The stopping time theorem GUARANTEES that NO STRATEGY of when to stop will yield you a profit (over the long run, of course).  Like you said, you didn't end every night in the black.

 With regards to video poker, winning $40 is pure luck.  The way to win at video poker is to go for the Jackpots--ie. gunning for the Royal Flushes and sacrificing decent hands.  Once in a while you'll find a situation where the odds are actually IN your favor (expected payoff better than 0%, since the Jackpots have become so big).

A poker player once told me that the most important lesson for him was to handicap himself, i.e. play at the tables and for the stakes where he would be at worse the 3rd best player at the table. Comments?

stof said:
Here's my question. Considering that Poker is a zero sum game, why is it that you always hear about those that win big money, and yet you never hear about all the people that lose big money?

I believe that loosing 384k in online poker is a good sign that you're addicted or mentally retarded, or were very very rich. Or all 3. Or any combination of the three.

I play quite a lot, just very small limits/buy-ins. I make just $100-$150 a month, but it's great practice and fun. I just stick to my own golden rule: no deposits (from my "other money"). Ever. If I get "poker broke", it's back to the salt mines (freerolls)...

ahahaha rage already has the insider stats. That is one of the better graphs on sharkscope. Sadly it is not the only one that looks like that.

@fkus

I, at the moment, play at very small stakes because I am switching from limit to NL, but for the most part, if I am not the best at the table I get worried. If I am third best at the table I should be playing very high stakes where there are no mega amounts of fish of I should be moving tables. Being third best at the table is a bad sign for the most part and you should not be comfortable.

However position, especially in NL, is so important that if you have other good players at the table it may not matter, if you have one awful player to your right. It's a game of positions and varies table to table, but to be good at the game you also need to know what the best tables are.

@stranne

your position seems great. I never deposited any of my own money online. If you can learn to play without losing your own money, you are doing better than most. Freerolls are a good way to build a roll. "bonus-whoring" and casino whoring aren't aren't as good as they used to be, but with those alone you could make a good bit of money. If online poker ever becomes legal and casino sites like Bellagio become legal, even the dumbest of players could make come quick cash.

@emmitt2222

I do some "casino-whoring" as well, if you can call it that. Entering casino tournaments if the odds are good, and sometimes they are really good. I just try to do the basic math and check all the conditions. Sometimes you "win" money that you have to wager 40 times, and that's not much of a win. I made some money on the casinos last year. Yesterday I took my $2 I got from a poker freeroll and made €100 by winning two casino tournaments.

Everything gets a lot easier with the "no deposit" policy. First you don't lose track of your losses/winnings. I hear a lot of stories from friends that follows the pattern "I was up $X, but then Y happened and now I'm down $Z".

Second it gets a lot easier with your spouse/girlfriend/parents. When they see that you get money from playing poker and not depositing any of your other money, they get a lot more positive attitude.

oh, i remembered my other question.
how many tables do you play at a time?
I usually play 1-4, but sometimes play as many as 15.

About books, I'm currently reading the Sklansky/Miller NL book and loving it. Sklansky always has a lot of good points, but I think it's Miller's contributions that makes them enjoyable and easy to understand.

Next for me will be the Harrington tournament books.

Vourhaus "Killer Poker" was great. Not really about strategy, but good stuff about mindset and psychology. And his writing style is great.