How Come I haven't met anyone who admits they're down?

[Debi]

I have always admitted I was down - but have wondered who the other 94% were lol. Just as you say everybody else always claimed to be up.

However - I used to put money in every month. Since I joined CC in October I have added no money except what I put in at the 2 new sites I joined through the link.

So something is going a bit better lol.

 

[stealthy1]

I started playing poker about this time last year and wasn't taking it seriously, not even knowing about pot odds etc, i.e fish! I started taking it more seriously and at the start of November I decided to use Excel and I would say this has helped as i'm in profit for the last 2.5 months. So overall I would say I'm breaking even but the future looks good!

 

[Ronaldadio]

I carefully log all my games on an excel spreadsheet. I am certain that is a good part of the reason I am a winning player. I know precisely on which sites, at which buy-ins, and even at what time of day I am most consistently successful.

By using that information and having the self-discipline to grind away at my most successful games (which are not always the ones I most enjoy), I make sure that I win reasonably steadily.

I do the same. I do not win cash every month, but most month I do. I have been playing for 13 months now and I know I am exactly $6,440.90 ahead in that time. And that was starting with $200!!! I did get lucky - in the first month I played I won a MTT that paid $3,600 for a $25 stake.

I also play based on month on month success. So, Jan 07 (now), so far this month I am $144.90 in profit. I have staked $418.15 in MTT/ SNG`s and won £456.20. I have made this money up by playing limit cash games, so I have won $106.85 playing limit cash games.

I will now play a few MTT in the hope that I can catch a decent payout. When I drop to about $50 I will go back to SNG`s and cash.

Hope this makes sense, I`ve confused myself now!!!

The bottom line is, I think, that a lot of the people who say they are `up a bit` or whatever they say probably don`t realy know because they don`t keep records!!!

 

[brown110]

I know I was down on pokerstars, then I was up on bodog, and up on ultimatebet... something thats slightly ahead probably.

 

[beardyian]

My first 6 months i was up & down and all over the place - then i read some books, started playing with the cardschat people and since August that year i have not had a losing month.

In fact most months i have increased little by little (not every time of course ) but when i compare even daily figures to 18 months ago it seems a different world.

ps. Im a 95% cash game player

 

[talkpkr2me]

Hi! My name is Talkpkr2me,most people just call me "Talk".....Now,you can say that you have met someone who IS down... I sadly am not one of the elite 5%....Like Ian,I play mostly cash tables,and if I left it at that,I MIGHT be a little up,but because I do throw some tournies in now and then,I seem to be perpetually down...

 

[Vegas Cat]

60% Poker Players so far are doing okay

LOL

I'm looking at the current poll results here and 60% of player's are either up or at break even, with 40% in the negative.

This still doesn't match the 95% poker players that lose.

Theory One:
Many are still lying or don't realize they are down

Theory Two:
People who actually spend the time reading a poker forum may be further educated in their play than someone who just strictly plays.

So maybe we are surrounded by a greater number of more "intelligent" smarter poker players because we are on this forum.

I look forward to seeing more poll votes.

Cheers
Vegas Cat

 

[alan1983]

I deposited 100$, lost it down to 5$ (in a couple of days), now its back to 130$, and i have freeroll wins other places for about 100$, so technically im winning but not enough 2 judge on till now

 

[blankoblanco]

LOL

I'm looking at the current poll results here and 60% of player's are either up or at break even, with 40% in the negative.

This still doesn't match the 95% poker players that lose.

Theory One:
Many are still lying or don't realize they are down

Theory Two:
People who actually spend the time reading a poker forum may be further educated in their play than someone who just strictly plays.

So maybe we are surrounded by a greater number of more "intelligent" smarter poker players because we are on this forum.

I look forward to seeing more poll votes.

Cheers
Vegas Cat

I submit to theory two. And also, I have a theory three which is that the "95% of poker players losing" number initially stated is very far off. On sharkscope, only ~67% of all players are losing players.

 

[titans4ever]

It took me two years to learn the ropes the hard way. I started playing poker in 1999 before the internet became huge. It took me 2 years to finally start making money. It took me another 2 years to earn back what my schooling cost. I don't think most will add the school part of thier education to how they are doing.

If 95% of people lose money, who would want to play?
I can see that in MTT and S&G more because only 10-20% get paid on any one tournament. You have to be very consistant to make it there often enough to turn a profit.
Cash games eat your purse through the rake. You have to win over the 5-10% rake the house takes just to make a penny.

As for the results of your poll. It is like going to congress and asking who like politics. You are going to get skewed numbers because you are in the den of thieves and liars.

