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Server Time: 9/4/2008 9:07:49 PM PACIFIC |
 My first week playing online, Big_Slick, 8. Jun 2003 18:12 | ||
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| I'm embarrassed to share this, but I thought some of you might find it interesting and helpful. I sent in a money order for $500 to partypoker.com to start my online playing experience. I live 30 minutes from my local card room and find that it's just too expensive, time consuming, etc. to play there. Plus their table selection sucks. So I thought I'd give online play a try after reading the many posts here on UPF. I started play Monday and was a little overwhelmed at first. The games go very fast. Even thought I've played free online tourneys, it seemed different now that I was playing for real $$. I found myself down a quick $50 before I knew what hit me. In a matter of minutes however, I had won my first pot and I was thrilled. Pretty cool. After 2 days, I dwindled my bankroll down to $200. I had some bat beats but mostly found that I was playing poorly. I was getting too emotional, going on tilt and simply not folding when I knew I was beat. It was at this point that I committed myself to top notch play. I was NOT going to go bust and lose my bankroll. I slowly started building my stack back up. By the next day, I was back to my initial $500. By Thursday, I was up to $900. I went to bed Friday with my bankroll at $1085. Now, let me just say that I had gotten some great cards during this time. I was flopping trips like they were going out of style. Everything that I did seemed to be the right move. Saturday was an absolute disaster. My cards went cold and my play deteriorated. I dropped $400 over the course of the day. All of my great play and profits were now gone. I kept playing when I knew I should call it quits for the day. I knew better and paid the price. I had some more bad beats that threw me for a loop. One quick example... I was dealt 6-6 in late position. The flop comes 8-8-6. Great! I flopped a full house! The BB checks, I bet and she raises. "OK", I think to myself. I raise back and she reraises. At this point I realize that she has 3 eights and doesn't know enough to get out of the way of my full house. To make a long story short, we raise each other silly all the way to the river where the 4th eight hits to give her quads. That was a huge pot. Mentally, I was devastated. I wanted to pull this lady through my monitor, shake her like a rag doll and ask her how she could play 2-8o in the face of a pre-flop raise. I realize that these people are our bread and butter but this hand really got to me. I licked my wounds, did some reading Saturday night and wrote down some rules that I now have taped to my monitor. They are... 1) Play smart 2) No freebies 3) No emotion 4) Get out when your beat 5) Wait for your opportunity I know it might seem silly, but I needed some reminding. Today I had a good day. I played some 7-stud this morning and had horrific cards. It was like watching paint dry but I stayed disciplined and didn't lose much. I played some hold 'em this afternoon and found a great table. Very loose and stupid... just how I like them. After a few hours with mediocre cards, I finished my week at $714 for a profit of $214. I put in about 30 hours which puts my average at a little over 1BB per hour. I can't believe I came back from $200. I also can't believe I blew as much money as I did when I was up to $1085. I learned a lot this week. I've learned that I get way too emotional when I play. I've learned that I'm not as disciplined as I thought I was. I've learned that I need to stop being so bullheaded and simply fold when I know I'm beat. The most important lesson I've learned though is damage control. I need to stop the bleeding when I find myself in an unfavorable situation. I need to realize that my hand could be right around the corner. By not blowing chips on a bad hand, I'm actually making money. I leaked a lot of money this week.. a lot. Probably $300 or more. Think about that. I pissed away 50 BB. That's sobering stuff. Anyways, I'll stop rambling. I hope this helps some of you. It was my first week and it was interesting. I learned some valuable lessons and am grateful that it didn't cost me my bankroll. I will try to do better this week. Tomorrow is a new day. | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, Roy Cooke, 8. Jun 2003 22:37 | ||
