Free Poker Stories My magic $12 and the Horror of Drunken Poker Play

Here are some pay poker and free poker stories I hope you will enjoy.

In 2008 I came across Noble Poker’s $12 no deposit sign up bonus (now expired). I tried it out and played at the penny 0.01/0.02 tables earning chump change. Slowly the bankroll built to $20 with some hiccups along the way. After a week, I got bored of winning small profits and moved up to the .25/.50 tables. The bankroll fluctuated yet again, but went to $60 when I placed 3rd for $36 at their $300 50+raked hands freeroll in which only 50 people played.

My strategy was to buy in at the nominal amount at each play and consequently get the chance for decent pot odds when I was drawing. I found my opposition felt inclined to call my all in when I had strong cards due to it not being a lot more to them so my wallet climbed to one hundred and fifty dollars by middle of February.

I cashed out $100 and built the $50 up. When I lost at the .25/.50 table, I went to the .50/1.00 and later to the 1.00/2.00 and even the 2.00/4.00 to make up losses quickly. Fast forward to the end of early March, I cashed out another $150, leaving $125 in my account. Already having $250 without spending a dime, I felt like burning the $125 at the 5.00/10.00 table so I could brag to my friends that I at least made it there.

In hindsight it was not bright bringing a mere one hundred and twenty five dollars to a game with my opponent’s wallets packing up to thirty times my cash. But hey I got lucky. I fell to eighty dollars very fast and went all in with A 10 over cards on a raggity flop. It gives me two hundred and thirty dollars on A high as a guy called A 5 and another folded winning hand. I through another one hundred dollars at it and played the one hundred and thirty dollars. Oh without forgetting the two hundred and fifty dollars I got from clearing up their twenty five percent up to one hundred dollars deposit bonus and winning the before said amount of three hundred dollars fifty+ ranked hand freerolls.

Luck seemed to be running short when my one hundred and thirty dollars fell to seventy dollars- but then out of no where I smashed it by taking three hundred and ten dollars with an Ace / Queen high- these miracles are a reason why I love poker so much. Pulled out with around two hundred dollars- my hot run finally ended late March when the two hundred dollars went down with a King / Queen to an Ace / King pairing the Kings.

To be honest I can’t see me having another run as good as that again- at the moment I’m having great joy with the free online poker competitions.

I opened an account at one of the free online poker sites and enjoyed playing the freerolls building around fifteen dollars. I had thought long and hard and believed to have had a methodical plan which was working for me. I was playing some quality poker and put five dollars into a sit and go game and won. A few decent plays later I had managed to put about one hundred and ninety dollars together all form free online poker games.

Pretty proud of myself, I purchased a large bottle of Crown Royal with pipe dreams of turning that 190$ into my future bankroll.

The next morning I woke up with a headache like I had been hit by a bat and a dry mouth like the Sahara desert. Right, I thought, its time to start piecing the night before back together. I then heard my partner giggling at the sound of me waking up and went on to tell me about my marriage proposal (fortunately we both have a good sense of humour!) and how I pledged to make millions by selling tractor parts before falling over my own feet (might help explain why my head was so sore). To be honest at this point it all comes flooding back to me the suicidal plays I tried, and as I turned my computer on remembering this reality finally hit home: balance available $0.36.

All that hard work down the drain…. but at least I’m not married and pushing tractors! Don’t play poker drunk… you aren’t any tougher when you’re juiced, and you damn sure ain’t any better at reading people or calculating pot odds. A lesson learned, hope you find enjoyment in my self inflicted punishment, because I’m finally able to. If you must play after a few stick to the very lowest stakes or free online poker sites, you’ll thank yourself later that you did!