Nice job. If I may ask, since you came to poker from trading as opposed to the other way around, were/are you involved in very short term/intraday trading? For the beginners reading this thread, I can relate the following experience. I was playing the other day when a thought flashed through my mind - it was literally this - "It doesn't matter" For some reason, I realized that the outcome of the game I was in at that moment had no bearing whatsoever on my success as a poker player. In the past I had been getting upset when I got beaten badly - i.e suffered a bad beat at the hands of those I described as 'clueless amateurs', those who, as easyrider pointed out, are the ones who pay the bills. I could also become impatient if I was playing well but no cards were coming and no good positional opportunities were coming for steals. It was helpful to FULLY realize that none of it really matters. I played the rest of the game with a sense of detachment, really just watching the progression of events and acting in a manner dictated by the cards I was seeing. The game ended when I went all in with KK against a very loose player who called me with 55. He landed his 5 to take me out and for the first time, I actually smiled sitting in front of my computer. This reaction is in 'sharp contradistinction' to the reactions I have had in the past. Another thing this enabled me to do was to play more aggressively without the best hand when position warranted it. It has done wonders for my abilty to take the occasional pot without the best hand.
roberk Have you tried the single table tournaments yet? They are a great way to break in. In some of the lower buy-ins you can 90% of the time make to the final five just by playing reasonably tight which cuts the odds down to a managable figure and eliminates the rake as a major problem. They are not hard to beat consistently. Nik The thing I love about online poker is that you can play two or three games at the same time or be doing something else to cut down on boredom which you cant do at a b and m. Some will say youl must concentrate on the game your playing but I have not found it to be any problem. You can usually have your players figured out in the first thirty minutes and the rest is easy.
Nik, yes, I am an intraday scalper. I like what you said about playing what the cards dictate, not what your emotions say. This attitude is just as critical when trading, of course. Thanks for the tip easyrider, I will look into the single tournos.
Love it. Played over the weekend, prize pool was over 350K (first place was over 60K) - 1,500 players, and unlike live poker which would take over a week to do, finished in about 8 hours - wifey was away sunday, so worked out perfect, except for the fact that my kk was cracked by 777, and I finished just outta the money...... Some advice, play lower limits as you learn, you will get beat, keep your tuition low. Read Winning Low Limit Holdem by Lee Jones - will be able to beat low limit with his advice, then Holdem for Advanced Players (when ready). Play limit holdem first, then after you can beat it, go up in limits, then graduate to the "cadillac of poker" No Limit, much more difficult. If you wanna start playin online, here is a link to get a deposit bonus at party poker - not the best software, but most "fish" - bad players, and most games (you could just use play money in the beginning for free, to get idea of what it's about): http://www.partypoker.com/index.htm?wm=2027585 You will get %20 of your first deposit up to $100 (if u deposit $500, but u can deposit less if you want). I use neteller.com to send them money directly from my bank acct. Feel free to PM with any questions.
Just wondering if anyone is making serious money over the long run playing online. I notice a lot of people saying they like it and that they are getting up to speed, etc. I know they have games that are pretty high and could return a good income if someone was serious, but it doesn't seem like anyone is actually making real money consistently. Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks
I made like 20k last year, I know, just went to my accountant (yup, paying taxes on it). Lots of people making money, though less than 10% (though now with all the new players, could be a little higher, but won't last). THe rakes are what beat the mediocre players. Lately, been focusing on no limit tourneys, the single table tourneys at party are pretty sweet (play at $200 buyin, 1st is 1k, but goes down to $5). Most of my money was won at nl multitable tourneys - had a couple wins over 5k. Good luck.
You can scratch out a living if you work at it, if thats what you want. Making a lot of money, one out of a million.
It's a skill. Just like anything else. Once mastered, you'll realize your edge, and you'll have the ability to grind out a living.