The Intro

I know what you're thinking.

Here is another supposed poker genius thinking he is God's gift to the poker world. Here is another self-promoting Hold 'Em guru looking to tell the world about his superb play and his enormous bankroll. Here is another alleged master exhaulting himself as the next big thing.

Well then you would be very wrong.

I started playing online Texas Hold 'Em five years ago when I convinced my wife to let me deposit $100 into my account on Absolute Poker. Well, convincing might be too simple of a term to use - it was more like begging, pleading and promising that I would never ask for any more.

Why should I worry about needing more money? I watched the World Poker Tour. I TiVo'd Celebrity Poker Showdown. I know what beats what. This Texas Hold 'Em looks pretty easy to learn.

Six months later I was $100 poorer.

For months I complained about internet cheats, ridiculous bad beats and mentally deficient opponents. "How could my JT be beaten with a stupid Q5? How could you play that @#$! hand?" I would declare that the Gods of Poker had cursed me with unusually bad luck. I hated the fact that a was losing to people that played so ignorantly, a term I would later find out was called "a donk'".

Little did I know, I was the biggest donk out there.

So, naturally I did what any other great poker player would do. I quit playing.

I started playing again in late-2005. I still played on Absolute, but in keeping with the promise I had made to the wife, could only play in freerolls. It was during this time that I started noticing what other players were doing, how they betting and when they were folding. I would often wonder "why did he fold that?" or "why didn't he go all-in?" as the skill of the game still could not penetrate my thick skull.

Then while playing in a freeroll of 5,000 players, I had an epiphany. I was playing like I usually do - badly - when nature called. Rather than sit out a hand or two, I decided I couldn't miss the opportunity when those pocket rockets would show up and took my laptop with me. It was then, while sitting on the porcelan bowl, that things began to click for me. The importance of playing quality starting hands, why positioning is important and why patience will always be a virtue. It didn't happen all at once, but after sitting there for over an hour fighting off severe leg cramps I began to realize just how bad my game was.

I didn't place in the money in that tounament, but the very next freeroll I played I finished 26th out of 7,300 and squeezed out 80 cents.

I had won money.

Since then, I have turned that 80 cents into a fluctuation between $15 - $50, gaining both knowledge of the game as well as much needed experience. I also still make stupid mistakes - however I am quick to recognize them as such afterward. I had only played in .50 & 1.00 Sit-N-Go's (SnG's), but I am currently looking on improving my cash game. Hence what you are reading - I need documentation of my good and bad plays.

It should be noted that I at the time of this posting, my bankroll is down to a mere $1.74 thanks to the addition of a Casino to the Absolute Poker family. Bastards. This will mean that I will be grinding in out on the .01/.02 micro-limit tables for quite awhile - maybe 4-5 years how I play. (I am joking, I think.)

I am making this blog to share my experiences (both good and bad) and I hope that everyone that visits my little piece of the blogging world could gain useful information or even share thier knowledge with everyone.

So, am I this great poker player? Hell no. Am I a good poker player? I think I am getting there. So if you would like to tag along on my journey to either poker penthouse or the port-o-potty in the back alley behind the casino - feel free. I could use the company.