Evolve

As we all know, for online poker players in the US the landscape has changed dramatically. The reaction has been diverse. Some people have panicked, some are making contingency plans, but no matter what, if you choose to remain a poker player to some degree, you need to learn to evolve. After all the game of poker evolves. Whether you realize it or not, it's evolving everyday.

Besides control of mental state (tilt, focus, etc.), knowledge of the game (stats, numbers, probability, ev, HUD, concepts), hand and people reading skills (including ranges), and a lack of ego, one must possess a good sense of awareness to succeed in poker. This awareness involves what's going on in the short term, e.g. what's happening on your table in the present moment but also awareness involving the long term. This is understanding how the landscape of poker is changing, how the general strategy and approach of poker is changing, and making necessary adjustments to stay ahead of the curve. Basically one must evolve as a poker player to succeed over the long run.

I'll share parts of my personal voyage through poker the past 13 years to illustrate how poker changed and how I did my part in keeping up with the times allowing me to stay successful. After all, 13 successful years in a profession that swallows people up and spits them out defeated in many ways should make me a guru of sorts (obviously somebody like Doyle Brunson is the godfather of poker). Some of these tidbits I've repeated in the past but I think it's a good time to summarize them in one to get to the point at hand.

In 1998 I made the choice to stay in Vancouver, Canada while waiting for my new wife's immigration papers so she can come down to the US (I covered this in detail in a previous post here...basically the start of my professional career... http://nicolakpoker.blogspot.com/2010/09/road-trip-part-3.html ). I made a decision to play poker full time. I ordered almost every poker book I can get my hands on (which wasn't much at the time) including every 2+2 book and Super System. I read every Cardplayer magazine, every article in it, as it was the only poker magazine around at the time (I think). I knew I needed to learn as much about this game as I could if I wanted to succeed. Back then the only games spread were limit hold'em games. The learning curve was there but because it was limit, it wasn't as tough as nl would turn out to be.

Well I was beating the limit hold'em games good and made enough to support my new wife. Eventually we had a baby and I kept on playing full time while along the way befriending other players and discussing poker w/ them, in turn improving them and me. My wife became a winning poker player from the start as well (I like to think she had an awesome teacher/coach....me) and we bounced off ideas and strategy with each other. Back then there were no internet poker forums (well, not necessarily true...there was rec.poker but the info there was usually wrong when I reflect back on it), no training sites, and we had to rely on books and each other to get better.

During the turn of the century (sounds funny but it was the turn), internet poker was introduced. Again only limit hold'em games were spread so there really was no transitional period. Basically I applied what I knew about live limit games and did ok. Also since this was such a new realm, internet poker, people were cautious about it including me. I still maintained most of my hours playing live.

Well I maintained my 80/20 or so ratio of live/internet play for the next couple of years. Paradise Poker would change that. They seemed like they were the 1st reputable site and they spread a lot of games. Internet poker was starting to catch on like wildfire. I too decided I needed to start focusing more on internet poker because I saw the speed of hands being dealt and I knew that the more hands I play the more money I make. I knew being able to multitable would increase my hourly as well. I started off playing 2 tables then gradually increased the number of tables over the years. Yes years, for a couple of reasons...the early sites only allowed a maximum of 4 tables (I think) and I wanted to take my time in increasing the number of tables played as not to sacrifice my overall earning power (there is a point of diminishing returns when figuring the max # of tables to play). I focused on playing my A game even if I was seeing 2-5x the hands I was used to seeing (playing live).

Following Paradise Poker's success, other sites opened up including Party Poker. They introduced 6max limit games (maybe Paradise introduced them 1st) and I decided it would be wise of me to learn to play shorthanded. It would allow me to play more hands/hr (for a better hrly) and it would allow me to play more hands (which would make poker more fun). Around this time poker forums, notably 2+2, were popping up and I started frequenting those sites to read other people's thoughts on the game. I really didn't post but lurked and read as much as I could. This shortened my learning curve in playing shorthanded limit hold'em.

