The Start of a New Poker Blog
What's up everyone! I am Ed Bolton. First time caller, first time blogger. Ok enough of the corny crap.
Sometime in 2003, I was flipping through the channels, on my way to ESPN, and once I got there.....Wait....Where is my Sportscenter and why the hell are we watching people playing cards.....What the hell are they playing? Damn, the winner gets what?.....This guys name is "Moneymaker"? Is this staged? Where is Vince McMahon?.....When is this guy going to light his cigarette? Its bugging the crap out of me....Holy crap! Moneymaker won!!!
On that night, I, just like hundreds of thousands, if not millions, fell in love with Texas Hold 'Em.
As I said before, I am Ed Bolton and I am an amateur, using that term very loosely, poker player. The reason(s) I say that is because:
1) I live in Texas and it is not legal to gamble here.
2) I am afraid of back alley poker places.
In the part of Texas I live in, back alley poker places are being busted all the time and I'm at a point in my life where I really cant afford to go to jail.
Sure I have played in house games and I have thrown many of them but I want more. Texas has always been on the fence of legalizing gambling but we Texans just continue on with out lives waiting for the day to come. When it does, I will either become very rich or poor and divorced. Until then I will live through the people of the internet and live poker players!!!
In my opinion, the poker craze faded away probably in 2006 when Jamie Gold won the main event. Why? Not sure. Maybe the fans who thought they could be instant millionaires just by knowing what hand beats what, saw that NL Texas Hold 'Em had more to it than that. Sure I watched 2007 Main Event and watched Yang win the title but there wasn't any buzz about it like it used to.
Lets fast forward to 2016! I move to a city where my closest friend is an hour away and we work completely opposite schedules. So the chances of a home game are slim. Don't really like playing at online sites. So I searched online for poker games in my area, you know just for fun, and what do you know? FREE POKER EVERY WEDNESDAY!!!..... Free poker? How the hell does that work? I visit this bar...yes a bar... to see how this works. Sure enough, no buy-in from players and $75 up for grabs. I register for a user name and password and then I am handed some chips. I sit down in this smokey bar with drunks galore. Very first hand I am sitting with the Dealer Button in front of me and blinds are $500/$1000. I'm dealt pocket 5s. Limps are made and it comes to me. I three bet and only the small blind calls. Flop comes out 4C 5H 6D. SB checks I bet half the pot and the SB pushes all in. All other players fold and it comes to me. I immediately call and the SB flips over 2H 3C and follows by saying "Only an idiot would fold 2 3 preflop." I hit nothing the rest of the way. Just like that! My tournament life in this free tournament was over. I left out of there thinking "These **************** don't even know how to play!!!" Then I had to remember, I wasn't at a casino or in the WSOP. I was playing a free game with people who were there to just have fun. It was at that moment I realized that poker was great again!
So as I started playing this free tournament every Wednesday when I was able to. Talking to some of the usual players there, I would ask them if they play else where or what do they read/watch. A lot of them told me about Twitch and Instagram. I then ventured out and turned to Social Media to see what poker was like on there. HOLY CRAP IS POKER EVERYWHERE!!! I have found so many unknown players and known players and coaches and free tips and helpful videos, etc. Everywhere you look, there is something to help improve your game!!! The Instagram Poker Players have really opened my eyes to cash games and how profitable they can be if you play it right! There are some people I follow who grind it out day in and day out just to make a living. There are the others that play to because it's their "Happy Place" or because it helps them escape the rest of the world.
Social Media has helped make poker popular again! And with the amount of free information that's out there, players can constantly learn and beef up their game!
I am now here to do my part and spread my knowledge to those who seek assistance. Again, by no means am I a great poker player or does my resume list all these great poker achievements. I am simply a fan who has studied the game, who has practiced what I've learned when I can. I just want to blog about poker in hopes it makes you, the reader, entertained and more confident in your game. So give me a chance, leave feedbacks of all kinds, and get out to the tables and play!
On that night, I, just like hundreds of thousands, if not millions, fell in love with Texas Hold 'Em.
As I said before, I am Ed Bolton and I am an amateur, using that term very loosely, poker player. The reason(s) I say that is because:
1) I live in Texas and it is not legal to gamble here.
2) I am afraid of back alley poker places.
In the part of Texas I live in, back alley poker places are being busted all the time and I'm at a point in my life where I really cant afford to go to jail.
Sure I have played in house games and I have thrown many of them but I want more. Texas has always been on the fence of legalizing gambling but we Texans just continue on with out lives waiting for the day to come. When it does, I will either become very rich or poor and divorced. Until then I will live through the people of the internet and live poker players!!!
In my opinion, the poker craze faded away probably in 2006 when Jamie Gold won the main event. Why? Not sure. Maybe the fans who thought they could be instant millionaires just by knowing what hand beats what, saw that NL Texas Hold 'Em had more to it than that. Sure I watched 2007 Main Event and watched Yang win the title but there wasn't any buzz about it like it used to.
Lets fast forward to 2016! I move to a city where my closest friend is an hour away and we work completely opposite schedules. So the chances of a home game are slim. Don't really like playing at online sites. So I searched online for poker games in my area, you know just for fun, and what do you know? FREE POKER EVERY WEDNESDAY!!!..... Free poker? How the hell does that work? I visit this bar...yes a bar... to see how this works. Sure enough, no buy-in from players and $75 up for grabs. I register for a user name and password and then I am handed some chips. I sit down in this smokey bar with drunks galore. Very first hand I am sitting with the Dealer Button in front of me and blinds are $500/$1000. I'm dealt pocket 5s. Limps are made and it comes to me. I three bet and only the small blind calls. Flop comes out 4C 5H 6D. SB checks I bet half the pot and the SB pushes all in. All other players fold and it comes to me. I immediately call and the SB flips over 2H 3C and follows by saying "Only an idiot would fold 2 3 preflop." I hit nothing the rest of the way. Just like that! My tournament life in this free tournament was over. I left out of there thinking "These **************** don't even know how to play!!!" Then I had to remember, I wasn't at a casino or in the WSOP. I was playing a free game with people who were there to just have fun. It was at that moment I realized that poker was great again!
So as I started playing this free tournament every Wednesday when I was able to. Talking to some of the usual players there, I would ask them if they play else where or what do they read/watch. A lot of them told me about Twitch and Instagram. I then ventured out and turned to Social Media to see what poker was like on there. HOLY CRAP IS POKER EVERYWHERE!!! I have found so many unknown players and known players and coaches and free tips and helpful videos, etc. Everywhere you look, there is something to help improve your game!!! The Instagram Poker Players have really opened my eyes to cash games and how profitable they can be if you play it right! There are some people I follow who grind it out day in and day out just to make a living. There are the others that play to because it's their "Happy Place" or because it helps them escape the rest of the world.
Social Media has helped make poker popular again! And with the amount of free information that's out there, players can constantly learn and beef up their game!
I am now here to do my part and spread my knowledge to those who seek assistance. Again, by no means am I a great poker player or does my resume list all these great poker achievements. I am simply a fan who has studied the game, who has practiced what I've learned when I can. I just want to blog about poker in hopes it makes you, the reader, entertained and more confident in your game. So give me a chance, leave feedbacks of all kinds, and get out to the tables and play!
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