My Poker Confession.

My name is The Spillage and I'm not as good a poker player as I think I am. I need help. Phew! There - I've said it. It's been one day since I last thought I was better than I was but with your help, and that of the Gods of Poker, I WILL beat this terrible disease. One day at a time.

Ok. So I've posted a few times on this forum but thought it was about time I wrote something of substance and this seems like a good place to start.

A quick history: I started playing online poker about 3 years ago. Read a few books, scanned a few strategy articles, deposited $50 with Titan and off I trotted. I started playing sit n gos and built my way up through the levels until I reached the $10 games. I have now played thousands of games with an average ROI of 8%, multitabling 6 tables on average. So. Not bad.

But, and here's the thing, I haven't improved one iota in the previous 2 years. I got to the point I'm at now and sat back reveling in my profitable poker genius. I did think I was getting better:

- I read about ICM, downloaded the free Sit N Go Wiz trial, inputted a few hands and decided I had it nailed.

-I practised excellent BRM. I would never play outside my means because I was a poker genius. Apart from that time I went on a downswing. Or when I was a bit drunk that time. Oh and that particularly bad beat (you know the one when that lucky SOB hit that full house with his 84 offsuit). That time I stubbed my toe.

- I was reading my oppenents' range to pinpoint accuracy, knowing I was behind, calling anyway and then wallowing in a delusional, smug sense of pride that I had guessed correcly.

And then the epiphany! I stumbled across this forum a few weeks back and it hit me: "you're not as good as you think you are and you're not as good as you could be". Poker is, and will always be, a hobby to me. But why not make it as profitable as possible? I have made a decent(ish) amount of cash over the last 3 years but nowhere near as much as I could have, particularly as I've put so many hours into it.

So from this day forth I will never take the game for granted.

I've actually decided to switch to cash games. It feels like a new dawn and the right time for the challenge. I've withdrawn $600 of my bankroll as I'm moving house and need the money. I've left $100 in Full Tilt and intend to learn the game from the ground up starting at 5NL. I hope to really get involved in the forum so you'll be hearing more crap like this along the way. Should be fun.

As a final note, from what I've seen on this forum it seems to be the best on the 'net. It was coming here and seeing the amount of help and support that complete strangers are willing to give that has really inspired me. And I'm British (inherently cynical and emotionally repressed) so it takes a lot to inspire me

Right, one day at a time...

WooT? U had a 8 % roi and ur complaining....woot? and now u want to move to cash games starting from low limits....dunno...it doesnt sounds logical to me

Love the post mate, as a fellow brit and also not so many hours about realised i should be better at the game than i acctually am and here for the same reasons to get help, then eventually turn it around and be able to help others..... good luck to you my friend but as stated above me you seem to have it setup already!

If you've played SnGs for 3 years and you know you're pretty good why not try and start at the bottom and grind your way up, aiming at improving as you go?

Cheers Ross!

Anders - yeah I wasn't really complaining. It was a light-hearted attempt to inspire some discussion about the need for continual improvement and honest self-reflection about your own game.

Yes, I've done ok. 8% ROI isn't bad but I've been playing poker 15 hours a week for a long long time and I've not really improved during this time. There is so much I've still got to learn. I guess I was trying to make the point that everyone has the capacity to improve and should be actively apsiring to do so...

Regarding making the move to cash. I've been forced to reduce my BR to $100. I thought rather than grinding my way back up from $2 sit n gos - it would be a good time to properly learn the cash game and my BR dictates starting at 5NL.

true...brm is important
suck u had to reduce ur BR but I found to much competion at cash games (well i suck) but i hope it works for u