Should you play poker online?

I usually go to the pokermanila site to browse around and hear about the latest poker gossip and events. It's a cool site and most of the people who post there are certified regulars in the poker scene. So the advice you read have varied degrees of helpfulness but would usually be based on logical grounding. So you do get nuggets of good information here and there.

Lately, I 've been seeing a lot of questions from newbies or not so newbies inquiring about whether they should be playing online or not. This just shows us that poker is slowly expanding its reach here in our country. I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents worth in a post especially since about 50% of my reader base also ask me the same question from time to time. I for one have gone through the same process of asking this question 2 years back. So I think I do have something to contribute.

The answer is an unequivocal YES.

It doesn't matter if you have money to spare or not. That's the beauty of online play. The options are so varied that you can choose to play 10 cent tables if you're just after the experience and just want to enjoy competitive play.

Of course, there's play money. But let's face it, there's not much fun in playing a game where there are zero stakes. Also, the dynamics of free play is totally different. People go all in on a whim and sometimes logic takes a back seat. So trying to develop your poker skills in free play is kind of useless. Its a good way to learn the basic rules but that's basically it. You'd be better off playing a poker video game as your AI opponents there are at least playing logically.

Freerolls which offer tickets or small cashes are slightly better. These are usually filled with 2 kinds of people. Newbies like you who are also learning the game and low stakes grinders who have lost their bankroll and can't afford to deposit anymore. In short, either unexperienced players or dumb players. So the skill you gain from playing with these people is also marginal.

By the way, I do have to make an exception. When I say freerolls, I am talking about those normal $50 freerolls or $100 freerolls that are offered by most sites on a daily basis. The qualifying freerolls for events like the Filipino Poker Tour are totally different. These are usually filled with good players who want to qualify for free.

The only way to improve is to play against someone who's better than you and to play with someone who has something to lose. So if you're a beginner. I would advise real money play even at the start. A small deposit of even just $20 to $50 will already get you tons of games at the lowest levels and the corresponding experience. Mix these with some freeroll tourneys and proper bankroll management and you're set for at least a few months of enjoyable poker.

After you lose your initial deposit, and yes, you will most probably lose it. Take time to reflect and see if you're willing to invest some more money to improve your poker skills.

The relevant question that you can ask at this stage is : Will I make money playing online poker?

If you want my honest opinion, the answer is again YES. Provided that you have developed or are willing to develop 2 things. The first one is discipline. The second is basic statistics knowledge.

Why do I have the confidence to say this ? Because the low stakes tables are filled with people who do not have both. Poker is just simple math. It's knowing what the chances are of certain hands being drawn. As soon as you get a basic grasp of this and apply this to your poker playing, then you will eventually make money. Simple as that. It is just a matter of time.

Yes, luck is in the equation somewhere. But everybody gets the same amount of luck. There is no such thing as someone being luckier than somebody else in the long run. Maybe tomorrow your friend gets lucky and outdraws KKs with a runner runner flush. But it all evens out in the end. You will get your own lucky day. What separates winners from losers is not luck. It is basically just discipline and knowledge.

When I first started out playing poker late 2006. I deposited $50 at Pokerroom and started playing $5 SNGs. I know this is a dumb thing to do as this leaves me with a bankroll of only 10 buy ins. But it was more out of necessity than choice. Pokerroom at that time had no SNG lower than $5 and I had no other account. I then proceeded to lose this money in about 2 months worth of playing. But during this time, I can say that I learned a lot and was also reading a lot of the articles regarding SNG play and understanding odds and outs.

My next deposit was $150. $50 at Pokerroom and $100 at Full Tilt. This was the last time my credit card was charged by Click2Pay. I have not had to make a deposit in any poker site from my own money since. All the money I earn from playing poker and my current bankroll came from this initial $200.

And if you have been following my blog, you will immediately see that I am not a grinder who plays a lot of games or even plays high stakes. I am a good example of a casual player who just enjoys the game. Even now, I still play $5 SNGs. But I have consistently made money from poker.

