Joined: Jan '09
Location: South Africa
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 94
Hey all mobsters, I have been around BRM for a while now and I have decided to make a little blog here of my poker life...
Backstory: Most of you will probably not know me because i am not really an active poster on the forum (more of a read and learn type then type and teach)
I started playing poker about 2 years ago through one of my friend's and instantly fell in love with the game due to the fact that its the perfect neverending competition and I love competitions lol, but we are not great poker players from day1, my main problem being patience...
Me and my friends learned the game through mobile poker games (WPT by far the best) and started playing against each other for cigarettes and SMALL change that would usually go for a pack of smokes lol. We all loved the game but we never really used skill, it all went on luck in the end as we all usually played every hand with no regards of the strength pre-flop ect...
So after a few months of playing the game and thinking i am the best in the world we got the fancy thing called internet lol.(internet is REALLY expensive here in S.A so its kinda a luxury here where its almost a must in other countries)
So first poker site I found is partypoker.net (the play money only partypoker) and i start playing there and that is when i got the shock that i really didn't know anything about the game and to be honest I SUCKED!!!!
I didn't even know you could play for money online lol, but after a while of playing play money i started to get better and it showed in my home games against friends ect but i still knew there was a whole world of poker that i still had to learn, so 1st step was to try and play real money online, still thinking partypoker is the only online poker site i download partypoker.com and convinced my mom to stake me 25$ which is alot for us seeing that we are between a middle and lower class family lol and as you all can think I LOST IT within a week, still with that same problem i have had since the start being IMPATIENT!!
After this I pretty much hated the game for a month or so and didn't think i would ever crack it. So after a bit of online games with this fancy internet i somehow (really can't remember) stumble upon the greatest thing in my poker career bankrollmob.com! and this whole new world opens up again, all this free money for me!!!! It felt like waiting for christmas when i sent in my I.D for confirmation, all i wanted to do was get those free moneys lol and 1st up was action poker, less than a week-bankrupt DOHHHHHHHH i still suck
So a week off again from the game and i take the time to read around the forums a bit and try to learn bankrollmanagement Next up Mansion, a good start making 10$ profit in the 1st week but then my impatience kicked in again and even though i played the lowest levels i still wasn't patient enough to wait for the good cards and lose it all over the next 2 weeks...
So back to 0$ in my poker life, no new NDB came for the next couple of months so me and my friends took to some casino's a few times and lost about 2 out of the 3 times due to being such donks lol but the experience was gr8 atleast.
Next up is the changing moment bigbetpoker NDP
now this is the ultimate BRM test, i mean 10$ is nothing to start with especially if their lowest tables are NL4, but i manage to breakthrough 1st day and double it to 20$ with luck offcourse but i realized that if i got through this i would be a better player...I grinded on bigbet for over 2 months and my last balance before cashout was 94$, during this time i got a hold of a few poker books thx to gaztheyorkie and a few other helpfull poker tips around the forum and that is what made me cashout of bigbet, a gr8 site to wich i will return someday but i needed a bigger place to test myself and decided on fulltilt poker, i have previously played there earlier this year with money i won from the mobdraw and i was creamed completely on every stake i tried and it is by far the site imo where players with skill outnumber the donks with luck, and that is where i want to play, i dont want donk's money, i want the money of skilled players (it just feels better beating the 1st ranked guy than it does beating the last ranked guy or what?) so i put in a deposit of 50$ on fulltilt no rakeback or 1st depo bonus and i have been playing there now for about a week and I am up to 78$
I am playing the best poker of my 2 years so far there and i can just feel that i have become better, i am not an amateur anymore even though i play the lowest stakes, i am in that poker zone and it feels soooo damn good!!!
Now i play for 4-12 hours a day grinding away and i am patient as i have learned the art of multitabling..... I will post updates on my BR here as i play through the day and try to keep the blog active to those who will enjoy it following a micro stakes player.
So, this has probably been the longest post so far on brm lol and sorry if its the most boring s**t you have ever read So as the title says this is the making of a poker player---ME
PS.attached is a graph that just showed me how much i have improved my game...
Joined: Sep '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 95
Good luck with your game, bro . I enjoyed reading your story. I'm also trying to build my bankroll on a couple of poker rooms and I am also reading some books and stategy guides to improve my game.
Joined: Jan '09
Location: South Africa
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 94
Posted by Predobar: Guess You should work on bankroll management more but nice effort altogether. I noticed that You played NL10/25 with $78 bankroll.
