Best Computer Set Up for online poker ever built!!!

[kanethedog]

I have had some big months since investing in the new system with 30 inch monitor. Some of you may have read the thread where i made the leap and bought the system not knowing if it would do any good or not. Here is the link to the thread for some background: http://forum.poker-edge.com/viewtopic.p ... ge+monitor
Things have come a long way since then.

Well..recently I was doing the math since investing in the new sytem i have profitted over 170 thousand in a little less than 2 months playing mtt's sit and goes, and cash games. A little more than half of this was a big sunday milliions cash. It has changed my life for sure..i am currently getting my pilots license and last week purchased a small airplane that i am learning in...but back to poker..

I attribute my profit margin going through the roof to a lot of things...including poker edge now running smoothly on mulitple mtt's ..thanks chad!! Also upgrading systems and going from playing on a 17 inch monitor to a 30 inch high resolution machine was absolutely pivotal. I saw an immediate change to my ROI and it has been off to the races ever since.

So last week i decided to "UP" my system..and this time i actually had my wifes blessing (it was a fight the first time i spent 2k on the new system which at the time felt like an extravagance.)

Right now when anyone asks my advice on how to go pro etc...the biggest thing i recommend is the system they play on. Speciically the monitor they play on and the chair they sit in. I whole heartedly believe that a bigger monitor leads to bigger profits.

So anyway money isnt an issue this time but i already have the biggest and best monitor...so what i did was went to costco and bought a second 30 inch monitor system. I was delighted that the price has fallen and now it retails for 1700. I do coaching sessions at my house with a couple of my buddies and 2 system will give me a lot of flexibility. so its more than just 2 monitors its 2 separate systems.

Ok now for the real splurge..just writing this it sounds crazy..i know this is bezerk. I just spent and had delivered a 6 thousand dollar chair. I know you guys are going to think i am nuts.

The chair is an important part of the equation. I have been playing on a lazy boy with a wireless mouse and keyboard. Its hard to find a more comfortable system but i managed to do it (at a cost). This one was actually my wifes idea since she is worried about me spending 8 hours a day in the same chair 7 days a week.

So i got the worlds best massage chair. It reclines to a complete laying down postion and the thing gives the worlds most amazing massage..i cant even put it in words how good this thing is.

And best of all this thing has the most sinister look. I wanted a chair to when my buddies walked into my living room they just say wtf..and got that..the visual effect of this chair is head hammering.

Here is a link: http://www.uberreview.com/2007/07/inada ... cliner.htm

If you guys are interested i will post pictures of my set up. I think it is the best poker playing set up in the world and got to document it...i think i may start a blog..oh i am going to run 2 poker edge accounts as welll. I am setting up the 2nd monitor today and then i will be ready to photograph..but with just one monitor this set up..this chair..just looks insane. With 2 30 inch monitors this system is just going to be out of this world...oh i will have the option for either playing on 2 separate systems
with 2 separate mouses or playing on one system with 2 monitors..etc...

By the way i use a custom built mount which mounts the monitors on a post in front of the lazy boy..the monitor can then swing from one chair to t the other..and different configurations...real flexible..right now i have the massage chair and 2 lazy boys in a row. The mounting system was hard to come by and critical.

Anyway i just thought i would share this with you guys..i am almost sure I have atleast top 5 online poker set ups in the world right now..i cant even concieve a better system...and if i did I just might buy it..

[powernewf]

That's pretty intense Kane! Out of curiosity, what games/limits do you play?

Oh, and please do post some pictures of your setup...some of us need some inspiration/motivation!

PN

[kanethedog]

I play mostly MTT's every high buy in MTT I can get my hands on. I stopped playing buy ins of under 100 mostly.

But my new years resolution was to gamble more so i now play high buy in SNG up to 1000 and a low of 50 if the game is real weak. With sit and goes you can experience high bank roll swings...so feels more like gambling than mtt's which to me are steady income.

Sng's are nice cuz they are easy as pie. Once you understand the strategy of sit and goes they play themselves. In my mind the single table sit and go is practically a "solved" game. You make real money when you have players at your table who dont understand the sit and go format..and these players exist at all buy ins.

Cash games i have been playing 10 20 but mostly i play mtt's when i can get in good ones. The only reason i play anything else is i cant get more high limit mtt's in one day.

I will post pictures when the system is all done in next few days.

[JohnnyTropic]

Yes I am interested in seeing your dream setup!