After this nl games were introduced, including cash games and tournaments. Up to this point I had never played a single hand of nl. I was intimidated at the thought of losing all the money I had in front of me in a single hand and chose to stick with limit hold'em (obviously this thought turned out fallacious in determining profitability in poker). I dabbled in some online nl tournaments because I could only lose the initial buyins in those. I had zero clue on what I was doing from a fundamental view, but I relied on my experience in hold'em in general and my hand reading skills to hold my own.

Well Chris Moneymaker would forever change the landscape of poker for good (or up to the present). I remember when he won and everybody was like "who is this guy w/ a cool sounding last name?!". A lot of new people got into poker because of him (everyday guy winning the WSOP main event and a million dollars) and a lot of limit hold'em players made the transition from limit to nl including myself. I realized nl was the future of poker and I needed to make the jump like everybody else.

I jumped into $5/$10 nl games from the start, as they were equivalent to the limit stakes I were playing at the time ($15/$30 to $30/$60 limit).

Tptk? no problem, get in 100bbs on the flop no matter the texture! Shove river? No way, that costs too much if I get called! Face a river shove? Fold because they must have it! AK preflop? Call the 3bet because it's only a drawing hand and I may not even flop a pair! Face a big turn bet w/ my fd? Call because I have a fd!

As you can see I was lacking in understanding the nuances of nl, not to mention the correct fundamentals. I was playing nl like I was playing limit!

I did well from the get go even though I really didn't know anything from a fundamental view. Again I relied on hand reading, not tilting, and just a general understanding of hold'em to do well. Slowly over time I began thinking about the game and how it differed from limit. Tbh I think coming from a full time limit hold'em background hindered me. Guys that were jumping directly into nl hold'em from scratch had a leg up on me because they had a clean slate to start with.

I was aware that this was the case and I made a conscientious effort to improve my nl game independent of my limit game. Along the way I increased the number of tables, going from four to eight, from eight to twelve. This caused a boon in my bankroll and I was making so much money that I started getting content. I started lowering my hours played. I went from grinding 40hrs/wk to 20hrs/wk which wasn't a bad thing for me because I had a wife and a kid and I wanted to spend more time with them. Also I pursued other interests, notably video games (it's the Asian in me).

Around this time we decided to buy a house because after all I was crushing the games and could make lots of money any time I wanted to (all I had to do was log in and start playing). I even won $250k in an online tournament around this time (which made the game seem easy for me). Fortunately I did a smart thing and paid off all our debts and invested most of that money for our future (although I've debated whether it might've been smarter to play higher stakes with it, probably so, but can't fault me for the path I chose).

Well now complacency set in...I blame that partially to the success I was having. I am sure this happens to a lot of poker players. I didn't spend much time learning the game because I was confident in my abilities and I was always doing well. I didn't move up in stakes because I was making plenty grinding 8-12 tables of $5/$10.

Come Oct. 2008 I was having my best year in poker, reaching close to half a million dollars in profits (mostly from cash games, almost all of it at $5/$10 nl 6max games, just playing 20 hrs/wk), and about this time I almost developed an ego (almost). Then I hit a 300k (maybe it was 400k) hands break even stretch over the next 4 months.

I mentioned I started getting complacent and my results started to show. I was complacent regarding my skill level. Cardrunners was introduced in 2005 and new players were flocking into the games armed with the knowledge they had acquired from training sites like CR and the new information being introduced in the forums. I was not one of the guys learning.

2009 rolled around and I was reeling from not making a penny the final 4 months of 2008 after doing so well the 1st 8 months. I decided to take a step back and look at the big picture. How were the games evolving? How did the players become so good? Better yet, what was I doing wrong and how can I get back on top? With a little push from some 2+2 regs that pointed out what I was doing wrong (some in a mocking fashion, others in a helpful manner), I decided I needed to reevaluate my game and figure out how to crush the games once again.

