6 years ago, when I started playing online seriously, the poker world was totally different. Tracking software to use with poker clients online was just getting released. The internet was still relatively new, and not everyone even had an email address or cellphone. US law didn't discourage people from gambling online, so there were more people casually involved and less people more seriously involved in internet poker.

Boy, have times changed.

One of the most surprisingly things I've learned upon my return to the virtual tables is just how many people are doing this seriously these days. When I played the largest Multi-table tournaments on Pokerstars six years ago, the field was typically no larger than 4000-5000 entrants, and that was considered a huge field. My second largest MTT cash was placing 11th out of 4000 participants in the then-Sunday 1/2 million. These days, the same tournament now carries 2x the guaranteed amount...and more than 2x the participants well; last week's tourney was almost 9000 players. I played a Goldstar freeroll 4 years ago, and was able to take $1,000 1st place prize out of 975 entrants - with a $5,000 guaranteed prize pool. The Goldstar Freeroll is now $100,000 guaranteed and sports 8,000+ participants (side note: unfortunately, because it falls on the last saturday of every month, it actually falls on Christmas Day this month, so I will be unable to play it - but I am looking forward to Lottery Daydreaming about $15k first prize in the future...).

More players means more regular players, or "regs". I've now played quite a bit at the lowest pro limits, and I'm really starting to see a lot of the same players over and over again, no doubt trying to eke out a modest profit by taking advantage of the dead money from the fish at the tables, but also trying to make the same rakeback bonuses I am to either make themselves a modest living or add to their bankroll. I'm sure as I move up, the regs will be more and more and more prevalent. At 5% ROI, playing 12,000 of these $13s a year, one could conceivably make about $13,000 in profit from both poker and bonuses. Not a bad way to supplement your income.

The other surprising thing is just how much software you really need to be competitive. A Heads-Up Display, which allows you to see how loose/tight and passive/aggressive different players are based on your history with them, is most essential. It operates on top of the client, superimposing the info while you play. The software I use for this also contains a searchable database to keep track of all the data, including more specific information, such as how often players 3bet, how often they fold to a 3bet, how often they steal the blinds, how often they defend against a steal...and so on. SNG Wiz, a program to determine the expected value of plays of certain situations and ranges, has also become indespensible. You'd be surprised how often it makes sense to push K5o 3-handed when the blinds get high.

All told, it's probably going to cost me about $500-$1000 and a ton of hours of reconfiguring just to eventually set up my box exactly the way that I want to. Hilariously, I would be way better off with a PC than a Mac, as much of the software only runs on PC. For now, I may have to get a cheap one. I will probably eventually buy a laptop with a relatively large screen, so that I can play virtually anywhere.

Today was a pretty good one at the tables. I had one positive outlier set, 3 1sts and 2 2nds over a 6 tourney spread, which set the tone for the whole session. It was the best set I've had up at $13s in a long time. All told, I was up $78 on the day.

Current Bankroll: $785.28
Total FPP accrued / cash value: 10532.62 / $168.52
Total tourneys played: 1697
Average buyin: $8.67
Total amount invested: $14708.50
Total profit earned: $85.20
ROI: 0.58%