My failure as a poker pro (very long)

[SpicyF]

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Your problems seem to have been you playing well beyond your skill and bankroll level, not to mention a seriously addictive personality.


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Captain Obvious has arrived!

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This is a valid fact to point out considering how the op says he sucks at poker but 90% of his problem was poor bankroll management skills and playing to high of limits. I mean who would be successful taking this route?

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If you suck at poker bankroll management skills will only make you lose at a slower pace. Why prolong the pain?

[ggbman]

Very nice of you to share this sobering story with everyone. I hope that with your future endeavors, whatever they may be, you find more sucess and more self-control.

[nmt09]

Spice it seems obvious to us but it didn't seem all that obvious to the OP hence why I mentioned it.

This is the really ugly side of poker that I'm determinded to steer clear of and I'm glad the guy is getting his life back together.

[Zetack]

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Most players wouldn't think about throwing the amount of money you did into game after game. I'm playing $1.20 Sit and Go tables because that is what my bankroll dictates ( and my skill level couldn't find a lower buy-in [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] ).



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For what its worth, Absolute has fifty cents + 10 cents sng's. And I've heard there are sites with even smaller sngs.

[Equal]

I am impressed that you were able to share that story with us. It sounds like you learned from your mistakes and that is extremely important.

Basically this post covers everything in the "What Not To Do" playbook for becoming a pro.

Like the previous poster said this is more a gambling addition story than a poker pro story. Could have been sports betting, craps, blackjack or any other of the multitude of gambling games.

[TimM]

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Like the previous poster said this is more a gambling addition story than a poker pro story. Could have been sports betting, craps, blackjack or any other of the multitude of gambling games.

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Multiply his numbers by 10 and it's pretty close to my stock market experience. I never quit my job or put myself at risk of not being able to pay my bills. I did however build up about 30K in credit card debt by chasing lost money with borrowed money. I took huge positions, and then made margin calls with cash advance checks, like 4-5K at a time. I thought if I could hold on long enough, the stocks I lost money on could come back.

Once I gave up, the credit card debt took about 3-4 years to pay off, and of course I racked up a lot of interest and fees above and beyond what I actually lost. I look at my old records and I can't believe I am the same person who did that. I certainly don't approach poker this way. Possibly the difference is that I never found any successful methods of trading, and if I had I would have concentrated on them systematically, the way I do now with poker.

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TimM... do you think if you had come across online poker before your stock experience it would have helped?

[TimM]

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TimM... do you think if you had come across online poker before your stock experience it would have helped?

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I'm not sure. Maybe I wouldn't have been as careful when I started poker if it were not for the stock market losses. Certainly I would have had more money to risk.

I guess the big difference between poker and the stock market is that with online poker you can play super low limits until you know you can win, then move up. It's hard to do that in the stock market. Commissions kill you if you try to play too small, though now you can get a cheap per-share broker like Interactive Brokers. Even so, you still can't play for pennies.

I just really wanted to find some way to make extra income that had the potential to even replace my job. If I were able to do that by trading, I never would have gotten into poker. In fact I "discovered" online poker on a trading message board. If poker came first, and I reached the same point as now, I might never have tried stock trading.

[FlyWf]

This is how people who actually make mistakes they regret write.

[Greg J]

This was a good read. And very sobering. Good luck at yr new job. I hope you do well.

Poker is not for everyone, and I guess it's not for you. There are certainly a lot more important things in life.