Some Help For the New Members

[badblood44]

Just a simple question for you to answer, hopefully it will help your quality post count.

What do get out of playing poker? Why do you do it? Do you have a long-term goal? A short-term one? Tell us why you play, online or off. Most importantly, be honest.

[chrisash]

I think its the excitment on seeing if you can win or not
I like the excitment that you can put in $20 and build that $20 bigger (or lose)lol
I also play little tourneys @ home off line with buddys..........beer money lol

my Goal is to one day play on TV with alot of $$$$$$$$$ as the prize

[studiopet]

I enjoy the competition.

Beats heroin.

Just to keep improving my game and eventually sit at the bigger tables and win.

I'd like double my bankroll by the end of December.

I play online (PS) because its extremely convienent. I'd love to play in a B&M, and I suppose I could drive 4 hours to AC to do it, but I'd like to build my bankroll more before that.

Okay, maybe poker doesn't beat heroin.

[X-Longshot-X]

I think that i play poker more for the excitement than anything else.. I want to become a lawyer soon again poker is a good way to help me learn how to read into people,,i know that sounds cheesy but it helps....Long term goal is just to improve my game, i play daily online and weekly live game ive improved a lot since i started.....but ive got a ways to go......short term i hope to get into bigger stakes live and hope to get into real money online....

[Reel Deal]

Sorry, we're already over our quota of lawyers here.

[Favre[4]]

Poker is the one of the most exciting games around. I play it because it is fun and i want to improve my play. My short-term goal is to have alot of funs and stating placing really good in tournaments. My Long-term goal is to win an entry into the WSOP Main event or other Events and hopefully get into the money.

[coolieo69er]

I started out playing poker mostly because I thought it would be a good way to make a quick buck. I keep playing because I like competivness the game has. One of my long term goals is to qualify for the wsop( yes I may be crazy). As for short term I just want to increas my bankroll evrerytime I play wither in tournements or ring.

[Hawt]

I got into poker when I tore my ACL in lacrosse and was out for 6 months. It gave me back some of the "sense" of competition I lost when I was injured. After busting out of my first two $50 deposits (a lot for me) I learned a lot about money management

It helps pass the time.

To get better at cash games. Overall I think I can say I am a winning tournament player, but not at cash games (I deposited money twice so far and busted out in cash games). I also pretty much only play No Limit Hold 'Em so I would like to improve my skills in other games as well.

I would like to get some money back into online poker and manage it better. I would like to teach myself the basic math of poker. (2.5-1 odds, 4-1 odds I understand what it means just not how to come up with those odds myself in my head.)

I play online because the only Card Room near me is 20 minutes away at the dog track and it's only game is $1/$2 limit. I play at PokerStars because I am better (at least I like to think I am) at tournaments than cash games and PokerStars offers the best tournaments I have seen anywhere. (Party doesn't have that many, and I can't stand UB's interface)

[PShabi]

For the record:

I know some smart people who just don't "type smart."

However, I wouldn't let Longshot represent me pro bono if I were a quadraplegic with a jaywalking charge.

[Nikita]

Well, I guess this is as good a thread as any to introduce myself, especially since it's usually norm to state why you started/like poker.

Funny thing for me, I'm not really a gambler, or I didn't use to be. My husband (yes, I'm female ) is the one who played poker online all the time. But then I went on Maternity Leave from work and was bored sitting at home all day. He let me sign into his account and play a few rounds. That's all it took for me to fall in love with Hold'em. I think it also helps that I am very competive and love to win and I seemed to do fairly well for a beginner.

So, the "why do I do it" and the "what do I get out of it?" is that I can prove that I am better than the others out there.

My goals right now are just to win more often than not. It took me a while to learn that I can't win every hand I go into, or to win every tournament or SNG that I join. But as long as my win percentage is higher than my lose percentage, I'm happy. But then shouldn't that be everyone's goal? I'm sure people don't play poker just to lose money. Eventually, I'd love to make it to a WPT or WSOP, but that is definitely a long way off. I'm not even close to playing poker like a professional yet.

Right now, the majority of my play is online, since that is where I started to learn, that's where I play best. I'm sure I have huge tells and I need to lose those before I play too many live games. As well, I need to learn to read live tells, I haven't mastered that yet. Although, now that both my husband and I play, we've started hosting our own home games.

[melioris]

Why do I play and what do I get out of it? What are my short and long-term goals? The latter questions are easier to answer. After playing B&M games on and off for a long time, I started to play the online game with a clear gameplan and defined goals. In April I deposited $50 into an online account with a pledge that that was it. As soon as I doubled it, I took out $50. If my account ever reaches $0, I am done, with only time lost. My long-term goal is to build my bankroll to $40,000. Assumptions based on hours of observations of high-buy-in online NL games led me to believe that $40,000 is my magic bankroll number. When I hang up my working shoes and play online poker as my only source of income (don’t we all have this dream?). My short-term answer for my bankroll to hit $3,000 by the end of January.

Now for the harder questions. (this is kind of cheesy, but honesty was requested.) Like most, I like the competitive aspects of poker. I like winning money. But there is more to it (and this is where maybe it gets cheesy). I like the fact that, like the universe, poker is completely governed by math. I remind myself of this when my 95% favorite gets busted on the river. 95% chance does not make for a certain event. It is the uncertainty, and (when I am playing well) exploiting that uncertainty to my advantage, that I love. It makes me feel part of the larger universe on a much grander scale. Each time you sit down at a table and buy-in, you are beholden only to yourself. All success and failure is yours alone. Sure luck is involved, but this is where the math comes in. Luck will eventually be the same for all, and all long-term success or failure cannot be attributed to luck. Let me put it another way, I play because NL poker is an expression of freedom. Each person can buy in for the same amount, and you have complete freedom to do as you choose at the table. Freedom, real freedom, is a scary thing and a lot of people do not do well with that much responsibility over themselves. It makes me feel good about myself to excel in this type of an environment.

Sorry for the blah-blah nature of this post, but you got me thinking. As I reread it I think I sound like some right-wing freak. Really I am bleeding heart liberal. Kind of funny what poker does to you.

[Talking Poker]

You and Penguinfan are going to get along GREAT!

[melioris]

The great thing about being new is that I can just assume that this is a good thing.

[Talking Poker]

Ha!

In reality, I was being sarcastic. It's you and I who are going to get along great, because we believe in math. Some people - and I won't rename any names - put a lot more faith in the luck side of things and are strong believers that the best hand preflop should ALWAYS win. Not 80% of the time if it's a 4:1 favorite, not 60% of the time if it's ahead 3:2, but 100% of the time.

[redsox4life]

As a new member you do not know where i am coming from how long i have played, and my experience. I have officially played for 3 years, i love the game Its not only the adrenaline rush that gets me but i feel that this is what i am suppose to do. If i find nothing else to do with my life i have poker, and that is what i want to do. Its the skill mixed with the luck that lures me in. I am interested in the money but i am more interested in becoming a respected player who earns his pots and wins with the most skill . That is me. -Mike-