Thinking I knew what I was doing, I registered for a free roll (a free poker tournament where you can win real money). After 2 minutes I was knocked out. Next day, a little better, still limping with 6 8 off suit under the gun because I had seen a person win a pot with it once. I did this for the first few weeks. I noticed with every passing week I was improving, my free roll results were getting higher and higher and so was my play money bank roll.

Ace Mentality

After 2 months of poker playing I thought I was the greatest, nobody could touch me, if I lost a hand it was just luck and I would tell my opponents how bad they were. I loved winning even if it was play money. I mustered up the courage to ask my Mum if I could deposit $10 with her credit card, surprisingly she didn't mind. By this time PokerRoom had upgraded to a different server, it was not as popular as the old one (this just had limit Hold'em) but it had No Limit Texas Hold'em which I had watched on TV. I took my $10 to a $0.50-$1 NL table with 10 players, sat in, 1st hand I'm dealt J 9 off suit, raised by someone $1.50, I and 1 other called, J on the flop, he raised I went all-in, he called and took the pot with A J suited. I sat back in the chair and gulped, I had lost real money and was devastated ($10 was not a lot, but I had nothing to show for it.) I didn't play poker for a week. (Continued: The Ocean)