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| Hi Big Slick I think you are on the right track and I like the idea of your reminder notes :-) Roy Cooke on 8. Jun 2003 18:12 Big_Slick wrote: > I'm embarrassed to share this, but I thought some of you might find it > interesting and helpful. > > I sent in a money order for $500 to partypoker.com to start my online playing > experience. I live 30 minutes from my local card room and find that it's just > too expensive, time consuming, etc. to play there. Plus their table selection > sucks. So I thought I'd give online play a try after reading the many posts here > on UPF. > > I started play Monday and was a little overwhelmed at first. The games go very > fast. Even thought I've played free online tourneys, it seemed different now > that I was playing for real $$. > > I found myself down a quick $50 before I knew what hit me. In a matter of > minutes however, I had won my first pot and I was thrilled. Pretty cool. > > After 2 days, I dwindled my bankroll down to $200. I had some bat beats but > mostly found that I was playing poorly. I was getting too emotional, going on > tilt and simply not folding when I knew I was beat. It was at this point that I > committed myself to top notch play. I was NOT going to go bust and lose my > bankroll. > > I slowly started building my stack back up. By the next day, I was back to my > initial $500. By Thursday, I was up to $900. I went to bed Friday with my > bankroll at $1085. Now, let me just say that I had gotten some great cards > during this time. I was flopping trips like they were going out of style. > Everything that I did seemed to be the right move. > > Saturday was an absolute disaster. My cards went cold and my play deteriorated. > I dropped $400 over the course of the day. All of my great play and profits were > now gone. I kept playing when I knew I should call it quits for the day. I knew > better and paid the price. > > I had some more bad beats that threw me for a loop. One quick example... I was > dealt 6-6 in late position. The flop comes 8-8-6. Great! I flopped a full > house! > > The BB checks, I bet and she raises. "OK", I think to myself. I raise back and > she reraises. At this point I realize that she has 3 eights and doesn't know > enough to get out of the way of my full house. To make a long story short, we > raise each other silly all the way to the river where the 4th eight hits to give > her quads. That was a huge pot. > > Mentally, I was devastated. I wanted to pull this lady through my monitor, > shake her like a rag doll and ask her how she could play 2-8o in the face of a > pre-flop raise. I realize that these people are our bread and butter but this > hand really got to me. > > I licked my wounds, did some reading Saturday night and wrote down some rules > that I now have taped to my monitor. They are... > 1) Play smart > 2) No freebies > 3) No emotion > 4) Get out when your beat > 5) Wait for your opportunity > > I know it might seem silly, but I needed some reminding. Today I had a good > day. I played some 7-stud this morning and had horrific cards. It was like > watching paint dry but I stayed disciplined and didn't lose much. I played some > hold 'em this afternoon and found a great table. Very loose and stupid... just > how I like them. After a few hours with mediocre cards, I finished my week at > $714 for a profit of $214. I put in about 30 hours which puts my average at a > little over 1BB per hour. > > I can't believe I came back from $200. I also can't believe I blew as much > money as I did when I was up to $1085. I learned a lot this week. I've learned > that I get way too emotional when I play. I've learned that I'm not as > disciplined as I thought I was. I've learned that I need to stop being so > bullheaded and simply fold when I know I'm beat. > > The most important lesson I've learned though is damage control. I need to stop > the bleeding when I find myself in an unfavorable situation. I need to realize > that my hand could be right around the corner. By not blowing chips on a > bad hand, I'm actually making money. I leaked a lot of money this week.. a lot. > Probably $300 or more. Think about that. I pissed away 50 BB. That's sobering > stuff. > > Anyways, I'll stop rambling. I hope this helps some of you. It was my first > week and it was interesting. I learned some valuable lessons and am grateful > that it didn't cost me my bankroll. I will try to do better this week. Tomorrow > is a new day. | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, Bond18, 9. Jun 2003 00:59 | ||
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| On the flipside, you still showed a solid profit. It took me about 6 weeks to turn 50 dollars into 500 at paradise, plus your play looks like it will be better in upcoming weeks. | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, shorn, 9. Jun 2003 05:32 | ||
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| Slick- Sounds like you experienced a career of online play in one weekend! That is how the game is, fast, furious and bigger swings than in a B&M. The best part is that you got your education, recognized your errors, and still made a profit! Life is good... BTW, did you play in the $30 +3 NLH tourny last night on Party? I saw a "Big_Slicky8" I think and was wondering if that was you. If you did, you outlasted me...I busted 50th and you were still around at 39. Well done (if it was you). Steve | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, Big_Slick, 9. Jun 2003 07:17 | ||
