My Escape Plan.

DougPirahna

Hello.

First, a thank you for the greetings in my intro post.

Second, I'll warn you guys now. I talk a lot. Not talk. Type.
I type a lot. In person, I talk very little.
I'll try to keep this short, but I know it'll get long.

I could use some advice and some encouragement.

I like playing poker.
At least I THINK I like playing poker.
I've learned that the casual games we played as kids, in college and at stags probably shouldn't be called 'real poker'.
So I've never played real poker.
And when I started to try and learn how to play real poker, I was immediately overwhelmed.
Playing position. Hand probabilities . Pot odds. Implied pot odds. Expected value. Positive expected value. Negative expected value.
What the .....
This is FRAKKING HARD!!
Poker isn't a casual hobby. It's a freakin' fulltime job. That requires you to think!

And I think I'm in over my head.

I have a 10 year escape plan. 10 years from now, I'm hoping to quit my job and retire, and enjoy losing what little retirement savings I have by playing poker, maybe once or twice a week.
I don't have delusions of going pro. I don't expect to 'crush the table' every time I play.
I want to sit down with a few guys and waste a few hours dealing cards and bullshitting, whether it's virtual or actual.
But I don't want to be so horrendously bad that I get walked all over every game and wind up hating it. And losing all of my money. On the first hand.
My hope is that I become good enough that the habit can pretty much sustain itself, with maybe the occasional top up needed.

I have set aside an initial education bankroll of $500. With that I intend to buy some books, deposit some money at PokerStars, hopefully do some of the Sunday night 'home games' that you guys have on PokerStars, maybe brave the real world and attempt a home game, an electronic table or a casino. Maybe some online tournaments, but I don't have any real interest in online sit and go.
I'm hoping $500 will allow me to do a number of low cost games until the end of the year, at which time I'll evaluate and decide if my playing warrents another $500.
Every few months, rinse and repeat.

My education so far: I kind of know the mechanics for Draw and Hold'em.
I think I know Seven Card Stud, but I'm not sure.
Omaha intrigues me, but I know nothing about it.
Fixed limit and pot limit betting easily confuses me.
Low ball games are beyond me.
I don't know what deepstack means and I don't know how to straddle.
I've done some online sit and go freeplay Hold'em and a few months of Red Hot Poker Tour.
My initial book buying will be Super System, The Theory of Poker-David Skalansky, Harrington on Hold'em, Poker for Dummies (don't laugh...), The Mental Game of Poker-Jared Tendler, maybe Hold'em for Dummies (please, I asked you not to laugh...) and maybe Mike Caro.
I've already, uhmm, "researched" some of these through "evaluation copies" I've located on the internet.
Not being a thief, I've ordered ones that didn't confuse me too much, and that I think will help.

I live in Ontario, between Paris and Woodstock. I work in Mississauga. My wife lives about halfway between Parry Sound and Bracebridge.
Weekdays I'm on my own in the south, weekends are with her.
Travelling between these three takes me past Brantford casino or Mohawk Raceway, Georgian Downs and kind of near Rama if I do Hwy 11 instead of the 400.
Home games through Hamilton/Burlington/Oakville area, or the Milton-Guelph-K/W Cambridge corridor are all options.
I am far from starved for places to play.
But to be honest, given my current level of ignorance, playing face to face with other people scares the hell out of me.

OK, here's the thing. The thing is here.
Help me.

How do I go about getting better? (Don't answer that one. I know it's too general...)

What would you guys say you did right, and what did you do wrong?
If you could do it again, would you change how you approached/learned poker?

Those of you that do home games, are you willing to put up with a
total newbie who may drive you batshit crazy with questions?

Feedback on my intended book buying would be appreciated.

Online sites for learning? You guys, obviously. And maybe twoplustwo.com. Yes? No?

What is the best way of depositing to PokerStars? A traditional bank?
A credit card? Paypal? I'm not too worried about withdrawals right now.
I don't think they will be happening very much. I suspect I'll get
quite good at depositing, though. I just don't know where to start.

Is there anyone out there in Muskoka, Parry Sound, Huntsville, Bracebridge
that does home games? Or know of anywhere in those areas that I could find a game?

How do I get over the fear, uncertainty and doubt, and actually go somewhere and play for real money with real people?
(I repeat: scares the hell out of me. Look. There's me. There's a little pile of hell. Right there beside me. It got scared out.....) :-[

If you have made it this far, thank you for reading.

Tim.

kwsteve

I don't think anyone is going to balk at having a new player at their home game. New players are the best kind to have, way better than sharks.

I find that drinking several beers will take care of any nervousness you may have. :)

For depositing I like Instadebit.

Makaton

You're already on the right path and have done some good research. Give it time and keep doing what you're doing. A year from now you'll have made some good progress.

moose

I have a seat open in my HORSE game next week. Most people buy in for $100 if that fits your limit. Friendly group. I'm sure you would enjoy yourself if you are interested in learning the mixed games. See the home games section. The game is in Cambridge.

trigs

definitely read theory of poker by sklansky. great book to learn the basics of poker. there's a lot of theories and mindsets that that book explains that all poker players should know but don't always seem to be common sense. gl!

JimmyHo

If you want to give live poker a try with no financial risk, I would check out the Red Hot Poker Tour. They offer free poker tournaments throughout the GTA. Its a great way to learn the basics and get use to play live. Once you are a little more experienced, then you can start playing for real money.

DougPirahna

kwsteve;355837 wrote I find that drinking several beers will take care of any nervousness you may have. :)
For depositing I like Instadebit.

yyyeeeaahhhh. I'm not entirely sure, but I suspect the beer, while helpful for the nervousness, might not help my game that much...

Thanks for the Instadebit suggestion. It looks good.

Makaton;355946 wrote...A year from now you'll have made some good progress.

Hope so. I'm building a small business plan/curriculum on what to do and learn each month. A little anal maybe, but it's too easy to fall into the 'I'll do it later' mode if I just wing it. Now if I can stick to the plan....

moose;355948 wroteI have a seat open in my HORSE game next week.

Very grateful for the invite. I would love to, but
a) I had to google HORSE. I had no idea what it meant.
b) I don't know omaha, razz or the high-low variants.
c) I don't even know what split 8 means.

I don't think you want a complete newbie bringing the game to a complete halt. And the complete newbie, in his ignorance, would not have a good time. It would be easier if I just walked in, handed you $100, and left.

trigs;355952 wrotedefinitely read theory of poker by sklansky. great book to learn the basics of poker.

I do find the fundamental theorem of poker intriguing (said in my Spock voice ??? ).
Like most books, there's so much to absorb, and I'm so new, that it becomes a bit much. I will be re-reading and making notes on what to add to my learning plan.

pokerJAH;355955 wrote... I would check out the Red Hot Poker Tour.

Been there, albeit about 5 years ago. It definitely did help with the mechanics. I didn't put any effort into learning how to get better at poker at the time, however. Without any real risk, I didn't have any real motivation.

Thanks, everyone, for your input.

Tim.

Monoxide

I just use a prepaid mastercard to deposit.

Step 1: Transfer money from bank checking account online to card, a few clicks takes seconds.

Step 2: Deposit using card.

Its good for getting a small bankroll on like $500-$800, for withdrawing money I just cash it out into my bank, takes like 2 days and can do up to $2500.

jontm

Looked at some deposit options last year:

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