I had an unexpected free night last night. Amber had a sleepover with her friend Cammie (Thanks Sam!!). I was deciding between beer pong at Bill's and poker. I remembered my Friday hangover, and my commitment to play more liver poker, so I went down to Foxwoods at about 9.
I haven't played alot on weekend nights before - I have to get down there at least every other Saturday. The games are filled with drunks and people who are there expecting to lose. All I have to do is sit there and wait for them to make mistakes. It's how poker was played right after the boom started. Alot of people saw the game on TV, and figured they could play - a few years later, they were honest with themselves, realized that they were down a few thousand, and went back to the Blackjack table. The game has gotten much, much tougher since then since most of the regulars are break even, winners, or just small losers. The bad players (most of whom are alot of fun to play with) seem to come back on weekends. I wish someone had told me this before!
So I played for six hours and won $347. There are some thousand dollar sessions waiting for me on weekend nights. Here are some results for the week.
Online - 22 hours - +$251 = $11.4/hr
Live - 13 hours - +$385 = $32.1/hr
Total - 35 hours - + $636 = $18.0/hr
It's short of my $25/hr goal, but I can attribute that to too much online play and not enough live.
Pretty good start.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Finally some Poker!
I am well short of my goal of 40 hours for the week. I have excuses (St.Patty's day, NCAA tourney, still battling cold) but ultimately, I have to commit time more regularly.
I played for 7 hours live on Monday. Some of this stuff will be about poker hands, and if you're unfamiliar with the game, just skip right over it. I sat down with $300, and on the fourth hand of the session, was dealt KcQc in middle position. I raised to $12, and was called by the button, who had about $400 in front of him. The flop came Kh9c7c. Huge flop for me as it gave me top pair with a Flush draw. I bet $15, and he quickly raised to $45. I was pretty sure that he had AK. With $84 in the pot, and only $30 to call, I make the easy call and hope for a Q or a Club. The turn is the 2c, giving me the flush. I bet $60 into this pot, thinking that if he has the Ac, I need to make it expensive to beat me with a bigger flush. He calls, and the river is a blank (meaning a card that doesn't seem to help anyone.) I bet $75, which I think is a bet he may call with just AK (a pair of aces). To my surprise he moves all in. At this point, I'm pretty sure that he has a bigger flush, but with only about $120 left, and the pot at $480, I cannot fold. I call and he turns over AcJC...5 minutes in I'm down $300. There's really nothing I can do here. Sometimes the cards make you go broke.
I'm proud of how I handled it. I took a walk, sat back down, and tried to pretend that I was just getting there. I was able to control my emotions, and not try to get it all back at once. For the next 7 hours, I played solid poker without any remarkable hands. I won my $300 back, plus $37. What could have been a terrible day turned out to be a little better than break even.
There are days like this in poker. In fact, there will be much, much worse days. One of the keys to my success will be the ability to handle losing money without getting emotional, and having it affect my decisions.
I did play a fair amount online this week. I logged 17 hours, and made a net profit of $317. I am going to play 3 hours right now, and 3 hours tonight. That will give me 30 hours of play for the week - my first missed goal. Next week I am comitting to 40 hours, with at least 20 hrs of live play(much more profitable for me). I have to if this is going to work.
I played for 7 hours live on Monday. Some of this stuff will be about poker hands, and if you're unfamiliar with the game, just skip right over it. I sat down with $300, and on the fourth hand of the session, was dealt KcQc in middle position. I raised to $12, and was called by the button, who had about $400 in front of him. The flop came Kh9c7c. Huge flop for me as it gave me top pair with a Flush draw. I bet $15, and he quickly raised to $45. I was pretty sure that he had AK. With $84 in the pot, and only $30 to call, I make the easy call and hope for a Q or a Club. The turn is the 2c, giving me the flush. I bet $60 into this pot, thinking that if he has the Ac, I need to make it expensive to beat me with a bigger flush. He calls, and the river is a blank (meaning a card that doesn't seem to help anyone.) I bet $75, which I think is a bet he may call with just AK (a pair of aces). To my surprise he moves all in. At this point, I'm pretty sure that he has a bigger flush, but with only about $120 left, and the pot at $480, I cannot fold. I call and he turns over AcJC...5 minutes in I'm down $300. There's really nothing I can do here. Sometimes the cards make you go broke.