I hired a coach (turned out I didn't learn much...or maybe he wasn't as good as advertised), I started reading a lot on 2+2, and for once I started watching some videos on CR and other training sites. I really started thinking about the game when I wasn't playing (this was usually the most effective way I improved over the years). I needed to evolve because the games were changing (thanks Taylor Caby, and I don't mean that in a good way! ;) ).

I actually learned how to play nl after years of playing a limit style. After having a good 2009 I decided to set a very high monetary goal of a million dollars in 2010. I decided to start at $2/$4 nl and was the biggest winner at that limit across all sites in January (winning $40k, based on PTR). I was up $120k or so after the 1st 3 months and was crushing $5/$10 in March. In April I hit a nasty downswing where I started off winning $20k early on and was down $20k midway through the month.

Downswings are a great time to take a step back and reflect on your game. Again I really took improving my game to heart and figured out some things. A specific concept I realized was that it's sometimes better to take a passive line...sure it's simple, but after having been such an aggressive player for so many years (again limit hold'em teaches pure aggression and I guess that still lingered with me through the years), it was tough learning and applying that simple concept. Suddenly my game opened up and I felt like my eyes opened up as well. I could see things a lot more clearly in no limit. I could understand why certain players took certain lines and I had a much better understanding of what lines were optimal. I improved my nl game almost 2x.

Besides doing well in cash games I decided to enter the world of live tournaments with this new found knowledge. I had played in them sporadically in the past and have done ok, mostly WSOP events (a couple of $60k + cashes along w/ numerous smaller cashes). I entered 17 WSOP events last year and cashed in 5 of them showing a small profit (actually that's 4 of the past 6 years I've shown a profit at the WSOP from tournaments only).

I didn't win the million dollars as I had hoped but that's because again I decided to scale down my work to focus on my family and hobbies (golf and video games). I also decided to introduce myself to the poker world and started blogging, joined Cardrunners, joined PokerRoad as a cohost of a podcast, and started tweeting (check out Taylor Caby's recent blog about tweeting to find out useful ways to take advantage of Twitter... http://www.cardrunners.com/blog/Taylor/some-thoughts-on-twitter ). I decided to get to know my fellow opponents and the people that comprised the world of poker. Up to this time I had stayed behind a screen just focusing on making money, not caring about meeting others (it wasn't shyness or lack of social skills...I just chose to remain anonymous and focus on my family), and meeting up with a select group of Las Vegas friends from time to time.

I realized in order to improve my game even further I would have to start networking, to start meeting others, and talk poker with others, like I had when I 1st started playing poker back in my Vancouver days. Plus it's never bad to have more acquaintances and friends. I needed this to fully evolve into the best player I can be. Also this is the age of social networking so I wanted to take advantage of all my resources. I'm about as an easy going person as one can be and I'm very approachable so for anybody that reads this and ever runs into me, say hi and introduce yourself and I will do likewise :) . Just don't ask me for money!

Now this leads us into the present. With the occurrence of Black Friday Americans are very limited in playing online (the smaller sites that still cater to Americans are unstable at best) so one must make the choice of pursuing a new career or adapting to the new environment. Since poker is what I know best and I've been doing it for over a decade I am going to remain a poker player. I have the advantage of living in Las Vegas. I have plenty of experience playing live poker but it's been awhile since I played live poker full time. How will I cope with the new landscape of poker? How I've always coped whenever the landscape changed. I'll adapt, I'll keep figuring out ways to get better, and I'll keep crushing. I'll evolve.

*This post is geared for internet poker players but I think my general message is clear for everybody...the game is always evolving so keep getting better...evolve!

**I was going to split this post into 2 but decided the message is better served being read at once. Props to those that spent the time reading it, and thanks!

