Poker is a lot like surfing... and I don't even surf.
06-03-2017
, 01:31 AM
Do you even surf bro? 
(I originally posted this on facebook so a lot of common poker knowledge is explained throughout this post... so I do apologize if it seems redundant.)
TL;DR: Lost $30,000 playing poker (Life-time), now playing for micro stakes and getting coached.
I got a poker coach who is helping me improve. I didn't pay him, he contacted me on a poker forum and is working with me for free over Skype. He put up $60 of his own money to stake me to play the $2 Max buy-in tables. The "blinds" are only one and two cents. This is also known as the micro stakes online. So far I'm up about 10 buy-ins, or just about $20.
It's not about the money, it's about improving and making the best decisions at the poker tables. The money isn't important right now.
He isn't exactly working for free though. The better I play and the more I win - the more money he makes. I'll explain more on that soon. Basically it's in his best interest to help me as a player so that he doesn't waste his time or money on a losing proposition.
We worked out a deal that he gets his $60 back (one time) plus 30% of whatever I win every time I move up stakes. He'll let me know when it's time to move up, or down as I play. He has helped three other people move up stakes.
He gets nothing if I lose.
A little background on my gaming history...
I've always played cards and strategy games growing up. From POGs, to Pokemon, to Magic the Gathering, Yu-gi-oh, etc. I'm just a big nerd like that. I've spent over 15 years playing StarCraft/SC2 online which is the #1 Real-Time-Strategy game on the planet.
I'm not very good at chess, but I absolutely CRUSH at checkers.
A little background on my poker history...
For the most part I am a losing player. Constantly throwing away A LOT of money and banging my head against the wall. Every dog has his day and occasionally I would win some pretty decent amounts, but never, ever more than I had lost overall. Lifetime I'm probably down more than $30,000.
I was once offered a poker sponsorship by a local casino when I was 21 years old, about 8 years ago but turned it down because I didn't know OR trust anyone just starting out. I often wonder how different my life could have been had I at least looked in to the deal. Also, I have always known I'm a naturally talented player and didn't want to be taken advantage of. Talent can only get you so far though... more on that later too.
I do believe I have developed some grit and tenacity that I otherwise wouldn't have if I had a helping hand starting out. I'm no "knight in shining armor" and I wouldn't want to be. My armor comes with a lot of damage to it, which is both a good and bad thing.
When you're constantly being attacked and tested at something like a poker table it's always good to have some experience behind you. It's a "one player per hand" rule for a reason. You're absolutely and positively on your own unless people are cheating, which rarely happens anymore.
I would like to compare poker to surfing... (Surfing you say?! Poker has nothing to do with surfing!! .... or does it?????)
There are really bad surfers, casual surfers, decent to good surfers, professional surfers, and gnarly crazy 40 foot wave CRUSHER surfers who could die on the types of waves they surf. All of them love to surf but they all surf on different levels. What they all have in common is one thing and one thing only. The ocean.
That being said a really bad surfer is smart enough to know not to jump in to the ocean with 40 foot swells... it takes special training and experience to be able to ride those waves and live to tell about it. Poker is the same way.
There's no ocean in poker, however, everyone does play on the same table. The tables are always different, and much like the waves of an ocean the chips are always flowing in different directions. Some pots are small, some are really big, knowing how to navigate through these pots is key.
Whew! That was rough. Surfing analogy complete!
About different stakes...
There are basically four levels of the poker spectrum. Micro stakes, low stakes, mid-stakes, and high stakes. All are played by different people on different levels, every day, all day, forever.
Right now I'm playing in the micro stakes spectrum. I'm hoping by the end of the year I'll at least get to low-stakes. I don't have a crystal ball, and sometimes the cards just don't go your way, but I do know I'm going to do my best and to try to move up.
God bless and thank you for reading my random thoughts about poker.
(I originally posted this on facebook so a lot of common poker knowledge is explained throughout this post... so I do apologize if it seems redundant.)
