Thursday, September 27, 2007
Out with a fizzle
This is the 3rd year that I've hosted a poker season at my house. I was looking for a poker series to play in that offered a variety of games and buyins around $50. There wasn't really any home game series like this, so I just start hosting the tournaments myself.
The first year, there was about 10 regulars and 10 "floaters". We just started playing tournaments and I sort of retroactively started assigning points to winners and declared a season champ. It was fun and mildly interesting to follow the point leaders through the season.
The second year the field doubled and people started taking things a little more serious. I remember getting emails from people who were correcting me on their finish spots from like 14th place to 13th place.
This 3rd year, the field has just about doubled again and interest from the points leaders just about doubled as well.
The seasons are always set to coincide with football season (what's better than Poker combined with football?) and to conclude well in advance of the WSOP.
This year, I ran into a big snag though. Due to some scheduling conflicts with family commitments I wasn't able to complete the series in June like planned. Then, I just had a family member experience some pretty significant medical issues.
So it was with much regret, that I just cancelled season 3 of the Husker House Poker Skills Series after having hosted 7 of the 9 events.
But the reality of the situation was that the season was dragging on for more than a year and I don't foresee me being able to host for another 4 months or maybe more - maybe ever.
Online Poker
But, all of this also means that I'm not playing any live poker. To be honest, I'm starting to get the willies.
As a substitute, I've been playing online poker more.
The main observation - online poker is an absolutely necessary part of any training to becoming a good poker player. I'm thoroughly convinced of this.
In a 5 hour session at a casino or home game, you can get it maybe 100 - 200 hands in. This compares to the 900 hands I can play in a similar 5 hour session on line (3 tables). This type of training really trains your brain how play tight (there's no need to play Q 10 offsuit from middle position) and how to play aggressively (you start thinking in terms of 'stacks' instead of dollars).
I highly recommend mixing in a good amount of online play.
The first year, there was about 10 regulars and 10 "floaters". We just started playing tournaments and I sort of retroactively started assigning points to winners and declared a season champ. It was fun and mildly interesting to follow the point leaders through the season.
The second year the field doubled and people started taking things a little more serious. I remember getting emails from people who were correcting me on their finish spots from like 14th place to 13th place.
This 3rd year, the field has just about doubled again and interest from the points leaders just about doubled as well.
The seasons are always set to coincide with football season (what's better than Poker combined with football?) and to conclude well in advance of the WSOP.
This year, I ran into a big snag though. Due to some scheduling conflicts with family commitments I wasn't able to complete the series in June like planned. Then, I just had a family member experience some pretty significant medical issues.
So it was with much regret, that I just cancelled season 3 of the Husker House Poker Skills Series after having hosted 7 of the 9 events.
But the reality of the situation was that the season was dragging on for more than a year and I don't foresee me being able to host for another 4 months or maybe more - maybe ever.
Online Poker
But, all of this also means that I'm not playing any live poker. To be honest, I'm starting to get the willies.
As a substitute, I've been playing online poker more.
The main observation - online poker is an absolutely necessary part of any training to becoming a good poker player. I'm thoroughly convinced of this.
In a 5 hour session at a casino or home game, you can get it maybe 100 - 200 hands in. This compares to the 900 hands I can play in a similar 5 hour session on line (3 tables). This type of training really trains your brain how play tight (there's no need to play Q 10 offsuit from middle position) and how to play aggressively (you start thinking in terms of 'stacks' instead of dollars).
I highly recommend mixing in a good amount of online play.
Comments:
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Jon, thanks for all you've done over the past few years. Your tournaments have been one of the bright spots in the local poker scene. My family is keeping yours in our prayers and I want to let you know that you can call me anytime if you need any kind of help, or just want to talk.
Brent
Brent
Sorry to hear about the family situation. Hope all is well and everyone gets healthy.
There's a lot of Online Action. A personnaly like FullTilt. Lots of games going on and lots of terrible players at the lower limits.
Cash Games - I typically play the $1/$2 and $2/$4 NL games but they have a lot of other higher games.
Tournaments - There is always a tourney going on. I haven't cashed in any big ones yet.
Sit N Gos - This is my new favorite format. I typically play Heads Up...usually $20, $30, $50, or the $200 games. Haven't made it to the $500 or $1000 game yet. It's the fastest and easiest money ever! Shortest game for me consisted of 1 hand and longest game was 45 minutes. Average game lasts about 10 - 15 minutes.
See ya on the tables. Clay
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There's a lot of Online Action. A personnaly like FullTilt. Lots of games going on and lots of terrible players at the lower limits.
Cash Games - I typically play the $1/$2 and $2/$4 NL games but they have a lot of other higher games.
Tournaments - There is always a tourney going on. I haven't cashed in any big ones yet.
Sit N Gos - This is my new favorite format. I typically play Heads Up...usually $20, $30, $50, or the $200 games. Haven't made it to the $500 or $1000 game yet. It's the fastest and easiest money ever! Shortest game for me consisted of 1 hand and longest game was 45 minutes. Average game lasts about 10 - 15 minutes.
See ya on the tables. Clay
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