where did everybody start

[AlphaOmega 0]

Saw this over at 2+2, thought it would be interesting.Basically, where were you 1 year ago, where are you now, and where do you want to be in 1 year.1 year ago:was just introduced to the game of NL Texas Hold 'Em at my high school. Thought I was good, deposited 20 bucks on Pokerroom without knowing anything about odds and such, built it then lost it.Convinced I was better, I deposited 20 again, ran it up to 400 in one day (luckbox) then blew it all at 5-10 NL.Present:Have read many poker books, not just for Hold 'Em, and have elevated my overall game.Looked into my account at the beginning of the semester and found that I had 14 dollars. I Smash Strategied my way to a working bankroll, picked up SSHE a month ago and currently play 2/4 and 3/6 limit. I play NL just for MTT's, and have had 2 1sts in the past month.1 year from now:Want to be fully comfortable with 5/10 limit six max making 3-4BB/100, and to become a NL tournament mastermind.

[Simpleton 0]

Yeah, good luck with that.

[Royal_Tour 0]

1 year ago just started playing Online. Played live for a couple years before that.Now i've taken the game more seriously, and have a couple books under my belt, some MTT wins, good cashes, 5k posts on FCP etc...in 1 year, i hope to be doing the same thing at higher limits, and enter in a few more higher stake buy-in MTT's.300+30 is my highest to date.

[Binbs 0]

Started playing NL Hold Em about 1 and a half year ago. Started Sept 2004. Blew way too much cash trying to get better playing 2/4 with 200 dollar deposits lol.Could feel a great improvement in my game since february where I would spend 300 dollars in a month instead of 2000.April 18th. Got 9th in a 140 person MTT and won 300 dollars on ladbrokes, which I proceeded to build into 26 k in 1 month. Lost it all in about 3 months playing 5/10, 10/20 because of a downswing + tilt.Been playing 0.5/1 and 1/2 ever since trying to build back up. Recently feeling that I have finally mastered a large part of the game of Hold em NL to be able to make money off it. Biggest obstacle is controlling tilt and steaming and hopefully be able to build up a nice roll from now on.Looking to live off poker by Summer of 2006. Goal is to come to Vegas for the 2006 World Series.

[Hyaku-Shiki 0]

I started playing exactly two years ago. I won my first event (8 guy home tourney). And then I proceeded to destroy my friend's weekly game. I had no idea what I was doing or how I was doing it. Over the next couple of months I was on the hottest donkey-streak of my life. I then learned to play the game, I educated myself (with help from a friend who is weak-tight) and completely changed my game. I've gotten a few books under my belt (the worst being Hellmuth's Play Poker Like the Pros).Currently, I'm a decent No Limit player about to make the jump online after the New Year (I've just been so busy, I haven't had ANY time to play). I want to be a better player at NL, and I want to improve my reading skills.Hopefully, a year from now, I'll be building a steady bankroll online and working on learning Omaha, Triple Draw and Stud.

[VegasBone 0]

My first time ever playing poker was last year at a $30 buy in tournament at Mandalay Bay. I took 2nd place in the tournament (only 40 or so entries).The first book I bought was Phil Hellmuth's Play Poker Like the Pros......and I was all of a sudden getting my censored kicked. I burned Phil Hellmuth's book.....deprogrammed my brain of all of the censored that I read......picked up some of Sklansky's stuff as well as Doyle's...and then got myself on the right track.Right now I still consider poker just a release from everyday life.....although I make a hell of a lot more playing poker than my chosen profession.A year from now....I think I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing...until it doesn't work anymore. If there is going to be any change....I want to learn tournament play more and start entering in some of the bigger ones. WSOP ME is still at least 3 years away I think.

