B
BullWink
Rock Star
Silver Level
Why I want to Play from zero
This has been a great thread for me, as it made me think about the reasons that I have decided to "Play from zero".
After many years of depositing and playing tournaments and cash games, I decided to try to play without having to deposit. My bankroll has been fairly stable in the last couple of years, neither going up or down significantly. Several years ago, I did make about $5000 per year (for a couple of years), but this was with serious grinding (i.e. >40 hrs per week). This gave me a "wage" of about $2 per hour which is significantly less than what I make in my real job. I started to question whether this was a good use of my time; was I becoming a gambling addict; and how come my game never improved.
My initial reaction is this is a huge step backwards. It is much more grinding for less reward. The experience level of the players is very low, so you don't learn very much from other players.
On the positive side: this allowed me to examine a number of different sites. I signed on with an alias, so once I've evaluated these sites, I might actually come back, deposit, and try to move up in backroll because part of the money made on these sites is from rakeback, first time depositers bonuses, etc. It let me try some different strategies, playing loose, playing aggressive. I was always reluctant to play loose/maniac when it was MY money I was playing with.
I think the biggest reason that I like this, is that the small money that you do win, you value since it was so hard to come by. You then go and play with this small stake and are much more disappointed when you loose it compared to the thought of "of well, time to make another deposit".
I play poker mostly as a hobby, so this just adds another aspect to that hobby. I've only been doing this for about three weeks, so I'll come back and post again after I've been at it for a while.
This has been a great thread for me, as it made me think about the reasons that I have decided to "Play from zero".
After many years of depositing and playing tournaments and cash games, I decided to try to play without having to deposit. My bankroll has been fairly stable in the last couple of years, neither going up or down significantly. Several years ago, I did make about $5000 per year (for a couple of years), but this was with serious grinding (i.e. >40 hrs per week). This gave me a "wage" of about $2 per hour which is significantly less than what I make in my real job. I started to question whether this was a good use of my time; was I becoming a gambling addict; and how come my game never improved.
My initial reaction is this is a huge step backwards. It is much more grinding for less reward. The experience level of the players is very low, so you don't learn very much from other players.
On the positive side: this allowed me to examine a number of different sites. I signed on with an alias, so once I've evaluated these sites, I might actually come back, deposit, and try to move up in backroll because part of the money made on these sites is from rakeback, first time depositers bonuses, etc. It let me try some different strategies, playing loose, playing aggressive. I was always reluctant to play loose/maniac when it was MY money I was playing with.
I think the biggest reason that I like this, is that the small money that you do win, you value since it was so hard to come by. You then go and play with this small stake and are much more disappointed when you loose it compared to the thought of "of well, time to make another deposit".
I play poker mostly as a hobby, so this just adds another aspect to that hobby. I've only been doing this for about three weeks, so I'll come back and post again after I've been at it for a while.