[DRHYEDO]

PICTURES PLEASE...need to live vicariously thru you !!!!!!!!!!!!! I was thinking of upgrading my sytem to 2 screens but to use as a flight trainer since I will be going for my pilots lic in the fall...but ... should it benifit my game then who am I to argue

[JohnnyTropic]

Anytime a guy gets a couple bux, ANY excuse no matter how slim is good enough to justify what we really want.

Just like a friend of mine that was having some problems with his keyboard and mouse. So he went and bought a new keyboard and mouse set for like $800. His wife asked why it was so much...

"well, besides shipping, handling and sales tax on top of the purchase price, there was a computer thrown in for free attached to them"

[PADRE24]

nice looking chair Kane, I can't wait to see pics of your setup and also would be interested in learning more about your MTT strategy.

What site do you usually play on?

[kanethedog]

I will post pictures soon..actually i think i am going to start a blog and just post a link to the blog since it seems difficult to post pics here..

I got a buddy who works for google and all google programmers are offered a computer set up with either 2 24 inch monitors or 1 30 inch monitor. I have tried both and i can say that for poker one big monitor really beats out 2 monitors. You have to mouse over from one screen to the other when playing poker too much to make 2 monitors comfortable. A key to my sysem is the 30 inch monitor. Also i think you actually got more real estate with one 30 over 2 24's..it really feels like more real estate.

The reasoning for buying the 2nd system is i am coaching my wife and teaching her to play. My system paid for itself within days...we'll see if her system ever pays for itself..but i am helping her a lot sitting real close...ideal system for coaching we have. 2 identical lazy boy chairs with two identical monitors..i have the option of quickly swinging one monitor over to make one 2 monitor system...2 30 inch monitors is really an extreme amount of real estate. The massage chair is next to the lazy boys so can also swing the monitor over massage chair.

My biggest piece of advice lately to people is upgrade your system...you wouldnt believe what the big monitor did to my roi...i literally cant play on my old system anymore...i would lose money. Seeing all games at one time wihtout having to pop to window to window is just a huge improvement if you are multi tabling...for this a 30 inch monitor i feel is mandatory.

As for other advice i have one tip i have been giving some of my buddies who want to improve their mtt play. Heads up play and short handed play is critical..even at a full table (ie when everyone checks it to small and big blind your heads up)..amazingly a lot of players dont understand how critical hu is to mtt play. So anyway here is something to keep you busy that will greatly improve your game..carefully read and study harringtons on poker Vol 2. THen immediatlly start playing heads up games at least a few hours a day. FT has constant hu matches starting...do this for a month..until you have mastered heads up. AUtomatically your mtt play will take a big step up. I focused on just heads up for 3 months...and have noticed a great difference between good and great players regarding short handed play. If you have not worked on this part of your game you have huge leaks right there..to me it is like a chess player who doesnt know endgames.

Also if things ever get desperate for me i can easily grind out $50an hour playing heads up matches..it is now consistent money for me but as you can imagine..doing nothing but for 3 straight months a bit boring at this point. In some ways heads up are more exciting since it is non stop action...i dont think it is possible to multi table playing heads up..but i get constant action playing mtt since i usually play atleast 6 at a time. When i first started playing mtt's seriously i would actually build my bankroll using heads up. At the point i first signed up with poker edge i was primarily a heads up player just switching to mtt's..but you wouldnt believe how much the hu helps me. I have noticed when involved in the heads up scene their are high limit players hwo make 100's of thousand a year just focusing on online heads up high limit..pretty interesting...i noticed those guys playing a lot when i was working on my hu and would watch them play to get ideas...even play against them sometimes...good times.

[powernewf]

oooo stop teasing me already! I feel like I'm back in high school and the girls just won't go all the way! lol

Thanks for the advice tho!

[JohnnyTropic]

You expect us to believe that since you became an adult they DO go all the way with you? HA! what changed? ( )

[powernewf]

hahaha...well, one does at least! but that's probably because she feels bad for me! and maybe the fact that I gave her a ring a little while ago too! not one of those Cracker Jacks Box ones either...a shiny one...

[JohnnyTropic]

either congrats on your upcoming nuptuals or sorry to hear of your life sentence.

[dances with poodles]

Kane good job, I'd like to ask what kind of bankroll did you start with? Before your big cash at Sunday million.

