Jacob Barde

by Jacob Barde
(Washington, DC)

Thsi is me at the White House for Christmas 2006

As an amateur poker player, I take my development very seriously. I have read every book I can find online and in book stores about poker (several times), I play several hours a day, etc.

I believe I should be a poker disciple because I would take it very seriously and would honor my instructor.

I play anywhere from an hour to six hours a day, seven days a week, on Full Tilt mostly. I usually play $1 and $2 9 player Sit and Gos. I play about 6-10 live poker tourneys a week (free entry).

I've only played twice in a casino. Both times I plays 1/2NLHE and lost my entire bankroll, due to what I'd call poor bankroll management and over-excitement (poor play after the flop) when holding big pairs.

I have dealt with a lot of weaknesses in my game. I have already lost about $1,800 in Full Tilt. I'm ok with that... seems like a reasonable amount considering what I've learned. I lost most of that money due to poor game selection, poor bankroll management and most notably a problem with going on tilt and playing stupid.

At this point I think my biggest weakness is my play after the flop, as I have been working to develop a successful small ball strategy.

Father Ashley's analysis

First of all, thanks for applying to Poker Disciples. It's never easy to be the first person in a program. Your bravery will be rewarded in time.

My major concerns are for your losses, obviously, plus the decision to play such a different game when you went to a casino instead of playing offline.

This could be indicative of a long-term tendency to make slightly imperfect choices. Your losses on FTP would indicate that there's a definite problem. It takes a long time to lose $1,800 playing $1 and $2 SNGs.

Obviously you see this as a cost to learn the game, which is fine up to a point, but I feel you ought to have passed that losing/learning point by now and be well on your way to break even or profit.

I will need to see you play to get a better read on your game. We'll schedule our first lesson and see what needs fixing.

If you have not already done so, please download and read The ABC of Online Poker: Accuracy, Balance, Cashout, our free poker eBook.

We'll keep the other readers posted on your progress using the Comments feature as a kind of mini-blog function.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to join Jacob and benefit from analysis of your game and free poker lessons, click here to sign up now!