And I am basically just like you. A working joe who had no knowledge of poker until I first saw the game in TV in one of those WPT specials. Nothing special about me. My IQ is average and my math skills are average. But I earn extra money each month just playing casual ABC poker.

Of course, making money and making obscene amounts of money are 2 different bananas. The first one I can confidently say is yours for the taking. Making obscene amounts of money is something that I am still working on. The wonderful thing about this game is that you never stop learning things from each game you play. So you are sure to improve as you go along. And it's not like basketball where your knees give out after you reach a certain age. In poker, the sky is the limit. Again with the caveat that you are following proper bankroll management. Because variance will rear its ugly head and you just have to be prepared for it. Do not play at stakes you cannot afford and you will make money eventually.

So there, my advice to newbies everywhere. Take it with a grain of salt and analyze for yourself if what I said makes sense or not. Then go out there and beat the game.

Travelling in Taiwan

I just got back from a 5 day trip in Taiwan and just wanted to post some of the notables. Was there for an exhibition fair and some factory visits, but did get a chance to go around a bit

1. Taipei 101 - 2nd tallest building in the world. Great view of Taipei city especially near dawn. Entrance fee was quite expensive at NT$400 to get to the observatory near the top. (around 600 pesos)

2. Rode a 70 m. tall ferris wheel on the rooftop of the Miramar mall. 1 revolution took 15 minutes.

3. Excellent food - try the xiao long bao(its like a small siopao/dumpling combination with meat and some sauce inside the bun) at the Din Tai Feng restaurant. Very Tasty and the prices were quite reasonable.

4. Betel Nut Girls - scantily clad girls inside small glass structures selling cigarettes and highly stimulating / addictive betel nuts to truck drivers. Hard to explain if you have not seen it firsthand. So I've attached some pictures from the net. These girls earn around NT$30,000 a month just selling the betel nuts. My Taiwanese friend says that for NT$500-1000, some will flash you their boobs. Heheh ... kung meron tayong "only in the Philippines". This is "only in Taiwan". Don't mistake it for some kind of prostitution thing. It's a real job. The girls are basically selling products primarily to male drivers, so if you think about it, baring their bodies to attract customers is just a form of marketing.

Overall, I would have to say that Taipei is nice for a short visit. Traffic is surprisingly good considering that it is a highly populated city. Language barrier may be a bit of a problem as most of the population still cannot speak english. Mandarin and Hokkien are the common language. But there are lots of english signs so it is easy to get around. Taxi drivers are polite and don't try to fleece you.

Since this is still a poker blog, let me just say I did get to play some online SNGs during the night. Hotel offered free internet and the connection was lightning fast. I don't think poker as a game is popular in Taiwan, though. Casinos are currently still illegal but I heard Taiwan is also planning some kind of Macau style casino in one of their small islands. High stakes Mahjong is probably still the game of choice if you're looking for a rush.

Almost Lover

Let me just qualify this post by saying firsthand that I am not a person who likes music. I mean I listen to the radio sometimes. I appreciate good songs, but I don't go out of my way to let's say buy a CD or watch a concert. I don't even own an Ipod or an MP3 player. I don't know any of the new artists and I only surfed the net for Britney Spears once because of the infamous beaver shot. =)

The fact that I am talking about a song in a poker blog means something. The first time I heard the song "Almost Lover", I was surprised by how much it affected me. It was both lyrical and haunting at the same time. It brought up images of long forgotten stuff. The voice of the singer, Alison Sudol, is amazing. But again as I said, I am not a song listener and I don't know if my opinion is valid.

So I am just going to post it and let you hear it for yourself. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It also gives me a chance to embed a youtube video for the first time. Heheh ..

On the verge

On the verge : (dictionary meaning) the limit beyond which something happens or changes.

The Boston Celtics are on the verge of winning the 2008 NBA Championship. MVP Kobe Bryant with all his skill and the Gasol trade (trade doesn't seem to be the right word, robbery sounds better), appears to be not enough to deny the Big 3 their ring.