[kanethedog]

Last summer i bought in 2x for 600 bucks each and lost both buy ins over a few months time. Towards the end things really started to click. At this point i was semi serious about poker..had extensive live experience and was converting to online play to save my marriage I think i read every significant NL poker book written at this time. By the way it frustrates me that players who ask me what it takes to go pro dont do the reading..its absolutely the fist step. If your going to play with real money you might as well read 8 books..its the equivalent to one college class big deal.

So i started a new account and bought in for another 600 about 8 months ago (last time that i bought in) ... and it has been off to the races ever since. I remember a big changing point for me was when i got my big first mtt cash of about 8gs in a 50 dollar buy in. This was pivotal..i remember making a decision from tthat time on to try playing online poker full time as a "pro". After that i was able to play with a free heart in every tournament i wanted to play in (bigger buy ins) without worrying about losing money. I was really blessed to play in the type of tournaments i wanted to play in, many at a time for hours each day. I cant even tell you the experience i got playing thousands of hands a day for 6 months time. Now i feel i have big advantage on 90 percent of players (who didnt invest the time and dollars for giganic hand history) which keeps me profitable. Anyway, I think it is important for players starting out to get this big "break through cash". Of course this is unique to mtt players.

So of course the sunday cash was another break through cash for me..it feels like i have been moved to the next level. I had built a pretty good bankroll even before the sundays cash...but ofcourse that cash changed everything. I would talk about it alot even before the cash....that i had come so far even without a sunday cash and that if i could get a sunday cash i would be in top 100. Before that sunday i always seemed to get unlucky on sundays and never got a single significant cash despite spending 1.5g every sunday on entry fees...I told myself that one day one sunday cash would change everything...well it did...and i am in top 100 (this should be the dreams do come true post)

Oh about MTT bankroll management..what i have found is that your bankroll never holds steady when playing mtt's..it should slowly dwindle down (sometimes a month at a time) until your next big cash. It is really hard to stomach until you have a few big wins behind your belt. I have some buddies i am coaching and i always tell them it is impertative to stick with it until your first big cash. You seem to lose money steadily as a mtt player and it can be depressing..but then you get lifted up by that next big cash which makes it all worthwhile and profitable. You only need one big cash a month to stay profitable i think. If i was a math guy i would explain that it has something to do with mtt's being so top heavy paying most of the pay out to the top 3. You really need to get top 3 wins..every once in a great while...to make mtt play worthwhile. If for example upi get one big top 3 finsih a month..dont beat your self up about it during the 3 weeks your dry..however if you only get a top 3 finish in a big mtt every 6 months or worse..once a year..you can forget about it and take up cash games or something. Sit and goes are easiest by the way.

I used PE more than anything for researching the top MTT players...i would watch them play for hours and study there stats and really think what the stats meant. I learned that you need to take the stats in context...since in mtt play there is a definate "gear switch" according to tournaemnt position and chip stack. PE considers position but not tournament position so you have to watch and learn this part. You can almost predict how the best players will play once you understand this gear switch. PE gives you a general idea on how tight and how agressive they are...how often they steal..etc. This is how i really used PE to my advantage. I remember posting here trying to get more information on one top player Pearljam...when anyone talked about one of these guys i would listen. I even spent some cash to get a few of these guys to spend some time on the phone with me to answer questions i had.

Oh well...This morning I am off to buy a used cessna 172..big day for me. If it wasnt for poker i wouldnt have gotten this dream of learning to fly and buying a plane. I am shooting to have pilot certificate by middle next month. I want certificate by june..since in june i am playing in every nl event at the world series (another dream of mine)..andwhile there i think it would be fabulous to fly over grand canyon and monument valley with my wife on off days Nice Life. I think this summer will be best of my life thanks to online poker.

[powernewf]

Nice post Kane! It really demonstrates your commitment to get better and yes most people won't put in this effort to get better (could be a litany of reasons e.g. I'm a cash player because I don't have the time to invest in many stt's and mtt's)

I must say I am jealous that you are buying a 172...I have two pilot licenses (soaring/gliding at 16 and single engine night at 17) but haven't flown in years because its too expensive for most university students like myself. After you get your certificate, I strongly recommend getting your night rating because it is the most beautiful and serene flying there is! Plus, being able to see the airport from over 70 miles away is pretty cool too! That being said, soaring is my favorite type of flying. The 172 is an excellent plane for sight seeing...and very comfortable especially compared to the 150/2 with its four seats. Man, I'm envious of you and your poker winnings

Enough of the praise already! Where are these pics of the setup that you promised? I've been drooling for far too long!!!

PN