So out of interest, I was just wondering how long you guys have been playing the game, where you got the motivation to begin and whether you've ever seriously considered giving it up?

For Me its rather simple, I’ve been simply enjoying playing with my friends and on facebook for roughly 6 months, reading the occasional book. I got the motivation for playing properly from watching the WSOP on youtube, and the fact that lots of people stated i couldn’t do it, so naturally I’m determined to prove them wrong

Hi Raydin,

I've been playing for about year and a half now. I used to be a loosing player. Sure occasionally I would win but then I would loose it again. Not that I was ever a fish (at least that's what I'd like to think) but I was making a lot of wrong descisions. When I play, I play pretty good but then I go and make some stupid things and that's that. It's been a lot better now since I joined OP and now I would say that I'm break even or a little on the plus side. I can go for a week winning and then loose it all in one session. But my tilt control is a lot better now. If I loose 2 buy-ins I close it down for the day. I've played from NL2 - NL50 but I'm most comfortable at NL10 for now.

My good friend plays poker and has been doing so for the past 4 years. He's the type of guy that won a $50 freeroll and has been playing with that money ever since. But it's been a roller coaster ride for him. Up over $70.000 at one point and down to $2000. But any how, I got my inspiration from him and he teaches me some stuff too but he's more advanced and I need baby steps and that's what I'm getting here at OP.

And I have no thoughts about quitting just yet.

Cheers,
Kris

Hi all,

I started playing about 4 yrs. ago just to familiarize myself with the game. I run a small casino in northern Nevada and we put a poker table in our casino. I have been in the casino biz for over 40 yrs. (old guy) but never anywhere with poker. Anyway I got very interested and found out about online poker and thought I would give it a try. I put a hundred on PStars and started playing one dollar SNGs. I lost that in about 2 or 3 months . I then put a hundred on FT and lost that in about the same time. I decided this was tougher than it looked and bought a couple of books and started to hang out on some of the forums 2+2, FTR and a couple of others. I also joined a site where you paid a monthly fee and played tournies for money and played a LOT of MTTs. I won enough there to not pay a monthly fee for about 2 yrs. But the site got so big (I got in on the ground floor) that the fields were a couple of thousand instead of two or three hundred and I lost interest. I also learned that MTTs are way too time consuming for my discretionary time for poker. I went back to seriously playing SNGs and put some 60 dollars on one of the Merge sites. I built it up to about 300 dollars and have a little on UB and Bodog. I flitted around just to see how the different sites played. I also joined one of the top named training sites for a couple of years but they were mostly directed at higher limits than I was willing to play. Anyway I got tired of SNGs and thought I would try cash. I found Outstanding Poker.com and have spent all my time here since then. I love cash games and play for fun. I consider it a serious hobby.

Cliff

Hi,

I have been playing in home games since about 2006; decided to play online when a buddy of mine won $36G's on FT in the 750,000 Guarantee. In 2007 I bought in for $200 and promptly lost it, I quit online poker until May of this year, had a surgery that put me out of commission at work for 9 weeks and needed something to do. Tripped across Outstanding Poker and decided to sign up and learn the game more seriously. I have joined about two more home games since signing up.

Playing more seriously, would love to do this for a living, but it was more likely that I will be doing it as a hobby. Might as well get paid to have a hobby.

Already quit once, not out of the realm of possibilities if life gets in the way.

pete