IM JUST CURIOUS

I KNOW EVERYONE HAD TO START SOMEWHERE AND I JUST WANTED TO KNOW HOW DID YOU COME ACROSS THE GAME OF POKER? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HELPED YOUR GAME OUT THE MOST AS FAR AS STRATEGY AND EVERYTHING. WHETHER IT IS SOFTWARE, YOU PICKED UP A BOOK OR WATCHING VIDEO AND WHAT NOT. ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR SOFTWARE, AND ETC WOULD BE A PLUS FOR OTHER MEMEBERS.

ILL START OFF BY SAYING I STARTED BY BEING CURIOUS MYSELF ABOUT THE GAME OF POKER WHERE I SEEN IT ON ESPN AND THE TRAVEL CHANNEL CONSTANTLY AND I DECIDED TO GAVE IT A TRY FOR REAL THIS TIME. I TRIED PREVIOUSLY BUT BAD START LEFT IT FOR AWHILE AND DECIDED TO PLAY FOR REAL AFTER WATCHING SEVERAL FINAL TABLES ON TV. THEN IT SPARKED MY INTEREST I WAS THE TYPICAL DRAW CHASER AND PLAY ANY PAIR TO THE RIVER. I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE BIGGEST REASON FOR MY MUCH IMPROVED GAME HAS TO BE THE POKER ACADEMY 2.0 WHICH IS A GREAT PIECE OF SOFTWARE FOR ANY LEVEL...ONE

I'm not saying this to promote the site. It speaks for itself. But I will say i learned and am still learning the most by just being a member here. Reading posts, Hand Histories, Advice, Strategies, etc... You can find it all here. I find i benefit the most from reviewing my own HH's and when i can ghost other players who are at a more advanced level. These 2 things probably helped me the most.

Never be afraid to askquestions no matter how dumb you think they may be.

I also found my game improved when I turned off my Caps lock,strange but true

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The views of Mattastic do not necessarily reflect the views of THF

I started off by watching the 2003 WSOP and seeing an advertisement for Pacific Poker. I played there for about a year until I found out about PokerStars. I tried that site out and fell in love. After maybe another year or so of playing (all play money). Then I saw some THF tournaments, checked out the site, played some games, and really got hooked.

My best advice for progress in poker is to read and talk about poker as much as you can, and play play play. Most of my learning came through experience. I have yet to pick up a poker book, though I plan on getting some very soon. I've learned a lot from everything on this site as well. So a good combination with lots of playing and reading, plus a strong passion for the game, will all make you a better player.

Probably the best way you can go for playing online is to deposit at a good site, start a small bankroll, and work hard to build it up. Play money can be a nice way of getting to know the game, but you will never experience much true poker when you are up against players that have no worries about losing.

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cky12 - PokerStars
cky12 - FullTilt

My Poker Journal

I started off in 1973 as a young kid on my front porch. Our cash was our baseball cards. We loved to find ways to swap cards and poker was a fun way.

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I OWN THE PERSON THAT BEAT RIVERLOSER!!!


I AM GONNA BE ALL OVER YOU LIKE A RAT ON A CHEETO

Started about 2 years ago when I began my freshman yr of college. Was playing (and learning) with some real donks, so while it didn't help me develop a solid preflop game, I did get fairly good at reading postflop. Changed my group of players, got some work on my preflop game, and THF took that and cleaned it all up some more.

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1st place, March/April 2008 Sunday League

Fault always lies in the same place, my fine babies: with him weak enough to lay blame.

i started playing in 2nd year at uni (8 years ago)- got introduced to it via the channel 4 show (UK) late night poker though i had played the odd time before then. Mainly played with flat mates until i started online poker in 2003.

I dont think there is one thing or way to learn poker it is a combination

a) books - there are some good ideas you might not have thought of it is worth reading all the major works if only to get help in assessing how others play.
b) play

c) self analysis - study your own play. At a minimum this should be hand stats and swing hands (where you won or lost a lot) but also look at a decent amount of what you are playing and assess it afterwards. Few people do this but backed up other methods this is one of the best ways of improving your play otherwise how will you spot your mistakes

d) debate - discussing and debating tough hands is a good way of challenging assumptions and learning off each other.

e) always give 100% - do this and you will keep learning and improving whether or not you do any of the above.

How did I start out? I'm gonna tell you.

I was sitting here at home bored out of my skull - a friend of mine came over and got on my computer ~ he started downloading a bunch of things, but I didn't find out until later what it was.

Two of the things he downloaded was Bugsysclub and Absolute.

I had no idea what they were until I started the software.
I was like "wow - poker - cool" *L*

stupid, I know -
I got in a freeroll game at bugsys, and had no idea that you didn't have to call every single hand you were dealt to win!

But from watching the high rollers and thanks to PSO, my game improved dramatically, and now I have a sweet little bankroll right there at bugsys.

I never watched the TV, never played the game until I played at bugsys.
That was nearly 3 years ago, now.
I'm still learning.

And thanks to this awesome forum, I'm learning "new" tricks of the trade.

Good luck out there