Posted this in OT too, not sure where it belongs...

assignment was to do a profile on something interesting and try to get the reader into it...

I have decided to take a new approach into a hobby of mine that has not only become one of my favorite things to do, but also a part-time job. Online Texas Holdem poker is most definitely misunderstood by most people in the world today. As soon as the topic arises people suddenly chime in with comments such as �Isn�t that illegal� or �How much have you lost?� In reality, if a person truly understands the game of Texas Holdem there is a great opportunity to make some serious money playing on the internet. Thousands of people around the world easily make more than a doctor or lawyer per year just by mastering the game. I hope that in time after studying, playing and learning as much as I can about the game, I can one day achieve the level of greatness that those individuals have.
The most important part of starting an online poker session is being comfortable. Sinking in your favorite couch and throwing on that pair of twelve year old ripped sweatpants and over-washed baggy t-shirt is how I like to start my session. The golden rule of being successful at online poker is cutting out distractions. I am often guilty of watching TV, chatting online or reading internet forums while playing, over time these distractions will cost me the ability to play at the top of my game and therefore effect my profits.
It is now time for me to shower, get in those comfy clothes and get ready to play a 2 hour online session at 8 different tables at one time. The ability to play more than one table is called multitabling. It takes a while to get used to, but it is the most efficient way of making money online. Instead of just buying in the .50/$1 table for the maximum of $100, I will do this on 8 different tables, starting with $800 total in play.
I just completed my session of about 1200 hands and lost a grand total of $240. This isn�t an uncommon occurrence for me and it really doesn�t effect me at all. Most would ask, how can you sit down and lose $240 and not even be in the least bit upset? Poker is a game of ups and downs, this cycle is called variance, however if you truly know what you�re doing and always play the best you can, you will be a winning player in the end. Notice I state that you truly know what you�re doing, that means that obviously you understand the game at every level and have a large amount of experience. The way I see it, poker is more so an investment in yourself than gambling. Take a few nights ago for example, I sat down playing my usual 8-10 tables and ended up making approx $650 in about 1 � hours of playing. It was almost as though I couldn�t lose, every card was falling my way and I was hitting all of my draws. Just as things can go well, they can also go terribly bad. For example today, I didn�t hit many of my major draws and that cost me a decent amount of money. I will admit that I didn�t play as well as I could have, but overall I just didn�t have many hands to pay me off.
One of the most important aspects of poker is playing within your bankroll in order to sustain the variance cycles that I spoke of earlier. Proper bankroll management states that you should have AT LEAST 40 to 60 max buy in�s at the level that you are playing at. That means at the level im playing, my poker bankroll must be at least $4000-$6000 in order to sustain the ups and downs that may occur. Along with bankroll management, you have to be able to endure countless bad beats. Bad beats are when you get your money in with the best hand, but end up losing when someone hits a miracle card on you. You have to be able to accept that one in every five times, your two aces will lose to two threes. The major problem that prevents people from becoming a winning player in Texas Holdem� is their lack of mental toughness. When you get screwed over by bad beats a few times, people tend to tilt. Tilt is when your game gets thrown off because you become irritated or angry. Tilt isn�t just a poker term, you can easily relate it to many things. A great example of someone �tilting� is Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano. As soon as someone hit�s a homerun off him, he becomes a different player, often times losing control of his pitches and more importantly his emotions which affect how he performs.
During my session which I analyzed, I found that I played best when I had absolutely no distractions. I found myself chatting on the internet and surfing the web a few times and that hurt my focus and thus my profits. I even became slightly angry a few times which lead to a slight case of tilt. I used to have a problem with tilting and it really hurt my game, but within time I have been able harness my emotions and just focus on playing my best. I believe that as I continue to play poker and analyze my play I can become a better player with each passing session.

ya that does make sense, i think i will go thru it and try to simplify some of those things, thanks for the advice annette.

Agree w/Annette.

This is actually a pretty tough assignment, as explaining the "basics" really could be endless. I think you do a decent job of explaining in parts, then others you proceed with "i was really hitting my draws".

Your teacher will be like WTF is a draw?

Tough assignment, but best of luck.

everything said here is basically what OT said except OT did it will more "style"

http://www.pocketfives.com/298116DF-...6C4BFBAE2.aspx

playing blind would be confused with blinds

A few years ago i tried to give a 5 min speech on hold em and it ended up being a disaster. I even made little cheat sheets for the whole class to look at during my speech. One side described winning hands with picture examples and the other side defined words and terms i was using. At the end I played a few mock hands with guys in the class (staged obv) to show how blinds and betting worked. I thought I had done a pretty good job until ppl started asking questions afterwards... The entire class was completely lost.