How much $ can I turn it into playing poker?

[PixelRabbit]

Oh and rake... ugh... online if you play enough you can earn most of it back. The sites have "rakeback" programs that you can earn some of it back and there used to be affiliate sites that you can join to earn more back on top of it. I was earning back about 3/4 of my rake when I stopped playing.

 

[Parker219]

So you have a fair amount of final tables I see there, so why no wins? Are you not as strong heads up? Or did you have a low stack verse other big stacks by the time the final table came around?

For me, I made the most money playing someone heads up. I put up 100, thet put up 100, and the winner gets I think it was $196.

 

[PixelRabbit]

Honestly there is only one I remember exactly what happened on the hand I went out on and that was this one:

[TABLE="class: cms_table_userControlContent cms_table_rlc"]
[TR="class: cms_table_statisticsGridViewBodyAlternateRow"]
[TD]04/26/2010[/TD]
[TD] FTOPS Event #7 [/TD]
[TD] $120.00+$9.00[/TD]
[TD] 15/8586[/TD]
[TD="class: cms_table_green"] $4,464.72[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

We were almost at the final table where the big money was, first was $137K and with 8586 entrants I'm going to ballpark it and say we had been playing for 16 hours give or take. I was one of multiple stacks all around the same size. Blinds were super high and going up, I picked up pocket Queens and went all in, got called by a pair of 10's If I win the hand I can cruise to the final table, there were enough desperate stacks left ... he hit a 10 on the turn... bye bye.

As for the rest of the final tables, anything could have happened, when you get there weird stuff happens lol

 

[Parker219]

Oh wow, that was a dumb all in call by that guy with the 10's. They got very lucky. Still with 8,586 people, that is really good on your part. A lot of weird things can happen over 16 hours of playing. My worse bad beat story is when I had an ace high club flush, with the board being 10c-2d-9c-4h-7c. I went all in and someone had the 8c-jc for a straight flush. I went out in 3rd place!

You can make money on poker, but what I found is, a lot of people start small, then IF they are good enough to win, they just take their money to bigger and bigger tables, soon enough you get a bad beat and are back to being at zero again.

 

[weepete]

Well, good luck mate!

I played online poker for a couple of years, did not bad at first making a slim profit, and got pretty good at reaching the final three in small stakes tournaments. It got to the stage where the online money wasn't real for me anymore so I started throwing money away by going in with daft hands. When I hit £100 down overall (I kept a running total of winnings and losses) I realised it wasn't for me and packed it in. Now I just stick to the odd small stakes poker night with the boys, at least with that, win or loose it's cheaper than a night in town!

Its funny though, I've yet to meet a poker player that doesn't win
[I'm not suggesting you fall into this category btw, you seem to know exactly what you are doing]

 

[PixelRabbit]

Nah in his position and the size of our stacks (about 10 big blinds) I would have called me all day long lol But he DID get lucky. Thanks yes it's a minefield when you are playing that big of a field for that long.

Ouch, that is brutal! but good job on 3rd

"You can make money on poker, but what I found is, a lot of people start small, then IF they are good enough to win, they just take their money to bigger and bigger tables, soon enough you get a bad beat and are back to being at zero again."

Yes, that is why most people who play online are not profitable, bad bankroll management.

 

[PixelRabbit]

Well, good luck mate!

I played online poker for a couple of years, did not bad at first making a slim profit, and got pretty good at reaching the final three in small stakes tournaments. It got to the stage where the online money wasn't real for me anymore so I started throwing money away by going in with daft hands. When I hit £100 down overall (I kept a running total of winnings and losses) I realised it wasn't for me and packed it in. Now I just stick to the odd small stakes poker night with the boys, at least with that, win or loose it's cheaper than a night in town!

Its funny though, I've yet to meet a poker player that doesn't win
[I'm not suggesting you fall into this category btw, you seem to know exactly what you are doing]

Thanks Weepete Being realistic is half the battle, for every one of you there are 10 still at the tables digging themselves deeper and deeper in the hole and a good number of them have zero clue its happening.

