Hello Forum members. I have been a member on here for quite some time but havent used it to its potential at all. I tend to log in every week or two, watch a video then go hit the tables. Anyway to the point I guess I am just looking for some advice. Here is a little background on me.

I am 29 and started playing poker about 10 years ago when a few friends got talking about this new thing called 'online poker' haha. I was at university at the time and I played for about a year on and off just depositing, donking my money off at sngs then re depositing. I had no clue that anybody took this game seriously. After 6 months or so I was definitely a winning player but my absolute ignorance in bankroll management etc meant I was not making any money. I graduated during this time which left me with no job and alot of time on my hands. I started reading up a little bit more and realised some people did actually make a decent living out of this thing. You have to remember back then I was playing on betfair which didnt even let you play more than 1 table at once. Now to the more interesting part.............

It got to the end of that year and I was still dipping my toe in the water playing 200nl with maybe 1.5 buy ins as a bankroll haha. Anyway on Xmas eve of that year I had $50 left in my account and there was a $44 satellite into that nights tournament which was $440 buy in 50k gtd. I won a 10 man satellite and got my seat for that night. To cut a long story short I ended up luckboxing 2nd place in the tournament for about 9k (dont quote me on that).

This made me think that I was the greatest player on the planet and this game was gonna make me a millionaire. Being the absolute moron I am I cashed out 8k of it and went and bought a BMW which left me a roll of 1k playing 200nl (just 1 table tho to put it into a bit more perspective). Anyway Im completely rambling now but i discovered a poker site much like this one and i played poker for the next two years as it seemed like an easy living. I had a couple more cashed of 2-3k and I was making maybe 1k a month which was enough for me to live on at the time as i was living at my parents. After the two years my parents basically bullied me into getting a full time office job. I thought this would be fine as I could play poker on evenings and weekends and have a gtd income.

After about 6 months of playing less and less online I started doing really well at another hobby (8 ball pool) and ended up turning professional. This was pretty much the end of poker for me. I have now pretty much quit pool which gives me a lot more time to play poker again. I have that buzz back for the game.

I have been back playing for about 6 months now just donking around I have made maybe 1.5k. Obviously when I last played all this fancy software such as HUDs etc didnt really exist so it is a bit like a foreign language to me. I do have a rakeback deal still on betfair which I think is a flat 20% (same one I had 8 yrs ago). I am just looking for some general advice as i have been looking at some threads and I am a bit lost. I am not sure whether to try and go down the staking route on here as it seems an excellent scheme. I would want to do it more for the advice and support rather than the money side. Or if their is better rakeback deals than my current one..?? I have no idea how you guys post up hand histories.........graphs etc to get started on a proper 'journey' thread..??

So any advice would be much appreciated people. Thanks for reading.

Definitely would recommend getting either Holdem Manager 2 or Poker Tracker 4 as soon as possible, there are trials of both so you can check them out for free. Personally I first downloaded them for the hud and wasn't really interested in the hand history collecting etc but now i have learnt a bit more I think that the reviewing capabilities that these software give you is invaluable and will definitely be necessary to keep up with all of the other winnings players since they're likely to be using it. I'm a newbie myself to poker (only learning the game this year) so I've had to learn and realise these things myself. As far as rakeback goes I'm almost 100% sure that PokerVIP can help you out getting a better deal than you currently have so it's worth talking to Jon Click here to visit his profile and PM him . Good luck and hope I have been able to help!

Very helpful thanks for the reply! Which would you recommend out of the 2 softwares mentioned??

Welcome to the forums man.

As said before, take a look at PT and HM and see which you like best, they are "must have" tools for anyone who wishes to play online

Regarding the rakeback deal, just talk to Jon or anyone from PokerVIP and I´m sure they can get you better ones, and as far as the staking goes, it´s a great way to build a solid BR and be a part of a great community.

I wish you luck in whatever route you take my friend.

Hey buddy!

Great post and a great story. I see a lot of poker players come from pool/snooker and vice versa. I assume it is because a lot of poker games are held in snooker rooms etc?

Love the BMW story...so many players out there did exactly the same. At least you got a nice car to show for it...more than some can say!

Ok so 20% on Betfair is a joke and i will get you set up somewhere else for at least double this! Just click the letter icon on my member tag on the side. PM me and i will link you with the specifics. This will instantly make you more money so we are deffs on track there!

HEM/PT is a must!!! This instantly boosts profit as you know exactly how everyone plays. This also shows you your true profit/loss! As you said above up about 1500...this could be miles from the truth without you knowing it.

Staking is deffs a possibility. To get it we need to see 20k hands in a graph on HEM/PT so make sure you sign up to one of those ( i recommend HEM2) and then we can take it from there. As far as i know they both have free trials so you have nothing to lose!

Thanks for the fast responses guys! This forum is truly worth its weight in gold! I cant get wait to get posting regularly!

Yes I played at National level at snooker from abt 16 so lived in the snooker hall where the owner and his mates used to play cards! I used to watch them for hours on end! And yes I always had an ambition to own a BMW before I was 25 haha! I was 22 and it was an Imola Red M sport with 18 inch wheels! The lads used to ask me what drugs I had in stock haha!

I am off out for a few hours now but gonna spend tonight sorting out Rakeback and getting HM installed! Better get moving to get 20k hands in haha!

Sure just PM me anytime.

also for certain PokerVIP site how to do's when logged in just scroll down the home page and you will see videos on the certain aspects.

Hello again people! I have had a rather busy day haha! Jon has been fantastic and sorted me out a much better deal on paddy power! So I will be starting my journey on there from today!

I downloaded the free trial of holdem manager this afternoon and everything seem to be up and running! One question, the start hud button on HM is greyed out but the hud icon is showing in the top corner of my poker screen with 'waiting for hands.....' displayed................Im assuming this is running but I simply do not have enough hands for it to show data yet..??

As i said I will be playing on paddy power from now and I will be playing almost solely 10-20 euro speed poker! I had a quick session of 200 hands on betfair this afternoon and won approx 1.5 buy ins! I had HM running so I will try and post up some hands later if i can work out how to haha!

Think thats all for now! Thanks again Jon and good luck at the tables everyone!

HM need to track some hands of yours and after a few it should be running if you set it correctly.

I just have it set to the default setting! Is there anything I need to do to kick the hud off..??

Kick the hud off ? You mean to close it ?

No sorry just to start it........or does it sound like it is already running and there just isnt enough hands yet to show data??

If it's up and running you just w8 a little while you involved in some hands and then the stats start automatically near the players..You don't have to do anything.

Thanks for your patience mate and hate to come accross as a clueless donk but...............I am with this software carry on haha!

Don't worry ask anything.

Your HUD should work after 2-3 hands on each table. If it doesnt its not set up properly. Have you configured the settings right? I think when I first started I had to set up a profile on the profile wizard section of HM2 which I think is near the top on the main page.

Sorry people Im useless! Is that on the actual HM itself or on the web..?? Cant see it on HM...........

I also have another problem haha! When i first used HM it imported my betfair account automatically! Now I am on paddy power my screen name is different and if I click on the select player in top right corner my new screen name is not in the list of players.....??

you may need to go to settings in the poker lobby go to settings an select save hand history before your hud works

Managed to add my PP account now haha!

My hud seems to be simply showing the BB's stats in the top corner for one table but nothing next to players names! Second table which is the same player pool it is still showing 'waiting on hands' haha! I will keep working on it.........

Check this :

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