Everyone Needs Support

Bankroll: $2,467.30

Published on February 7, 2006 By PacDragon In Gaming

Last night was interesting. I won $64 playing $3/$6 for about... oh... four minutes. That was enough for me and I quickly logged off

That's been my pattern lately, I play for a short amount of time, accumulate some cash, then log off. The one time I didn't do that, I was up over $100, eventually gave most of it back, and logged off with only a $15 profit. If I keep doing this, I'll never get a big payout. But at least the bankroll keeps growing. A little later, I got 3rd place in a $20 sit & go, which gave me about $82 for the entire evening.

To make up for my ranting yesterday, I figure I should give a special mention to the people that have been very supportive of my poker playing.

My wife has been my best supporter, she's the one who got me to start playing online poker to begin with. We watched the 2004 World Series of Poker main event together on ESPN a while ago and were immediately hooked. She kept trying to get me to play the game when we were in Las Vegas, but I was too intimidated to try it out. There were a bunch of mean looking old men around, the sign-ups were arcane to me, and I really didn't know how to play correctly.

Eventually, she discovered some online poker sites. She was constantly nagging me to try the play-money tables and I finally gave in. I played for free until I was comfortable, then eventually put in $100 to try my luck at $.25/$.50. I didn't really do that well, so I was off to the bookstore to do as much research as I could.

She continued to play, mostly cheap no-limit tournaments, while I studied & worked on my limit skills. We both got nice bankrolls going and have never put any cash into it since that first $100. She's been winning tournaments and is getting very skilled at no-limit cash games. She's an excellent card reader and can frequently name someone's exact two hole cards. It feels like she's performing magic tricks at our home games.

The great thing about being married to another poker player is that there's always someone around to listen to your bad beat stories

She's been there for me through all my ups & downs as I've moved up, keeps me fed & comfortable during my tournaments, and listens to me talk endlessly about the different hands I played.

But the main support she's given me is her dreams of us going pro one day. She takes it for granted that one day my skills & bankroll will be strong enough to free us from a 40 hour work week. Her constant pumping of my ego is what let's me take the risks necessary to perform above my ability, and it really means a lot to me. Besides, if I'm already a star in her eyes, what else matters?

My poker mentor has been another great supporter. I met him at work, and when we discovered we both played poker it was all we ever talked about. He was many levels above me, so the advice I got was invaluable. He was the first player I met who was a consistent winner and really showed me that it was possible to be successful at this game. He recommended the right books for me to read, helped me understand the nuances of the game, and told me a ton of great poker stories.

He also brought me to the casino for the first time and totally helped me get through my initial hesitation. By showing me how to handle the sign-ups, introducing me to the staff, and giving me reads on the regulars, he really made that first experience a great one (the fact that I won over $300 that day helped, too).

We don't work together anymore, since he took a part time job to pursue going pro, but we still see each other at the casino. He talked me into staying at his time share for the WSOP this year, which is the only way I could have afforded to go, and I definitely appreciate it. Watching his adventures through the low stakes and into the mid stakes is invaluable as I try to plan out my future. His success is what reaffirms that this isn't just all a pipe dream.

My best friend, who some of you may know as Stutefish around joeuser.com, has been another excellent supporter. Before I started up this blog, he was getting daily reports of my progress. He's not a poker player, but he always patiently listens to my daily stories (and I suspect he's probably the only one who reads this regularly).

Even though he may not be very familiar with the game, he's a very skilled strategy gamer. He frequently gives me some excellent top-level advice and helps me see things I didn't notice. My strategies for any game always get vetted through him first and poker is no exception. And being a gamer, he intuitively recognizes the balance of skill & luck within poker. It's really refreshing to talk to someone who doesn't immediately assume I'm full of crap when I talk about poker strategy.

Stutefish also offered to help pay the buy-ins for my WSOP events this year. He considers it an investment, like any other, with a significant risk of loss balanced by a significant payout. My wife won't let me accept, however, since she doesn't want me to split my first big prize if I do manage to place in the money. But the offer itself really helped build up my confidence.

If it wasn't for these three people in my life, I don't think I could ever have started taking this game seriously enough to push as hard as I have recently. I only hope that I can be successful enough in this game to prove them right.

Haha, I just re-read this and it's starting to sound like an acceptance speech. Winning that tournament last week was not a major feat in the big scheme of things and I still have a very long way to go. I certainly haven't “made it” yet, but I did want the people who have been with me on this journey to know how much they mean to me.

Comments

stutefish

on Feb 07, 2006

Dude, all I'm saying is, poker is a luck game, suitable only for sharks and chumps.

Jythier

on Feb 08, 2006

I read your articles. I wish I could play poker. I think my face would give everything away though, and I'd end up as one of those chumps stutefish referred to. Online, I can play all right, but not spectacular, and I'm not comfortable enough with it to play for real money. I love reading about how you do, and it gets me wanting to play again. I hope your bankroll continues to grow!

PacDragon

on Feb 08, 2006

Thanks, Jythier. I'm hope my adventures are at least entertaining for someone

You probably shouldn't be too concerned with your face giving away information when you play live. You know how you usually see a few people wearing sunglasses & hats at the tables? Nearly all of them are new players who fear giving away information. The experienced players eventually discover that not only does your face not reveal enough accurate information, but most of the players aren't able to read your face at all. Some world class players even show every thought on their faces (Gus Hansen comes to mind), but it doesn't make them any easier to read.

The things to watch out for are getting too excited when the cards you need fall or sighing loudly when you don't hit your draw. Amazingly, a lot of people do this. But even more amazing is that most of the players will interpret that as you acting. Sometimes I like to fidget, smile, frown, stare away, stare in their eyes, or do any other tell I can think of just to trigger my opponent's calling reflex

Many of the weaker players believe they're looking for tells, but they're really just looking for an excuse to call your bets.

I hope you get more comfortable with your free games. Be sure to let me know if you venture into real money play.

PacDragon

on Feb 08, 2006

I don't play there, but my wife tells me that www.pokerstars.com has some excellent play-money tournaments. They have a bunch of tournaments in all shapes & sizes, and some of them even have cash prizes for the winners. Might be a fun place to hang out while you're learning.

Dutch

on Feb 10, 2006

Aww shucks, now you made me blush!!

Dutch1

on Feb 10, 2006

Look what you did, you got me inspired to make my own blog!! Not bad for a two-finger-typer.

Shock and horror. The blogging world will never be the same again! dutch.joeuser.com

PacDragon

on Feb 10, 2006

That's awesome, welcome to the future

I'm looking forward to watching your adventures unfold. Between the two of us, we can definitely put Card Player Magazine to shame.

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