My name is Tim and I am a 20 year old college student at the University of Iowa. I began playing poker after watching an episode of the 2000 WSOP at 3:00am the summer after my Sophmore year in high school. The next day I bought my first poker book, Poker for Dummies. It was a poor purchase but it helped me learn hold'em and got me started.
From there I found Pokerroom and began playing play money sit and goes, and freerolls after school. I built up a good play money bankroll and had the mistaken impression that I was actually a good player. Eventually I cashed in a few freerolls and had enough money to hit the real money tables. Despite extreme nervousness I tripled my tiny bankroll after a few days of playing .25-.50 no limit holdem. Of couse as is always the case my extremely good luck ran out and I bounced around for a bit before getting scared and cashing out the $10 in profit I had earned.
At this point I was starting to find poker forums and realizing that I was not as skillfull as I had thought. I decided that I needed to educate myself better before risking any more money. I picked up Play Poker Like the Pros by Phil Hellmuth and Holdem Poker for Advance Players by David Sklansky. This is the point in my life where poker changed from a fun after school hobby into a raging inferno of obsession. I devoured everything I could find from books, to forum content and poker blogs.
After a few months on the sidelines I was ready to get back in the game. Although I was still not a good player I had given myself a much better chance. I understood the subtleties of the game much better but still could not grasp key topics such as bankroll management, handling swings, and patience. I bounced around even for a few weeks at the limit and no limit tables, breaking about even for the most part.
Finally, I found Pocket Fives and gidders.com, and began to turn my game around. I have just recently began the Gidders Monster Sit and Go Challenge and have had mediocre results through a small sample. I grew my $27 bankroll into just under $100 after about 15 sit and goes and thought I was on top of the world. My ROI was around 50 and my ITM was about 52%. But as is always the case varience kicked in and I went on a streak where I cashed only once in 13 tries. I really found out what a real cold streak is like, during this stretch I ran kings into aces 3 times, had a 3-1 or better advantage on the flop and lost 4 times, and had 2 three outers go against me.
Right now my roll sits just under $60 and I have no intention of giving up any time soon. I am learning every day and see myself improving my patience, emotional control, and reading skills every time I play. My current number through 38 sit and goes are:
ITM- 40%
ROI- 16%
Earnings- $34
Finishes
1 6
2 6
3 3
4-9 23
I play at Stars as ante29 and I am hoping to continue to learn from him and build up a roll playing sit and goes.
Later,
MrClean |
Students 
