It looks likely that I will be writing a book about poker over the next few months, the basic premise being to see if I can go from my current hot-headed amateur approach to be able to compete with professionals in a few months. The provisional title of the work is "The Poker Joker" - do you see what I did there? The idea is that it is a light-hearted and accessible look at the game, as most books on the subject are a bit dry and unaccessible to the less serious player. I think it could be fun. I've decided to start the experiment with a fund of £800 (
the amount I won for my poor 7th place in the Celebrity Poker tournament). So now I need to start earning some money from poker so I can afford to enter some proper tournaments. Obviously if the £800 runs out I have to start selling my possessions or turning to crime. But if that happens it will only make for a better book!
So I played on-line today to see if I could start to turn a profit. The last time I had played I had blown all the money I had made in the previous fortnight playing loose and stupidly and forgetting it was all real. So now with the incentive of the book (as well as not wanting to have to sell my stuff) I decided to play a tight and professional game.
The real key to winning at poker is to stop playing it for fun and to mainly only go in for the hands that you have a good chance of winning. You have to overcome the voice in your head that tells you that your 2 7 off suit might come good if the flop is 772 and realise that probablilty is the king. Not to say you can't bluff a bit or take the occasional shot in the dark when things are going your way, but being tight and unemotional is the key.
In a way it is sad that you take the fun and bluster out of the equation, but in another way it is more fun to win money!
I played in seven internet tournaments today - all quite low stakes admittedly. Using my new found conservatism I can 3rd out of 27 (won $37), 2nd out of 9 (won $24.50), 2/9 (another $24.50), 3/9 ($11), 11/18 (0), 6/6 (0) and 2/9 ($40.50). I ended the day $108.50 up. Not a great day's wages (but then it wasn't all that I did all day), but still an encouraging start. I don't think it's a coincidence that I did so badly in the 5th and 6th games. I had been playing for too long and was losing concentration and forgetting that this was all real. Give that I have other stuff to do in my life it is important that I limit my play to a couple of games a day I think. Also I sometimes play when I am doing something else and it's amazing how not watching all the match can affect your chances of winning.
I was unlucky not to win the final match, but it was gratifying and encouraging to end the day up. I still think at the end of the day I can make more money from doing my job (though delightfully playing poker is now my job anyway!), but it's going to be enjoyable seeing how well I can do. Even if it does mean that as my mother fears I will be living in a cardboard box by Christmas.
At least I would be if the
box lady hadn't taken all of mine.
