I started out wanting to move up a level a month, which is very possible with a decent win rate at 25-30,000 hands/mo and rakeback. It's been 3 months and I've moved up twice, so I'm a little behind, but I feel like I have been improving a lot. Each move up, twice for 50nl, has been accompanied by a combo of bad play and running bad for at least 10,000 hands. The goal is to have a decent win rate at 100nl or 200nl by September, when my current lease expires.
Aside from that I have several options. Live at my parents while working part time and commuting to school. If I'm winning at a nice rate at 200nl I could live off that in Denton and try to get a part time job or something. My mom also knows a guy with his own IT company who is just working for himself at the moment but wants to expand. He had mentioned somewhere in the area of 25-30/hr, but this doesn't really seem like it's ever going to happen because it's been at least 1.5 months since he mentioned the idea.
The third option is to move to Austin with my staker, who is moving into a place with a poker friend of his at the end of July. He dropped the idea to me when he first staked me and we've talked a little more about it since. He and I would share a room, I know it seems kinda gay and sucks, but I did it when I first moved out, and I wouldn't have to pay any rent for a few months. It would definately be a grind playing at least 30 hours a week, but at 200nl I'd be making a lot more than I am anyway. It's a long shot but it's what keeps me going while pushing papers around at work all day.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Background
I just recently changed from being a lurker to posting some on 2+2. I play microstakes and there is plenty of bad info along with good when looking over posted hands. After being somewhat inspired by wcgrider's story and blog I figured I would make this to sort of get more involved with the community. Anyway, here's my poker background.
In high school 4 1/2 years ago I, like everyone who enjoys poker on any level, thought I was better than average if not good at poker, playing in the occasional $5 live sng or cash game w/ acquaintances and would do better than most going off of basic starting hand info as play hands that match 2 of 3 requirements: both high cards, suited, connected. I might have read a limit he book somewhere during this timeframe. Upon turning 18 I promptly deposited $50 on Pacific and would play a mix of limit .25/.5 I believe until I won enough for a $5 sng. I was actually a winner at limit w/ very little knowledge and a loser at sng's, but the ratio would gradually shift towards sng's until I was broke. lhe is boring and sng's are fun to win. This happened for 3 or 4 deposits until I got into cs:s
Counterstrike took up the next 2 1/2 years while I was working part time at a medical billing office and going to community college. Toward the end of my time at comm college I became good friends w/ a guy on my cs team and we then moved into an apt together in Denton, Tx to go to school at UNT. I was living on very limited savings and mostly my credit card until I started at a telemarketing place which was hell but great money. Eventually my friend introduced the idea of going to Winstar, 40 min north on the OK border.
The first couple of trips to Winstar did not go well based on no idea how to play a live game against complete randoms and having a limited idea of bet sizing using scared money. Maybe the 3rd or 4th time I finally booked a win. I read another book or two on holdem and got my credit card paid off after two months and quit the telemarketing hell. After several months of trying to find another job in Denton I eventually settled on commuting to my old job at the medical billing place 40 minutes away. After about 2 months of that in early 2007 I was having great success at live 1-2 and quit to become "pro". Commuting for a 9/hr job that was extremely relaxed was almost as bad as the telemarketing. I had a nice heater for the next 3 months working off my initial bankroll of about $800 until eventually going busto. So I was completely broke and still couldn't find a job in Denton, so I took a once in a lifetime opportunity to go on tour with a band for the the summer of 07. When I got back I was just as broke only I hadn't signed up for any student loans, so I worked as a server where I was only getting day time shifts and making about $20 a day on 5 hrs of work plus the additional $2.75/hr you get. So with the first $100 i got I went to Winstar and had a huge win and went "pro" again. This time around it lasted for about 5 1/2 months and I had been beating the 2-5 game, which was easier for me due to the rake being such a smaller % and not having a bunch of old retirees at the table. Eventual busto due to one night of missing every flip w/ monster draws and being sucked out on several other times.
