Diary of a beginner 3

Leading up to my first freeroll tournament, I warmed up with poker on the Xbox and online in Doyles Room. I put in as much time as I could and felt seasoned if not confident going in. The freeroll was on Titan Poker and as the tournament progressed I realized I still had a lot to learn.

Being apprehensive about giving credit card information online, I played with play money in Doyles Room and obviously on the Xbox. This allowed me to be relaxed as I played because I wasn’t losing real money. While that benefited me as I learned the ins and outs, it was detrimental in the freeroll.

Using fake currency, I would constantly check and raise at will, not using any real strategy. Money wasn’t really a concern and I played like it. If I were dealt a 3 of diamonds and an 8 of clubs I would check and continue to play in the hopes of getting better cards.

As the tournament began, I played with reckless abandon going in a couple of times when I should’ve folded. Rather than fold if I didn’t have a solid or potentially solid hand, I would stay in hoping to bluff or hoping to get the cards. I was also the victim of some bad luck as well. I had a diamond flush but clicked on the fold tab as opposed to the raise tab.

The bad habits I developed while practicing came back to haunt me as I was out in about five minutes and placed dead last. It was a humbling experience and I felt like a chump but as Ray Liotta said in the movie Goodfellas, “The way I see it, everyone’s gotta take a beating sometime.”