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Entry #487070, added on 02-10-07 @ 3:41 pm EST.
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Title:
green felt and plastic medallions of chance
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On January 6th of this year, I did a nasty dirty thing. I went through a reputable, online teller company and plunked down fifty real, American dollars into a poker account.
I figured, I've been playing Hold'em for long enough now that I sort of know what I'm doing. The online poker communities out there are full of people that think they know how to win, think they're luckier than everyone else, or just have some entertainment money to burn and don't give a rat's ass.
I'm consistently better than 90% of them most of the time, better than 95% of them some of the time, and better than all of them when the sun is shining just right on my most important brain cell - my intuitive one.
I'm scared of gambling a little bit, because I see how addictive it can be. Not for me, but for others. I always like a little action, but I realize that it cannot be the entire backbone of my existence. I've got too much invested in a house and a family to start frittering away my hard earned dollars on a gambling habit.
But nonetheless, the draw of winning real money instead of play-dollars sucked me in, and I threw my hat in the ring.
For the first week, I made the mistake of just sitting down at the 10-20 cent tables with ten dollars, and playing with that. But the problem with that is that people play too loosely on those tables. They're liable to stay in a pot when they shouldn't and that screws up a player like me, that pays attention to table position, pot odds, and drawing power. Then if you try to play loose with them, things go south in a hurry. My fifty dollar bankroll turned into twenty-five in the first week.
So I switched gears and started entering 1.20 tournaments with 45 player maximums. The play there is a lot tighter, and I started developing a clear playing strategy that saw me finishing in the money more than half the time. I don't know how many tournaments I've entered, (usually between 9and 10pm in the hotel rooms I frequent)but I've finished first twice, 3rd a bunch of times, and posted a ton of other top 7 finishes.
Ever since I switched to multi-table action, I've not lost any more money. I've gone up and down around that twenty-five dollar balance, but I'm recognizing what my mistakes have been : raising out of position, not getting the right pot odds, failing to take down the pot when I get the chance, are usually the things that have hurt me.
I've also made some stupid calls when not listening to the screaming little man in my head, telling me, "FOLD! Get out while you can!"
My intutions are starting to get pretty good. Many times, right before the showdown, I am dead on with my assessment of my opponents hole cards. Dead on. I just have to remember to heed the warnings, and fold my JJ, or my A-T, and not get so caught up on how many of my chips are in the pot. Let them go. There will be plenty of other hands. Don't fall in love with your AA pre-flop, either. The flop belongs to everyone, not just those holding AA or KK. If the flop comes and misses me entirely, I shouldn't hesitate to fold, if I feel I'm behind and being set up for a big fall. In a way, it is very satisfying to fold and wait for a better hand. Almost as satisfying as taking down a big pot.
Well, not really. Taking down a big pot kicks ass.
I bought a couple of poker books at Barnes and Nobles. It's been encouraging to read the tips and to know that I am already doing many of the things they talk about in order to win over the long-term. One of the books has a lot of real life history about poker, especially Hold 'em.
Stuey Ungar, Doyle Brunson, Billy Baxter, Danny Robison.
I've told myself that when that first fifty runs out, I can't put any more money into the account. I'm not sweating it, though. I've been coasting on that first fifty for over a month now. I have enough disciplne not to walk up to a big table and try to get it all back at once. That would be suicide, at this point. I'm just going to get better at the level I'm at right now, and slowly push my balance back to fifty and beyond.
One of these days, I'd like to play in a live tournament, too. That'll be a whole 'nother story.
Now where is that infernal hologram of mine? I'll bet HE could win at cards...
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