Poker and Me - The Decision...

Talking Poker · #1 06-12-07, 01:14 AM

So, I've done some thinking about all of over the past couple of weeks and while I haven't made a final decision, I definitely am leaning in one direction... a hopefully happy compromise direction.

I don't have any set numbers in mind yet, but right now, I'm leaning towards cashing out most of my online bankroll. I'll leave myself $x and force myself to move way down in stakes (probably to $1/$2 NL). I'm going to try to make poker fun again. Rather than focus on just one type of game, like 6 max NL, for example, I'm going to play that, plus HU SNGs, plus MTTs, HU cash games, and so on. It's going to feel weird for me to move down in stakes/buy ins for all of those too, but I don't want to have to redeposit, so I'm going to have to figure it out and come up with some bankroll guidelines. This shouldn't be too difficult.

I may even venture out into some very low limit non-hold'em poker games and I'd definitely like to play more fun tourneys and low buy in stuff with you guys. Looking back, I can honestly say that our TP games have been some of the most fun I've had playing poker online.

Also, cashing out poker profits always makes me feel good about poker again, because rather than looking at digital chips, I can look at actual dollars and spend those actual dollars on actual things.... you know, like the timeshare I bought last week. It would be way cool for poker to chip in and help out with that purchase a bit, ya know?

So........... what does this mean for those of you who have cared enough to read this far? Well, rather than cash out x thousand dollars, I figured I could help out my fellow TP members with some transfers first. You send me a cashier's check or money order or whatever, and as soon as it clears my bank account and I know it's good, I'd be happy to transfer some money into the account of your choice for you. I currently have money on 4 sites, but would prefer to empty them out in this order (based on how much I have where and so on): UB, Full Tilt, Bodog, and finally Poker Stars. I'll do this for pretty much any amount of money, $100 minimum. And I won't even charge you a fee for doing this, but I will gladly accept tips, of course.

I probably should come up with the dollar amount that x represents before doing anything, but I wanted to at least throw this idea out there in case anyone is interested in a painless way to get some cash online. I haven't deposited for years, but I assume that post-legislation, this is going to be a lot easier (and cheaper) for you guys that jumping through whatever hoops you have to jump through to get money online these days. So, keep an eye out... I'll try to figure the details out later this week.

Oh, and for the sake of everyone involved, I'd rather set these transfers up here publicly, rather than via PM.

Reel Deal · #2 06-12-07, 10:14 AM

I'd be interested in doing that with you on Bodog (especially since they don't except ePassporte deposits). Let me think it over for a bit and get back to you. Thanks.

Talking Poker · #3 06-12-07, 03:23 PM

Actually, I should probably take Bodog off the list. I forgot how little monies I have on there.

Reel Deal · #4 06-12-07, 05:31 PM

But I would be happy with little monies.

JDMcNugent7 · #5 06-12-07, 09:18 PM

does bodog even transfer?

Reel Deal · #6 06-12-07, 10:02 PM

Actually, I don't think they do... tards.

PShabi · #7 06-12-07, 10:48 PM

FWIW,

Full Tilt updated and made the games a bit smoother and I'm getting more hands in per hour than I used to. Assuming the increase in speed doesn't decrease my winrate (it shouldn't, with the addition of time banks), 4-tabling at my current winrate (almost 70,000 hands) should allow me to earn around $45-50/hour. Not exactly chump change, TP.

Talking Poker · #8 06-13-07, 01:06 AM

Yeah, that's not bad at all. I certainly didn't mean to imply that I was too good to be playing 1/2 or anything like that. I'm going to look at it as a challenge to start small and build back up again.

BTW, ty to Mayhem for pointing me to . I owe you some +Rep.

ChipFish · #9 06-13-07, 04:24 AM

Now I am not the most computer savvy guy out there, but shouldn't this be scary?
you will receive daily zipped hand histories

Can't they include just about anything in a zip file?
Like a keylogger?
Or am I wrong?
Maybe the computer-techy guys can answer?

MAYHEM45 · #10 06-13-07, 04:32 AM

wayy too paranoid. If you use winrar, you can preview the files inside before extracting them. txt files cant contain viruses.

