In The Begining

Welcome to my humble blog.
It is here for your amusement, critique, or just to kill time.
I will in no way be confused with a poker expert or a writing god.
I only want to ramble on about life and poker.

What about me? First of all, I’m a 38-year-old married man with 3 kids in the western suburbs of Chicago. I work as the Quality Manager at a manufacturing company in the suburbs and I am competitive. Additionally, I have the genetic make-up of a degenerate gambler. Secondly, My family consists of my wife A (stay at home mom), 2 daughters L & M(12 & 9), and a son B(4). And finally, did I say that I’m competitive?

One of the problems with poker is that not everyone understands the game. I’m not talking about the rules. I’m talking about the challenge. The fact that everyone at the table is trying to take your money and that you are trying to take all of theirs. To me, playing the game isn’t so much about the money as it is about overcoming the obstacles inherent in the game. As the game gets easier I have the ability to move up in levels to increase the difficulty. Sure, the idea of gaining a few bucks while doing something I love is nice but it is only a side effect of the game.

Another problem that many of us have is that our spouse doesn’t like the game or doesn’t like the gambling atmosphere. My wife feels that poker is evil and that it will send you on the road to ruin because of its addictive qualities. She has never really cared if I played the free games but I better not put any real money into a poker site. I agree with her logic in some ways. It’s hard to justify the outlay of funds on a speculative venture like poker. But isn’t poker like a long-term investment? You will have ups and downs along the way but if you do your research right, you will have a winning proposition in the long run. I understand that the compulsive nature of the game can send you to the gutter if you let it but if you have the right safeguards in place that should not happen.

With all of this in mind, I earned $5 on a free role. Big deal. Well I showed my wife and her response was, ”They just gave you the money? You didn’t put any of our money in there did you?” Being that our money and my poker are two subjects that my wife doesn’t feel go together my response to her questions are obvious. But we made a deal.

1) I can play poker with that money.
2) No money comes out of the household funds for poker.

Not much of a deal but I explained that for me to turn it into a significant amount I would have to play many hours and get very lucky early on.

So my goals are:

1) Move up levels in LHE staying within my bankroll
a) Need 30 buy-ins for each level
b) Stay within buy-in limits

2) Play SnGs as bankroll allows
a) Need 30 buy-ins for each level
b) Stay within buy-in limits

3) Play MTTs as bankroll allows
a) Need 30 buy-ins for each level
b) Stay within buy-in limits

4) Win a MTT

5) Prove to my wife that poker is an investment, not gambling.

6) Achieve a bankroll of $3000.

My thinking is that a buy-in is equal to 40 big blinds. I would use a different method for a NL cash game.

Does any of this mean that I will be a successful player? No but I’m a competitive person who hates to loose and I’m goal driven. If I loose it will be because I go broke. There will be bankroll fluctuations that I will have to deal with but I am determined to succeed. Additionally, I will only go broke if I ignore my bankroll restrictions so here is to the future.
These goals are achievable if I play solid poker and stay within my limits.