From High Stakes to High Scores!!!!!

By tmntrule999

December 18, 2017

This story got frontpaged on December 18, 2017


6 years ago

I have to say, I am new to the world of pinball.  I am 33 years old, but only started playing pinball regularly about 2 years ago.  When I was a little kid and through Junior High, I played all types of sports, ice hockey, baseball, soccer, basketball, but then kind of fell out of the sports world when I was in high school.  The next competitive thing I entered was the game called poker.  I started watching the World Series of Poker back in 2003.  I became very interested and started playing online, where I started with $3.  After a few months of playing in super small stakes games, I ran it up to $700.  After that when I turned 21 years old, I started playing poker at the casinos.  Started out, where each time I went I would bring $60 with me and usually leave with a win around $50 to $100, or I would lose my $60.  I slowly built my way up and got to the point where I was playing regularly in close to the biggest games in the Chicagoland area, buying into the games for $2,000.  There were plenty of nights where I would feel amazing, leaving the game with over $3,000 profit, but also nights where I would lose $2,000, be so angry at myself for mistakes I made, and lose sleep over it.  After lots of tracking, I realized that long term, I profit about $20 an hour playing, but also spend many hours studying videos, forums, books, etc.  In my regular 40 hour a week job I make a little over $20 an hour and am not stressed out like crazy.  It made me realize, that while poker was adding some money to my bank account, I needed to find something else in my life that was more enjoyable and non stressful.  

I then came across the Pinballarcade app on my android.  I started playing the games and thought it was so cool that they were recreations of actual pinball games.  I then started looking into where you can play actual pinball machines in the Chicagoland area and realized, there are so many options.  My brother and wife enjoy playing pinball as well(neither have any interest in poker)so it is a competitive game, we all enjoy.

Pinball has officially become my new hobby, I have owned 2 machines and am just counting down the days til my favorite machine, Monster Bash, gets an official remake.  I have met other awesome people.in the Chicagoland area as well who are pinball fanatics as well.  A bit of a difference is when I walk into a poker room, I know I am in the top 10% of players in that room, when I get in a pinball tournament, so far I am lucky if I am in the top 90% of players.  ;)

While I still occasionally sit down in a poker game, my new biggest hobby in life is. PINBALL!!!!!!!!!!!

Story photos

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Comments

6 years ago

Great background story!

I want to do well at Pin tourneys but they are just for fun for me. Hope you find that balance of being competitive, but not taking it too seriously and enjoying the play.

Met is a great game in a one game collection! Enjoy the ride.

6 years ago

Thanks Pinny, No stress for me in pinball. Most I lose in a pinball tourney is $5, lol

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