I’ve mentioned recently that I have begun playing poker online for real money. I also mentioned that once I started, I’d post how I’m doing. Well, as of today, I’m in the black!! But it’s not as good as it sounds (I think).
Before today, I had not been doing so well. I may have played a total of 2 hours for a profit out of the 7 or so hours I’d played. And, net earnings were negative. One of my shining moments was finishing 4th in a “sit & go” no-limit tournament, placing “in the money.” I won $9 off of a $5.50 entry.
But the strategy I’m studying is “limit” hold ‘em, not “no-limit”. And I know that patience is a HUGE part of the strategy I’m using. The book I’m studying suggests that it can take in the neighborhood of HUNDREDS of hours using their strategy to BE GUARANTEED a profit.
Well, the “limit” strategy isn’t doing all that great for me (OR, more likely, I’m not following the strategy exactly as it should be followed). When playing in “limit” cash games (non-tournament), I have my hours where I’m playing at a profit (and at a profit level higher than the strategy). But, I also have those hours where the loss level is higher than my earnings level. So, I’ve been playing at a losing place.
And what’s more frustrating is that I’m playing at the cheapest limits. I imagine that once I step up in limits, it’ll be THAT MUCH MORE difficult. Ugh!
Here’s a hint for anyone looking to start out for real money: Don’t base any of your skill on how you played with “play money”. It’s so different, that you wouldn’t even believe it!
Well, today I had a bad hour, followed by a good hour, followed by a bad hour. That brought me to 3 profitable hours out of 9, and still a net loss. And I got frustrated.
So, since I did well in the first sit & go, I decided to try again. And in my second sit & go, I finished 5th. For the particular sit & go I entered, you have to finish in the top 4 to win anything. So, it was yet another frustration!!!
So, since I had finished 4th and 5th, I couldn’t be that bad. I decided to try the same type of sit & go tournament (again, no-limit) one more time. For $5.50, eighteen people are playing to finish in the top 4 to make money. Places 5 - 18 get nothing!
Well, this seemed to be an even more challenging table than the others. There was no player who fell out very quickly by going all-in too early. So, I used my patient strategy (similar to the strategy I use for limit hold ‘em), and made it to the final table (the final 9 players of the original 18). And then, next thing you know, the first hour was up, and it was break time. At this point, there were 7 remaining players, and I was pretty low in chips compared to the others. I only wanted to finish in the top 4… I was still frustrated!
Read the Extended Entry to see how I finished…
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big Sheryl Crow fan. I love her music, and I think that she’s simply beautiful. Well, I’ve finally seen a picture of her topless. And at the ripe ol’ age of 43, she looks phenomenal!
