Well, after almost a year of playing online poker at a serious level I have racked up a profit of just over $20,000 and transformed from an average player into what I consider to be a high quality player. Now, I'm no professional by any means, but poker has become very natural to me as it is now easier to pick up tells, betting patterns, decide how much to bet, and most importantly choose when to bluff. Bluffing is such an important part of no limit hold 'em, a game that I must master in order to achieve what I can only dream of, winning a major tournament. Now, it doesn't have to be the World Series of Poker Championship or anything, but I need a win in a $1000+ buy-in event in order to feel I achieved the level of skill I desire. I guess the first step was to win a regular tournament. That finally happened this summer when I won a $20+2 tournament with 361 entrants. Although the tournament wasn't no-limit hold 'em, it was pot limit which I think plays very similar so it is still an encouraging result. Thus far I've mainly played cash games but I have enjoyed a fair amount of success in tournament play. The best results I've had besides the win 3rd in a $20+2 no limit hold 'em event (for a $1000 payout), 3rd in a $1 limit hold 'em event(for a $450 payout thanks to the $2500 added to the prize pool by PokerRoom.com), and 4th in a $10+1 6-handed table no limit hold 'em event (for a $250 payout). I also placed in the top ten in a $5 rebuy no limit hold 'em satellite tournament for an entry in a $200+15 tournament that was held on July 31. I was a little nervous for that tournament as it had a guaranteed prize pool of $300,000 (so at least $75,000 for the winner). There was a very large field and in conjuction with the fact that it was a rebuy tourney the result was an OK tournament but a disappointed finish around 700 out of 1400. I was initially disappointed but the tournament was good experience and only cost me $5 to play in so I can't complain too much. Now that I've started playing at a high level and making a good amount of money, I've decided to create the blog to keep track of my cash and tournament games, my bankroll, and the tips and tricks I pick up during my play. Hopefully, a year from now I'll be talking about my successful run since starting this poker diary and I'll have learned some things along the way.

Source: Poker Journal