Great post- it's very interesting to read about your experiences playing poker for a living.

What site do you play on? I've been playing on ultimatebet, but recently there have been things that have irritated me there. I really don't see myself switching, but I'd like to know what other sites are out there and what their strong points are.

I don't ever see myself playing poker for a living. At the end of the day, it's fun for me and I'd like to keep it that way. I can see how playing multiple hands, limit hold em could be so profitable. However, I'd probably be miserable doing that!

I've been playing mostly tournament style NL hold em- and at that mostly sit-n-go tournaments. I've done reasonably well in bigger tournaments, but fields are so large in the $5 buy in games that it just takes a lot of slogging through hands to get to the big payouts. The $20 and $30 buy in games are a lot better field sizes, but I can't really afford to play those too often with my current bank roll.

The aspect of NL hold em that I really enjoy is being able to control the odds, not just react to them. Thus, if I read another player is drawing to a nut flush I can bet enough to make a call wrong. Often in the lower buy in touranments ($5 and $1) people will call anything for a nut flush, and while it stinks when they hit it, you clean up when they don't (which, as you point out, is the majority of the time). The difference in NL is that I've set the odds for them so that they're consistently losing money rather than winning with those calls. I read the two books by Harrington for tournament style hold em, and they have definitely made me into a winning player. Of course, they are focused only on the single game, but for NL Hold Em tournament style, I can't imagine there's too many other good books out there. He definitely explains odds, how to calculate them and how to control them so that you make plays unprofitable for other players. I've also adapted some of the strategies a little to NL Hold Em ring games, but I don't really enjoy those as much. At least in a tournament when someone draws out against you when they didn't have the odds you have the opportunity to come back. In a cash game you just lost a lot of money and that player (who you just learned something important about) might leave the table before you hit another good hand!

I normally play a pretty tight game, but since I'm playing tournaments that changes things a little. I generally start out tight, only playing the top 10 or so hands, but start loosen up as the table tightens, and then tightening up as it loosens. Both Harrington and Ferguson have said this is the key to winning NL Hold Em tournaments, and I can say with out a doubt they are correct.

My biggest frustration with online poker is how quickly they raise the blinds in these touranments- and after playing on a few different sites, ultimatebet seems better about it in their sit-n-goes than most of the others. I find that the other sites quickly devolve into all-in show downs even with several people left at the table, whereas at UB it only starts to happen when you get down to the final 2 or 3 people (when you're already in the money anyway).

The other game that I play is 7 card stud, only because it's what I used to play and I enjoy it. I'm not as good at it, though, because I haven't had a resource like Harrington's book to give me any insights. Pretty much I use the strategy of "only open with a strong hand and fold if I don't have at least two pair by the fifth card" and it works well enough.

Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun, and unless I'm experience a LOT of variance, am playing winning poker- mostly tournament style. Of course, I also understand (thanks to Harrington) the concept of calculating and controlling odds. I no longer make those calls for flushes that aren't profitable- and I'm not even tempted any more. I am up about 8 times what I put in in early January, so that feels good. Of course, it's all small stakes so I'm not earning any real money, but I'm having a blast.