TL;DR: Lost $30,000 playing poker (Life-time), now playing for micro stakes and getting coached.
I got a poker coach who is helping me improve. I didn't pay him, he contacted me on a poker forum and is working with me for free over Skype. He put up $60 of his own money to stake me to play the $2 Max buy-in tables. The "blinds" are only one and two cents. This is also known as the micro stakes online. So far I'm up about 10 buy-ins, or just about $20.
It's not about the money, it's about improving and making the best decisions at the poker tables. The money isn't important right now.
He isn't exactly working for free though. The better I play and the more I win - the more money he makes. I'll explain more on that soon. Basically it's in his best interest to help me as a player so that he doesn't waste his time or money on a losing proposition.
We worked out a deal that he gets his $60 back (one time) plus 30% of whatever I win every time I move up stakes. He'll let me know when it's time to move up, or down as I play. He has helped three other people move up stakes.
He gets nothing if I lose.
A little background on my gaming history...
I've always played cards and strategy games growing up. From POGs, to Pokemon, to Magic the Gathering, Yu-gi-oh, etc. I'm just a big nerd like that. I've spent over 15 years playing StarCraft/SC2 online which is the #1 Real-Time-Strategy game on the planet.
I'm not very good at chess, but I absolutely CRUSH at checkers.
A little background on my poker history...
For the most part I am a losing player. Constantly throwing away A LOT of money and banging my head against the wall. Every dog has his day and occasionally I would win some pretty decent amounts, but never, ever more than I had lost overall. Lifetime I'm probably down more than $30,000.
I was once offered a poker sponsorship by a local casino when I was 21 years old, about 8 years ago but turned it down because I didn't know OR trust anyone just starting out. I often wonder how different my life could have been had I at least looked in to the deal. Also, I have always known I'm a naturally talented player and didn't want to be taken advantage of. Talent can only get you so far though... more on that later too.
I do believe I have developed some grit and tenacity that I otherwise wouldn't have if I had a helping hand starting out. I'm no "knight in shining armor" and I wouldn't want to be. My armor comes with a lot of damage to it, which is both a good and bad thing.
When you're constantly being attacked and tested at something like a poker table it's always good to have some experience behind you. It's a "one player per hand" rule for a reason. You're absolutely and positively on your own unless people are cheating, which rarely happens anymore.
I would like to compare poker to surfing... (Surfing you say?! Poker has nothing to do with surfing!! .... or does it?????)
There are really bad surfers, casual surfers, decent to good surfers, professional surfers, and gnarly crazy 40 foot wave CRUSHER surfers who could die on the types of waves they surf. All of them love to surf but they all surf on different levels. What they all have in common is one thing and one thing only. The ocean.
That being said a really bad surfer is smart enough to know not to jump in to the ocean with 40 foot swells... it takes special training and experience to be able to ride those waves and live to tell about it. Poker is the same way.
There's no ocean in poker, however, everyone does play on the same table. The tables are always different, and much like the waves of an ocean the chips are always flowing in different directions. Some pots are small, some are really big, knowing how to navigate through these pots is key.
Whew! That was rough. Surfing analogy complete!
About different stakes...
There are basically four levels of the poker spectrum. Micro stakes, low stakes, mid-stakes, and high stakes. All are played by different people on different levels, every day, all day, forever.
Right now I'm playing in the micro stakes spectrum. I'm hoping by the end of the year I'll at least get to low-stakes. I don't have a crystal ball, and sometimes the cards just don't go your way, but I do know I'm going to do my best and to try to move up.
God bless and thank you for reading my random thoughts about poker.
06-03-2017
, 02:11 AM
Here a couple of graphs from a few sessions I played.
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Last edited by knowsbleeds; 06-03-2017 at 02:16 AM.
06-03-2017
, 12:43 PM
06-04-2017
, 12:24 AM
Played really bad... was gambling too much. I need to stick to my hand charts.
06-04-2017
, 12:10 PM
Love the thread title! 
Best of luck.
Best of luck.