I have been playing online poker for the better part of seven years now. And I am not afraid to admit it but for the first 5 years I was that donkey everyone hated. I would play 50% of the hands, bluff constantly and occassionally pull off a suck out on the river to temporarily double or triple up.

Then the defeated would offer me some choice words, much to my chagrin, after their elimination. Basically I sucked, had no discipline and always ended up broke.

Then I decided to make a concerted effort to improve my game and play it right. I love poker. I have a passion for it. It has slowly crept up on me to the point where now I eat, sleep, and breath poker. I read blogs, articles and features that have proliferated with the world wide web.

And for the better part of a year and a half I studied, practiced, won the occassional SnG and still basically lacked game. But then the light suddenly switched on in the spring and I find myself able to compete with any caliber of player and have cashed in MTTs and Freerolls.

However, in the last week I have broken the barrier of real tourney success and made a freeroll final table on Full Tilt, a 14th place finish in a Bodog Freeroll that had over 4000 players and last night my best performance EVER in a Bodog $2,000 guaranteed tourney with 288 participants. Although I busted out in 10th place after 4 hours I was dominant for the better part of it. At one point, I was the leader for 5 levels with over twice as many chips as the nearest competitors.

I tried to take a screenshot in order to substantiate the numbers but couldn't figure it out. However I finished the tourney with these stats:

Hands saw 265
Hands Played 23%
Win % of those hands 79%
Win % of showdowns 85%

I am really excited about my game and the future. So please do not take this post as boasting or bragging. I am merely patting myself on the back because I have busted my ass to get good and all the hard work is paying off.

Peace!