Starting over

Online poker..........What can i say.When I first discovered online poker I was very excited WOW now I can play at home get some needed practice and improve my game......Well sort of.I have accounts at most of the major sites and in the begining it was cool the games where good and the people played well.As online poker grew things changed,people played differently,They played a new game more like slots or bingo than poker.Play any two cards bet alot and pray.One of the things I liked about online where the freerolls,A cheap easy way to get some play in.These games are the hardedst to play good poker on,players go all in with anything,And I mean ANYTHING I have had aces cracked by 7 3 offsuit about a million times.And if someone says why are you playing that junk their answer is "It's free" or "It's cheap".This is what bothers me the most.If your going to play poker,play poker.The stakes the day the game shouldn't matter PLAY POKER.I try to play my game as well as I can all the time.If your a golfer you dont wear a blindfold on tuesday because it's not your regular day,You try to play your best everytime you step on the course.Why would poker be different?Maybe it's just me,All the time I've put in all the energy I've put in,seems to be a waste sometimes.I don't like to lose, and when I do, to what would be considered a bad play, it bothers me.Now the higher limit games are still pretty good and I still do well at the live games I play,And the live tournaments at my local clubs.But I am seeing these behaviors are starting to leak in there also.Now that is not all bad in the live games if you tighten up and play carefully they will self destruct.But in the tourneys it makes it very rough,the ups and downs are hard to survive.So now I have to learn all over I guess.Is anyone else having these experiences,please let me know.............Keep playing
Zombert

Getting old

O.K. Maybe I am just getting old,I am now over 40 and I have been playing poker since I was about 10,it was a right of passage in my family.Every get together the cards would come out and the game would be on,I must have lost years of allowance in those games lol.When I turned 18 I started playing in the local clubs.Back then the games were lowball, jacks or better and 7 card stud.Those games taught me patience and how to read my opponents,They introduced me to the art of poker.Around that time I would make trips to Las vegas with friends and family there I was introduced to Hold em.I also found out that people played poker for a living,I couldnt believe it you could play cards for your job!As a young man it was a dream.I found a gentleman (Who I will not name out of respect for his privacy)Who was willing to teach me.The first thing he did was give me a copy of Doyles super system.After reading that book I realized I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT POKER.So over the next few years I read everything I could put 1000's of hours in at the tables and felt like I finally had a grasp of the game.I tell you all of this because it is the heart of this blog. While i was studying and grinding and learning a strange thing happened poker exploded, new clubs opened, players became T V stars and the game changed.All the knowledge I had worked so hard to aquire became almost useless.Players barely old enough to walk in the door started a new type of game,Playing recklessly making insane moves getting lucky and making money.For those of us from the old school it is hard to adjust(at least for me).This new wave of young players have changed the rules. Position and hand value don't mean what they used to,All in is the norm not the exception,Bankroll fluctuations are out of this world.It is a brave new world.Over the next few weeks I will be posting different blogs about my adventures in this arena and about my thoughts and feelings about the new games.Hopefully You will enjoy these little rants and you older players will find a kindred spirit.Thanks for reading.
ZOMBERT