Even though I would normally root for the Lakers against the Celtics, I am a long time admirer of Garnett and this is one time that I hope that the Celtics take it all the way for the sake of the veterans who have shown everyone how teamwork and sacrifice can work wonders. The Lakers are young and with Bynum coming back next year. They will be the team to beat in the 2009 season and for the years to come.

So go Boston !!!

In poker news, I was on the verge of breaking my monitor last night. Heheh.... $22+2 SNG in FTP. There were 5 players left. Had a medium stack when I get dealt AAs. I make the perfect trap and got the chip leader to go all in with his KJ in a King high board. Turn is a blank and river is a K. Good game me.

Another SNG, I think an $11+1 this time. I get KKs and again I got somebody to go all in with his spade flush draw after the flop. River is the spade. Arrgh....

Makes you wonder if you just want to overbet the monsters pre-flop to at least get the blinds instead of succesfully outplaying someone by having them lay all their chips in the middle a huge underdog, but getting drawn out in the end.

Poker.... hayy ...

In hindsight, should have broken my monitor. This way, I can get the 19" inch LCD widescreen that I've long been craving for. heheh

Not made for grinding

I recently had a chance to review my Full Tilt SNG stats for the month of May. And here are the results according to sharkscope.

Games played : 106 games
Limits played : Combination of $6+0.50s and $11+1s
Ave ROI : 34%
Profit Made in FTP site for May : approx $300

*I do not include rakeback in any of my computations.

Of course, I played some games in the other sites but I would say that these only total up to somewhere around 30 to 40 games. So overall for May, I played a total of around 140 SNG games give or take together with an occasional MTT tournament.

If you analyze my stats, the logical conclusion to be made is that I should play more games. If I can maintain this level of ROI, wouldn't I be making a killing just by playing more games ?

Unfortunately for me, I believe the answer is NO. Believe it or not, that 140 something games is the most I've played in a month from the time I started playing online poker. YEP.

I regularly only play around 3 or 4 games a night and to me this number is just right as it falls somewhere around 1 to 2 hours of playing (2 tables at one time). During these 3 or 4 games, I can really stay focused and more often than not do well. I've tried stretching out my poker playing some nights and what happens is that I end up playing sub optimal as I'm already sleepy. Working a full work day and battling Metro Manila traffic does suck out some of the excess energy I may have. Considering that I don't play everyday due to other commitments and you can see that 140 games is a lot for my schedule.

I will not deny that like most poker players, I've had the dream of playing poker for a living. And stats like these reinforce this belief. But I've realized as I grow more experienced in this game that I am not made for grinding. I go on tilt quite easily and I don't think I have the stamina to stay in front of my screen more than a few hours at a time.

In hindsight, this actually ends up protecting my bankroll. My full schedule forces me to quit after a few games even if I have this intense desire to still play after a losing session to make up what is lost for the day. Forced to quit because I have to go to bed sounds wimpy, but that is essentially what happens.

So will I forever be the casual player that I am now? Most probably. It is nice to know that I can always fall back on poker to earn a few hundred dollars every month. And that is I think what makes the game enjoyable for me. If I had to do it for a living and go through the stress of suckers sucking out every few minutes of every hour of every day. I'll probably curse the game and quit.

But to be honest, the poker dream will always be in the backburner simmering. But my version is now different than before. I don't really want to play poker for a living anymore. That's a brutal life. Guys quitting their jobs with a bankroll and grinding day in and day out is not for me. I'll probably die of some cardiac thingie a few months down the road.

My poker dream is now basically hoping for that one big score. That someday, you end up getting all the balls bouncing your way, all the planets aligned, all the gods listening and you suck out with your pocket fives against KKs to win an eight figure payout. (converted to peso of course)

And once it does happen. I pack my bags, quit everything, invest the money in some kind of stable investment, live off the interest in some sleepy beachside town in Palawan with my family. And play poker for fun. That for me is the ultimate poker dream. =D