poker birthday
It was April 6th, 2005 when I first stuffed money into Neteller and hoped for the best. Once that $50 cleared, I deposited it to Planet Poker (I didn’t know any better at the time) and played a little bit of everything. Of course, people were playing limit and no-limit hold ‘em, and I really didn’t know that much about the game. (I would eventually print off a sheet that reminded me: flushes beat straights.)
Exactly a year later, with about $300 invested in poker books, online “school” and software tools, I’m ahead almost a thousand dollars. (I frequently think about what I should do with this money, but I know, of course, that I want to keep playing.)
One could check the date of the first entry on this site to see when exactly I realized that there was an awesome poker blogging community (I should have known: there’s a good-sized Jonathan Taylor Thomas blogging community), and I’ve only sat at a table with them once, but they’ve been consistently encouraging and enlightening. Good friends, I suppose, if I had ever had any meaningful human interaction with them.
Getting turned on to PokerStars and Party Poker two weeks after I switch from Planet (ick) to Empire (eh) was a big favor, one I haven’t thanked anyone for. Winning a tournament at a friends house in my third month playing was huge. Busting through “profitable” in month 6 was great. I’m proud of starting over then, and pulling out my initial stake in month 9. This past month has been about learning new things and pushing the edges: I love this hobby, and I get to do it basically for free, as long as I want.
After reading The Grind last week, I decided that an appropriate poker birthday present would be a subscription to CardRunners. I’m loving it so far. (If you want to sign up under me, my name is dnordquist.) If they’re serious about putting new content on almost every day, it could be exactly what I’ve been looking for: a very current guide to the way that internet players play on the internet, in cash games and tournaments. (They don’t cover limit there very much, but they don’t cover Omaha or backgammon, either.)