My Poker Addiction

Posted on Thursday, June 9, 2005 in the Poker category.

Well, to say this article is overdue is an understatement. I have been playing Texas Hold Em since October of last year, and probably play a good 15-20 hours a week. I kept putting this article off due to work, and the poker “hobby” getting in the way.

It All Begins

It all started, when one day Brian Monnone mentioned that he saw me on Party Poker. I had no idea what he was talking about, and it turned out, it was some guy named Josh Durham. That got me interested in the whole online poker thing, so I barraged Brian with questions about the security of these type of sites. He assured me that no personal info (Credit Card, SSN, etc) was required, and the worst that could happen was that I get a little more spam. Ppppft, 2000 spams a day… it can’t get much worse. So I downloaded Party Poker, and thats where the addiction began.

The Progression

Three months later, I found myself playing in multi-table tournaments, cash games, and poker leagues all the time, although now I only play at UltimateBet and PokerStars. I found a GREAT group of people to play with, that didn’t mind having an amateur alongside, and learned from there. While I don’t consider myself a pro, I definitely think I have advanced from amateur status. Hell, I beat Abel consistently, so I must be doing something right :)

The $$$ Lost

In February of this year, my brother, myself, and my dad, decided to take a trip to Vegas to test our poker playing abilities. The place is magical. What else can be said about it? I ended up losing about $100 in a bad streak at The Excalibur, and was up about $160 at the Alladin before my brother made me stay another hour, to only see my stack dwindle down to breaking even. Thanks Danny! Also, just last month, myself, Abel, and his fiance, decided to make the 2 hour trek to Shreveport/Bossier City to try the tables there. Lets just say things went a LOT better here. I doubled up, and Abel…. well… I’ll let him tell the story in the comments.

Gamblers Anonymous Needs Recruits

I’ve got my entire family addicted, a good amount of good friends addicted, and now, hoping to get my readers addicted as well. Who plays? Who wants to play? Anyone here interested in getting a monthly or bi-monthly tournament started? It wouldn’t involve any money (yet :D), and could be a good way to get away from the every day job.