This is Addicted19's playing history.
Hey guys,
I'm looking forward to regularly updating a blog alongside my friend and fellow grinder 'OMG ITS LUCKBOX'. Let me give you all a full history of how I got started into poker and where I am now.
Back when I was about 16 (in grade 9) I walked into English class that morning and sat down. A few friends were playing a card game and I was curious so I told them to deal me in. I wish I was making this up when I say my very first hand of poker I got dealt two aces. At the time I wasn't aware of the significance of being dealt the one hand everybody prays for. If I recall correctly, I won a small pot worth a few play chips. I had no idea what just transpired but I was hooked. Most of my friends began playing play money online on Pacific Poker along with many home games where we played 5$ tournaments. At the time I was intimidated by a few of my friends whom I thought to be much better than me. I began playing a bit on pokerroom and that is where my love for the game really developed.
I would run up my play money roll and lose it all back in the next day/week. Even though it was purely play chips, I got a rush out of it that compared to nothing else. The promotions for the real money game on the site quickly tempted me too make a deposit. This was an issue since I was still 16 at the time, however I found out they had freerolls with 500$ added into them. During that summer, I was volunteering full-time and but would get home 5 minutes after the freeroll started. I taught my sister (who was maybe 10 at the time) to register me for the freeroll ahead of time so when I got back I wouldnt miss it). I cashed a few times and once ran my roll into about 4k from a 20$ cash.
I knew absolutely nothing about bankroll management and eventually lost most of my roll despite cashing out a few times. The money never felt real to me in a sense. I was just 16 after all, only used to having 10 dollars in my pocket, let alone thousands online. After that point I was just occasionally playing for about a year and a bit not really making any progress but still enjoying playing, watching all the poker shows on tv and learning a few things here and there.
A friend from high school who was two years older then me and a far better/experienced player, kind of took me under his wing. He educated about many things I wasn't aware of , including bankroll management, different styles of play , pot odds etc. I went to his house one day to play my first 5 $ 9 man sngs on pokerstars and soon after signed up on pokerstars.
With his help through the next two years I learned a lot about poker. Many times my progress has been taken back due to me degening at cash games online/tilting and other issues with commitment. I always grinded for weeks at a time, cashing out a bit, and then proceeding to play games I shouldn't and lose a lot. It's definitely something Ive struggled with, but I feel I'm past that behavior and have learned from it.
Sometimes I dont appreciate all that poker has given me. Ive never had a 'real job'. Which you could argue is pathetic , but I dont believe so. Ive supported myself through a card game that I enjoy playing, what more could I ask for. Im currently playing sngs on both pokerstars and ftp, and hope to work harder then I ever have this summer and hopefully that will translate into a lot of success.
