: The goal should make sense in terms of your life and overall vision for yourself.

Time Sensitive: The goal should have a starting and ending date. (For example, a goal of working out three times needs to have an element of time attached. This week or this month or this year? I will work out three times this week is a goal with a reasonable time boundary.)

The idea of setting SMART goals is a good one and can be applied to any and all goals you set. You may find it useful to set up goals for many different elements of your life.

They can be personal (dealing with friends and family or romance.) I will spend an hour a day with my kids.

They can be financial (dealing with money and investments.) I will start an IRA and contribute 10 percent of my salary.

They can be experiential (something you’ve always wanted to do or see.) I will go to Paris for two weeks and walk along the Seine and visit the D’Orsay Museum. You get the general idea.

As you go through the exercise of setting goals, it is also extremely inspirational to state why you want to achieve this goal. Why it is important or meaningful to you? And, of course, just setting a goal isn’t enough. You need to specify some first actions that will move you toward your goal. Create your action plan.

In this series of columns, I will discuss setting goals that relate either directly or indirectly to playing poker. Here are some areas where you should have goals: bankroll management and finances, record keeping, improving your technical poker skills, improving your psychological poker skills, and improving your skills in non-poker areas that are useful to the poker player.

Without any more advice from me, try to list some SMART goals for some or all of these areas. Then try to list some actions you can take to start you moving toward your goal. Next issue I will begin with a discussion of setting specific goals to improve your technical poker skills. ♠

Steve ‘Zee’ Zolotow, aka The Bald Eagle, is a successful gamesplayer. He has been a full-time gambler for over 35 years. With two WSOP bracelets and few million in tournament cashes, he is easing into retirement. He currently devotes most of his time to poker. He can be found at some major tournaments and playing in cash games in Vegas. When escaping from poker, he hangs out in his bars on Avenue A in New York City -The Library near Houston and Doc Holliday’s on 9th St. are his favorites.