Welcome to our first ever edition of Poker Stud! This is where we get poker success stories from PokerFaceNews fans, no matter how insignificant they may seem compared to those of top poker pros, and publish them on our news site. Without further ado, enjoy the first edition by one our own writers, InItToWinIt.

My Big Live Poker Money Rush

The thing about poker is that you have to take winnings and losses with a grain of salt. You may make a big loss but still be making all the right decisions, or you may make a big win, and find that you were in fact more lucky than skillful. This is encapsulated perfectly into what I view as being probably the most valuable poker saying of all time:

“In poker, it’s not about the money you make, it’s about the decisions you make.”

I’d like to think that my € 900 live poker win over a couple 7 hour late night sessions playing 50c/€1 was due more to skill than luck, but there were definitely a couple factors which were a combination of the two.

The first one was the banker. Real nice guy, really enjoyed the game, but unfortunately for him he didn’t have a clue how to play it. Not only was this guy splashing the cash in all directions, but I happened to be to his direct left during both sessions.

As if I wasn’t lucky enough to be in that situation, the table was 6 to 7 handed and only had a couple of decent regulars, both of whom I had good reads on. So even without the banker who spared himself of € 450 in my favor, there were many good spots for me to take advantage of.

The second one would have to be the 250bb (read € 250) pot which I took down. I had good old Big Slick on my side, Ace King of hearts, and after several raising wars I got it all-in pre-flop vs. two opponents, one holding KK and the other AQo. The flop didn’t have the 2-outer Ace I was hoping for but it did have two luscious, glowing (in my mind at least) red hearts to make up for it. Fate didn’t wait until the river to give the fatal blow to my two opponents’ stacks, who found themselves drawing dead with a heart on the turn.

That huge pot put me at a whopping € 550 in profit during the first late night (read early morning) session. I came back a week later, fully ready to accept a loss of up to a couple hundred Euros, but also brimming with confidence and excitement about more potential winnings. There were virtually no big ups and downs the second night, it was just up the whole way and I somehow managed to pocket another € 350.

Incidentally, all this happened at the best timing imaginable for me. It was the week before I went for a 10 month stay in Indonesia in March 2013. I had plans of buying a semi-decent second hand moped and dreams of buying a reasonably priced smart phone. Needless to say, I ended up buying a brand new all-black Vixion 2013 motorcycle and the silky smooth Samsung Galaxy Note 2 within the following week!

One of the greatest feelings you can get through poker is enjoying the rewards that your (hard) earned poker cash can buy you. € 950 may not be a lot for most pros, but for me it was a great amount of money which couldn’t have come at a better timing for me.