After playing poker for almost 3 years, I thought to pen down my journey so far.
The flop
So I started playing poker in 2013 with a silly two card game known as holdem and as most other degen gamblers I lost a lot to the point that I was broke multiple times with an education loan on my head. Obviously I had no other option but to learn the “sport” as many would refer to poker at that time. I was pretty sure since college that these card games are a total waste of time and the belief strengthened when I went broke the first time.
So why did I bother to play again? Well these so called degen gamblers were my friends and most of them were pretty smart and to discard something on the basis of a belief is something what followers do and who wants to be a follower? So I decided to give it a serious shot one more time but this time I promised myself that I wouldn’t touch my laptop until I have researched enough about the so called “mind-sport”. Thus, began a month long grind inside poker forums, e-books, articles, videos and whatever and with whomever I could discuss poker with. After putting in decent work, I started grinding the low stakes and did that for good three months or so and could clear all my debts plus had a decent bankroll to move higher and that’s what I did. But alas the degen gambler inside me awoke again and this time it had a new found love with 4 cards. As most of you might have guessed it didn’t take me long to bust my entire bankroll again playing Omaha. Now when we fall once we tend to blame luck but the second time around we start having serious doubts on our abilities or the system itself and considering where I was coming from I went all sceptical; doubting and questioning the logic behind it all. At that time what I didn’t questioned was the fact that I punted a new game without having the required skills and more importantly the required bankroll. We all take shots at times but shot taking is never and should never be with your entire bankroll.
So anyway I was broke and depressed, ready to quit once and for all but wait can I really quit? As children we are taught to never give up by our parents, friends and society directly or indirectly, to fight back against all odds and to come on top. That’s how we as humans have survived centuries where countless other species have gone extinct. It was time to repeat the schedule again; to learn and relearn this fascinating new game of pot limit Omaha and to test my “skills” on the field once I am equipped with proper tools and that’s what I did. Started grinding the low stakes and eventually moved up putting in the required work needed to build a bankroll and following proper bankroll management along the way. During this period I won the satellite to WSOP main event on Adda52.com and even got a chance to play in the world’s largest poker event so early in my career. Well unfortunately due to lack of experience couldn’t do much in the main event but visiting the mecca of poker was an enthralling experience after all.
The turn
By now I was comfortably beating the low/mid stakes Omaha cash games across Indian sites with shot taking in between. I had almost completely given up on 2 cards except for the occasional bingofest where I would get to win a goa trip or any free trip for that matter. I had no interest nor the patience to grind the holdem cash games although they were pretty darn soft those days. I became a regular on these sites but due to random and frequent shot taking without the appropriate skills I was a solid rake generator for most sites. Beating the low stakes games on most sites, even the international ones just require a basic understanding of the game but as we move higher a lot more work is required before beating the games. Apart from working off the felt with software tools available to analyze the game, the following skills are of paramount importance to beat the games at any level. I call it PACT
- Proper bankroll management
- Awareness: A complete understanding of your style and your opponents’ style and your image on the table
- Controlled aggression
- Tilt control/Confidence
The above factors separates the winning players from the average rake generators and I always thrived for the former (who doesn’t!). One thing which I always lacked in my game was controlled aggression and it was time to change that. Starting mid 2015 I started working more seriously on my weaknesses along with putting in volume and the results followed.
The river
So now I thought was the right time to give back to the community which supported and encouraged me all this while. Along with a close friend and mentor, I decided to open a coaching cum backing stable and we named it ReverseFloaters. We both shared the same passion for the sport and the objective was very clear; to grow and popularise the game amongst the masses while imparting whatever knowledge we had. We received a better than expected response and started operations with a small team of young and promising players, but due to our busy schedules we could not continue and eventually had to drop the project. Regardless it was a fun learning experience.
While I was toying with the idea of reviving the stable, I was approached by IndianPokerPros to join them as a PLO coach. It was a tough decision between the two but I figured I do not have the requisite resources to run a stable right now and considering the IPP team I was more than happy to join them.
Currently I am looking forward to my association with IPP while at the same time working on MTTs and improving my live results. I will be putting a lot of volume online as well as live in the coming months and hope to achieve good results.
GL and happy grinding,
pokemon13