First of all I would like to say how glad I am I stumbled across FTR. This is a great site with a terrific forum section and lots of good people making a variety of contributions from all different kinds of perspectives. I have a lot of respect for the administrators who run the site, and have learned much from many of the people posting here. Kudos to all.
With that said, I wanted to chime in a little on how I have come to interpret and enjoy this amazing game over the last year since I started. No-Limit Texas Holdem is like no other kind of poker the way I see it. I mean with all the different games available (Omaha,Draw,Stud etc) I think that NLTH is the truest form of PURE poker in every sense of the word. I played a little poker here and there over the years, but until I was introduced to this game (online) from a co-worker, I never realized how much skill was involved and how many elements you have to be focusing on with each and every hand you're dealt. The aspect of 'no limit' really opens up a whole new realm to the game which I have thrived on and embraced. Like the familiar adage from Porche'..."there IS no substitute.
The first few months I started playing more and more, often staying home all day playing hundreds of hands at a time...completely immersed. Often losing, often winning, and witnessing irony of epic proportions on a regular basis. I started to fine tune my strategy for tournaments. The more I played the more I began to realize that there is more to NLTH than meets the eye, and only a fraction of people playing today have a grasp on the game as a whole. I remember vividly just starting out, playing well in a mini, in 2nd place, relatively late - only to be caught off guard by the blinds increasing and being hung out to dry finishing in 4th...but it taught me a valuble lesson. Then I started paying closer attention to where I ranked and studied my opponents position before I threw the 1st chip on the table. And then went through a period of over-aggressive play. Episodes of the WSOP on ESPN seemed to have ignited a raging fire of misguided confidence with the wave of newbies hitting the internet, and I began to get excited about my prospects for taking down dead money players jumping on the bandwagon.
Unfortunately it didn't seem to go as planned initially. My consistency was essentially non-existent and didn't really have any kind of defined system other than taking it one hand at a time. I played all kinds of variations. Mini tourneys of all entry denominations, 1 on 1's, ring games and large tourneys with rebuys and add ons. Naturally I'd all too often have a drink or two (or 10), and my bankroll kept getting flushed down the proverbial toilet over time. All too often I'd have a great day, going up several hundred dollars only to piss it all away on a flurry of foolishness when my focus had long since abandoned me as a result of a criminally high blood alcohol level. One evening I found myself over four hundred ahead, then somehow stumbled into a 20/40 limit game thinking I'd come in for a quick kill before bed..big mistake. Within minutes I was hitting the cashier again and then it dawned on me... it was time to re-evaluate. (lesson 1: Don't mix poker with alcohol)
The next morning after waking up in a bourbon induced fog, I sat down and took pen and paper to hand and jotted down some of the things I had learned and the approach I was going to adopt from that moment on. Giving up the game was not an option (probably never will be) and I came up with some ground rules and set some financial limits. Self-disclipline and ego were my biggest enemies and ultimately to blame for a my bankrolls gradual, but inevitable demise.
After roughly a 2 week hiatus I got back in the saddle implementing my new guidelines.
Now don't get me wrong, I am an aggressive player and sometimes dangerously reckless, but my style of play wasn't the problem. Simply put, the problem was consistency, focus and bankroll management.
For instance, if I made a $60.00 deposit I began to play small $10+1 games, not jumping right into a $50+5 trying for the quick kill. Texas Holdem is a game of patience, but more importantly it demands that you are constantly evaluating the big picture. Meaning I am more likely to go-all in with pocket 9's after winning the previous tourney than I am going all in with the same hand in a $50+5 with a short bankroll. This is a game that demands you to effectively manage RISK...which holds true not only from hand to hand, but from week to week and with every
single event you participate in. Any fool can go all in with pocket Aces, but the great players milk every last card they are dealt with an uncanny efficiency for maximizing VALUE. Going all-in short stacked with 9/8 offsuit isn't always a bad move, just like a pair of Kings can turn sour with a quick Ace on the flop. And sometimes calling a small bet with 2/4os can pay off huge...you just never know.
Now I am not an experienced player, far from it. A year playing this game does not a Johhny Chan make. I've had flashes of brilliance, but taken my share of bad beats and made my share of poor decisions like everyone else, but all in all I feel confident that I can compete with the best players in the world given the opportunity and right conditions. The thing I love most about no limit holdem is that for all intents and purposes, it's a level playing field. The element of competition is spine tingling and I love the raw excitement that comes from winning huge pots. My heart will beat so loudly I can almost hear it, and the taste of victory is confidence building and truly satisfying in more ways that I can possibly begin to describe. Admittedly I am a dreamer (always have been) and have visions of winning the WSOP or even being able to build a large enough bankroll to 'make a move' for some high end cash...but for now it is just that, a dream. For now I live in a place called reality, but I confess that I have a deep seeded desire to take that big step to the world class stage. Who knows maybe someday.
But I always remind myself, this game will laugh at you when you think you have the nuts and things can go horribly south in a heartbeat. Just ask Olaf Thorson, or Phil Ivey or Howard Lederer or T.J Cloutier or any one of the top players in the world. They'll all tell you the same thing, that this is a cruel, unforgiving, CUT-THROAT game that will break your heart in an instant when you least expect it.
But I think they would also tell you that it's the best competitive stage in the world beyond a shadow of a doubt...which will always give you more thrill for the buck than you ever bargained for. Kinda makes it all worth while when you think about it
Linear Mode
