Life's a Gamble my Friend?
Created | Updated Jan 17, 2008
From a very early age I realised that card games were fun and card games which involved the chance of winning money were even more fun. I'm sure many people have fond memories of family gatherings where afew coppers or silver were gambled in harmless low stakes card games. My particular favourites were Tuppenny Happeny , Chase The Ace and New Market and I would generally end the card session in a bit of a mood! Hey! winning a couple of quid at that age was a big deal (back in the 70s). During my teenage years me and my pals would continue to feed my gambling habit by playing occasional poker sessions, our game of choice was 5 card 2 draw. Again this never got out of hand and we always played at small stakes , with the winning player usually fleecing everyone else for £5 max. My card playing passion lay dormant for about 18 years in which time I got married and raised a young family. During that time the 'online' gambling industry had been born and matured into a bit of a monster, it was only a matter of time before No Limit Texas Hold'em Poker was gonna get me!! Two and a half years later, I can honestly say that although I still enjoy playing poker it comes at a price both financially and emotionally. Don't worry I haven't lost everything and need to recoup my loses by writing a Riches to Rags story , sorry to disappoint those of you that like a good disaster read.
I had just upgraded my internet connection to a cable modem, which was streets ahead of my old dial up connection and I was looking for an online activity which I could afford to access due to my new status of having Always On Internet connection(paid per month regardless of my time on line). My mate at work, Richard ,liked a flutter on the geegies and was quite successful as he was a bit of a student and kept tabs on form etc. Basically he had a rudamentary sort of a system which determined which horses he risked his money on. By chance he mentioned that he was considering playing poker on-line and had really got into it after watching Chris Moneymaker win the 2003 World Series of Poker after qualifying through an Online satellite tournie. My ears pricked up , you can play Poker online against other people …….Fantastic that has got to be worth a dabble. Before taking the plunge and registering with one of the numerous Poker Sites, I borrowed the DVD box set and watched Moneymaker taking down the best Pro Poker players on the planet. In a nut shell,after qualifying on line for no more than $1000 , probably a lot less , Moneymaker fought his way through a field of about 800 players to win the 2003 World Series of Poker, the Winner's Bracelet and over $3 million in prize money. A professional sport where unfit , relatively untalented human beings can win millions in prize money? Well that has got to be Fun Fun Fun….i'm in!!
At this point a back ground knowledge of Hold'em is necessary to really enjoy any writing about discussions on tactics and strategy and the probability of certain Poker Hands winning against another Poker Hand. But I will not be going into too much detail of how to play the game as I figure if you were interested in Poker you would already know or you could easily access this information on the web. So there I am on the brink of a Life Changing decision 'Stick or Twist' and that is what this piece is about. I am not going to tell you whether you should or shouldn't play poker for money online, all I'm going to share with you is my own experience for better for worse, for richer , for poorer 'til death do us part. I am aware that I have quite an addictive personality and if I started gambling that I would get hooked only too easily. However, on the flip side I have never been in debt and have never lived beyond my means. I am not a natural gambler because I am not particularly interested in traditional Casino type games , gave up playing fruit machines in my early twenties , and never went into the Bookies apart from on 'Grand National'Day. Surely if I played at low stakes there was little financial risk to me and my family?
I discovered only too quickly ,in my first forrage onto an online gambling site, how easy it is to set up an account. The sites are designed with the Home page detailing all the fourth coming tournaments emphasising the prize money up for grabs and also articles on previous tournaments and the online players that had scooped the top prizes. Lots and lots of wonga , and I was a pretty good poker player when I was 18 what's changed? Surely it won't be long 'til I'm taking down some monster pots. Also you don't need to immediatley deposit any money when you down load the site's software, you can just get involved with the 'Play Money' games, so no problem there ………..don't be afraid come on in and join the Party.All you need to play online is a decent internet connection which reacts quickly enough when the action is on you to play a move (otherwise you will get timed out and your cards will be folded) and a means of paying for your $$$$$$ , preferably a Debit Card(only if you play for real money). Modem , Computer, plastic ……………Deal me in cowboy , yeeeha!! This my friends is where my wife comes into the story, she was not overjoyed when she discovered I was now gambling on line and immediately alarm bells were ringing in her head. In an earlier occasion I had to 'fess up to her that an experimental game of online Blackjack had resulted in a loss which equated to a Week's wages and that she would notice this amount on the next statement of our joint credit card. So actually I had been deluded about having a good record with gambling up to that moment, because on that occasion I had shown all the sad symptoms of gambling. Which is when the losing streak starts you keep convincing yourself that your luck is about to change and your nightmare will disappear , all it will take is yet another £100 and so you keep chasing.All it took on that day was a bit of boredom setting in and accidentally stumbling onto a Gambling Site Advert on MSN. Fortunately on that day when I got to a certain level of loses I came to my senses and was soo shocked by my stupidity and gullability, that I was scared off enough to quit.
