Poker Journey at a Crossroad

Hi you all! Today I want to write about something a bit more personal, and that’s my poker journey. As I wrote before somewhere, I started playing a long time ago. When my dad first taught me how to play I must have been only about 5 or 6 years old (I’m pushing 40 now). We used to play heads-up 7 stud Hi/Lo. As I got older, and started out playing with friends, I realized that I was much better than them. I had a strong foundation in card odds, pot odds, hand selection and so much more. I have always been a winning player. Sure, some nights I’d lose, that’s part of the game. But in terms of money won, my net score was always positive.

My friends, it seemed, would be out there gambling, attempting big bluffs and hero calls, chasing long shot draws and whatever. Of course, they were what I’d call today recreational players. They didn’t mind losing as long as they had fun. Back then, if they lost $10 or $20 it wouldn’t matter.

They say only 10% of poker players are profitable. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but that seems just about right. I’m one of those 10%; it definitely doesn’t mean I’m in the 10% most skilled players. Far from it. But my biggest skill that has always kept me profitable in the long run, is my ability to choose soft tables to play. I heard Daniel Negreanu say on several occasions that it doesn’t matter if you’re the 7th best player in the world if you’re going to play with the top 6. You’re going to lose. It’s inevitable. The money flows to the best player. Luck can definitely play a role in short-term results, but in the long run, the best player will be walking out with all the chips.

Though I don’t play poker for a living, and never have for that matter, it was always a source of income and a skill I knew I could rely on. Until now, I mainly played dealer choice poker games at home. Though it’s hard to study some of those games in depth like one can study Texas Hold’em or Pot Limit Omaha, because really there is no poker literature about some of those crazy games, I do my best to sharpen my skills. Be it studying pot odds for different variations of poker, managing my bankroll, studying concepts of hand selection and applying them to the variations of poker I play, pot control and hand ranges.

I take poker seriously. It’s a game I love. It’s a game that keeps me curious and excited. I guess that’s kinda the reason why I opened this shop. I just wanted more poker in my life.

And this brings me to maybe the last section of this blog post. What now? I was thinking about what kind of content would be interesting to share with you readers. I came up with two ideas and I’d love to hear your thoughts about it (you can DM me on social media or email me). So, I was thinking about doing a vlog of me playing online poker tournaments, mainly NLHE but I might also do PLO, which today is my favorite form of poker. I want to learn online poker which to the best of my knowledge is very different than live play and very very different than the crazy dealer choice game I’ve been playing. I hope my journey will be interesting. I might even write a poker journal to follow the games (though I’m afraid at this point to commit, I still have a day job I need to attend and two lovely girls I need to father). The second idea, was to post a dealer choice game once a week, and provide some strategy tips on how best to play it. For the second idea, I definitely need your help – please send me some cool poker variations you know and love.

Well, that’s it for now. See you all at the tables.

P.S. Buy a cool T-shirt, It helps get this blog running 😊

Alon Marcus