No lol,that was when i first played at fulltilt back in april...I only play 0.01/0.02 NL on fulltilt and will stay there until i reach 100$ (maybe 150$ coz i am comfortable at NL2)
Anywayz, had a short 2 hour session just now 2 tabling and leaving table when i reach 150BB and am up to 84$ now, will play some more a bit later
BRM ftw
------------ Had another 4 hour session, didn't go as well as this morning's 1 but am up to 88$
Joined: Aug '09
Location: Chile
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 1353
Wow nice story, but a little long ahahaha . Anyway I read it all. Why did you cash out at BBP? I mean you coud have completed all the offer and then moved to Fulltilt poker. Well, If you decided that I just can wish you good luck on your task and I sure your bankroll will grow fast if you kkep playin good poker at Full Tilt.
Joined: Jan '09
Location: South Africa
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 94
Posted by Plexo: Wow nice story, but a little long ahahaha . Anyway I read it all. Why did you cash out at BBP? I mean you coud have completed all the offer and then moved to Fulltilt poker. Well, If you decided that I just can wish you good luck on your task and I sure your bankroll will grow fast if you kkep playin good poker at Full Tilt.
Good luck! and keep us updated.
I needed a site with 0.01/0.02 limits and fulltilt is the best 1 for those micro limits imo, also had too many swings on BBP and never felt comfortable on the tables ect ect...
Anyways, had a long 10 hour session today and it wasn't the best...Didn't get the cards and when i got them the table folded instantly (they probably thought i was supertight and only played monsters coz i never played lol)
On the upside i think i made 30+ tickets for the piece of ivey promo and actually made profit... BR now 90$
Joined: Nov '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 47 (M)
Posts: 2194
All sound good from your side, keep up the good bankroll managment and i'm sure you'll soon be sailing up the stakes and never going broke again? 30 tickets thats good i havent had the chance to get any yet..lol i'm working all weekend, AGHhhh. Shame FTP doesnt do a flash version then i'd play from work hahahaha Whats your screen name on FTP I sometimes mix it up on the low stakes tables i might see you there. 10 hours a day is some playing i'm lucky to get 10 hours a week.
Joined: Jan '09
Location: South Africa
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 94
Posted by xxxbchxxx: All sound good from your side, keep up the good bankroll managment and i'm sure you'll soon be sailing up the stakes and never going broke again? 30 tickets thats good i havent had the chance to get any yet..lol i'm working all weekend, AGHhhh. Shame FTP doesnt do a flash version then i'd play from work hahahaha Whats your screen name on FTP I sometimes mix it up on the low stakes tables i might see you there. 10 hours a day is some playing i'm lucky to get 10 hours a week.
My screen name is thean18, and i don't have a job anymore so its pretty much poker 24/7 which i dont mind lol... So i had another tough session tonight and luckily ended up break even so BR still at 90$, looks like i shouldn't play weekends cause it hasn't been that good but atleast i still don't have a downswing.
Btw thanx for the replies so far, glad you guys like my story
Joined: Feb '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 36 (M)
Posts: 703
I really liked your story cuz I identify myself a lot why what u told. I also started playing for peanuts ( not like the expression but with real peanuts ) and when i found poker online, I spended a lot of my time playing poker in freerolls with 7000 people at absolute and 1st place gets 5 bucks or something ( which was completely retarded). So then I found BRM ( BEST SITE IN THE WORLD ) and my first no deposit bonus was also ACTION POKER where i went bankrupt in a week cuz i was too damn impatience. After that i started playing at FTP and like in 2 or weeks or something, i went from 50$ to 130$. I though this game was so eazy that i lost everything back to 50$ Now i'm playing at NL5 where i started the month with 200$ but now i'm having the worst downswing ever :X I guess it all be back with time Cheers
Good job Thean and great story. Let's face it, nobody starts out playing great poker from day one. I try to make everyday a learning experience, which is why I read/post in this forum as much as I do. I remember when I deposited to P.S. about 4 - 5 years ago for the first time, what a joke...lol. I laugh at it now because I thought I knew what I was doing and just flat out sucked too. I deposited $50 and lost half of it so I withdrew thinking this sucks and stopped playing poker until I got a job as a bartender in Harrah's casino. I started to chat with the poker players and kinda got interested in the game again after that. But I can relate to alot of what you are saying tho. It seems like the more you learn about the game, the more you realize what you don't know. Now it actually feels good to sit at a table and be able to pick out which players are good and which ones are bad (etc.). Hence, being able to make accurate notes on players. Now I am picking up tips from members here at BRM on how to build a bankroll (and it is actually working too). In the past I had "No Patients and Bankroll Management" which anyone knows what happens in the end. Anyway, this got longer than I expected, but good luck and keep up the good work.
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Ireland
Age: 48 (M)
Posts: 399
Nice story, [ a little hard to read as no paragraphs] keep it up
Not too far off my own story, I seen others play online and used to tell them it was a joke, nothing beats the real thing" I played a lot of 5CD live back then for pocket change.