Yes you are right!! When I ran into someone who said they were an online player (and obviously they say they are making money) I would ask their online name. There are sites where you can look up their name and see every thing they have played and how much money they have won or lost over time. I never found one profitable one

 

[manaheim]

I've wondered about playing online poker, because my experience with the "free" games is that people can play very foolishly. People just don't understand the odds it seems. Of course there are always plenty with a clue, but it seems like there's always some nut with $100 to throw away, too. I imagine that's less common with the online ones where they play with real money though???

 

[Rafterman]

I used to play on both Full Tilt and PokerStars. I played the free games at first, but then started playing real money at the wimpy tables (5-cent/10-cent and 25-cent/50-cent). I got as high as $50 at one point (which isn't bad with blinds that cheap), but eventually lost it all by entering tournaments. I'm not a tournament-style player, but more of a cash game guy. I did sit-and-gos for a while too, but they didn't hold my interest. Fortunately, I had no money in any accounts when all the online places got busted.

The last time my wife and I went to Vegas in 2011, I played Texas Hold 'Em at Mandalay Bay and turned $100 into $200 in about 90-minutes ($1/$2 blinds). I quit after that though and spent the winnings during the rest of the trip. I play weekly with some neighborhood guys, but there's usually wild cards thrown in, so it's more difficult than straight up. I can't wait to return to Vegas and take at least $500 with me for poker to see what I can come home with.

Congrats on all your past wins and I hope you do well getting back your cash! As you already know, playing online is WORLDS apart from in-person.

 

[PixelRabbit]

I've wondered about playing online poker, because my experience with the "free" games is that people can play very foolishly. People just don't understand the odds it seems. Of course there are always plenty with a clue, but it seems like there's always some nut with $100 to throw away, too. I imagine that's less common with the online ones where they play with real money though???

Ah yes, free games and micro stakes are free for alls, the higher in buyin you go the more people know what they are doing but even at the higher levels there are "donkeys". Pro players play enough volume so the donkeys no longer matter. The max tables I could play at once was 6 but I know guys who play 20+ tables at a time
I took a quick look and found this video, you can even see his Heads up Manager on the table screens and all of the stats displayed.

I used to play on both Full Tilt and PokerStars. I played the free games at first, but then started playing real money at the wimpy tables (5-cent/10-cent and 25-cent/50-cent). I got as high as $50 at one point (which isn't bad with blinds that cheap), but eventually lost it all by entering tournaments. I'm not a tournament-style player, but more of a cash game guy. I did sit-and-gos for a while too, but they didn't hold my interest. Fortunately, I had no money in any accounts when all the online places got busted.

The last time my wife and I went to Vegas in 2011, I played Texas Hold 'Em at Mandalay Bay and turned $100 into $200 in about 90-minutes ($1/$2 blinds). I quit after that though and spent the winnings during the rest of the trip. I play weekly with some neighborhood guys, but there's usually wild cards thrown in, so it's more difficult than straight up. I can't wait to return to Vegas and take at least $500 with me for poker to see what I can come home with.

Congrats on all your past wins and I hope you do well getting back your cash! As you already know, playing online is WORLDS apart from in-person.

Very cool Rafterman, thanks! Believe it or not I'm starting out on the .05/.10 tables to get back into the swing of things again, that is where I've released the $72
As I mentioned above bankroll management is the biggest downfall of most who play online. In your case you should have kept grinding out what you were good at and built it up slowly The minute you play something new you lose all of your expected value. People beat the micro level once and figure they are ready to move up to the next one but that's what screws them, they should stay at the micro level until they can consistently beat it... you get more kicks at the can if you stay at micro level, as soon as you move up and use big chunks of your bankroll on one thing you are pretty much kissing your money goodbye

 

[PixelRabbit]

Ok I've totally lost track but I'm at just under half of the points left and I've cashed $168 of $480 not brilliant but not bad

That combined with a couple gift certificates covers a Canon 430ii flash at Sears.

So that means new macro lens AND flash guaranteed! woot!

 

[PixelRabbit]

I sat down at the table today and was having a good session so I ended up playing through the rest of the points.

Final results......

$435 cashed out for a total of $925 to spend and $30 worth of points that I'm going to leave

I'm beyond thrilled !!

Let the shopping begin!!