The World of Online Poker

I turned 18 in 2006. The poker boom was in full swing. You couldn't watch TV after 9pm without seeing adverts for Party Poker, Full Tilt or Poker Stars. It was everywhere.

I agonised for a long time about whether or not to deposit some real money online. I knew I was good, after all, hadn't demolished all those idiots on Zynga? And I'd done pretty good with the Party Poker play money games, cashing about half the MTT's I'd played and running up loads of play money chips. But that confidence in my own ability did not do much to assuage the fear of putting money onto an online poker site. What if I lost? What if they stole my money? Eventually, I did deposit. I'd been out with friends that night and got home pretty drunk. As I sat on the sofa eating my cheeseburger I put the TV on and Channel 4 had some poker on. I don't recall the name of the programme, but it was full of pro's I now recognised. Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen to name a few. As I watched these titans of poker battle it out, I told myself that could be me one day. I logged onto my computer, deposited £20 which gave be around $35 (oh how I miss those exchange rates) and I was ready to play. Except Party Poker told me my transaction was pending and I would have to wait up to 48 hours for the funds to hit my account. Well that sucks! I turned off my computer and went to bed.

I had actually forgotten that I'd deposited until I got an email from Party Poker saying that the transaction was complete and my account had been credited. Oh no! Did I actually do that? What was I thinking? I was panicked. Not because it was a lot of money, but because I had done something I wasn't totally comfortable with. I have found this a lot over the years. I am quite a relaxed laid back kind of person, but I'm not comfortable doing things that are unusual or out of the ordinary. I once waited nearly four months to get my hair cut, because the barbers I'd gone to for as long as I could remember with my dad had retired and I didn't want to go to a different barber I didn't know. In the end, my manager told me I was looking untidy and needed to do something about it. I decided the money was on the site now so I might as well play with it. I played the tiny STT's, probably $0.50 games and a bit of cash as well.

Like most first depositors, my money didn't last long. I would often cash in the STT's for 3rd place, but don't think I ever won one and would lose as many as I cashed, so my bankroll began to dwindle. Down to my last $10, I threw it all into a cash game. I remember being up a dollar or two, but then I lost the entire lot in one hand. I don't recall all the details, but I think I had pocket aces and wouldn't let it go. I do recall how I felt though. I stared at my computer screen for a good few minutes. I felt sick. It was like there was a lead weight sitting in the bottom of my stomach. I shut down my computer and immediately went to bed. I didn't sleep though. Even though it was only $10 and I'd lost more than twice that already, there was something about losing a big chunk in one go. I knew I shouldn't have played that cash game. I knew I shouldn't have bought in for the last of my money. But I had aces! How could I lose? I felt miserable for days. I took a break from poker after that. I just didn't have the urge to play anymore.

It was a couple of months later, my brother Bob invited me to a poker night with his mates. I'd never played anywhere other than online and my first initiation, where Bob had fleeced me for all my pocket money. I wasn't doing anything so why not. 6 players £10 buy-in, 1 re-buy in the first 2 hours. 2nd got their money back and 1st took the rest. I soon realised that these guys were about as bad as those Zynga idiots. They all wanted to play every hand and call down to the river and if they had anything at all, and I'm talking a pair of threes when there are broadway cards, straight and flush possibilities on the board. I lost a couple of hands bluffing in such a situation, but I quickly learned my lesson; you cannot bluff these guys. I tightened up a bit, but not too much. I soon won the biggest pot of the night with an Ace high flush against a straight and I didn't really look back from there. Every time I had any sort of reasonable hand I would bet reasonably big and invariably get called by worse hands, some times more than one worse hand. There were 3 re-buys, so I finished the night £80 up. I was giddy with delight. I walked home that night feeling invincible. I had out played these men that were much older than I was and played poker for a lot longer than I had. I had got the bug again and this time I had money that had been generated from poker that I could use to play poker.