My girlfriend used to play online long before I ever did! She started out on paddypowerpoker [iPoker]
One evening she said i could play a $2 sng on her account, I tried it for the laugh and won! that was it, hooked. i thought this was just too easy. Little did I know that I'd lose a LOT of money over the following few years.
I opened an account on Ladbrokes and began depositing weekly. I'd deposit €20 - €50 when I was working p.w, and sometimes I'd lose it all, other times I'd cash out about €100
I have won some nice freerolls - $400 was the best but had a string of $200 or so cash ins with free rolls. Also placed high in some decent $10 - $20 mtts on iPoker.
I'm a bit silly when it comes to Bankroll management though, I've yet to learn to discipline myself, I always spend most of it back in. though over the years I have cashed out many times from many different sites, so maybe I'm about evens
I'm back to grinding Omaha PL4 - PL10 mostly as you have little to lose. I save my pojnts and play the free rolls, chasing another juicy win from them to get back up.
Joined: Jan '09
Location: South Africa
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 94
Thanks for all the replies mobsters, i thought my post would relate to alot of us and i think the main change in our poker careers was BRM... Thanks for the support and i wish you guys the best of luck too on your bankroll building!!
Joined: Oct '09
Location: Norway
Age: 47 (M)
Posts: 71
Thanks for sharing! It is good to see that it is possible to learn from ones mistakes. And I can relate to just about every part of your story. I too started out as the Worlds Greatest Poker Player, playing live with friends, most of the time with beer on the table and loud music in the background. Moved on to on-line poker... loved it (PKR), but sucked! Found BRM (just a few days ago actually). Got no-deposit bonus on PartyPoker and Titan... and still suck really, almost bankrupt on both sites already. LoL But hey, it's a work in progress and bankroll-management is where most work is needed, I guess.
Anyway, keep it up and good luck and again, thanks for sharing!
(P.S. There are poker-books out there?? Anyone you'd recommend?)
Joined: Jan '09
Location: South Africa
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 94
Posted by TinTin: (P.S. There are poker-books out there?? Anyone you'd recommend?)
Hey, the best poker books in my opinion is the harrington series, it would change your game ALOT after you read it...So try and get them!!
So after this weekend's tough sessions i had a great 1 today!!! I am in double digits now BR 100$ So it took me 10 days to double my 50$ deposit, i will move up to NL 5 when i reach 150$ hopefully it goes as well as these 10 days and i get to 150$ also in less then 10 days
Again thx for the support guys, still haven't seen 1 of you at the tables though
BRM ftw
------------ Hey guys (this is another long one lol)
So i had a very strange day on fulltilt today which your only reply could be "thats poker" The start of the session was good, i was reaching 150BB(3$) on the tables quickly and got to BR 104$ in about half an hour so i thought this day would be gr8, but then the strange stuff started to happen..
The hands: (am not gonna put positions ect just explain the hands)
I get dealt Q 10 which is my favorite hand and am the only caller so HU against BB Flop comes J 9 3, he insta bets pot (0.05) normally i would fold here cause the odds aren't in my favour but it smelled fishy and i had an open ender so i called. Turn brings a Q and there are no flush draws, again he insta bets pot but this time i decide to get info so i raise him (he bets 0.14 i raise to 0.32) he takes a while and shoves for about 0.36 more so i stop and think, even if he has trips which is the only thing i can put him on i still have outs atleast and i am too commited to the pot to fold now so i call he turns over K 5!! i didnt even have time to think how moronic this guy plays when i saw the chips get moved to him,cause yes a 10 hit the river giving him a runner runner win...
Next hand: (the worst imo) I get dealt AKo and one player raises to 0.10 everyone folds to me on BB so due to my position i decide just to call, flop comes 444 and he bets 0.08 into a 0.21 pot (he wants a call) i call and the turn brings a K , so i got a full boat but this guy has played pretty tight up to now, winning a few pots here and there without a showdown so i dont know what his range of cards are...He bets 0.10 now into a 0.37 pot (still wants a call) but i raise him to 0.30 to see his reaction, he insta shoves for another 1.10 on top of my raise and im completely in nowhere land here
Does he have AA? Does he have a K where we would just split? does he have a small pair where if he thinks if i dont have a K then his got me beat? And curiosity killed the cat, just because i was so curious of what he may have i had to call... The guy turns over 4 6o OMG!!! lol and tells me after the hand how could i call lol
Last hand: I go sit at another table after the previous hand and see a nice money dumper, the guy reloads everytime to max 2$ and just goes all in every hand (probably on tilt) so i sit back and wait for the cards to call him
I get rockets only after 3 hands of folding to his all in bets, i call the blind he shoves every1 else folds and i call with a smile he shows 10 7 and me AA flop comes 8 A 6 trips yay but a gutshot for him Turn K river 9!!!!! doh dammit idiot!!! I reload and win it back atleast with QQ against his 7 2 Yay!!!
