As cheesy as the title may sound, my relationship with Poker is pure love... I just love the game too much. I started playing it in the late 2000s way after the Moneymaker effect. I was studying to be a Chef when a friend recommended me to download Pokerstars on my laptop to start playing for fake money. And so I did... in no time I was earning hundred of thousands of meaningless and worthless credits YAAY!

Then I discovered freerolls. Those tournaments that are free to enter and you can win real money prizes. That was dope. It was the Freerolls days when all the Poker sites would offer interesting options daily. So I created an account on each Poker site and started crushing those free tourneys. Carbon Poker, 888, Bonitas, Pokerstars and others that now escape to my mind. It was guaranteed fun with no risk of losing any money, all I could lose was time, which being a (Gastronomy) student I had plenty of free time. 

Then I did my first deposit on Pokerstars, probably a $10 one. And the fun skyrocketed. It is true: Poker is way more entertaining when theres money on the line. Yeah... in the freerolls there is money on the line, but the ones I used to play back in the day were packed with people and it was really tough to actually get ITM. I wish Lucksacks existed back then but hey... 

When started playing real money in Pokerstars I played some Cash tables and some SnG. But to be honest, I only lost money in online poker. I would deposit $10 or $20, maybe turn that into $100 or $200 to then lose it all eventually. But most of the time those $10-$20 would last me months, hours of fun which was what I was looking for. I wanted to have fun and to improve my game and I think I accomplished both things. In total I must have lost a few hundred dollars ($500 maybe?) in the lapse of like 10 years so... no biggie. 

Then when I was on my early 20s I discovered live Poker. I live in Punta del Este in Uruguay, and there are a few Casinos here, and two of them have live Poker tables and tournaments. I only play Texas Holdem Poker. Conrad is the biggest one, now its been rebranded and its called Enjoy nowadays. They have a sick Poker Room, with nice tables, decent food and free drinks for those who play. Most of the time they have 3 - 6 tables, this meaning that the blinds are $3-$6. But in summer they get packed with tourists, and some very rich tourists so they open bigger tables then:  $5-$10 and even $10-$20 if there are players willing to play those levels. 

I only play $3-$6 because that is what my bankroll allows me to gamble. To sit on the table the minimum is 25 big blinds ($150) and the maximum is 100 big blinds ($600). I usually sit with 50 big blinds. I like playing Poker at the Casino because its the only thing that you do not play against the house. When playing Poker, you play against other players just like you, the Casino just takes a commission from each hand/pot. In Enjoy Casino the commission is 10% with a cap of $30. So from each pot they keep 10% for themselves, but never more than $30. If the pot is $1200 they won`t take $120, just $30. 

I think that all the other games in a Casino, like slots, roulette, blackjack, baccarat and so on... you are gambling against the house and as they say... the house always wins. They do have an edge and they know how to exploit that edge. I am not saying that you cannot win at Blackjack, or that Casinos are rigged, I just say that in the long run, the casino has an edge so variance will always benefit them. 

When playing Poker you are playing against other people just like you... so skills are on the line. Of course there is a percentage of luck but skills will give you an edge. Also keep in mind that some people go to the Casino just to have fun, some people like the thrill of gambling and they enjoy putting their money at risk even if their odds of winning are pretty low. So on those Poker tables there are always like 6 regs (regulars, guys that go there daily and work as poker players) and 3 or 4 recreational players, which more often than not are the less skilled ones and the wealthier ones so they don`t care if they lose a grand, they are there just for the fun/thrill. 

I`ve seen some sick action going on there: insane gamblers going all in for $1000 with rags, hero calls with King high, runner runner and a lot more. I`ve gotten my pocket kings cracked with 78o. I`ve cracked pocket aces with my pocket kings for a $900 pot. Action packed tables with lots of funny conversations in the middle. One thing is for sure, the regs (regular players) go there daily to try and get the money from the recreational gamblers that go there just for fun. And in the last week I have somehow turned into a reg, cos I´ve been going almost daily. I have been running hot and I just hope that this hot run lasts long (greedy).

Here are some pictures from the tables taken with my iPhone 5 SE. Red chips are worth $5 and whites are $1. Wish me good luck! ♠♥♣♦