I'm proud of how I handled it. I took a walk, sat back down, and tried to pretend that I was just getting there. I was able to control my emotions, and not try to get it all back at once. For the next 7 hours, I played solid poker without any remarkable hands. I won my $300 back, plus $37. What could have been a terrible day turned out to be a little better than break even.
There are days like this in poker. In fact, there will be much, much worse days. One of the keys to my success will be the ability to handle losing money without getting emotional, and having it affect my decisions.
I did play a fair amount online this week. I logged 17 hours, and made a net profit of $317. I am going to play 3 hours right now, and 3 hours tonight. That will give me 30 hours of play for the week - my first missed goal. Next week I am comitting to 40 hours, with at least 20 hrs of live play(much more profitable for me). I have to if this is going to work.
Friday, March 13, 2009
This week was supposed to be my first week playing 5 days...well, Amber got sick, I got sick, and I haven't played live at all (I did win a few hundred online.)
So what exactly is a professional poker player? We have all seen the poker boom on TV - people with larger than life images and personalities playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yes, those are poker professionals, and many have even gotten name recognition and make a nice living on just endorsements. Of course, that's the ultimate dream...but for every one of those players you recognize, there are thousands of other "professionals" who will never get a second of air time. The majority of them are what we call "grinders." That, I guess, is how I'm starting out.
A grinder basically plays low to mid stakes cash games, just trying to have a solid hourly winning rate - enough to pay his bills, while putting away some money to take occasional shots at higher limits, looking for bigger wins.
I've kept some loose records over the past few years on my wins/losses. The results have been pretty good - I average about $25/hr playing live, and $12/hr on the internet. The reasons I am a better live than internet player will be the subject of another blog.
$25x40hrs = $1000/wk. With a few weeks off, and assuming that I don't improve, means 45-50k per year, in cash.
Amber and I can live on that - for now. Our healthcare (a long term problem for the poker player) is taken care of for awhile. She is too young to "need" the latest things, and I really don't spend any money on myself. The things I like to do with my money are basically to eat at good restaurants, travel, or go to sporting events, and with Suzy gone, I don't feel like doing any of that yet. My point is that I don't have alot of bills right now.
However, that will change. I want to pay for Amber's college education, take vacations with her - and see the world myself. That will be very difficult on 50k per year, which is why I have to set goals that I must meet, or else I jump back into the traditional workplace. Here are short term goals - I will not set an ultimate goal, because the truth is I don't know how good I can be. I don't want to cap it - for some players, a light suddenly goes on and they go from good to great. I'm hoping that's me. Anyway, goals :
March, April, May - maintain $25/hr, at least 35 hours per week
June, July, August - increase hourly rate to $30/hr. Build a sufficient poker bankroll to play regularly at a higher game by the end of August ($7,500).
August through December - be a consistent winner at larger games (2-5 no limit, 5-10 no limit). Achieving that should yield $40-$50 per hour, and give me a large enough bankroll to take shots at some larger buyin tournaments.
How do I get there? I need some basic rules to follow. Here are a few :
1. Treat is as a job - enjoy the game, but respect it as the way I am providing for Amber.
2. Set a schedule, and stick to it. Prearrange babysitters, and write it down, as if I am punching a clock.
3. Never drink while I'm playing.
4. Exercise, eat well, and bring my own food to the casino - when you feel better, you think clearer. Plus, I'll be on my ass for 40 hours per week, and don't want to gain any more weight.
5. Read and study the game - I should be reading one poker book per month - any more, and I risk confusing myself.
6. Become active in poker online communities - post interesting hands, get feedback from other serious players on how to improve.
So that's it - hopefully my next blog will be the results of my first few full time days next week. Tonight, I'm actually playing at my friends house in a home game. Ironically, these guys are so bad that I have no idea how to play them. They are so bad they're good! Sorry Lowds but it's true!!
So what exactly is a professional poker player? We have all seen the poker boom on TV - people with larger than life images and personalities playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yes, those are poker professionals, and many have even gotten name recognition and make a nice living on just endorsements. Of course, that's the ultimate dream...but for every one of those players you recognize, there are thousands of other "professionals" who will never get a second of air time. The majority of them are what we call "grinders." That, I guess, is how I'm starting out.
A grinder basically plays low to mid stakes cash games, just trying to have a solid hourly winning rate - enough to pay his bills, while putting away some money to take occasional shots at higher limits, looking for bigger wins.
I've kept some loose records over the past few years on my wins/losses. The results have been pretty good - I average about $25/hr playing live, and $12/hr on the internet. The reasons I am a better live than internet player will be the subject of another blog.
