The Polar Bear Has Escaped!

I have always loved playing live poker, ever since I first learned the game. I loved the social aspect of playing with my friends, and discussing individual hands with them for hours on end, as well as the game as a whole. I have been playing online poker for close to five years now and although I have always enjoyed it, when it came to the famous question in poker as to whether you see yourself as a 'live' or 'online' player, the answer for me has always been 'live'.

But that's about to change.

I've never really taken online poker as seriously as I should have. To be honest I've never really taken poker as seriously as I should have, but particularly online. My first substantial success online was on Full Tilt in January 07. I won around $12k in tournaments and around $8k playing $5/$10 NLHE 6max cash. I withdrew $10k and left $10k in my account. This was my first experience of the cashout curse, and I lost around $3k in tournaments and cash over the next 10 days or so, and then tilted hugely one night after another bad beat and lost the remaining $7k playing $25/$50 PLO 6max. It didn't bother me at the time as I had cashed out some money and had recently won a large amount of money in a live tournament, but looking back I hate myself for being such an idiot. Over the next few years I deposited and cashed out frequently, never really keeping much money online, instead choosing to spend my winnings on my lifestyle instead of re-investing them into my online poker.

Recently I have been winning decent money playing live cash but I have been struggling online and I feel this is due to changing my game in order to maximise my profits playing live. Norwich Poker Club has a very loose-passive game, and has changed my style considerably. When I first started playing at NPC I lost in the game and had to adapt to it, which I managed to do very successfully but at a cost of hindering my online game in my opinion. I have also been enjoying live poker a lot less recently, and now wish to concentrate my efforts on building an online MTT bankroll this summer. I wish to play on PokerStars but my DTheSandwichJ account has always ran bad and has never won it's fair amount of showdowns. It's no coincidence that it is the only online account I have ever had that is losing (only rice at -1% ROI tbf but still losing). I am now going to play on Panda's old account which is pandybear22 and try my luck on there. It's prob just supertstition but if it allows me to play with a greater degree of confidence then it must be a good thing.

I have also joined some advanced poker training sites. According to an independant poker training review site Bluefire poker got the highest overall score, and Pokerpwnage got the highest score in MTT training so I have joined both of those. I think that they will be very helpful in re-establishing my online tournament game and it will be interesting to hear other people's opinions on the game. I will also try and update my blog every monday which I know I have said before but I think it is advantageous to analyse my results and I find writing it is therapeutic.

I have added a Gambler's Link to my blog on the right hand side, which I will update whenever I post. It is a link that will take you somewhere different each time it is updated. It will usually be a link to a blog post or article that I have enjoyed or laughed at.

I had a fantastic holiday in Greece, definitely one of the best holidays I've ever had. I did jet skiing for the first time and absolutely loved it, and did it again later in the week. It's so much fun. Spent plenty of time on the beach during the day then at Milton's bar at night, for which he would not accept any money for drinks. Each time we tried to pay he told us we were insulting him. His generosity was overwhelming and I thank him greatly for it. I also thank Stefan for his hospitality and for doing all the driving.

I will miss many people at the poker club for which I have been a regular member for five years now but I feel that my time and effort would be better spent playing online poker full time and trying to build a healthy bankroll. Despite its flaws Norwich Poker Club will always greet you with a cup of tea and a piss-taking ogre, and I will greatly miss the many friendly faces that play there, and the often hilarious banter that keeps me smiling. I will still pop in occasionally, but The Polar Bear will no longer be a permanent attraction in the zoo that is NPC.

PS - Birthday night out this saturday after the england game. Everyone is welcome. Starting at the Slug and Lettuce at about 10pm, then moving down prince of wales. Text me for location if you're joining late.