My intro...

[jasonHoldEm]

Hi all,

Just wanted to take a second to introduce myself. My name's Jason and I'm so happy to have found this forum. I know that I'm going to be able to improve my skills quickly with the information here. I used to lurk on RGP, but got pretty disillusioned with the attitudes, I still visit the United Poker Forum, but their traffic is so low it sometimes takes a week to get your questions answered (if at all...lol). Looks like this is the best game in town by far.

Anyways, to give you info on "where I'm coming from". I've been playing for about a year, real money for the last few months. I've read most of the beginner books (Jones, Sklansky, etc), I think I've digested most of what's there. I'm currently working on HFAP, and just ordered TOP, Inside The Poker Mind, and Caro's Book of Tells, so I've got my work cut out for me. /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif

I currently live in the middle of nowhere so I only play online. My friend and I are considering moving to Vegas after graduation, (mostly for the climate and expanding job market, but the proximity to poker doesn't hurt either). I don't have any delusions of becoming a pro (yet... /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif ). Seriously though, I'd like to play it on the side and maybe generate some extra income, but I've got a long way to go before I get there.

Right now I'm playing single table tournaments at pokerroom and $50 buy-in NL and .25/.50 limit at planet. While my winnings are by no means impressive (maybe $200?), I am in the black and have cashed out all of my original deposits (playing with winnings).

I've come to the conclusion that I need to concentrate on one area of the game if I want to get any better (splitting my time between three areas does keep it interesting, but I'm really not improving). I've decided to focus on limit and I'm planning on moving my bankroll to party as I've heard this is a pretty good site (Comments? Is Paradise better? I want to get to a bigger site...). All told I'll have about $150 to buy-in with so I'm also thinking about moving up to .5/1 as I'm pretty confident I'm ready for this (I'd go up to 1/2 even, but I'm a little concerned about getting cleaned out...don't want to have to buy-in again with "my" money /forums/images/icons/wink.gif ).

Planning on taking full advantage of the advice you guys offer (teach me, I'm here to learn...).

peace,
jHE

EDIT: Just noticed Party starts at .5/1, looks like I'd be moving up regardless if I move to this site.

[Homer]

Welcome aboard jason! You've definitely found the right place to discuss poker with those who are true students of the game, like yourself. I started playing poker about a year ago, stumbled onto this site and started participating about 7-8 months ago, and have never looked back. I have no doubt you'll find posting here equally valuable.

I can sympathize with not being able to play often in B&M cardrooms as I also live in PA (Allentown area). I play almost exclusively at Party Poker, occasionally playing at Paradise Poker. I find that the games at Party are much more profitable than those at Paradise, due to an abundance of clueless players. I started playing in the 2/4 games there, and built my bankroll to a point where I can now play comfortably at 5/10 with no risk of going bust. I have found that there is not much difference between the 2/4, 3/6, and 5/10 games there for the most part. The 2/4 games tend to be loose and passive. The 3/6 games are slightly tighter and slightly more aggressive. The 5/10 games are still quite loose most of the time, and in my opinion, overly aggressive (with lots of players suffering from fancy play syndrome). Hopefully your bankroll will grow quickly so that you can make the jump from the micro-limits to 2/4, 3/6, and up.

Good luck to you. If you have any additonal questions about anything feel free to post.

-- Homer

p.s. - Once you start playing more online, start posting some hands on the Small Stakes forum!

[jasonHoldEm]

Thanks Homer,

I'm sure you'd school me if we sat down at a poker table, but I'm betting I could hold my own against you in Simpson's triva.

(Can't wait for season 3 on DVD, woo-hoo!)
peace,
jHE

[JTG51]

Oooh, the gauntlet has been thrown down! Are you going to stand for that Homer? /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

You are right Jason, you found the right place. You can't help but to get better from reading what many of the really good posters (like Homer) have to say.