First of all, I really appreciate all of the input that I received in my recent post regarding possible topics for this column.  Since there seemed to be some interest in my prior poker experiences and how I've built myself up to this point, I thought that would be the best subject on which to focus for this first article.  Hopefully this mini-poker bio will also provide an accurate representation of my credentials. 

Here's the boring part first (quick everyone, scroll down!)   I learned the ins and outs of playing poker at a pretty young age; I couldn't begin to guess exactly when.  But, I definitely knew that three of a kind beat two pair by the time I was 10 or 11!  By the time I was in high school, we had a somewhat regular game at a friend's place.  There were about 15 of us who had an unofficial rotation in and out of there, and normally 5 or 7 people would be playing at any particular time.  We played a variety of typical crazy wild card games (my favorite was always a variation of hi/low 7 card stud where your lowest card in the hole was your wild card for that hand!) I hadn't learned the art of bluffing yet AT ALL at that age, yet my mind for numbers and odds had me playing well enough to be the second biggest winner overall in the game. The biggest winner (by far) was the host of the game, and he ended up being a shrewd enough gambler to own his own sports betting site overseas today!  But, that's another story for another time...

After rarely playing any cards throughout college and my mid 20s, I decided (on a whim) to pick up a popular book about winning low limit hold'em in early 2001.   My interest in poker was revived almost instantly!  I devoured the book and (as Monobrow on the Forum correctly guessed) my high-risk type profile and personality led me to immediately jump into 5-10 and 10-20 at Paradise later that year.  Needless to say, I was not ready for that!  I would deposit 500 and lose....deposit 500 and lose....deposit 1000 and lose....deposit 500, build it to 2500, go to 20-40 sometimes even!, and lose it.  I also joined Party Poker and lost a couple thousand there.  By the end of '01, I had lost almost $10,000 in about five months at the on-line poker tables.....and there were no signs that things would improve.  My knowledge of hold'em was simply too basic to succeed at that point, and I still wasn't comfortable with making the more advanced plays that separate the winners from the losers. I was very, VERY close to assuming that I just didn't have what it takes to win at higher-stakes limit poker and was one or two lost deposits away from throwing in the towel for good.

Almost overnight, the tide began to change in early '02 after I joined poker.com.  I finally started to learn from my mistakes, tighten up my play, and choose the right opponents to play against.  This was also when I first got used to seeing a regular named 97Hearts from Conyers at the 20-40 games there (who I later learned was someone named Matthew Hilger!)  Losses turned into profits (as long as I stuck to the fuller ring games) and I started to regularly cash out instead of deposit.  It took less than those five months to regain my prior losses, and in '03 I was dipping my feet into 30-60 (and 75-150 not long after) at WSEX before I knew it.  My only real stumbling block came when I played a little too much of those really high limits w/ some of the best players in the world that year (at the time, WSEX was where they all hung out.)  Once I became more seasoned at short-handed play, got used to the heights of 75-150 to 100-200, and started selecting my opponents better, I learned that I was capable of profitably handling those games as well. I now currently play the 100-200 game at Pokerstars whenever I find the proper situations in which to risk my chips, and I have been fortunate enough to be a consistent winner there (as well as at the UB 80-160) for the last 1 1/2 years (which spans a large portion of the time that both games were available or had regular traffic.)

How was I able to get to this level in less than three years?  Is it possible for anyone to do it? (and, if so, how??) What are the most important variables when it comes to getting the best of a high-stakes table? (Or, for that matter, any stakes?)   These are some of the many topics that I will explore in my column. 

Next month I will talk about the most important factor when it comes to winning a lot of money at the poker tables.  Any guesses on what it will be?  You'll find out then!

All the best, and everyone is welcome to check out the "Ask ICFishies" thread in the poker Forum.

John