new member-let me introduce myself

[benman2002]

hello,

my name is ben(could you tell?) ive been reading on this forum for a few weeks now. just joined today!

im 19, a sophmore at auburn university. ive been playing poker since i came to college--until about 3 months ago i mostly played little 5 dollar buy in games w/ friends and would lose everytime. well a few months ago i read super system. since then i have been reading on the internet, and this weekend i just bought ?slanskys? holdem for advanced players.

i now play as often as i can. i no longer look at poker as somthing to pass the time on a friday night, but as a way to make some extra $$. since reading super system i have made $$ everytime i have played. i realize the people i play with are not good but i have gotten past the newbie stage i think. over the past month i have met more poker players and have played in some .25/.5 games. and a 20$ tourney(which i won).

lately i have been thinking surley in a college town i could fine enough games to quit my part time job and pay bills with poker winnings(my bills arnt that much).

any suggestions on getting to this point. i figure most fraturnitys(im not in one) have weekly or bi-weekly games where there is a decent amount of $$(considering we are poor college students) being played. also i know i could get in w/ a few local bookies(think they will know of poker games???)

i really want to move from the .05/.10, and .10/.25 games to games where i can make some $$ at.

any suggestions?

[Dave B]

try online. Computers are hook ups are cheap (can you get stabile internet access at school)?

Bookies are probably not the best for finding homegames-start w/ friends and see if you can slide the stakes up a bit.

Have enough bankroll to survive 5-6 bad nights in a row. Spend 1/2 of earnings and save the rest. If you can afford it, gradually ratchet up to high stakes until you find an area that maximizes profits (it isnt always higher limits).

Stay in school, drink beer, bang chicks.

[Always_Bored]

Stay in school, drink beer, bang chicks.

I think this is the best advice. You should listen.

[benman2002]

Stay in school, drink beer, bang chicks.

ha yea great advice..wrong order though...

bang chicks, drink beer, stay in school

[Heiserman]

the thing you have to be careful of is as you move up in limits, youll find less newb's then you will at the home game in your dorm...there will still be some people blowing money but be prepared to take a beating occasionally as you learn the new stakes and players...also its real easy to think you are better than you are when you only play with the same guys all the time because youll have them down pat

- david

[Always_Bored]

also its real easy to think you are better than you are when you only play with the same guys all the time because youll have them down pat

- david

I think that is one of the bigger mistakes people make. They play with the same guys over and over again and keep winning. then they move to the casino and lose repeatedly. Just because they know exactly how their friends play.

[mindgame]

Well if you read Bunson, you know already that he paid his way through college playing poker, and if you read Helmuth you'll see he did the same thing. You might try finding out which frats have poker games...you can bet that more than a few do. But I found that when I was playing in my 20's that I would win a few times and never be invited back.

Your best strategy is to play enough to find out who the players are around campus. You'll need to keep a book on them, and get a list of at least 30 or 40 with their email addresses. Then you'll have to run your own game. People running higher stakes games (def: any game you can win $300-1000 a night, any game where people are walking in with $200+ in their pockets) are not doing it to have fun. They are in business. They spread a game and if they aren't making money with a rake they are doing it by beating the people invited--usually both. You beat that game 3 times out of four and you're out--at least that's what happened to me. (Old poker adage: you can fleece a lamb as often as you like, but you can only skin him once.)

My own brother in law dis-invited me from his weekly game, and there were no hard feelings. He just explained..."Hey, there's only about $1200 to win here and I don't run the game to share it with you." He told me when he started the game that if I won too much or too often I was out. My worst offense, however, and this is something I have worked hard to overcome, was that I just couldn't shut up about poker, poker tactics, poker theory...etc. I was making the players better and that cost him a lot more than I did. Refrain from educating poor players. It chokes your ego, but it builds your bankroll.

[edit: Yeah, so why the hell do I even post here? I'm doing exactly what I told you not to. Something to ponder.]

[HalfSugar]

Well if you read Bunson...

Even better, try Brunson

You should listen to the old hacks above, they know wot they are talking about. Welcome to the boards.

[mindgame]

It Brunson????

Here I've always thought it was like little flame gizmo in chem lab...so like a belly-buster straight draw that hits and takes down a huge pot would be a Brunson Burner!