[Shizzmoney 0]

I'm 24, and I started playing poker (especially NLHE) seriosuly last April, although I played 5 card stud in high school and college for recreation with football buds.I played on ESPN.com after my mom randomly bought Phil Hellmuth's "Play Poker Like the Pros" for my birthday. I got interest into it, and I played on ESPN to try to get the free WSOP seat. I didn't get it, but I won a few play money MTT of fields as high as 800 and then decided to play in my buddies' regular home game. The first night I ever played HE for cash (.25/.50 blinds), I made 37 dollars, winning a 18 dollar pot with a set of Jacks. Haven't looked back since. I am especially interested in the popularity of the game, and love poker in general. FCP definitely helps feed the crave at work!I then started 'real' online poker a month later on Full Tilt. I blew 200 dollars right away playing .25/.50 NL, but I read books (both S/S, Advanced Hold Em, Theory of Poker, and now currently reading SSHE) and just kept playing and playing. I now play .50/1.00 consiserably well, but I am always looking to improve my game and get better. I also started my HE mostly as a tournament player. The first tournament I was in, it was a 100 buy-in and I came in 7th out of 35 people. I played very tight and didn'treally make any moves for the kill.Then I read the Harrington books and they have helped considerably. I made 700 dollars in a 20 dollar buy in on FT immediately after I read Volume 1. I try to get in 1 to 3 $5-$10 dollar SNGs a night, either full table or heads up.Also after reading an article by Howard Lederer about the fact you should play more games to keep your interest in the game fresh (and also to help my Hold Em game), I've also gotten into Razz and Pot-Limit Ohama. I am now trying to learn Stud and its variations, as well as Omaha 8 or better.Since playing consistently on Full Tilt, my home game, and at local tournaments around the area as well as the local underground card room in Boston, I've built a bankroll of about 1000 dollars. I hope to get it up to 3000 by the end of June, and maybe trying to get into the WSOP 1500 HE Even in July (especially through a satellite).My goals are high in poker. In a year, I hope to have improved my game and maybe get lucky and qualify for WSOP and WPT. I do have a goal of doing it full time sometime, but understand it is a hard path and lots of work and practice. But I'd rather do it than the 9 to 5.Looking to live off poker by 2006, maybe TT/MM

[SpeedKills 0]

Started playing 1-2 Limit about 5 years ago in the caddy yard and constantly took money off the older guys. Once I got to college had to switch to NL since that was pretty much the only live game I could find. Playing with the frat bros in .25/.50 NL and constantly winning about 75-150 a week playing 2-4 times a week. Took my game to the B&M over the summer playing 2-5 NL bad for BR managment, but only game available. Was constantly winning about 1000 a week, with a bad week here and there. Right now still playing with the frat bros and killing the game and occasionally making my way to the B&M.1 year from now- Hopefully playing 5-10 NL at the B&M with the right bankroll.

[LAS22 0]

Started 2 years ago when I saw poker on tv. Played a lot online with play money. Played at a few home games.Now I play several times a week, both live and online (for real $). Have read several books. Watch poker a few hours a week (not tough when it is on 783 times per week). I have done well in several local tournaments.I look forward to playing for the rest of my life.

[turd ferguson 1]

I started out lurking a year ago. I finally mustered the testicular fortitude to register to the forum, and make my first post nine months later. What can I say? I'm a slow starter. I made a few sub par posts and got flamed for my newbieness. Then, I began to pad my post count by replying to every single thread on general. I quickly reached veteran status without making a single useful contribution to the forum, and haven't looked back since. I now have over 1,000 posts, am hated by many, and am tolerated by a select few. One year from now I hope to have over 5,000 posts, and be well on my way to poker forum stardom. Sometime between now and then I will make a post so profound that I will be forever revered. P.S. I would have posted about poker like the rest of you did, but I don't really play.

[three2 0]

Started out on PartyPoker two years ago playing 10-20 and 15-30 limit. I would buy in for $150 or $200 and chase. Usually capped my losses at $500-1000 a session. If I won, I played until I lost. Removed myself from Party and all the other sites. (FullTilt was by far the toughest competition; but I'd lose all my winnings to Juanda in 5-10NL.) Now, I can't get back on because of their reponsible gaming policies. Why do I have to be a degenerate? Darn. But good luck to you all!

