When i called my local casino the night before i specifically asked , is that new NL game i heard about spread 100 max buy in or 100 minumum buy in. The girl said well , both.
The next morning im there there 7am. This will be my first time playing a No Limit game live as my backround consists of so far a little more than a year of online poker , Party , Paradise , UB and Golden Palace. A lot of 5/10 locally and on 3 vegas trips 5 NL multi tourneys and lots of 3/6 and 2/4 hours on end.
I work midnights , so if im not playing low limit NL or a multi table low buy in online , I am on here reading every post or watching bigger NL games online. Basically i am like you guys addicted all the way and learning every day. I dont consider myself great but i have and continue to study on a daily basis. . Given that here is my story ......
I sit down the game was 8 handed making me 9th. The first thing i notice is that the stacks around me are huge. I ask and am told the minumum is 100 but the max buyin is, well there is none. Guy to my right , another internet player with the same aspirations as me tells me he thought the same thing. He than whispers , these guys play loose take your time and you will make money here. I quickly decided my best game plan was " go big or go home " . I would need to double or triple up quick if i wanted any chance to battle in this game.
I thorow away AQ , 88 , in the first half hour as the pre flop raises were 70 to 100 . Sitting on 140 that would mean all in , so i wait. Other than that the garbage i was allowed to limp with didnt hit.
Than im on the BB for 5 with 9 10h i call 10 more and see a flop for 15 3 or us in. I hit top two pair 9c 10c 3h board. Original raisor bets out 100 gets called and i move in for my 110. Chance to triple up , they check it down and my two pair holds up vs A5c draw and 44 pockets. Interesting play by both of them the raisor bettin 100 dollars on the nut flush draw and caller with 44 ??? I cant even explain the feeling of draggin that pot , the nerves inside my fingers shaking picking up the chips the nervousness was incredible , i got up went to smoke and called my best friend. Lol. So now my stack is around 300 somehting and fold away for next 10 or so hands.
Something i didnt like is that every half hour new dealer came , everyone at the table paid $ 5.00 for table time. Besides the blinds 2 on the button 2 small and 5 big , folding a lot took some chunk out of your stack. During the change i took a better look at the stacks around me and noticed nobody ( exept me and party poker guy ) hand anything less then a grand , one guy who later called himself " high stakes player " had at least 5K in front of him and a knot he pulled out with more hundred bills than i could dare guess how much they were.
Few hands later i pick up AKh and limp in first position. Two other limpers and Mr. Big stack makes it 75 to go. I call and we are heads up, and i am sooo nervous when flop comes 7 h 9h Qc.
What to do here , online i would take a shot at the pot ...i stupidly check and he counts my chips and thorows out 400 black ones like they were pennies. He smiles and tells me go for it , you could double up again. I think for longer than i ever have...and again he talks " no guts no glory man , go for it ". I FOLD face up and he shows me 10h Jh. Shit , same draw and in the lead.
I pick up a small pot one with 74 from big blind limp on a Q 7 7 flop and 5 limpers , when i raise all in on a 50 dollar button bet . He shows and lays down A6. Again i am confused by the bets these big stacks are making with the cards they have and what the board shows. They show no respect for raises and play out second and third pairs like the nuts.
I am now at around 400 , and pick up AA. Oh man was i nervous again. Middle position and a raise of 40 to go in front of me i make it 140. Mr Big stack calls and flop comes Ac Js 9s. I move in without hesitation and he said call before i got all my chips out. Oh no , spade draw ?? he flips pocket 8's . WHAT ???, nothing crazy happens and i am now counting around 900 in chips. I again go smoke , call my friend relax a bit and figure im in gonna stay in this game for a couple more hours .. avoid mistakes and i will be ok . Mr Big stack smiles at me and saiz he likes my play , do i play a here a lot ? I just smile back and fold away for 8 or so hands. I make a pot size bet on a couple pots and get respect and now counting a little over 1000 in front of me.