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| Hey Shorn, Nope.. it wasn't me! | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, shorn, 9. Jun 2003 07:26 | ||
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| OK. Well then someone is borrowing your name then! | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, mdroban, 9. Jun 2003 05:54 | ||
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| Big. Inspirational post. Really. I play winning $5-10 B&M holdem but online I have limited myself to $1-2 and $2-4. The reason is that I play for enjoyment and make enough "pocket change" online to have a lot of fun. The money never makes me crazy. But I take it very seriously and a losing night will cause much lost sleep. I have won over $500 in the past few months playing these really low limits and the games are basically very soft. I have been playing at Pokerroom and have noticed that the games have been getting a bit tougher, but are still very beatable. But recently, after steadily building my bankroll (and considering moving up to $3-6 when my bankroll hit the $500 mark) I went on an $150 weeklong slide (I posted this recently). Last night I won a $5 sit and go and then won $25 in an hour playing $1-2 so the losing streak is over. Following the rules taped to your computer will work great. I have learned the value of EXTRA patience online since (as stated aptly by someone here) the hands come so fast that you have plenty of time to wait for good starting hands. The bad beats are inevitable from bad players that just want to see flops. But more often than not your good hands will hold up, so don't despair. I have also found that when you are winning a bit and playing in the low limit games, even the bad players get worn down by aggressive raising and they learn that they will not be able to hang around and get free cards on the flop and turn. Some games when I start winning and playing my game I get little action when I enter a pot, but it enables me to play some slightly inferior hands, steal blinds and win hands when the flop doesn't connect. Slowplaying hands online is very dangerous and there are many players who will pay you off when you have the nuts. Also, move around until you find a room you are comfortable with, wait for the Big Blind, watch the action at the table. This is one of the big advantages the online game has over the B&M game. I will move my table 5 times before I settle down and start playing (sometimes). Of course, if you keep records on players that you frequently beat, you just hunt for them and sit down with them on left (if you can work that). Personally, I would rather play with live people anyday...I love the social part of poker (especially when I am taking their money with a smile). But living in NYC with kids I don't have time to go to card rooms that often, so the online game is a godsend to me. And by the end of the year, who knows? I might win enough to buy a nice present for my wife (who puts up with me, vices and all). | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, shorn, 9. Jun 2003 06:04 | ||
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| I agree with the "taping thoughts to your monitor". Always a big help. Other things that I have taped up are Sklansky's starting hands, and a little chart with outs and pot odds. Whether you know these by heart oir not, it never hurts to have all the information you can in front of you so that the chances of you making a mistake are lessened. | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, mroban, 9. Jun 2003 08:09 | ||
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| I just started doing that too Steve. Really helps to have that reference available. Btw, I am mdroban on my other computer. Same guy (whoever gives a damn). | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, STEPHEN ROWE, 9. Jun 2003 09:49 | ||
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| I like to watch good players in action. I play at pokerroom too. What's your screen name,mine is SONSAM? | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, noiseboy, 9. Jun 2003 09:12 | ||
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| I had a similar experience when I first started playing online. I went way up fast, but then I started trying to run over the games too much. Hubris. Anyway, I then proceeded to decimate my bankroll. I think my main problem was that it just seemed like a video game at first, like it wasn't really my money, so I didn't take it as seriously as I would a live game. I'd have the TV or radio on, I wouldn't give it the same level of concentration that I have in a live game. Anyway, you may have totally different reasons for having trouble with online play, but I just thought I'd let you know that you are not alone in having trouble adjusting. It also takes a while to get used to playing without much in the way of tells. Good Luck. | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, donrhem, 9. Jun 2003 14:30 | ||