Roundabout this time that i ask him why he is doing this but no answer back, so i continue chatting to him even though he doesnt say a word back lol, i tell him that instead of blowing the money he can just transfer it to me, 10 seconds later he actually did, the dude sent me 10$ lol and just after that his first words come up in chat "buy yourself some rice lol" and then he just left lol...
So a strange day, but despite the beats i got the kind man made my day! BR 110$
Joined: Jan '09
Location: South Africa
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 94
Hey guys, sorry that i didnt update yesterday.. Was s**t tired and shouldn't have played in that state, made alot of mistakes and was lucky to only end the day -2$ but atleast i stopped the day.
Had a better day today, felt alot better than yesterday and made 6$ for the day so BR 114$
Also had alot of affiliates coming to brm yesterday and i have 800 points for the mobdraw this sunday so hopefully get lucky there. it will be a nice boost for my BR
Joined: Jan '08
Location: Croatia
Age: 47 (M)
Posts: 1308
Was s**t tired and shouldn't have played in that state
That is the next lesson you have to learn and it is not an easy one. Most of the people reading will probably laugh but its not that simple. You noticed that You played bad and correlated it to tiredness only because You was really tired. Problem lies when one is not so tired, lets say 1 hour shorter sleep than usual, and while You can play your best game for some time you will have your thinking capacity reduced, if not immediately then really quick. Whats worse is to have predetermined number of hours to play in combination with only 1 hours less sleep and you are on your way to downswing. How?
You play as you should play for an hour or so and variance is not giving you any trouble at all so you make some profit and that makes you more confident than you was when you started that session. After that first hour or so fatigue kicks in, just slightly nothing big, and while you are still able to play something might go unnoticed in your play, you are giving out various tells, just general tell it can be related to anything you are getting tells from in online poker. At this point, others are picking up on those tells and are waiting for an opportunity to exploit them and you are still not losing money but you might be floating around one stack size or just picking up small pots. Some will think that they are just not hitting or it is just variance. Confidence is not likely to wear off that quick but game will suffer when game gets dull, on subconscious level at least. Usually it goes this way, opponents will get their chance eventually and start exploiting your tells and flaws making you to fold when you should not. This will make you agitated a little, specially if more than one of your opponents start doing this, and this may lead to even bigger mistake, just because you don`t want to get pushed around anymore, and that is making a bad call/raise.
In the end you lose money, i guess everyone understood what i tried to say so i wont go any further into details, but there are other "flaws" that are related to tiredness. Can this be exploited, of course it can, watch the reactions of regular multitabling players, ones that play at the same time every day, at the beginning and at the end of their sessions.
What You need to learn next is, not to play at all when You`re not at your best, and I don`t mean almost best, unless you really must, in situation where you qualified for some tournament and buyin would be wasted if you don`t play. You will be able to get out if variance kicks in or to stand up from the table when you are the fish and generally much better play and decision making overall.
Some of you might ask, so what if I don`t get good sleep for a week or even longer? Well don`t play, if you succeed in playing poker for living you can choose when to sleep. If you did not sleep well last night then take a nap after lunch, that`s what I do, and you`ll see the difference. In the meantime I kill time, till lunch, playing computer games rather than playing poker, SR2020 Gold is out
Joined: Aug '09
Location: Chile
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 1353
Posted by Thean: Hey guys, sorry that i didnt update yesterday.. Was s**t tired and shouldn't have played in that state, made alot of mistakes and was lucky to only end the day -2$ but atleast i stopped the day.
Had a better day today, felt alot better than yesterday and made 6$ for the day so BR 114$
Also had alot of affiliates coming to brm yesterday and i have 800 points for the mobdraw this sunday so hopefully get lucky there. it will be a nice boost for my BR
BRM ftw
Good to see that things are going very well. Wish you good luck (and of course at tables) on the draw but please let some prize for people who will buy just 5 tickets like me .
Joined: Jan '09
Location: South Africa
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 94
Posted by Plexo:
Good to see that things are going very well. Wish you good luck (and of course at tables) on the draw but please let some prize for people who will buy just 5 tickets like me .
Lol thanks,but don't worry its usually the guys that just buy 1-200 tickets that win so your odds are better than mine
Great post predobar, gave you a I will try to never play again if i feel that way, i knew i wasn't 100% but yah atleast kept the loss to a minimum
BRM ftw
------------ Bad bad bad bad day....
BR 104$
no comment
------------ small + for today
Just played 4 1$ HU sng's and won all 4 BR 108$
Hope you guys had a better day, it seems i shouldn't play weekends coz that's the donks days to play lol
. I enjoyed reading your story. I'm also trying to build my bankroll on a couple of 
) and when i found 
Cheers
OMG!!! lol and tells me after the hand how could i call lol 
