How i started

About 2 years ago after watching late night poker shows due to mild insomnia, i was gripped by the tension, excitment, and mental warfare that takes place on a poker table. I arranged games with friends at my house and when i got the internet 18 months ago the first thing i learned how to do was download and install full tilt poker.
I actually read some of the "tips from the pros" on Full Tilt and this made me aware that there was more strategy involved than just waiting for 2 high cards. I did not make any deposit, playing for play chips and in the freerolls instead.
I wanted to become a better player and joined a forum where i found strategy and other players who where just as intrested in poker as i was and am. I began by playing the sweet 16 starting hands, i am a patient person but i soon became tired of not playing a hand in some tourny's and after some research on starting hands found a document online, with values for starting hands with position. This was the beginning of MY game, the time when i first began to develop my own way of playing.
I have read several books, my favourite being Doyle's Supersystem, i was too passive, this helped.
I play on average about 6 hours a day and have done since i got online, i am far from the finished article and i will always seek more information and advice about this game.

You came to the right place but only 4 posts since August. You need to get involved with the forum.

Its ok take your time, if you keep making posts like this, I'm sure no one will mind Gl playing and stick around!

Well I hope you become a very involved member.

What are you currently playing? You play quite a bit so any small improvements should return pretty quick results. The Hand analysis section is a great place to learn about your hands by posting or other by reading.

Also, you may be at 1KNL for all i know but supersystems is really not a fantastic beginners book, it is advanced and im not sure some of the strategies he suggest would work online, especially at the lower limits.

Also, if you play ring games get a poker tracker, PT3 has a 60 day trial so at least try it out. If you are playing 40+ hours a week this will help tremendously.

Good luck

My first year

I played my first online poker at Full Tilt without depositing, i played the freerolls without success, they payout the top 27 of 2700 entrants, a tiny 1%. Hungry for more poker and wanting now to win money, instead of just playing for the fun and excitement, i searched for more poker sites and began playing at poker stars, which was holding regional freerolls at this time, i played in the daily UK freeroll which payed the top 20%.
I joined a poker forum that had daily freerolls and began studying the game and strategies, i learned a great deal from reading blogs and after research online came up with my starting hand chart, which took into account position.
With these tools and the advice i had gained i found it easy to make the cash on Poker Stars in the UK freerolls, if i registered and could not play i would usually make 10cents by sitting out. I played as often as possible for as long as possible, being unemployed helped but did not pay the bills, i was completely hooked on poker. I continued playing freerolls and would build my bankroll up to a dollar or so and play a Sit and Go, or a Sit and Go bust as they were to me. I continued researching and reading blogs and strategy.
The poker forum i had joined had daily freerolls and also had a ranking system with prizes for the monthly top 100 players, after about 5 months i placed in the top 100 and gained entry to a $1000 freeroll, on Poker Stars. I came first in this tourny, it was my first tourny win and brought me $300, i claim no great skill in this win, it was pure luck. I decided i would save this money and use it only when i was a winning player, a decision i have stuck to.
A friend i met on the forum introduced me to Poker4Ever and i placed 4th in a daily freeroll there, the first i played and this brought me around $40, i played with this in the 10c to $1, SNG's they have, i currently have $220 in my Poker4Ever account.
Around 3 months ago while researching online i found a message about a beta test of new poker software offering cash prizes in freerolls every hour. After a little checking i decided i would give this site a try Fleet Street Poker is the name and good as their word they had freerolls every hour, the site was in it's beta test stage and had less than 400 members, $50 freerolls every hour and a weekly $10k. The beta test has finished now and i made $210 in the 3 months i played there, i am about to pay the annual membership fee of $140 from my winnings, they also have a monthly $50k freeroll tourny now.
My biggest win that i can say i earned came in the last week and i took my total bankroll over $800, my very good friend mange who introduced me to Cards Chat wrote a brag on my behalf with a couple of screenshots.

I am ultra-conservative with my br. playing mostly below $2, i consider myself a very small fish with a great deal to learn and i want to spend as little as possible learning as much as possible. I don't play ring games, i play MTT and SNG. Doyle's Supersytem has helped me the most with a specific problem i had, i would agree it is not a beginners book, it has had the single biggest influence on the way i play in that i learned how to bluff and bully and to see when i am being bluffed or bullied.

Welcome to CC, dvd-GT!

Man you're off to a great start, not only in wins but far more so in your desire to learn how to play the game better! You'll quickly find CC a highly valuable resource of information (via stragy threads and articles) not to mention all the freinds you'll meet.

Personally I started out a lot like you then found CC. My game has done nothing but improve ever since thanks to the advice of the top players here. Any question I had ( no matter how stupid, lol) the regulars here gave me great advice that noticably improved my game.


Great post and wishes for continued success!

Forums are a very good thing to improve your game then. I have usually just chosen to look at the advice given and try to learn from what is said, but now I want to comment more and offer my own opinions. I think you can learn a lot too by doing the same thing.

Man thats fantastic.
I do think with $800 you should move up a bit and try to win bigger buyins.
Make a % rule , ie i will only use 1% of my bankroll for any one game.
This will allow you to play higher game with bigger payouts.
Also if you get taken out a few times its not going to hurt your bankroll to much.
Also look for money add games , theese realy put the of making money in the long run.
You seem to have drive and abilty.
Good Luck

You can't just sit and wait for top hands, if you don't learn how to play others you'll eventually get blinded out in the long run...but you have to pick your spot...reading books, articles, and forums of course will all help but what you should do is try to process all the info you've learned and form it into your own style, not someone else's...and as time goes and you learn more add that to your style and mix it up...
you'll find you're taking more pots and losing less money long term

For me I watched a world series TV program. Fascinating. Hooked, hook, line and sinker. Still haven't tried a live tourney, but location here on the east coast does not provide oppertunity.

I can say the is a game of patience.