caligula
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Hello everyone.
So, I first got into poker in 2014, at the age of 20, when I stumbled upon a documentary on cable called "All In: The Poker Movie". I had never played a hand of poker before nor did I know the rules. I went online and learned the hand rankings and the rules. It took me a week or two before I felt comfortable enough to even play for play-money online.
I started off playing for play-money on this gaming website (I think it was pogo.com), and eventually I downloaded Zynga Poker on my phone and began playing that often. I got a couple of my friends into it and would play with them as well.
After discussing my newfound love of poker with some friends, we began playing $5 home games at my friends house. I, being the one interested in poker the most out of everyone, was regarded as the best player, and I would consistently win money. I felt I was a much better player than I actually was due to success at Zynga (lol) and my superior knowledge of the game compared to my friends, along with my winning results in those home games.
The first time I ever played at a casino was a few months after these home game started, during a trip up to my friends beach house in Santa Barbara, CA. There's a casino called Chumash Casino nearby, and we drove out there. I played in the $1/2 game where I bought in for the minimum of $60. I was very nervous/excited, and that $60 felt like a lot of money to me at the time. I doubled up after turning a better full house against an opponent's flopped full house, which was so exhilarating. I left the poker room after that, up $60 and feeling like a straight rockstar.
My 21st birthday was a couple months after that first casino experience (At Chumash you only needed to be 18 to play) and I started playing at Commerce Casino. My first time there I lost. The rest is history after that. I played the $40 cap 1/2 game regularly for a long time, eventually moved up to $100 cap 2/3 and played that for a while, then for the longest time played $200 cap 3/5. I'm 23 going on 24 now and I currently play 5/5 Hold'em for the max buy-in of $500 (min buy is 300). I'm loving it at my current stakes and have been racking up solid, consistent wins.
That is my journey. From Zynga, to $5 home games, to the casino and the slow ladder climb up the stakes. It's funny how your pain threshold for losing money rises as you progress through this game. I remember losing $120 playing 1/2 at the casino and driving home angrily pounding on the steering wheel and feeling like a degenerate. How different I've become since then. This game, as I'm sure many of you know, will fundamentally change you as a person if you go deep enough into it.
Thank you for reading. Please share your stories along with any questions/comments, as I would love to read all of them.
So, I first got into poker in 2014, at the age of 20, when I stumbled upon a documentary on cable called "All In: The Poker Movie". I had never played a hand of poker before nor did I know the rules. I went online and learned the hand rankings and the rules. It took me a week or two before I felt comfortable enough to even play for play-money online.
I started off playing for play-money on this gaming website (I think it was pogo.com), and eventually I downloaded Zynga Poker on my phone and began playing that often. I got a couple of my friends into it and would play with them as well.
After discussing my newfound love of poker with some friends, we began playing $5 home games at my friends house. I, being the one interested in poker the most out of everyone, was regarded as the best player, and I would consistently win money. I felt I was a much better player than I actually was due to success at Zynga (lol) and my superior knowledge of the game compared to my friends, along with my winning results in those home games.
The first time I ever played at a casino was a few months after these home game started, during a trip up to my friends beach house in Santa Barbara, CA. There's a casino called Chumash Casino nearby, and we drove out there. I played in the $1/2 game where I bought in for the minimum of $60. I was very nervous/excited, and that $60 felt like a lot of money to me at the time. I doubled up after turning a better full house against an opponent's flopped full house, which was so exhilarating. I left the poker room after that, up $60 and feeling like a straight rockstar.
My 21st birthday was a couple months after that first casino experience (At Chumash you only needed to be 18 to play) and I started playing at Commerce Casino. My first time there I lost. The rest is history after that. I played the $40 cap 1/2 game regularly for a long time, eventually moved up to $100 cap 2/3 and played that for a while, then for the longest time played $200 cap 3/5. I'm 23 going on 24 now and I currently play 5/5 Hold'em for the max buy-in of $500 (min buy is 300). I'm loving it at my current stakes and have been racking up solid, consistent wins.
That is my journey. From Zynga, to $5 home games, to the casino and the slow ladder climb up the stakes. It's funny how your pain threshold for losing money rises as you progress through this game. I remember losing $120 playing 1/2 at the casino and driving home angrily pounding on the steering wheel and feeling like a degenerate. How different I've become since then. This game, as I'm sure many of you know, will fundamentally change you as a person if you go deep enough into it.
Thank you for reading. Please share your stories along with any questions/comments, as I would love to read all of them.