 

[chipslap u]

So far this year I am down live and on-line. Started my year off live by getting taken to the poker clinic by someone I really thought I could beat but he pimpslapped me for a little over 900. Online I'm down currently about 250. I expect by the end of the month to have at least broken even.

I can't really tell at the moment. I'm not playing badly, but I have had a dry run of cards for what seems like 4 mos. I haven't made a significant profit since August last year.

I hope it changes soon. I'd hate to have to panic and start picking up extra shifts at the job I actually do know how to do.

 

[WOODHIGHLYE]

em i used to be up an down then go really down an mostly struggle to get back where i was or re-cop my losses being
a casino cash game or home game tourney player playing multi table home games for large amounts but by past 6 months playing online seriously
im up 1700$ {would be $4400 but stars jacked me for money!}
just from playing various sites freerolls ...
yes freerolls not one dime invested!!! just my personal time but i got all day
i never believed in playing for cash "mine" online in any game type for that matter even though im a quality player at any game im playing
i wont play unless it was for free
figure rather see my death an have it delt in person then via some bs rigged online cooler ive seen to many people lose hard lots of money rediculous amounts or heard too many horror stories to ever get me to make a deposite online to a gaming site
plus pokerstars owes me $2,700 from a freeroll 8 weeks ago that i will probably never see .....those PUNKS NEVER PAID ME OUT OR UP!
avoid stars {*words of wisdom*)


but aside from my own personal freeroll earings drama
"when you play for free you have already won"
has been my attitude and seems to be serving me well
dont get me wrong i get my horrific beats online or live
but when it costs nothing to play and you can win something
any amount it still makes you feel good then having to risk your own roll just to make a few bucks!

but now i cannot say that i have been losing up an down
its strictly been up for half the year but took me 2 this point of playing goin on 4 years that i am now seeing the actual profits of playing poker
compared to playing to learn an grab experience to apply to my future playing style or winning a few tourneys games/cash then going under tryin to make more off of it ....

I DUNNO MAYBE I GOT A METHOD TO THE MADNESS NOW
EVEN THOUGH POKER IS "WAR" DISGUISED AS A SPORT!.......
and you shouldnt play it unless you plan on losing or breaking even
cause its a grind to consistently make money!so gl to all

 

[stealthy1]

My theory is that 98% of statistics are made up.

 

[joosebuck]

beardyian, chipslap u, ChuckTs, combuboom, Dorkus Malorkus, Egon Towst, hott_estelle, Irexes, Jack Daniels, Ronaldadio, titans4ever, Xife, ZowieZ

im sorry i just cant believe that the majority of people are making money. that just doesn't compute, unless the people losing money, 26% of which, are losing in such high volumes that it supplies everyone else with money.

 

[TKO]

I started playing online last year and even with my live game earnings, I was down for 2006. I am up so far this year, but overall I am down. Cardschat has really helped me out a lot and I can tell by looking at my 2007 spreadsheet!

 

[Lo-Dog]

OK, believe it or not I am up for the year. Gord transferred me $25 in Jan 06 and I have never made another deposit.

Now the last couple months I am down but overall still well ahead. I am now a hundredaire.

 

[Ronaldadio]

im sorry i just cant believe that the majority of people are making money. that just doesn't compute, unless the people losing money, 26% of which, are losing in such high volumes that it supplies everyone else with money.

Like all things it depends who is responding. There will be a lot of ppl out there who play a few games, blow their cash and don`t play again. Others will be `leisure time` players who are happy to loose money and like the gamble aspect (I don`t think in a forum like this u will find many of those, therefore the % of winning players is probably a lot higher on a site like this.)

I can`t believe the stats that 95% of poker players are loosing players, but I do agree there must be more loosers than winners.

Also, the online Companies make their money on the tourny fee or rake, the casinos put cash up for tournys to promote their casino in other ways (blackjack, roulett, etc), and programs like the wsop get a lot of cash through TV coverage and sponsorship. Therefore more cash available for prize pools. (I believe some of the top players are sponsored to play - their sponsor puts the cash up for them to enter a tourny) So adding all of this up, the money that goes into the game is more than people actually loose - if this makes sense!!!

 

[blankoblanco]

im sorry i just cant believe that the majority of people are making money. that just doesn't compute, unless the people losing money, 26% of which, are losing in such high volumes that it supplies everyone else with money.

