1:28am: Unfortunately, due to running HFL and also playing live poker 3 nights a week, and running a part time Ebay business 6 months out of the year, I am unable to put in the volume online in heads up sngs that used to. So how did I put in the volume before life got hectic?

By Using the “NFL football season” method.

The NFL is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. Being as such, most people are aware that there are 16 games in an NFL season. Keeping this in mind, this method would mold each poker session into a microcosm of sorts of an NFL season.

Let me explain. If you follow NFL football with any sort of regularity, then every year you go through the ups and downs that is an NFL season. You also probably don’t panic right off the bat if your team starts out on the wrong foot — say, with a 1-3 record. If they win the next one, they are only one game under .500. The same holds true for heads up sngs. If you pre-commit to this set number of games each day, I find that people usually hold their composure better in a contained environment/system such as this, than they do if they are just arbitrarily playing without any real plan or system.

Any time you get serious and organized about your poker endeavors, it’s almost always a good thing. By employing this method, you’ve basically guaranteed yourself a fighting chance of beating variance because it is focused more on results at the end of the day rather than results by the hour. This is not to say that even less-than-desirable end of the day results mean anything, but it’s certainly better to put more emphasis on doing well over a 16 game stretch than it is to put emphasis on doing well on a game-to-game basis. In addition, this method also helps you stick to volume commitments. So many times we say “if I play X hours per day, and make X dollars per match, I should make X dollars per year”. However, those figures mean nothing if you don’t stick to your volume. This method will ensure that you will make [avg. profit/game] x [16] x [5] dollars per week if you play and “NFL season” per day, 5 days a week.

So let’s say you play $20 heads up sngs, and you average $3 profit per match over a 1,000 game sample size. Using this method, you will ensure that you make $3 x 16 = $48 per day.  Play 5 seasons a week, and you’re suddenly looking at a near guaranteed profit of $240 a week, which is also $960 a month. That’s not exactly chump change.

Like I said before, doing well in heads up is nothing more than a series of mind tweaks and mental manipulations you do with yourself in order to stay in the right mindset, because mindset is everything in heads up poker.

So to this I say at least give it a try - and everyday can be football season year round.

Start a Clean Slate at a New Room, a New Sharkscope, and Keep HFL Free in the Process

2:13pm: This is an article featured on P5s, which is finally some good news from a legislative perspective regarding poker. Let’s hope this momentum keeps charging forward.

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On Friday, June 20, major news broke from Capitol Hill. The House Financial Services Committee announced that it will mark up HR 5767 to tomorrow, June 24th, at 10:00am ET. Now dubbed the “Payments System Protection Act” according to the Committee website, the bill is co-sponsored by Congressmen Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) and would prohibit the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve from enforcing the UIGEA. In the mark up session, amendments will be added to the existing text of the legislation and any revisions can be made and discussed. It’s been a long time coming since a Committee hearing back in April. PocketFives.com sat down with Michael Waxman, Spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, and John Pappas, Executive Director of the Poker Players Allaince, about the latest news.

Waxman was elated that the Committee was set to mark up the bill next week: “This is an acknowledgement that there’s no way, given the freedom of the internet, you’ll be able to stop people from gambling online. Millions of people continue to do so. It’s an acknowledgement that it is a burden to turn to the U.S. Financial Services industry to be the police and stop people from gambling online. Back in April, we had a hearing where representatives from the Financial Services Committee said that this would be a burden and it’s unlikely that we can stop people from gambling online. Regulators said they didn’t feel that this would be a law that is enforceable. We’re encouraged that Congress is taking the next step to change course and develop a smarter approach.”

Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas, whose lobbying group has been hard at work fighting for the rights of online poker players on Capitol Hill, commented to PocketFives.com: “We are pleased that the Committee will have a serious discussion and vote on the merits of the UIGEA. The PPA and others have continued to say that UIGEA was poorly written public policy doomed for failure. It is now becoming even clearer how unworkable and burdensome this law has become. Stopping UIGEA in its tracks is the right first step towards responsible regulation of Internet poker. We hope the full Committee will vote unanimously for H.R. 5767.”

HR 5767 is up to 20 co-sponsors, including Neil Abercrombie and Stephen Lynch, who signed on June 19th. Here’s a look at the current roster of co-sponsors along with the Congressional district they represent and the date they became a co-sponsor:

Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] - 6/19/2008
Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] - 4/24/2008
Rep Baca, Joe [CA-43] - 5/15/2008
Rep Berkley, Shelley [NV-1] - 4/24/2008
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8] - 5/15/2008
Rep Carnahan, Russ [MO-3] - 5/15/2008
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] - 4/24/2008
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 5/22/2008
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 4/24/2008
Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. [TX-20] - 5/15/2008
Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] - 4/24/2008
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 4/24/2008
Rep King, Peter T. [NY-3] - 4/24/2008
Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9] - 6/19/2008
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 4/24/2008
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] - 4/24/2008
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] - 4/10/2008
Rep Perlmutter, Ed [CO-7] - 5/15/2008
Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9] - 5/22/2008
Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] - 4/24/2008

Waxman added, “I believe that Chairman Barney Frank has brought this bill forward because he believes that there is support for the legislation. At the hearing, we saw members on both sides of the aisle asking good questions. We hope that they’re in a position to address their concerns.” The length of time that the bill would take to reach the House floor is up in the air. With 2008 being an election year, there is a limited amount of time left until members adjourn to begin campaigning.

Start a Clean Slate at a New Room, a New Sharkscope, and Keep HFL Free in the Process