I am still married and still live with my kids but I still play poker online and sometimes when I can afford it I go and play live at the local Poker club. Poker as an industry is now huge and is becoming more main stream with many people from all walks of life getting involved including lots of retired sportsmen. The profile has been lifted and it is recognised as a game of skill where everybody has the same chance to win . Chris Moneymaker is a good example though, of a series of fortunate events which culminated in his victory and although he is a good Poker player, since winning 2003 WSOP he has not been able to compete in his newly acquired status as a Semi-professional poker player. If you watch a lot of Poker on TV you will see familiar faces playing in the final stages of big tournaments and that is because Poker is not only fun but also involves complex strategies and a thorough understanding of how your opponent is playing (getting a read). My life has changed a lot since my decision to take up my new hobby and I live under the continual threat that my wife will divorce me due to 'Unreasonable Behaviour'. She is totally bemused and saddened by my total drive and dedication to Poker and lack of interest in anything else. My late nights and some times all night poker sessions leave me tired and irritable and I have a lack of patience with my children and regularly shout at them. My decision to take out a loan to finance my Poker kitty about 2 years ago lead to a massive bust up which almost finished our marriage. I regularly spend 5 days a week playing online, with each session lasting between 3 - 10 hours. I have turned from a straight forward ,average ,family man into an addicted selfish gambler. Financially I can still afford to play , we don't go without and we take an annual holiday , and infact over the last year my results have started to improve, I actually cash in winnings from time to time!! In balance online poker will change your life, it's exciting and addictive , burns up plenty of hours when you can't be bothered to watch telly again. If you want the buzz factor in your life go for it, but it does come at a price and beware your personal relationships with your nearest and dearest will get you on a Losers Streak. I hope this won't happen to me but ultimately playing poker could cause a mirroring of my whole lifestyle, as I am gambling not only with money but everything I have built up in my life so far ………………I'm going All-In.
I had just upgraded my internet connection to a cable modem, which was streets ahead of my old dial up connection and I was looking for an online activity which I could afford to access due to my new status of having Always On Internet connection(paid per month regardless of my time on line). My mate at work, Richard ,liked a flutter on the geegies and was quite successful as he was a bit of a student and kept tabs on form etc. Basically he had a rudamentary sort of a system which determined which horses he risked his money on. By chance he mentioned that he was considering playing poker on-line and had really got into it after watching Chris Moneymaker win the 2003 World Series of Poker after qualifying through an Online satellite tournie. My ears pricked up , you can play Poker online against other people …….Fantastic that has got to be worth a dabble. Before taking the plunge and registering with one of the numerous Poker Sites, I borrowed the DVD box set and watched Moneymaker taking down the best Pro Poker players on the planet. In a nut shell,after qualifying on line for no more than $1000 , probably a lot less , Moneymaker fought his way through a field of about 800 players to win the 2003 World Series of Poker, the Winner's Bracelet and over $3 million in prize money. A professional sport where unfit , relatively untalented human beings can win millions in prize money? Well that has got to be Fun Fun Fun….i'm in!!
