History of the Poker Ninja
I'm your average gifted underachiever. 25 pushing 60. I've seen too much of the world to ever want to be a part of it in the traditional sense. College drop-out. Hippyish tendencies, minus the tree-hugging crap. Working a mundane job where I'm forced to compensate for other people's incompetencies every single day. Ad nauseum. I tend to be a dreamer and suffer from 1980's induced male escapist fantasies... I plan on filing a law suit some day against all the cartoon and movie makers from the 80's, for making it impossible for me to be satisfied in a world that doesn't include ninjas, pirates, barbarians, russian terrorists, and explosions as a daily part of my life.
I'm getting married in May, to a woman, who while wonderful and understanding of my tendencies in most cases, doesn't really approve of me "gambling." I tried to tell her that poker is a hobby and hopefully some day a career, but she won't buy that. Hopefully some day I can make her change her mind.
Play Style
I used to play at Party. I was one of those people who would deposit $50, then bust out on the $25NL tables every single time. I wasn't a pure loser, I'd run it up to a nice chunk, but inevitably, I'd go bust. I didn't have any understanding of BR management and I really didn't know about the things most people here regard as "standard practices," that is to say, strategy, pot odds, and EV. I used to play a lot of MMORPGs, if you know what those are. Massive multi-player online roleplaying games. Stuff like Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, Dark Ages of Camelot, etc... I was notorious for frequenting the forums to learn the game mechanics, the best classes/skills to play, etc... Player experiences and information that proved invaluable. So I'm not sure why I never thought to do that with poker until now.
Current Situation
Having a woman who doesn't like me to waste money on poker, and having wasted a lot of money on poker, I decided to check out PokerTime (Prima Skin), because they were offering $10 free to anyone who signed up, no deposit required. In the time between my last loss on Party and the time I signed up at PokerTime, I had decided that I needed to get a real edge. I read a lot of books, but they were mostly aimed at the general population of people trying to get started in poker. Kind of like a fish factory... I decided there had to be a place to learn from serious, winning players and I found it here.
I've taken on a new style which has been consistently winning for me. I don't think I left a table without making money since I've started, (aside from a few where I saw a few blinds and didn't like the table so I left). Over a 3 day period, I've managed to turn $10 into $280. I started out at .05/.10 ($10 NL) and am currently playing at .10/.20 ($20 NL). I also played a few $10+1 SnGs, finishing 3rd, OTM, 1st, and 1st. I managed to make an excellent read yesterday that I was proud of. I think it's important to set goals and to identify when you do something good or something that particularly makes you proud, because this helps to motivate you towards those goals. Anyway, I may come off as being a bit overenthusiastic, but I assure you that I am not trying to get rich quick or climb the limits like a maniac. I know what it's like to constantly bust out and I am going to make sure any actions I take are well thought out and approved by people on here
You guys know what you're talking about and I highly value your opinions.
So from here on out I will post various things for interested readers and for my own affirmation and hopefully I will be able to slowly build a nice BR and make a living doing this thing I love.