[KDawgCometh 2]

this time last year I was rebuilding my BR. I only played live, and due to once in a lifetime circumstances, I had to fork over 95% of my BR for various expenses that I had to make. I had been playing 20/40 and 30/60 consistently in AC and would play in the 5/10 NL games when I had the chance. Started playing online seriously in january and used 400 to start out on party at .5/1. Now am at 5/10 6 max. If it weren't for a real nasty 3 month period from late april to july I'd be playing much higher.My goal for next year is to play many more tournies and more NL. I want to get my roll up and play at 20/40 on party and 3/6 NL and be able to buy in direct into the big MTTs. I also plan on getting myself onto a few more sites and get rakeback for those sites

[custom36 4]

I started playing in January. Deposited 100 on Pokerroom, lost it. Took a sign-up bonus ($10) at Noble and turned it into $800. Cashed it out at $500. Played a few different sites. Finally went to PartyPoker. KingAustin convinced me to start playing limit and the rest is history.Playing 3/6 6 and 5/10 full right now along with tournies on occassion. By this time next year? I hope to be playing 15/30.

[Bizzle 0]

Well, since my poker adventures didn't really start a year ago, we will go back to the beginning.A bunch of my friends had a dealer's choice game back in HS. I played in that for most of my HS years, and started going to Turning Stone when I was 17. I went to college in Rochester, so I was able to continue going down the road to TS and was playing a lot of 5-10 and just steadily raising my BR. I avoided all NL and didn't touch tournies at all.I first sat in a NL cash game about 3 summers ago, when the pokerplaying population at TS was greatly increasing. The second time I played 100 max, I walked out after about 10 hours with $1000 more in my pocket than I came with. Limit was officially a thing of the past. I started playing a few tournies, but would limit myself to just rebuy or big buy-ins, because I didn't want spend money to basically get lucky. This past summer, I won the heads up tourney at TS 4 of the first 8 weeks it was run.One of my buddies my junior or senior year of college introduced me to online poker with the collegepokerchamionship on Royal Vegas. I played in that, won one of the early rounds, and decided that I would play the Sunday 100k guarantees on RV. This was the extent of my online experience until...This past August I broke my toe. I couldn't drive for a few weeks, so I was doing nothing at home, and decided to deposit some money online. I deposited onto PStars and started playing some 2-4, got really bored, and decided to hop in a tourney. Since then, I have basically played all online, with the exception of occassional forays out to TS for big buyin tourneys. I have found that I am much better suited towards tourney poker than anything else, especially online. Since September, I have around 5k in tourney profits (about 10k in winnings) and I look for that figure to increase as I continue to find the proper formats for myself. I spent the last month playing for TLB points and finished about 150 short of the final number needed for PStars top 100.Where do I hope to be in a year? I am honestly not sure. I have not shown yet that I am anywhere near able to support myself playing just poker, and I have a good job with a very flexible schedule that allows me to work from home 2 days per week. I guess my main goals are my first 10k+ score from one tourney, and a big-tourney satellite win.

[Ron_Mexico 4,219]

My dad's balls.

[InertGrudge 0]

I started playing roughly a year and a half ago. I hadn't read any poker books and I was pretty awful. I would only deposit $50 at a time and I tried out the major poker sites. After being fed up with losing money, I decided to actually see if I could get good at this game. I began to read S/S, S/S2, SSHE, etc.. and played in just about every freeroll under the sun. I began to have some success, so I decided to put some more money in. I still played waaaay over my bankroll, and lost some more.Then, I got smart and learned something other than NL HE. I stumbled upon this site/forum and began reading religiously and learned what the phrase 'bankroll management' really meant. I started playing a lot of .5/1 limit and build a bankroll early this summer. Bonus whored a little at the end of the summer to further build it up. I don't have much time to play this semester since I'm in DC, but I decided to deposit $60 at bodog to have some fun. Turned that fun into a respectable small stakes bankroll.Now, I'm playing 1/2 limit O8 over at FullTilt with a proper bankroll, and I love it. I'm starting to think less about the money than ever before. I've been on the hottest tournament streak of my life, and I finally feel I'm becoming a balanced small-stakes player.In a year, I hope to say I've played in a WSOP event (Event #8, Limit O8 $2k buy-in looks amazing right now). I want to be playing 5/10 limit O8 or so. Really, I just hope to improve in any way. I really enjoy playing poker right now, and I want to keep that. I turn 21 in February, so after that...hello casinos.