At this point a back ground knowledge of Hold'em is necessary to really enjoy any writing about discussions on tactics and strategy and the probability of certain Poker Hands winning against another Poker Hand. But I will not be going into too much detail of how to play the game as I figure if you were interested in Poker you would already know or you could easily access this information on the web. So there I am on the brink of a Life Changing decision 'Stick or Twist' and that is what this piece is about. I am not going to tell you whether you should or shouldn't play poker for money online, all I'm going to share with you is my own experience for better for worse, for richer , for poorer 'til death do us part. I am aware that I have quite an addictive personality and if I started gambling that I would get hooked only too easily. However, on the flip side I have never been in debt and have never lived beyond my means. I am not a natural gambler because I am not particularly interested in traditional Casino type games , gave up playing fruit machines in my early twenties , and never went into the Bookies apart from on 'Grand National'Day. Surely if I played at low stakes there was little financial risk to me and my family?
I discovered only too quickly ,in my first forrage onto an online gambling site, how easy it is to set up an account. The sites are designed with the Home page detailing all the fourth coming tournaments emphasising the prize money up for grabs and also articles on previous tournaments and the online players that had scooped the top prizes. Lots and lots of wonga , and I was a pretty good poker player when I was 18 what's changed? Surely it won't be long 'til I'm taking down some monster pots. Also you don't need to immediatley deposit any money when you down load the site's software, you can just get involved with the 'Play Money' games, so no problem there ………..don't be afraid come on in and join the Party.All you need to play online is a decent internet connection which reacts quickly enough when the action is on you to play a move (otherwise you will get timed out and your cards will be folded) and a means of paying for your $$$$$$ , preferably a Debit Card(only if you play for real money). Modem , Computer, plastic ……………Deal me in cowboy , yeeeha!! This my friends is where my wife comes into the story, she was not overjoyed when she discovered I was now gambling on line and immediately alarm bells were ringing in her head. In an earlier occasion I had to 'fess up to her that an experimental game of online Blackjack had resulted in a loss which equated to a Week's wages and that she would notice this amount on the next statement of our joint credit card. So actually I had been deluded about having a good record with gambling up to that moment, because on that occasion I had shown all the sad symptoms of gambling. Which is when the losing streak starts you keep convincing yourself that your luck is about to change and your nightmare will disappear , all it will take is yet another £100 and so you keep chasing.All it took on that day was a bit of boredom setting in and accidentally stumbling onto a Gambling Site Advert on MSN. Fortunately on that day when I got to a certain level of loses I came to my senses and was soo shocked by my stupidity and gullability, that I was scared off enough to quit.
I am still married and still live with my kids but I still play poker online and sometimes when I can afford it I go and play live at the local Poker club. Poker as an industry is now huge and is becoming more main stream with many people from all walks of life getting involved including lots of retired sportsmen. The profile has been lifted and it is recognised as a game of skill where everybody has the same chance to win . Chris Moneymaker is a good example though, of a series of fortunate events which culminated in his victory and although he is a good Poker player, since winning 2003 WSOP he has not been able to compete in his newly acquired status as a Semi-professional poker player. If you watch a lot of Poker on TV you will see familiar faces playing in the final stages of big tournaments and that is because Poker is not only fun but also involves complex strategies and a thorough understanding of how your opponent is playing (getting a read). My life has changed a lot since my decision to take up my new hobby and I live under the continual threat that my wife will divorce me due to 'Unreasonable Behaviour'. She is totally bemused and saddened by my total drive and dedication to Poker and lack of interest in anything else. My late nights and some times all night poker sessions leave me tired and irritable and I have a lack of patience with my children and regularly shout at them. My decision to take out a loan to finance my Poker kitty about 2 years ago lead to a massive bust up which almost finished our marriage. I regularly spend 5 days a week playing online, with each session lasting between 3 - 10 hours. I have turned from a straight forward ,average ,family man into an addicted selfish gambler. Financially I can still afford to play , we don't go without and we take an annual holiday , and infact over the last year my results have started to improve, I actually cash in winnings from time to time!! In balance online poker will change your life, it's exciting and addictive , burns up plenty of hours when you can't be bothered to watch telly again. If you want the buzz factor in your life go for it, but it does come at a price and beware your personal relationships with your nearest and dearest will get you on a Losers Streak. I hope this won't happen to me but ultimately playing poker could cause a mirroring of my whole lifestyle, as I am gambling not only with money but everything I have built up in my life so far ………………I'm going All-In.
