Some thoughts on what's ahead

I’m on a plane back from Chicago to Las Vegas as I write this, and I can’t help but feel a whirlwind of emotions. While my sad emotions of leaving my girlfriend for another period of time are swarming in my heart, the excitement of the biggest stage for poker and the biggest events of the year for every poker player await me in Las Vegas. I remember blogging a few months back about how it truly was crunch time for me in my poker career. After a truly disheartening, stressful, frustrating start to my professional poker experiment, I made a declaration that I had to start getting it done. Since then I’ve won two major weekend online tournaments for my 2^nd and 3^rd largest wins along with beating out a field of 2800+ players on a Sunday and making my second WPT final table at the biggest buy in final table of my career. While a 6^th place finish was disappointing, it made me hungry. It made me see that I can play with anyone, adapt my strategy as such and that my mental prowess applied just like it has my entire life. Now I’m on the brink of a two month period with a comfortable bankroll that I can play a schedule of events giving me plenty of opportunities to win a World Series of Poker bracelet, the most prestigious prize of all in poker. It’s really a difficult feeling to explain to anyone family or friends unless you are in the same situation. I took a huge risk very early after college that most people in this world would never take. I believed in myself and despite challenges along the way, I have succeeded thus far.

One of the hardest parts about being in my situation is wondering what I’m going to do next, something that is both destructive to my morale and drive to succeed. Instead of thinking how I will succeed, I’ve felt I’ve almost put a burden on loved ones, family and friends for my unconventional path to wealth. I’ve almost always thought about what I do next. Do I go back to school? Won’t it be hard to get a job? What will potential employers think about poker? Who would hire me? How can I prove that I’ve always had what it takes, the work ethic, brain power, and drive to become the cream of the crop? Should I just go teach, so I can play poker at the WSOP in the summer? When am I going to start my business? I’ve had countless unsettling dreams about what my future will hold, and this uncertainty is both exciting and tough to deal with. I remember telling some of my friends that the worst part about making the decision to play poker professionally was having to spend probably 14 days a year of my life explaining to friends, family and people I meet how I am successful, how what I do is legitimate, and how I am still deep in my heart of all hearts trying to be a great person along the way. Living in Las Vegas has been interesting and it’s probably apparent to me by now that it won’t be my lifelong residence, but I do love the idea of being out here for all the big tournaments for those months of the year.

I really feel in a lot of ways like a professional athlete competing every day and trying to always improve and get better. Maybe that is why poker is a spectacle on ESPN because people learn personalities and players develop fans, there is trash talk and excitement around big final tables. You obviously can’t be 400 pounds and grossly unhealthy and succeed in sports like you can in poker, but competition is fierce and the stakes are high.

It’s been a random tangent of emotions, but something that is really honest and from the heart. As far as my schedule for the WSOP, I’ll be sticking to the smaller buy in events early on and expect to play the 1500 and 2000 NL Hold em events. I’m thinking about the PL Hold em 1500 event tomorrow as my first event because I’m just that excited to play some live poker and be at the Rio around all the excitement. I want to play 1 or 2 HORSE events and probably 1 Pot Limit Omaha event. I won’t be playing any Omaha Hi/Lo events because I don’t like playing that game that much or Limit Hold ‘em as I’d rather watch the grass I don’t have grow than play those games. I may play 1 Stud Hi event and 1 Stud Hi/Lo event, but a lot of my schedule will depend on the bankroll I am planning to allot to the Series. On top of that, I know there are some great structured events at Bellagio, Caesar’s and Venetian and getting away from the Rio might be a good idea. I’ll keep the blog updated as I go through here and hope to have exciting news along the way. Wish me luck!