Hey, guys. I have already posted on the forums quite a bit and I've spent a ton of time digging through the micros video content in the past couple of weeks. I started a gold sub here at the beginning of the month. I've been playing poker (only online) on and off for the last 3 years. Largely off. I didn't really have the time/money available to make a serious push at this even if I thought I could do it anyway at the time. Under rolled, surrounded by pressures in my life, and mentally not even one fifth of the person I am today, I just kept stopping and focusing on other things. I'd come back, play a bit, and even when I would do well and begin progressing, a part of me would try and self sabotage myself to pull me away. I won't get into the entirety of my personal life but let's just say that embarking upon poker, getting destroyed in cash games early, and sticking with it to the point I'm now at, has been arguably the most productive thing I've ever done. I've reconnected with an emotional balance and poise I haven't had in many, many years but was known for in athletics when I was younger. As a result, my entire personality, outlook, and life has changed for the better. With things moving in the right direction and now with regular income, I started playing the game again at the end of last month (May '17).
It's a totally different game to me now. I had been playing chess alongside poker the last few years and struggled to stay focused on one or the other. After some of the personality changes I've undergone, as well as life changes around me, I could no longer find the motivation to pursue something with no possibility for tangible gain (chess). Winning meant nothing to me and losing meant about as much. That's when it's time to stop something, you know? I just couldn't get motivated to sit through longer classical games, fighting over a piece of plastic with a 48 year old man for hours. I became depressed, totally unmotivated to play, and really wanted to quit. Easier said than done but I finally walked, started selling a lot of my chess equipment, and just invested into online poker. This was about a month ago. Since then, I look 10 years younger than I am, am healthier than ever, and feel like a totally new man mentally. At the tables, both wins and losses have less of an effect on me emotionally. I take things in stride and keep the long run in mind. EV decisions, on and off the felt, with consistency. That + a little faith and I should continue to go down the right path.
I play cash games. I have played tournaments and I was playing a lot of HUSNG's last month but I just don't really *lose* any money at the cash games and rather break even at worst. The HUSNG's seemed to just allow weaker players a way of having better odds to beat better players and I wanted to start engaging these guys in deeper stacked post flop situations. I moved back to the cash games on WPN and BetOnline and dug into the intricacies/strategy of the game more than ever before. I'm studying all of your silver/gold+ micros content on here extensively and I've improved more in just this past month than I had in the three years prior. It's been extremely enjoyable. I've posted such in some of the comments below the videos but right now - Pokerstrategy.com is the #1 place to study, has the best micros videos anywhere, and has the most active community for these stakes. Further, once you progress past the micros, things get even better. With the forum/community/software/video attack that you guys take to learning, I don't see anything else that compares to what you guys have to offer out there today. Period.
As I wrote in the subject, I turned 35 recently and am single with no children. I've been in and out of relationships with women for years but after the last one, I already know that this doesn't mix with poker extremely well. So, for now, I'm dating casually, taking care of my health, and playing/studying poker beyond full time. I use PT4, Power Equilab, and Flopzilla after spending tons of time researching what worked for me the most. I haven't set any long term goals as I don't think that would be beneficial to me right now. Instead, I've just set the short term goal of continuing in this very positive direction and advancing through the cash game stakes as quickly as possible. I am playing 2NL and 5NL on WPN, and am knocking on 10NL's door (I have the roll) on BetOnline. I'd like to get to 25NL as soon as possible but already know that in today's game that's going to take some time. I'm in no rush and I'm greatly enjoying the journey.
As posted in the member map thread: I'm a US player who lives just outside of NYC. Once I put a bit more money and knowledge together, I'd also like to play in live cash games outside of the casino venues.
