Hi my name is Luke I started playing Poker in 2007 after watching Poker After Dark and thinking how cool these Poker players are and thinking wow, can you actually make a living out of playing poker. It was this year when I decided it was time and so I deposited $50 and set off on my journey to becoming a “Poker Pro”. Little did I know, how difficult this journey was going to be and that 8 years down the line I would still be considered a beginner who knows very little about the game.
After playing fun tournaments with friends and dabbling with play money on PokerStars I decided I owned this game and I deposited $50.
A yo yo rollercoasted ride ensued and I played in games which where way beyond the limit that my bankroll should of dictated and with every loss I chased and chased. Sometimes I got it back, but more often than not I didn’t and it was only a couple days before I was well and truly bust.
At this point, with no real job, a poor income and pressure from my parents to get on in life I decided that pursuing Poker at this time was not viable and I decided to put it to one side. Work, life and University took over and Poker was nothing more than a distance dream.
I studied Civil Engineering at what is now known as Leeds Beckett University in England, West Yorkshire. I approached my studies in the same way I approached Poker, I was young and naïve and believed that just turning up and doing the bare minimum would be enough. I struggled through University but somehow came out of the other end and pursued a Career as a Highway Engineer.
I came back to Poker in 2010 in much the same way as I began, I figured the best way to learn was to jump in at the deep end and I would somehow “pick it up” along the way. 2010 was another rollercoaster ride which inevitably ended up in me busting out and leaving Poker for another 2 years.
In 2012, after receiving an email from PokerStars about their PokerSchool which had been set up I decided it was again time to dive in to Poker and have another go. I set off learning as well as playing, my game improved, the importance of simple aspects which I had ignored in the past became clear and I had some success. My poker had improved, I was finally moving forward, however as time went on studying time decreased and playing time increased along with the losses. It wasn’t long before I was bust and I decided that was it, this game is hard, I give up.
I came across PokerStrategy in April 2015, I looked at the content and thought wow there is so much here to learn. I briefly read through the titles of each session, titles such as Poker Equity, Hand Combinations, Calculating Equity, Strategies which I realized I had never studied before. I decided to come back, I deposited $100 on April 3rd 2015 and, just over 4 months down the line, I have played thousands of hands, hundreds of tournaments, and despite only having a bankroll of $112 I am slightly up but more importantly I am still here.
My study/playing time is around 30/70 at the moment, I am moving through the lessons and I am learning the game and hopefully improving as I go. I am slowly increasing this time and hope to be studying more than playing. Spots which alluded me in the past, which I considered bad beats, when in fact they were great situations and fantastic plays by my opponents, are now situations I look out for and look to exploit. Hands which I considered strong are now weak, spots which I considered a good place be are now bad, and vice versa.
The way I have approached Poker is much the same way I have approached life, I have put in minimum effort and expected to get results. I believe Poker has taught me a lot and that you cannot achieve your goals without hard work and a greater understanding.
I am looking forward to moving forward with PokerStrategy and I am looking forward to sharing my journey with the community here. Hopefully this blog will improve my game, and I hope that, those of you who are reading, can take some of the lessons I have learnt the hard way, and eliminate them from your journey before they begin.
My next posts will be some graphs and charts.
