When the clock strikes midnight on the New Year, something happens. Not just the beginning of a new year, but hope pushes its way into that crack of time.
I feel it every year, albeit with some years having more measured hope than others. It feels like a time where anything could happen, that new chapter is there bringing just a little magic that things “might” or “could” be different this year.
And for those whose 2025’s poker years were magical, that magic feels as if it could extend one more year, one more month, or one more tournament win.
I asked a few of our poker community if they had resolutions for this year, a resolve to reach that “someday” in their minds. Some answered with poker resolutions, some more personal, and some that made me want to do a spit take at my desk.
Matt Savage, WPT Executive Tour Director and TDA Founder, has more of a global poker outlook for this year.
I am on a crusade to reduce late registration being open too long and too many reentries, which I started many years ago, but it’s out of hand and bad for the industry in my opinion.
To help this along, he has a “resolution to write more for the WPT, focus on keeping the WPT the most player-friendly tour, and prepare for the Tournament Directors Association Summit this summer.”
On a personal note, “I will be trying to become a decent golfer for once.”
Brad Owen, WPT Ambassador, is thinking about how having a packed schedule affected his game last year and how to change his approach.
Last year I played a lot when I wasn’t in the best mindset, mostly due to being tired and trying to cram too much in one day. So, this year I’m going to do a better job of going into poker sessions with a clear head.
I’m not going to take on as many tasks earlier on in days when I know I need to be sharp for poker later.
Jaman Burton, popular poker vlogger and creator of his Drawing Dead Poker Vlog, admitted that he doesn’t “really do new year’s resolutions.
Typically, when I decide on a ‘resolution’ I just start it right away, no need to wait for the calendar to change.
Currently, his “goals as of late have been mostly around getting healthier (both physically and mentally) and spending time with family.”
Joey Ingram, a wildly influential presence on social media, GTO Wizard Pro, and 3-time GPI award winner, keeps his resolutions pretty straightforward.
I would say my resolutions are to live a healthier life, keep putting in work at my poker game every day, and maybe go to Italy.
Whereas Lupe Soto, who founded LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) and who also created the Women’s Poker Association (WPA), has a singular and ambitious goal.
My goal is to teach 1,000 poker players how to play mixed games.
Many poker players love mixed games, which include different poker games usually played in a rotational format, such as Razz, HORSE, and Stud, amongst many others.
Jon Rand, aka “Slow Poker,” gave the answer that many of us have resolved before but never stated quite as satisfactorily as this.
I resolve to quit hero-calling old man James. He hasn’t bluffed river since the Peloponnesian War; unlikely he’ll run it back in 2026.
That feeling of hope at the cusp or beginning of the new year can extend beyond January, and can include the beginning of certain events, cash games, tournaments, or a flight to a game that could change your bankroll and your life.
Or, one where you allow yourself naps in the Horseshoe during the Main Event. Just make sure you ask a friend to wake you up in time, or you’ll have to have a friend pretending to be a family member to ring through to your room because you pull an all-nighter and forgot that you had to be at “work” the next day.
And no, this is not from personal experience with a friend…
Every year, I enter certain tournament spaces, and that crack of magic might only last a little while before reality comes in, but it’s still there, year after year.