[BigtimeGC 0]

I am a newby here to posting but plan to get on the program.I started out playing online poker in March of 03. I played the same style that I did in my home games at the $1/2 NL tables. I went through my first $500 in under a week.I invested in some poker books, and developed a little more patience at the table. When poker popularity exploaded here, we like everyone else, travelled to MTT around the area. I hosted one that Royal Tour won...he hosted one that I won. As my bankroll developed I moved up limits to where I am now playing $3/6 NL and $5/10NL. My summer was so cold at the tables that I had a brief return to $1/2 to rebuild before a recent trip to Vegas. That gave me a great boost in live play again. I played a $100 MTT with 780 players and finished 11th for $1000. I also have played in a number of $750 and $500 SnG's.A year from now I want to have more games under my belt. I am comfortable with my limits but want to change games a bit. I am working on improving in Omaha 8/b and Stud 8/b. Its hard to learn at manageable $ levels...I don't know the game well enough to play big tables and I play tables where I can't bet enough to keep chasers off the draw.Vegas has renewed my love of the live game...and I have just landed a job 4 minutes from the Casino doors...uh oh.

[Royal_Tour 0]

I am a newby here to posting but plan to get on the program.I started out playing online poker in March of 03. I played the same style that I did in my home games at the $1/2 NL tables. I went through my first $500 in under a week.I invested in some poker books, and developed a little more patience at the table. When poker popularity exploaded here, we like everyone else, travelled to MTT around the area. I hosted one that Royal Tour won...he hosted one that I won. As my bankroll developed I moved up limits to where I am now playing $3/6 NL and $5/10NL. My summer was so cold at the tables that I had a brief return to $1/2 to rebuild before a recent trip to Vegas. That gave me a great boost in live play again. I played a $100 MTT with 780 players and finished 11th for $1000. I also have played in a number of $750 and $500 SnG's.A year from now I want to have more games under my belt. I am comfortable with my limits but want to change games a bit. I am working on improving in Omaha 8/b and Stud 8/b. Its hard to learn at manageable $ levels...I don't know the game well enough to play big tables and I play tables where I can't bet enough to keep chasers off the draw.Vegas has renewed my love of the live game...and I have just landed a job 4 minutes from the Casino doors...uh oh.

GC!!, good to see you postin!Got an email telling me you guys did good in Vegas. well done sir!Keep me posted on your up and coming casino trips, you know Boyle and myself are always down.Making a trip back to vegas in Feb myself, so gear up and come. :-) cheers

[BigtimeGC 0]

Thanks pal. Would have come home from Vegas up a bunch but I dumped a few hundred at Sapphire's. They had a special...two dances for $30. Who can resist a sale?I only got busted twice in the cash games in Vegas - both times were to Mark. Dirty bastard made a set on me both times...once I had a smaller set.Vegas in February eh...hmmm. That might need to be looked into a little more seriously.

[mjb268 0]

I started playing online jan 04. At that time I deposit 25.00 and grinded it out to about 750 at its highest pt. since then its dropped down some after some attempts at different limts (before I was ready). My br could also be larger but after placing 13 out of 392 in 200 buy in in the omaha 8/b at The Orleans poker open in vegas, i used the cash for my trip. I now realize I should of paid for the trip like I plan to and added the $ to my bankroll. My goal is to multitable 5/10 omaha 8/b.