Than it happens. I pick up JJ on the button and call again Mr Big stacks raise to 100. We are heads up and i have positon. Flop comes K K 8 rainbow. He checks and i check , turn brings me a pretty looking JACK !!( K K 8 J ... ) Ok , slow down relax .... he checks again and i bet out 100. Half the pot to see where i am but not commiting to this hand just yet. He thinks for a little and said " you got me three times so far with the better hand , but youre due to catch a beat " I dont really know what to make of this ... and he just calls. So 400 or so in the pot now and i got a Jacks full of Kings. Turn is a 5. ( K K 8 J 5 )
Ok nice card ..... and he takes his time. He looks at the board , he looks at me , ...waits and waits. I put him on AK KQ , slow playing K8 maibe , but no i think im good and than he asks how much have in front of me and i cound out with the dealers help about 780 or so. He pushes in 8 black chips and i go into stupid mode. Stupid in the sense that i think and think about how the hand played it out for so long .... another player at the table reminds me that we are paying 10 bucks an hour to play , he than said "just kidding take your time, its for all your marbles i understand , well just make you pay twice if you take this pot. "
Ok i beat him 3 times so far on hands he shouldnt even been betting , ive seen this guy buy many pots with big ass bets the other player just coundnt afford to call without the nuts. The only hands that beat me is K 8 K 5 and KK.
K K 8 J 5 .... " Going from 100 to about 2 grand is a nice payday man , go for it " .. Mr big stack now said . Ok i give up thinking i said " call " and flip the Jacks and " I got Jacks full"
Mr. Big stack said " I know , sorry but i got you beat and he flips K K .... ...
I put my head down in my hands , turned red as a lobster and just sat there . The next hand was being played and i slowly got up not looking at anyone at the table feeling embarrased , like accidently walking in on your grandma naked. I walked out the room and felt a tap on my shoulder ... Mr Big stack followed me out. He said hey man dont let it get to you , shit happens and you played good. Ok thanks , " But one thing ... you need a big bankroll at the that table , " He asks if i want a beer , i say no but thanks and he leaves.
I feel better just writing this out , but Im not sure what i learned from today. My girlfriend said that what i learned is I should quit. I dont beleive that.... i had the time of my life ... I really loved it and want to do it again . I thought my play was good enough to be at that table but.... am i just missing the bankroll to come out on top. Because no matter what , unless i hit and run ... someone with a real stack is sooner or later gonna snap me off ??
Im tired after reading that post:D.Sorry to hear about your bad beat, thats poker. Anyone who has played poker for some time has lost with a fullhouse to quads.
let me get this right. You come to casino with $130, and turn it into $1000? nice rush of cards sounds. at any point did not think to put $600 or so in your pocket and play with less money on table? as you said this is alot of money to you. why risk your whole roll on stakes that are probably above your head? Every poker player has to play with in his budget or stakes. so, bascially either put money away in pocket or have a win loss in place.
sounds to me like you can play...you just need to find a game better suited to your bankroll...or you have to change your expectations of the game....foxwoods has the same type of NL tables...min buyin $200 and some guys are sitting there with 10K....if your gonna sit in a game like you have to take a few things into consideration from the outset.....#1) you will get action for your money...b/c your stack is so small....like when the guy called your set of aces with 88 for $400...that is great but what happens eventually is that 1 hand will tap you out b/c when your up against stacks like that, you have double up 10X to acually compete with their stack sizes and its just not gonna happen...its like sitting down at a $5 min BJ table with $15 and telling yourself, your not getting up until you hit the dime mark....in all likelyhood it aint never gonna happen...if your gonna sit at a table like that...you have to be realistic IMO...tell yourself im buyin in for $100 and my goal is X dollars and once i get it there, im out...its probably quite feasible to buyin for a $100 and get to $500 if you play quality hands (which you did) and just dont get outdrawn...once you get to $500 be happy with a great days work and get up...and go sit at another table....
I cant wait to get paid and take my two week check back to this table .... lol i really want to, sooner or later i know i will just a matter of time before i get the courage up and set a stop loss , like 1 K to 2 K or 500 to 1 K . I feel confident to do this and take a shot at it a few times in the near future.
One thing i wonder ... given this type of game being spread why no real pros have come to bust it open. I mean any one of you guys on here could really put it to these loose whales , maibe you should call me , could set something up ... i want finders fees !!
