Freerolls & Peanut Butter

I began playing poker online in October. I had just ended a relationship of 7 years and used poker as a way of distracting myself from thinking about the breakup. The good news is after about 2 months, I stopped thinking about her and fell in love with poker again. The bad news is, I put myself behind the 8 ball financially by not managing my bankroll while re-learning the game. I've played live several times, once at Foxwoods and while working in Bozeman,Montana.
I enjoyed the games at a bar called The Cat's Paw and played much better live than I do online.

So, I start this blog not from the top of the online mountain but from the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It's going to be a long climb back out but the good thing about not having success right away is that you can let it tear you up inside or you can channel that frustration into becoming a better player. I'll choose option B.

I'll share with you what I learn along the way.

I began writng this blog after reading Rex55's blog entry "Solitary."
Her honest,insightful writing and knowledge of the game is inspiring.
Rex55 can be found at http://rex55.blogspot.com/

Ylon Schwartz interview on ESPN during the WSOP main event was refreshing because of his honesty about how he made a lot of money, then lost a lot of money...and how he just wanted to get "clean" of all this, buy a hammock and crash on a beach somewhere. I've only been playing a few months and know exactly how he feels. I find too many articles about how much money people are making but not enough articles about how much they are losing. Learn more about Ylon at http://www.shipthecheese.com/

I had some wild runs at the cash tables, turning small deposits of $35 into $300 several times, only to lose the winnings playing at levels I shouldn't have been playing at and mostly from fatigue. I put so many hours in building my bankroll that I was exhausted from all the swings and really should have taken a day or two off.

Chris Ferguson gives some sound advice about discipline and bankroll management in this article on Full Tilt Poker http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/chris-ferguson-challenge

I'd like feedback from other players on how they set limits when on a winning or a losing streak. How do you re-charge your batteries after a bad beat and feeling like "toast" from playing too many hours in a row?

Until I can afford to deposit more money into my account, I'm back in "freeroll hell" and all I can afford to eat for lunch are peanut butter sandwiches. I had a vision of me playing at a final table in a fancy casino, ordering a cup of coffee and a peanut butter sandwich with a smirk on my face, thinking back to my humble beginnings of becoming a winning poker player.

I've found the freerolls at Carbon Poker "player friendly " in that they have "new player freerolls" and "daily first deposit freerolls" that only have 200-300 players.

If I had to give myself advice, I would not have deposited any money online until I cashed out in a freeroll. That would give you an idea how hard it is in the beginning to make money playing in MTT's and how easy it is to lose your winnings in cash games...

Freeroll Winnings:
11/24/08 - .07 Carbon Poker
11/30/08 - .37 Carbon Poker
12/09/08 - $1.50 Carbon Poker
12/10/08 - $4.75 Bododg
12/11/08 - $15.00 Carbon Poker
12/12/08 - $3.00 Bodog
12/13/08 - $5.00 Carbon Poker
12/13/08 - $2.00 Bodog
12/14/08 - $5.00 Carbon Poker
12/15/08 - $3.50 Bodog
12/21/08 - $4.75 Bodog
12/21/08 - $3.75 Carbon Poker