Talking Poker · #11 06-13-07, 04:36 AM

If you open the zip file with anything (even WinZip), you can see the files inside it. If there is a virus or some random .exe file in there, don't extract/run that one. Just save the HH txt files and tada - no worries.

de-coder · #12 06-13-07, 12:20 PM

I believe what you're worried about is a self-extracting zip file. That would be an executable file with a .exe extension. In those you could hide a virus or keylogger or other small malicious software.

In the event the "zip" file comes with the exe extention you can still open it with winzip, winrar, winace, or anything else and safely remove the contents without releasing anything hidden within.

Zybomb · #13 06-13-07, 01:12 PM

Or the software that lets ppl see ur cards

de-coder · #14 06-13-07, 01:45 PM

Oh, that's just mean

ChipFish · #15 06-13-07, 02:13 PM

and dumb

melioris · #16 06-14-07, 12:12 AM

Interesting OP TP. This thread, and the first one which you linked, reveal some of the weakness in online discussions for me. Granted I don’t “know” any of you, but I would so prefer to sit down with some food and drink and talk this decision of yours over as opposed to trying and capture it all in a thread.

But as this is what we got, it seems like it is a good decision for you. It is my impression that you are someone who prides himself on self-discipline and independence (borderline recalcitrant?). Along these lines it seems to me that this decision is less about you and poker and more about you and ???, some other parts of your life. You don’t strike me as someone who runs bad for a little bit and starts to question everything. This seems like something more.

I guess I am getting at specifically, how and why is poker not fun any more for you? Why do you no longer feel good about poker? How will dropping down in levels (when you play competitively) and playing low-level social events (which still tend to bring out your competitive nature, if my memory serves me) address the answers to my first two questions? I am not really looking for answers to these questions, just firing my first impressions after reading your OP.

Talking Poker · #17 06-14-07, 05:55 PM

Interesting theory, but I'm afraid it's off the mark. There is no other _____ going on. I mean, there have been some real life expenses that have piled up recently, so I'm happy to cash out and take care of some of those, but that's not the REASON I'm cutting back on my poker playing and moving down. PAying off those bills is more like a nice side effect from me cashing out.

As for your question about how dropping down will help me, I fully intend to beat the hell out of the lower limit games... hopefully I'll REALLY beat them, but right now, just beating them a little bit sounds a lot better to me than breaking even or losing at the higher limits. This "running bad" streak of mine has been pretty bad. While it hasn't been THAT many hands in the grand scheme of things, it's been a long time, because of the limited (compared to the serious players) number of hands I play per month. I am well aware that great players can be losers over 10k, 20k, and 50k samples, but it's still hard to not question your own play when you are in the middle of one of those streaks... And a lot of the time, the questioning leads to making unnecessary changes and the next thing you know, you ARE playing badly. As an example, with $200 sitting in front of me, getting it all in when I know I should is going to be a lot easier for me than when I have $1200 sitting in front of me. And when the moron inevitably sucks out and scoops the $400 pot, that's not going to sting nearly as much as the $2400 pot. Go through that 2 or 3 or 4 times in a night, and it gets old FAST.

I've played 2 nights of 1/2 so far. I made a small profit last night, despite running below average (IMO). The night before, I played 1500 hands. I made one terrible call, but other than that played very well, and got "clobbered." OK, definitely not "clobbered," but I ran terribly and dropped almost 2 buy ins or so. The thing is, this didn't even make me flinch! Not only was the damage minimal, but if I had run just average (let alone good), I would have been way up. The only conclusion I drew after that session was how much I was looking forward to playing again, because these stakes are SO SOFT compared to what I'm used to. Table selection wasn't a problem because I was having trouble finding a table with 1 or 2 bad players - it was a problem because so many tables had so many bad players! I ended up 6 tabling, and it was cake.

It's too soon to speculate, of course, but I'm guessing (hoping) this will be a good thing for me, will build back up my confidence, and will help me stop hating poker.... and maybe even get my passion for it back again. If it doesn't and I go busto, meh. At least I cashed out a lot and didn't risk tilting off my entire roll.