I want to emphasize a few points with you. You were on a extreme rush of cards on this day. the flop was hitting you hard. the big blind was hitting you hard. pocket pairs were hitting you hard. that is why you were winning so much. unfortunatly you lost it all when you ran into a monster hand.
the reason im pointing all this out is that im getting the impression that you think this game is very easy and beatable. It might be, but i dont think it is. But i dont want you to take your "2 week paycheck" and lose it all just yet. This is a high stakes game, something that you are very inexpierienced at. Sure these guys were trying to buy your pots with big bets big moves. see what im trying to say is that you still havent proved that you made any remarkable plays or any savvy moves to truly hang with the big boys. this game is much deeper than just waiting for premium hands and playing them hard. I just dont want to see you make the same mistake i made early in my poker career. you remind me alot of myself. I thought i was ready for the NL200 game at PP after i had a great first session. but unfortunatly i couldnt maintain the "luck". so i played alot of NL50 and now im back at the NL200 game and feel like i belong. each table always has some strong players and some weak players.
So for what its worth , I would tell you to continue to take your time, and take your shots at this game at greektown casino on occasion. but dont risk your "2 week paycheck" just yet. have a stop win and a stop loss in place and you will do just fine. good luck.
This is a serious question I often ask myself.
I started playing about two years ago occassionally while visiting a poker playing friend in LA. I lost every time at low limit holdem. I then found the internet and started to lose quite regularly online but continued to study the game. I finnaly broke down and read a couple books (first book since freshman year in HS...37yrs old now..). This changed things drastically. I began winning regularly by playing quite tight and at the most..."moderately" aggressive. But win I loosened up or got too aggressive I was liable to take some pretty big hits on the b-roll.
I never minded losing too much cuz it was not really affecting my lifestyle.
7 moths ago I got tight on cash and decided I may need to quit this poker hobby of mine. I decided to treat each session like the $$$ meant something to me (which, of course, it did). I have not had a losing month since. I play mostly NL$100 and SNG$100's at Party and about 2 or 3 multi's per week.
I play irregularly, avging about 3-5 hours per day. I don't track daily or hourly income.
I made $7,000, $4,100, $3,400, $3,000, $4,500, $1,000 and $7,500 the last 7 months. I finished in the money once in my first 15 or so Multi's but recently started getting better results. About two weeks ago I finished second in a 400 man $30NL, I won a 309 man $50NL two days ago and came 4th yesterday in a 150 man $100nl.
The thing is, my friend who introduced me to the game recently asked me what my "secret" was. I did not have an answer. I am not even sure what "kind" of player I am. I saw a post recently with about 12 options and I did not recognize myself as any of them.
I don't know the names of too many pros. I am not sure I know the majority of poker terms (I asked someone what a "Case" card was yesterday). With that said, I feel like if I really concentrated on the game i could make a steady income without my daughter and myself ending up living on the streets. Am I fooling myself?
If you are trying to figure out if u can make it a living, i think the only way to truly know is to try it and compete with the best. how are you supossed to know if you can make it to the next level with out finding out yourself?
Very nice results from the last seven months. Making $30,000 in about half a year sounds pretty good to me. If that pace continues, you're making around $60,000 a year which is pretty good in my opinion considering you only play 21-35 hours a week.
Poker can be a brutal game when things aren't going your way. Even with 7 months of sucess under your belt, I feel this is still too short of a time frame to gauge things. If you can achieve the same results for a minimum of a year (preferably 2) then you should re-evaluate your situation. Good players can run bad and bad players can run good. Tom McEvoy only made $440 one year as a pro, and I can consider him damn good.
Also, you have a daughter to support. If things go south, how would that affect her lifestyle as she is growing up. I would say keep playing part time and use the money you are making to supplement your current lifestyle. Start a college fund for your daughter or something like that. Also, no one said you can't take a few days off from work and take a shot at larger tournies to see how you do. Until you have played against serious competetion for a few years, I wouldn't even consider going pro in your situation (daughter to support).
My life really changed when I adopted my daughter. I do think I would like to play full time someday. But I think I will take a look at two years of results before taking it to seriously. I make a little under the six figure mark at my full time job so the $$$ I am making now at poker are not quite enough to support our lifestyle, but have been a tremendous bonus.
Funny I made this post after a tremendous week (about $5g's) and as many times as it has happened before I was still shocked to lose $500 yesterday! Like part of me expected to make $5g's a week forever! lol
Anyway..I am very passionate about the game and will continue learning respect for it.
