u/for_homme

Hi guys, just my reflection on poker.

For context, I am a rec player who got into poker in the early 2000s during the poker boom During that time, I mostly played live low-limit hold'em and dabbled a little in online poker at its height. I really enjoyed the game at that time, but was not able to get better than being an average, and honestly slightly -ev player. I couldn't devote much time to learning poker during that time, as resources for learning it weren't as widely available as they are today. I ultimately decided to stop playing poker for 10 years because it was a distraction from my work career and family life.

Fast-forward 20 years, now in my mid 40s, I am rediscovering poker as a hobby. I get to play maybe 10 times a year when we visit my in-laws in Washington state. There is a small card room where I play a few sessions each trip. Nothing crazy, mostly 1-3 NLH, each session about 4 hours. At home, I enjoy watching poker content like Bluffalo Sam, browsing this sub, and learning some new concepts. Again, not taking poker too seriously.

However, I noticed clear improvement in my play over the past 2 years as I am now finally able to factor in concepts like implied odds, stack size, SPR, into my play. I feel like I knew of these concepts before, but never felt I was able to truly operationalize these concepts into my play. Now, it seems obvious when these concepts routinely factor into my decision-making. I feel like an analogy is like leveling up in a classic role-playing game, where once you have enough experience points to unlock a new level, all of a sudden you are equipped with new skillsets to deal with the same enemies. It's like having more moves that you didn't realize you had before.

All activities have different learning curves and skill ceilings, but I think poker is unique in a way that you can continue to "level-up" and unlock new skills at your own pace. Of course, the motivation to get better and the drive have to be there. But most other activities either have a clear ceiling for each player that is biological or genetic, where your peak is kinda pre-determined (think sports activities or mathematical reasoning). Poker, on the other hand, seems to allow you to continue to progress in skills as you get more experience.

Getting better at poker and finally becoming a positive EV-ish player has been very gratifying. Not because of the money, but because of the growth.

TL/DR: rediscovering poker as a hobby, grateful to find a hobby where growing and leveling up is possible.