Bankroll ~ 300 Big Bets

I’d say I’m moving right along. The graph results from play in Poker Academy rather than online. I’ve been playing $1/$2 Limit (almost 10,000 hands so far), and last night my bankroll exceeded 300 big bets. I’ve taken $100 and turned it into $612.33.

Man, that seems like a lot of hands, but it hasn’t felt that way. I’m playing for enjoyment, still playing to learn, and that’s keeping the interest alive. I’ve found the best way to describe my attraction to poker in the quote, “Russian generals play chess. American generals play poker.” I’m sure you experienced players will know what I’m talking about.

The spike you see in my game is the direct result of watching Sklansky – The Video. The game changer was much more aggression on post-flop play. Very deep bows to the man for that!

Next step will be to go up one difficulty level in Poker Academy Pro (same limit), and when my bankroll gets to $1,000 I’ll go up another level. The goal is to get to Advanced and clean up all this PokiBot cash.

Poker, Tim McGraw, and Def Leppard

With a little help by Tim McGraw, Def Leppard may be coming back, and it sounds like poker is part of the picture. I ran across “Nine Lives” while I was searching for my regular Friday music at Azedia, and the lyrics were impossible to miss.

Top-40 Charts says, “McGraw initiated the co-write idea three years ago through his long-time tour manager Robert Allen, brother of Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen.”

Sklansky – The Video

I recently had a chance to watch this ‘dated’ but I thought high quality video from David Sklansky. I felt like it gave me deeper insight into what is meant by being aggressive in Hold’em, and I especially liked the format. In very no-frill terms, after an interview, he sits in front of the camera and presents what he thinks you need to know in bullet point form.

There’s a teaching in Buddhism that says that while there are many schools of the Buddha’s philosophy and they all point to the same thing, the quickest way to get there is to pick one school, stick to it, and learn it well. I’ve been thinking about how this might apply to poker, and if so I’m fairly close to selecting Sklansky. I really like his straight forward style.

Poker By The Bot

An interesting news item via the folks at Hold’em Radio. – “Shanky Technologies is reporting very strong initial sales for their new “Hold’em Bot” program, which is a piece of software that plays online poker automatically for the user.” – Here’s the company’s website.

The story doesn’t come as a great surprise. I’ve seen bots mentioned in my reading, and I would have expected them even if I hadn’t read about them. What makes the story worth mentioning is that this is the first time I’ve really taken some time to think about it.

Learning Poker Collection

It’s time to list the tools and books I’ve been using to learn. This is pretty much in the order that I’ve tackled things. Afterward, I’ll have a few comments on where I am now and where I’m planning to go.

• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Poker
• Step by Step Texas Hold’em Poker (DVD)
• How to Make Money Playing Texas Hold’em Poker (DVD)
• Full Tilt Poker Season 1 – (Available on Usenet or Torrent)
• Winning Low-Limit Hold’em – (2nd Edition)
• Small Stakes Hold’em – Sklansky, Malmuth, Miller
• Poker Academy Pro Version 2.0 *****
• Hold’em Notebook ****

And as if that wasn’t enough, I also bought this 500 chip poker set. Looking back it seems like I’ve gone a little overboard, but this feels like a very small investment compared to what I could lose if I go into this game unarmed. It’s also worth mentioning that I haven’t actually finished all the books listed here. I’m still working on Lee Jones’ “Winning Low-Limit” and Sklansky’s “Small Stakes Hold’em”. So, overall I’m very pleased.

I’ve been spending my time with Poker Academy for play. I understand the trek for most is to begin with free games on places like PokerStars and Full Tilt, but after reading some forum descriptions of the type play that goes on there I decided that wasn’t the best place to learn. I’m only mildly interested in online play. I want to play in cash home games, and I think Poker Academy gives me a much more realistic experience of the type that I can expect there.

Two special notes: Hold’em Notebook is a free app that allows you store customized starting hand charts. It’s a little buggy (still in development), but it’s incredibly handy for someone in my position. I’ve also found that listening to Hold’em Radio is the perfect compliment to my play. I really enjoy the shows, and they play some awesome music, too.

My next step is to work on my post-flop play in Poker Academy. Coupled with that I’ll continue reading Sklansky and Jones. I’m going to venture into the free-play at CardPlayer.com, plus check out some of the free videos there and also on DeucesCracked. After that, it’ll be time to scout out a home game or venture into a casino. I’m lucky to live in Mississippi and likewise be only 100 miles from New Orleans.

Hello World

Welcome to the new home of DoubleThree. My name is J.K. Bowman, and I’ll be the host of this trip. It’s my own personal experiment in Texas Hold’em. Here’s a quick rundown to bring you up to date.

First, I’m what’s known as a “fish” in this game.  I have no practical experience.  Like many, I was drawn to the topic after tuning into one of the World Poker Tour shows on ESPN.  I watched just long enough to get an appreciation for the strategy that was going on between the players.  Before I knew it I was  as engrossed as if I had been watching a Super Bowl game.   As a former rugby player for U.S.M, I thought deal me in.

Since that time I’ve followed what must be a pretty customary trek for most.  I learned the basics of Hold’em online then followed up with a few videos.  Some two months later I’m on my third poker book, and I’m looking forward to getting in some real games.  Of course, first I have to find them!

I plan to use this blog to keep track of my training.  That said, there will be a few posts after this to get us up to speed.  After that, with a little luck, I’ll be able to look back on this entry one day with a bit of nostalgia.  Wish me luck, and in all you do draw Aces.

Let’s play.