$25x40hrs = $1000/wk. With a few weeks off, and assuming that I don't improve, means 45-50k per year, in cash.
Amber and I can live on that - for now. Our healthcare (a long term problem for the poker player) is taken care of for awhile. She is too young to "need" the latest things, and I really don't spend any money on myself. The things I like to do with my money are basically to eat at good restaurants, travel, or go to sporting events, and with Suzy gone, I don't feel like doing any of that yet. My point is that I don't have alot of bills right now.
However, that will change. I want to pay for Amber's college education, take vacations with her - and see the world myself. That will be very difficult on 50k per year, which is why I have to set goals that I must meet, or else I jump back into the traditional workplace. Here are short term goals - I will not set an ultimate goal, because the truth is I don't know how good I can be. I don't want to cap it - for some players, a light suddenly goes on and they go from good to great. I'm hoping that's me. Anyway, goals :
March, April, May - maintain $25/hr, at least 35 hours per week
June, July, August - increase hourly rate to $30/hr. Build a sufficient poker bankroll to play regularly at a higher game by the end of August ($7,500).
August through December - be a consistent winner at larger games (2-5 no limit, 5-10 no limit). Achieving that should yield $40-$50 per hour, and give me a large enough bankroll to take shots at some larger buyin tournaments.
How do I get there? I need some basic rules to follow. Here are a few :
1. Treat is as a job - enjoy the game, but respect it as the way I am providing for Amber.
2. Set a schedule, and stick to it. Prearrange babysitters, and write it down, as if I am punching a clock.
3. Never drink while I'm playing.
4. Exercise, eat well, and bring my own food to the casino - when you feel better, you think clearer. Plus, I'll be on my ass for 40 hours per week, and don't want to gain any more weight.
5. Read and study the game - I should be reading one poker book per month - any more, and I risk confusing myself.
6. Become active in poker online communities - post interesting hands, get feedback from other serious players on how to improve.
So that's it - hopefully my next blog will be the results of my first few full time days next week. Tonight, I'm actually playing at my friends house in a home game. Ironically, these guys are so bad that I have no idea how to play them. They are so bad they're good! Sorry Lowds but it's true!!
Monday, March 9, 2009
What this is all about
Before Suzy went to the other side, we always talked about when I would pursue professional poker as a full time job. She knows it is what's in my heart. We always thought it would be when she finished school and started working again. As you know, things happened differently for us. What hasn't changed is that Suzanne taught me to follow my heart, and she also enjoyed having a few hundreds in her pocket after a winning session. Winning at poker has always come pretty easily for me, and to a large extent, I have been paying the bills through poker for awhile. Now that I have time on my hands, I want to see how far I can take it. I have a unique, but relatively small window to pursue one of my dreams, and I'm going after it.
This blog will be about my career as a professional poker player. I hope it's a great creative outlet for me. It will not be my forum for pouring my heart out about Suzy, or life without her - unless it relates to poker. Instead, I will be posting updates about my wins and losses, struggles and victories. It will serve 2 purposes : it may be entertaining for some to follow and root me on, while learning about the "grind" that it takes to gamble professionally, and it will also hold me accountable for my results by posting them publicly. I will be setting achievement goals, and posting them - I need tangible results versus expectations to gauge success. Gamblers lie much more to themselves than others, and by keeping things public, I will avoid that pitfall.
My next post will have an introduction to what being a "low-level" professional poker player means, as well as my specific performance metrics. I hope you enjoy this blog. I anticipate that I will enjoy writing it. I need a project for my own therapeutic purposes, and this is what I'm choosing.
This blog will be about my career as a professional poker player. I hope it's a great creative outlet for me. It will not be my forum for pouring my heart out about Suzy, or life without her - unless it relates to poker. Instead, I will be posting updates about my wins and losses, struggles and victories. It will serve 2 purposes : it may be entertaining for some to follow and root me on, while learning about the "grind" that it takes to gamble professionally, and it will also hold me accountable for my results by posting them publicly. I will be setting achievement goals, and posting them - I need tangible results versus expectations to gauge success. Gamblers lie much more to themselves than others, and by keeping things public, I will avoid that pitfall.
My next post will have an introduction to what being a "low-level" professional poker player means, as well as my specific performance metrics. I hope you enjoy this blog. I anticipate that I will enjoy writing it. I need a project for my own therapeutic purposes, and this is what I'm choosing.
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