I have a friend from high school who is a mid stakes nlhe 6max player who I used as inspiration to deposit $500 on full tilt during my 2nd stint as "pro". I tried to learn some but didn't put in nearly enough work. I never truly had a good feel for it playing 25nl and 50nl and went bust pretty quick.
I then went back to the medical billing where I am today working full time and splitting time between my parents and my apartment. So I had been talking to my friend who was paying for UT with his poker playing and he offered to stake me if I would follow his directions and go over hand histories with him regularly.
After a weekend trip down to Austin 3 months ago for a weekend of poker training I was given a stake of $200 to start at 10nl. Due to some bonus I had left over and a lot of hands put in quickly I moved up after 3 weeks when I hit $450. After another month at 25nl I was up to $900 and took a shot at 50nl but played terribly and ran bad. Finally after 3 months I am at $1150 and confident at my ability to beat nl50.
In high school 4 1/2 years ago I, like everyone who enjoys poker on any level, thought I was better than average if not good at poker, playing in the occasional $5 live sng or cash game w/ acquaintances and would do better than most going off of basic starting hand info as play hands that match 2 of 3 requirements: both high cards, suited, connected. I might have read a limit he book somewhere during this timeframe. Upon turning 18 I promptly deposited $50 on Pacific and would play a mix of limit .25/.5 I believe until I won enough for a $5 sng. I was actually a winner at limit w/ very little knowledge and a loser at sng's, but the ratio would gradually shift towards sng's until I was broke. lhe is boring and sng's are fun to win. This happened for 3 or 4 deposits until I got into cs:s
Counterstrike took up the next 2 1/2 years while I was working part time at a medical billing office and going to community college. Toward the end of my time at comm college I became good friends w/ a guy on my cs team and we then moved into an apt together in Denton, Tx to go to school at UNT. I was living on very limited savings and mostly my credit card until I started at a telemarketing place which was hell but great money. Eventually my friend introduced the idea of going to Winstar, 40 min north on the OK border.
The first couple of trips to Winstar did not go well based on no idea how to play a live game against complete randoms and having a limited idea of bet sizing using scared money. Maybe the 3rd or 4th time I finally booked a win. I read another book or two on holdem and got my credit card paid off after two months and quit the telemarketing hell. After several months of trying to find another job in Denton I eventually settled on commuting to my old job at the medical billing place 40 minutes away. After about 2 months of that in early 2007 I was having great success at live 1-2 and quit to become "pro". Commuting for a 9/hr job that was extremely relaxed was almost as bad as the telemarketing. I had a nice heater for the next 3 months working off my initial bankroll of about $800 until eventually going busto. So I was completely broke and still couldn't find a job in Denton, so I took a once in a lifetime opportunity to go on tour with a band for the the summer of 07. When I got back I was just as broke only I hadn't signed up for any student loans, so I worked as a server where I was only getting day time shifts and making about $20 a day on 5 hrs of work plus the additional $2.75/hr you get. So with the first $100 i got I went to Winstar and had a huge win and went "pro" again. This time around it lasted for about 5 1/2 months and I had been beating the 2-5 game, which was easier for me due to the rake being such a smaller % and not having a bunch of old retirees at the table. Eventual busto due to one night of missing every flip w/ monster draws and being sucked out on several other times.
I have a friend from high school who is a mid stakes nlhe 6max player who I used as inspiration to deposit $500 on full tilt during my 2nd stint as "pro". I tried to learn some but didn't put in nearly enough work. I never truly had a good feel for it playing 25nl and 50nl and went bust pretty quick.
I then went back to the medical billing where I am today working full time and splitting time between my parents and my apartment. So I had been talking to my friend who was paying for UT with his poker playing and he offered to stake me if I would follow his directions and go over hand histories with him regularly.
After a weekend trip down to Austin 3 months ago for a weekend of poker training I was given a stake of $200 to start at 10nl. Due to some bonus I had left over and a lot of hands put in quickly I moved up after 3 weeks when I hit $450. After another month at 25nl I was up to $900 and took a shot at 50nl but played terribly and ran bad. Finally after 3 months I am at $1150 and confident at my ability to beat nl50.
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