Risen from the ashes of a Phoenix

In mythology, a phoenix is an immortal bird that, when it dies, bursts into flames and is reborn from its own ashes.


I feel that my current "poker life" has come to an end and this is the perfect time to arise a new, better player. My latest staking agreement ended with me flatlining the BR. I will now make one final deposit, I am giving myself one final opportunity to make something of myself in the poker world. I invite you all to follow my new journey as a poker player in this thread.



But before I start off on my new beginning, I feel it's appropriate to talk about the old:


During the beginning of my second semester of freshmen year at the University of Tennessee a brother in SPE (which I was pledging at the time) introduced me to the world of online poker. I was immediately intrigued and as I left his dorm room I could not keep it off my mind.



Having almost no understanding of the game, much less BR management, I deposited $20 at PokerStars and started playing $1 9-man SNGs. I hit $0 fairly quickly. I then decided to give myself one more shot, so I deposited $10 more dollars. Hit $0 again. Luckily for me, I was A. Not Degen and B. Smart enough to understand I was playing wrong.



So, I decided to do some research on poker and I was like a blind man suddenly able to see. Odds, Position, Starting Hands.. As i'm naturally a mathematical person this only served to increase my interest in the game. I decided to deposit $25 into Full Tilt.



with the $25 I started playing $2 45 man sng's and I actually did fairly well, grinding my BR up to around $60. Then the same friend that originally introduced me to the game told me "the real money is at cash games." I naturally followed his advice and made the switch, with absolutely no preparation. Donked off $20 rather quickly. I then had the brilliant idea to grind it back up by signing up for $2 45 mans with my whole BR. Obviously my first time 20 tabling was not a success and I hit $0 again.


This process rinsed and repeated a few more times, until I started learning enough about the game to become a small time winner at the nano-limits. I then started getting staked, blah blah blah. Now I'm here once more with $0. Yet, I do not regret any of it. The money I "lost" was really the same as paying for a poker book, lessons, coaching, etc. It got me to where I am now.



Well... where am I now as a Poker Player? Well considering, with cash game players at least, people normally evaluate their skill level in terms of their stakes this is me:


I currently have the knowledge of a 25nl player.
I currently have the application of a 10nl player.
I currently have the dedication of a 5nl player.


This all changes now. Until now, I have allowed myself to run on auto-pilot through life. I had the brains to make a 4.0 easily but a 3.0 required no effort. I had the athletic ability to play College Football but I decided ****ing around in high school was more fun. I have the ability to beat poker but until now I haven't dedicated myself.


I will be depositing $40 into PokerStars tomorrow. This will be the last investment I ever make towards my poker career. It is enough for 20 buyins at 2nl.


I don't know whether I will succeed or fail but I can, at the very least, promise you that this will be entertaining to follow.



In the next post you will find my rules, which I will be allowed to amend every two weeks.

Lol, I did not mean to name the title "Risen from the Ashes of the Phoenix", I must of copy-pasted the beginning quote tonight.

Well I get the award for the cheesiest title of the month.

I'll be uploading the $40 today.

wow i really like the thing u said

a. Answer 5 HHR threads on CC and 2p2, compare to other answers.
b. Read responses to my own HHR threads.
b4 you start the session for warming up

when i get up early i am jumping in 7 ring games and am rusty for 30 min usually

Yes, it's personally a huge leak of mine as well. I find myself in the red almost every time I start a session. By doing this I hope to get my mind thinking about poker before I actually start playing.

Day One - July 8th 2009

Deposited $40 on PokerStars. May get my first session in tonight, depending on whether a sheet freak is coming over.

Finishes my first hour long session. Did well... dropping from 10nl to 2nl is like going from highschool football to anklebiters. It was too easy.

I made one drooler move when I folded AK on a A 5 5 rainbow when I got CRAI'd. Posted HH to confirm my my move was retarded, everyone agreed its a snap call.

Oh, well. Finished with a 15bb/100, the ^ pot would have had me at 30bb/100, small sample size regardless..

I'll post links to all my interesting hands tomorrow.

Nice post. I hope you are able to stick to your plans and keep crushing the micros. It sounds like you are actually dedicated to sticking to this. Good luck

Oh, and yes. Cheesiest thread title of the year, this one gets my vote.