BLOG - stevieval

stevieval (2007-03-27)

So, here is my attempt at a poker blog. I am currently playing on the prima network under the nick of stevieval. I play 0.50/1 NL holdem, usually playing 5 tables, although I have been playing 6 recently. I started taking an interest in poker when the WPT series was first shown on TV. I was working in a hotel in Brighton, England at the time, but didnt have a computer, so never really got around to playing. It was June 2005 before I first played internet poker, in an internet cafe. I had no real experience of serious live play, so it was all completely new to me. I started on Ladbrokes, playing 0.25/0.50 NL holdem.

My first deposit was £50 ($100), and it wasnt too long before I had lost that, and a few more deposits too. Chasing with flush and str8 draws just seemed the right thing to do at the time Cool

It wasn't long though before I started winning. The standard of the average player then was alot lower than it is now. By August/September time I was working my shifts at the hotel, then going into the internet cafe to play 6-8 hours of poker. The cafe stayed open Friday and Saturday nights, and soon 6-8 hour poker sessions were becoming 12-16 hour sessions. By October I withdrew some money to buy a 2nd hand computer. This gave me even more time to play.

In January I bought a new laptop, a computer that could access a webpage withing 10 minutes, unlike my first one. I then discovered rakeback and moved to the prima network. It wasn't long after that, I discovered I could earn more playing poker, than I was earning working. In March 2006, I took the decision to "give it a go", and went part time at my job, working just 2 shifts a week. The pay I got from this was enough to pay my rent.

My total bankroll at that time was about $8000. Even by playing only 4 tables of 0.50/1NL, I noticed how much more money I had. I was playing alot of hours, but after some good tourney cashes in May, and a total bankroll of about $15000, I felt I had enough to go full time, and became a full time poker player in June 2006.

In October 2006, I moved to Spain, where my parents were living. I am renting a 2 bedroom villa opposite a golf course about 10 minutes from Torrevieja. I have an 11 month lease, but can extend or find somewhere else if I wish. I still play 0.50/1 mostly, and still on prima, although I have had several spells of playing 1/2. I find it far easier to win at 0.50/1 than I do at 1/2. I am a tight player, and this tends to get recongnised at 1/2 far more quckly than it does at 0.50/1, so I play looser at 1/2, and lose Sad I have been running well at 0.50/1 recently, after my worst spell since starting in February, and will be back at 1/2 to lose some more soon Wink

I am a keen user of pokertracker, and update every hand I play. I will post the more interesting hands here. In my spare time I enjoy playing golf (only started playing when I moved to Spain, so Im not very good), and sunbathing, either by the pool or at the beach which is only 5 minutes away.

This will be very fun to follow Stevie Wink

I wish you all luck, and if you manange to make it to the top you maybe can have use of your prorailbird-career Wink