2013 Poker Goals

So each year I like to set some goals and I post it in a written blog. Lets take a look at last years goals and how I did, and then set some new goals for 2013.

1. Cash for a million dollars in tournaments- mission accomplished, cashed for 1.7 million in live tournaments and a few hundred thousand more playing on PokerStars.

2. Regain top spot on all 4 all-time money lists- this didn't happen. I ended 2012:
6th on the regular list
5th in Open Only events
3rd excluding $50k or higher buyins
3rd in Open events excluding $50k or higher buyins.

The circuit has changed a lot with more and more higher buy in events. I still plan to play a fare share of them but will be skipping the $100k and $250 at Aussie Millions this year due to prior commitments. I've also dropped this goal from my 2013 list of goals as its just not something I'm too interested in anymore.

3. Regain top spot on WPT Money list- I finished the year in 2nd place, close to a million behind the leader Carlos Mortensen. It's been a long time since I played a full schedule of WPT's and with buy in amounts dropping and field sizes increasing, that's a tough hill to climb. I'd need to win a big one!

4. Win a WSOP Bracelet- Not meaning to whine here, but I have been playing this game long enough to know when luck plays a major factor in my results and it has for me the last few years at the WSOP. I've been really unlucky in key situations but if I keep putting in a solid effort as I normally do, I'm confident that big results will come.

5. Win a Major Tournament outside the WSOP- I came oh so close in the $25k Euro Monte Carlo High Roller finishing second to Igor Kurganov. I also made several final tables in other high roller events but was unable to close the deal.

6. Reach 11th or better on the WSOP cashing list- this was a success, I've cashed 59 times now in my career which puts me in a tie for 9th all-time.

7. Move up to 31st or better on the WSOP all-time money list- I finished the year at 38th and its tough to move up unless you cash big because there are always guys at the WSOP main event final table who pass me with a high finish.

8. Have a Better Year than Jason Mercier- I cashed for $1.7 million and he cashed for a little over $500k, one of his worst years as a pro. I expect Jason to have a rebound year this year. This goal won't be on my list for 2013, and it's not because I'm worried about his big year, I just don't have any interest in rooting against any one particular player, especially Jason whom I really like.

9. Crack the top 10 of both the CardPlayer of the Year and Bluff Player of the Year- I finished 50th in CardPlayer of the Year points and 29th in Bluff Player of the Year Points.

10. No partying the night before any big event- Oops! I finished 6th in the $100k Euro Super High Roller in Monte Carlo, and that was a bit of a miracle. I was out with Ivey the night before drinking tequila and barely made it to the tournament before late registration closed.

So of the 10 goals I set in 2012 I accomplished 3 which I'm not too disappointed with since I try to set lofty goals and I'm proud of achieving any of them. Here are my poker goals for 2013:

2013 Goals:

1. Cash for $1.5 million in tournaments. There is no One Drop this year, and I'm missing the Aussie Millions big events, but there are plenty of other opportunities for big scores throughout the year so I'm upping my number to $1.5 million.

2. Top the WPT All-Time Money List- I'm close to a million behind so I'll likely need to score in the 5 Diamond in December or the WPT Championship in May. Or both depending how Carlos does!

3. Win a Bracelet in 2013- there are now three opportunities to win gold- Las Vegas, Paris, and Australia and I'll be attending each stop chasing the bracelet. I've been stuck on four for way too long now!

4. Win a Major outside the WSOP- an EPT, WPT, HighRoller, or one of the various stops on PokerStars Global tours.

5. Move up on WSOP cash list- I'm tied for 9th now with 59 cashes, and would be happy to move up to 7th spot ahead of Chau Giang (60) and Chris Ferguson (64). John Juanda sits ahead of me by 3 cashes but he is a machine so I can't expect to pass him in one year.

6. Move up to 35th on WSOP All-Time Money List- just three spots but as I said before its hard to move up that list without some big scores! I could move past Brian Rast, TJ Cloutier, Chris Ferguson, Steve Danneman, and Johnny Chan with about $500,000 worth of scores assuming they don't score, but then will also get passed by likely the top 3 finishers in the main event.

7. End 2013 in the top 10 of the GPI (Global Poker Index)- I did some research on this system and I like it. One of the few good things that was born out of the failed Epic Poker League was the advent of the GPI. It tracks three years worth of results and weighs more heavily the recent results you have. It's actually very similar to the Bluff Power Rankings, but it's a little more sophisticated and also has an extra year of qualifying events.

8. No partying the night before any event I'm confident about this one and its a legitimate goal. Staying 100% focused for 365 days isn't always as easy as it would seem, but I got this. It doesn't mean I won't socialize with my friends on the tour, but the night before play I won't be out drinking massive tequila shots with Phil Ivey! In fact, I haven't touched tequila since and likely never will again! Just the smell of it reminds me of that night, well, what I actually remember from that night anyway.

9. Make the top 10 of CardPlayer or Bluff Player of the Year- Will have to have a big WSOP to pull this off. Missing some big events in Australia and other events in the early part of the year, like the WPT Commerce event doesn't help with this goal, but solid results at the WSOP can get me there.

10. Shoot at least 12 Rants- So this isn't exactly a "poker goal," but staying connected to the poker community is important to me and it is in line with my main, overriding goal for 2013 which is to help the community and it's members any way that I can. Poker has hit a rough patch, and I'm confident that 2013 will be filled with a few more positive highlights and a little less negative highlights.
I don't plan on scheduling them weekly as I once did, nor will I plan on having them done by a certain date, but there will be at least 12 released in 2013.

Daniel Negreanu is the 2004 CardPlayer Magazine and World Poker Tour Player of the Year. He presents his poker strategies in one-on-one virtual training at pokervt.com and writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column.
Read all of Daniel Negreanu's poker blog and poker articles at Full Contact Poker.