dad won't let me play online poker

[rubikcube]

I got involved in poker when some of my friends decided to organize a fun $5 monthly hold’em NL cash game in June of 2005. I was 13 at this time. At this time I knew little about the game, I remember myself asking, “does a flush beat a straight?” and the other basic beginner/fish questions. However my friends were no better then I was, and I found myself becoming a break even playing in the game.

I had always been good at math, taking classes with one, sometimes two years older then me, and these sort of strategy games interest me. One day I google “poker strategy” looking to find the secret to beating this game. I stumble across a small poker forum and begin reading. I quickly realize that all these guys are playing online poker, so I download pokerstars and begin playing play money. Up to this point I was already spending hours on the computer playing other online games, so my parents thought nothing of having a poker game open in the background.

For the rest of 2005 I built up my play chips, I stumble across 2+2 somewhere along here. I found myself beginning to beat my small home game more and more over this time. I realized that there were thousands of games going online 24/7 while my home game was once a month. I went to one of those sites that trades play chips for $$$, and sold off my play chips at 100k/1$. I quickly loose it all off course. I spend the next few months saving up my play chips to get $1, only to lose it. I didn’t think much of it, just playing for fun, even if I did win something, I had no way of getting the money off my account. Fast forward to June 2006, school had just ended and I would have lots of free time. I decided to start to play more seriously and try to actually build a roll. Throughout the summer I manage to grind it up to about $100 and I am 4 tabling 5NL 6max on my laptop. Once school starts up again in September I don’t have as much time to play, with 3 hours of football every day plus homework (I have a 3.8GPA I’m not dropping out of school to play poker full time or anything like that). I grind my roll up to around $150 only to loose it all over a 3-4 day span over thanksgiving weekend. Doh. Tilt, playing out of my bankroll, the usual.

But I know knew that I could beat the small (small small small) stakes, and even if I am playing for $1/hour, with all the time I have with almost 0 responsibilities in high school, I could put in 1000 hours a year if I wanted too. Around 300k hands if I stayed at 4 tables. Most kids my age don’t have over $100, let alone $1,000 so even though I would be making pennies at a time, I could see this poker thing had potential. And I knew, I would eventually be able to move up in stakes. At this time I was now crushing my small home game, netting over $100 in 2006 (and I am on pace to crush that this year).

January 2007 I get a part time job so this gave me some around $100 per week, I not the type to go around spending every penny I have, so most of this was just going into the bank. I figure, I eared this money I can do what I want with it. I set up a epassporte account and link it to my bank account. In February, I deposit $50 onto pokerstars and get the $50 first deposit bonus. I begin the grinding again.


Many hands later I finally clear my bonus. This puts my roll around. $125. I decide if I am going to become a serious poker player I need to get pokertraker. I ship out $55 to buy it. I also download gametime+. I go back to the grinding. Even though I am playing for pennys I am happy, just trying to prove to myself I can beat this game. The bad beats don’t really tilt me much, multitabling helps, but granted I didn’t hit a huge downswing so I can’t say for sure. I’m sure I still tilt.

I also find out that two of my friends play on pokerstars too, even though they both suck and are huge fish. I try to help them by sending them strategy sites and the usual, but they are hopeless. The one positive I can get from this is I can cash out through them $5-10 at a time if I need to.

Then one day my dad notices the epassporte charge to my bank account and decides to flip out. At this point I just assumed that he assumed I was playing for real money because of all the time I was playing. I never said I was playing for play money or real money, he never asked me. I don’t hide playing poker, granted most of my hands are late at night on the weekends when I’m alone but the computer I use it out in the open so my dad sees me coming home from school and firing up 4 tables. Our conversation went something like this:

Dad: wtf whats this epassporte charge for?
Me: poger
Dad: u know that’s illegal right??
Me: no its not….
Dad: its located out of the US for a reason you know, they could take you money and you could do nothing
Me: ok you better tell that to the other 100k people who are playing right now
Dad: you are going to lose your money eventually *gives dumb explanation of how its –ev because of rake and my luck will eventually run out and *
Me: *tries to explain BR management and how people suck so much you can beat the rake *
Dad: says something about how poker leads to crime and stuff
Me: lol most high schoolers break the law, just be glad im sitting at home playing poker then out on the streets drinking, doing drugs, stealing, or something like that.
Dad: what is this epassporte thing? * calls number, gets no answer, goes omg they must suck balls * you better get your monies before they steals it from you!!
Me: * realized it was hopeless * ok..

I go and tilt off a bunch that night at 25NL and then take out the rest

Since then I have gone back to my grinding play money, selling it, loosing it lolol.


Graph since getting PT:



Hand 6500: where I tilted after getting caught
Hand 6800+: selling play chips for $$$ and playing lowest stakes possible



15 years - 7 months atm

[CalledDownLight]

he's got the right idea, online poker is rigged

[edfurlong]

You should be banging thirteen year olds while you still can.

[Dakotasdad]

Are you going to open your own "home" casino anytime soon?

[SpecT]

[ QUOTE ]
Dad: you are going to lose your money eventually *gives dumb explanation of how its –ev because of rake and my luck will eventually run out and *

[/ QUOTE ]

i agree with dad

[Learning]

My parents were very much the same way for a while - that is until I came back from weekly games with $100+ profit each night! All I had to do was seriously go over the things that everyone on 2+2 knows, that it is ultimately a game of skill.

Fast forward a year and now they know that Saturday afternoons is tournament time and restarting the router for "tweaking" will cost me much more than the router.

[Autocratic]

Have you shown Dad those ten Hamilton's you won in '06? He'll come around.

[ShipitFMA]

[ QUOTE ]
Dad: u know that’s illegal right??

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
15 years - 7 months atm

[/ QUOTE ]

I think your father was right

[rubikcube]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Dad: u know that’s illegal right??

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
15 years - 7 months atm

[/ QUOTE ]

I think your father was right

[/ QUOTE ]

"that" was referring to poker, not me playing poker.

And i never said what i was doing is "right," but most would agree it is better then underage drinking, smoking, stealing, drugs, ect

[edfurlong]

[ QUOTE ]
most would agree it is better then underage drinking, smoking, stealing, drugs, ect

[/ QUOTE ]

Those things are way more fun.