I don't think it's that hard to believe in this case. We're on a poker forum. The average online player does not do a lot of poker-reading... they just play, and maybe only watch it on TV and think they can be awesome like the pros. Consider the players who are the biggest onlines cash-losers at poker. The guys who you sharkscope and rofl when you see they have a ROI% of -30% and have lost $12,000 at very low stakes. How many of them do you think frequent poker forums and thus would be here to respond to this poll? Probably not many...

About 2/3 of players in general lose money (Sharkscope.com documents this number based on the data on their site, and that's probably a pretty good sample). I repeat, the 95% statistic is incredibly wrong. So maybe, of frequenters at poker forums, only 1/3 of us lose money. Doesn't sound that bizarre to me.

 

[joosebuck]

the last 2 points are very valid ones.

 

[troderick]

I began my online poker career last year playing at Noble Poker playing mid to low level tournaments and tables. I cashed out 4 different times and was definitely up.

When our esteemed leader and his gestapo buddies ran the no gambling law through attached to the port security bill I had to find a new place. I went to Bodog. I don't know why, but I am not nearly successful. Overall I am down.

 

[beardyian]

im sorry i just cant believe that the majority of people are making money. that just doesn't compute, unless the people losing money, 26% of which, are losing in such high volumes that it supplies everyone else with money.

Well all i know is i have paid off my credit cards, bought a new pc and dvd recorder all in the space of the last 6 months.

Think of it this way -
If you won $1 off of 9 players you would have won $9 - nice
but the others would have only lost $1 not exactly a hole in their pockets is it.

Also who would run to a forum and post "guess what i lost $100 last night!"

Yes of course there are losing players but perhaps they give the game up, only to be replaced by other players who lose.

When asked what qualifications you gained at school, do you mention the ones you didnt get?

Its what you want to tell people and what you leave out.

 

[smithsj1]

I track all my results on a spreadsheet so I know that in 2005 I was up $80 and last year I was down $27. I'm playing for fun mostly but I know if I stopped playing those $20 buy ins at APAT and a few other tourneys of that ilk I would have had much better results.

Down this year so far but hey the years only just started so we have a lot of time to make that up.

 

[Jack Daniels]

Theory Two:
People who actually spend the time reading a poker forum may be further educated in their play than someone who just strictly plays.

Between the two theories you have, this is the most likely.

Also, you have to remember that your poll results are (a) going to be skewed somewhat because you are asking in a poker forum, and (b) statistically insufficient as 33 total votes is no where near a legitimate sampling amount to gain real insight into anything.

Now, interestingly enough, I think you'd see some different results (even thus far) if your poll contained one more option such as:
* Don't keep records but THINK I'm either ahead or behind.

You don't need to separate it out because nearly anyone that doesn't keep records only THINKS they are were they say they are. So by having a separate line item for the opinions vs the record keepers, you'd likely see a difference.

Those who say they don't keep records and don't know where they are at are being very honest with themselves and everyone else. And that is fine if that's how they choose to track themselves. Not everyone is in it for the money, etc.

 

[lightning36]

The first 12-18 months I played online, I lost overall. That was the price, however, of learning to play. Now that I have paid my dues, I tend to come out ahead. Not every session or every tournament, but overall.

I am way ahead because of several things I do to keep myself ahead:

1) I try to avoid sites that just, for some reason, do me in. I can't count the number of times I was ahead in a hand at Titan, only to lose on the river. I played the hand correctly, had the odds in my favor, but the Titan Poker gods just screwed me.

2) I do not play while intoxicated or exhausted. If I start getting too tired or fatigued, I try to quit before I start making too many mistakes. I have made some really boneheaded plays in CardsChat tournaments and other places when I was really too tired to make good decisions.

3) I know my style of play -- what works for me -- and I stick with it. On one trip to Las Vegas, I tried playing a totally different style. A few hundred dollars later, I knew it was time to stop the experiment.

4) I like to play tournaments against good players -- like the CardsChat buy ins -- because of the competition and the opportunity to improve my playing skills. At ring games, however, I want to play against poor players. They will sometimes luck out and put a bad beat on me, but I know that I'll probably get it all back -- and more -- before the session is over.

5) When things are going bad, I try to just get off the computer -- easier said than done. I still need major work in this area.

I think that what you will find is that players who invest their time, try to use logic and reason, and keep their emotions out of the game will tend to come out ahead.

CardsChat has been instrumental in helping me to lose some donkishness. I really enjoy the buy in tournaments because the best players here are tough players.

 

[Ronaldadio]

Does that make us all semi pro poker players???

Just a thought.

We have come to the conclusion that a high % of the guys on this site are winning players. Therefore, when chatting up the girls we can tell them we are semi pro poker players (just don`t get into a conversation about the size of the stakes we play!!!)