[solo319 0]

Wow there really was a Chris Moneymaker BOOM!in 03-04. I think all of the online poker sites should give him some royalty checks.(he might need it)

[Theraflu 1,035]

I had never played a poker hand in my life until the week after the patriots beat the Panthers in the super bowl...During the super bowl i started drinking at like noon, had a party in my apartment, went way too crazy and ended up kicking 4 holes in the apartment when the panthers had tied the game, really felt like a donk after the Pats came back and won it. Ended up breaking my foot on a metal socket in one of my walls. anyways...went to this kids apartment the next weekend, with my foot in a cast, and played poker for the first time live, i had like $2 in a NL game they were playing and really just wanted to watch, thought it was a blast, bout Hold 'em for beginners, and started having small games in my apartment and watchin the WSOP every week.After a few months, put like 20 bucks on Royal Vegas, maybe 50 here and there on party and just tryin the NL game, won a $3 rebuy tourney on RV and made like $400, to this day remains my only MTT win.Since then ive read a decent amount, really like sklansky and harrington's books have completely changed my tourney game.Bankroll management has always been an issue, ive tracked all my winnings/losings, ive only made about $1200 in my "career" as a poker player, and that was in a period of 2 weeks where i got a 2nd and 3rd for $1000 each. I've played .5/1 NL, 1/2 NL, and limit games from .5/1 to 3/6, with terrible experiments in 5/10 games (twice) severely shorthanded w/money. I can't find a limit im comfortable playing at online, i always seem to end up "bored" with no concept of money at a NL table, and multi-tabling on 1/2 games ends up in me breaking even almost every time. I'm starting to try .10/.20 shorthanded games, and they seem pretty good, but i really enjoy MTT's the most and have a good feel for the tourney game. If i can ever get a solid bankroll for a real run at 1/2 NL at foxwoods, then i should be able to win decent money, but as it stands im an undisciplined college senior with no good income that can't control his online poker habits...

[nachunja 0]

im 17introduced to poker about 10 month ago by friends cuz they wanted to donk off me.which is exactly what happened until i found how to play the game and took their money ever sincetook online poker seriously 2 month ago, won 1600 to date from online poker, cashed, spent most of it leaving only 600 which is down to 250 cuz of taking shots at 5/10constant flames on my post helped alothopefully i can mature the 250 to 25 000 by next year. dont have any any MTT wins but crap load of SNG wins.have 1/10th of HEFAP under my belt

[HangukMiguk 8]

Start: Started out playing with my Grandpa when I was 7. He taught me draw, then tried to teach me Stud. I didn't quite understand the game at that time. It's one of my best now.When I saw the WSOP in 2003, I learned Hold'Em very fast. Then I decided to actually start playing for real money online, and decided there was one way to do it for me: freerolls.I turned absolutely no money, into a $12.50 win on Noble Poker in a private freeroll, and turned that into my br.Gave me the shot to make donkey plays and learn from them without losing money, so that when I started playing for real money, I was already decently educated.Present: Still grinding it out in .25/.50 Limit games, NL SNGs, and any kind of tournament. I'm close to leveling up.Future: We'll see.[/url]

[Whatever 1]

Played home games way back in '91-'95 before moving and even went to a casino once. Always had a blast playing and was a break even player to maybe a small loser.Didn't really play much until the summer of '03 or so when I started playing on Party in their 10 person sit n gos for play chips. Deposited my 1st $50 there in August playing PL games mostly. 1st hand of real money though was limit and looked down and saw AA and yes it did get cracked lol.Would cash out for small wins and then redeposit within a week. Seems weird now. I had read a couple of books by '05 and took some time off before hitting my 1st 'big' score in a $2 MTT. 4th place was good for something like $300. Played off and on and didn't get fairly serious about it until April of this year. Have built up my original $500 (for the bonus) to over $4,000 playing .5/1, 1/2 and 2/4 limit & taking advantage of the reload bonuses on Party and Stars every month. I've been very conservative bankroll wise. It didn't help that real life owes my bankroll $1700. Anyway, started my blog from my excel notes and have begun playing live 'pub poker' just last week. Plan to move up to 3/6 by spring and 5/10 by next fall al;ong with playing in the random NL MTT. Like I said, I'm conservative and plan on being in on this as a nice side hobby for a long time.