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| I have been looking to start playing online with my few times to a BM (3-4 times a month). What limits did you play? How long did it take for your money order to clear so you could play? Do you like partypoker? Why did you choose this site over the others? Thanks and good luck! Don | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, Big_Slick, 9. Jun 2003 15:21 | ||
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| Hi Don, It only took a few days for my account to become active. I'm playing 3/6 HE most of the time with some Omaha and 7-stud thrown in. I do like party poker. I was given a 20% sign-up bonus, up to $100. I had to play 500 raked hands, but after that, I received my $100. Not bad, huh? Their customer service is fairly good, too. I choose them because I liked the way their graphics looked, they are a large poker room (always 10 or more 3/6 HE games going on in the evenings) and they seemed legit to me. They are run by an Indian tribe in Canada (if I'm not mistaken). This seemed safer to me than sending my money to some island in the Caribbean. I believe the minimum deposit is $50 (which is the same pretty much everywhere). Why not send in a small amount and try out the lower limit games. They offer 2/4, 1/2 and .50/1 games. | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, donrhem, 10. Jun 2003 05:16 | ||
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| Big_Slick, Thanks for the info and advice. I am going to try it out in awhile. We are headed to Vegas next week to play and relax. Don | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, 4 POKER, 9. Jun 2003 15:22 | ||
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| Hey Big Slick, I think your reminder notes are not silly and if you add one more reminder to that list and always adhere to this, you will have better results: "Just because you are playing on-line and are playing on the computer, this is still a very serious game and a lot of your money is at risk here. So just because you may not be literally handling the chips and cannot see the other players; The money is still "real" and so are the Players. Try not to make the mistake by not taking it seriously. Think before you press those buttons. They are your tools to earning money but if you act or react too quickly, you may lose sight as to what is truly going on. Take your time. Think. Focus. Don't over react to a bad beat either. If you find yourself for any reason not playing your best game, then quit. It's so easy to do just that and then return to it later when you're more up to it and have regrouped and/or regained your focus. "the key to winning at on-line poker is to have the ultimate amount of focus and concentration and to quit immediately if you sense that you are losing your composure." It is much easier to go on tilt from on-line poker because !. you can- noone knows who you are and noone can see you either-making it that much easier now to give you excuses for it. 2, because so many of these players are complete newbies, the beats that you will take will seem even that much more ridiculous and because the speed of the game is so much faster, your swings will be more noticable and will be compounded over a shorter period of time. All these things can lead us to tilting and that is why you must keep in focus and understand as to why you are playing this game in the first place...and that is simply to just make money. And if you are playing poker for any other reason than to earn, than trust me...you will not. Poker is only fun if you can beat it, and if you apply yourself and are capable of beating the game...than poker is the absolute nuts! Good luck to you and remember...focus, discipline and patience. Don't just know what they mean- apply them all the time! 4 POKER | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, Big_Slick, 9. Jun 2003 16:47 | ||
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| Thanks 4P.... you rock! | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, 4 POKER, 9. Jun 2003 22:49 | ||
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| on 9. Jun 2003 16:47 Big_Slick wrote: > Thanks 4P.... you rock!> Wow. That was a real nice thing to say. I don't think I rock or anything, but thanks just the same glad I was able to shed some light on the matter, Slick. 4 POKER | ||
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| Re: My first week playing online, LJH, 9. Jun 2003 19:45 | ||
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| DEAR BIG SLICK, YOU MUST REALIZE THAT YOU ARE PLAYING FOR THE YEAR OR YEARS. PATIENCE, PATIENCE, AND DO MORE READING. ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY. LJH | ||
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