A road trip (Part 2)

Continuing on from last time, we ended driving up to Canada. Crossing the border back then was a simple "What's your citizenship?" and "Reason for visiting?" and crossing. Nowadays it's more stringent because of 9-11. Anyway we headed to Toronto because my traveling buddy Dexter knew a girl there. The 1st thing I noticed is that Canada had a different set of measurements. It wasn't miles but kilometers (for speed limit) and it wasn't gallons but liters (for gas). As for Toronto it was a big city w/ a diverse group of residents from all ethnicities. I don't remember playing any poker there but I'm sure there are plenty of poker rooms and casinos there.

We headed west towards Vancouver because somehow Dexter had a job interview there. Now Vancouver is in western Canada while Toronto is closer to eastern Canada so it was quite the drive. We decided to drive through the U.S. again because, let's be honest, there aren't as many cities or things to see and do compared to the U.S. Now I want to mention that there are a whole lot of cornfields in America. I know because it seemed like we drove through nothing but cornfields from northeastern U.S. to northwestern U.S.

Anyway when we were driving through South Dakota we noticed a bunch of bikers passing us often. I remember thinking, damn there are a lot of bikers living in South Dakota. It turned out they were all heading towards the annual motorcycle rally at Sturgis, South Dakota. We went ahead and followed the bikers to Sturgis and it was quite the spectacle. There were bikers and girls in leather everywhere. I read they had over 750,000 people attend it in 2000, 2 years after we attended so you can imagine how crowded it was. Sturgis is listed as having a population of 6,400 in 2000 so to say it was crowded is an understatement. Again we were fish out of water. Here we are, 2 young asian guys, surrounded by (mostly) older white guys in black leather riding around on their Harleys. It was a fun time though.

Nearby Sturgis was Deadwood, a small town that allowed gambling. Now if Deadwood sounds familiar, that's because it was a popular HBO series based in Deadwood of the 1870s. It is also the town where Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead holding the poker hand appropriately named after him ,"dead man's hand" aces and eights. Anyway we played some poker there but unfortunately the state allowed a maximum betting of $5 per round so stakes were small.

Along the way we drove through a few different states but I remember driving through Montana because it was a vast land of openness and there was no speed limit. The law was to drive at a speed that was deemed safe, and for us 100mph+ seemed safe to drive at. We zoomed through Montana for that reason but did make a pit stop in a casino in Billings I think. I remember cleaning up in limit omaha 8 while playing vs. a bunch of white people (after all, it is Montana) and thinking these locals have no idea what hit them (literally...wonder if they've ever seen an asian guy in their city before...joke, somewhat).

We drove to Washington and hit up some casinos outside of Seattle before making our way up to Vancouver, Canada. Now once in Vancouver we had a few days to spend before Dexter had an interview (for a job in Dubai of all places). We ended up frequenting local casinos and poker rooms and did well. I believe the biggest games they spread at the time was $10-$20 limit hold'em. Also the conversion rate was 1.5 Canadian to 1 American so the games played smaller. Now if you've never been to Vancouver, I'd recommend visiting. It is a really beautiful city next to the Pacific Ocean. There is so much greenery around (trees trees trees) and it rains quite frequently. I believe Vancouver has the largest Chinatown outside of China in the world so the asian population is pretty big (ah, finally a place I didn't feel like a fish out of water).

Anyway one day Dexter and I decided to head out to celebrate his birthday. We went to a restaurant where we were serviced by 2 pretty waitresses. Dexter was a little smoother than me around girls I have to admit, and he managed to get the waitresses to go out w/ us once their shifts were done. We ended up going to a coffee shop (found out it was the Bread Garden...my wife answered it when I asked her) and I somehow managed to get the prettier girl to like me by pretty much bs'ing the entire night (jk, I told the truth, mostly). Anyway we decided to meet for lunch the next day at Knight N Day (think a little more upscale Denny's, but Canadian) and almost fell off my chair when I saw her walk in in a mini skirt. I don't want to say it was love at 1st sight (probably lust at 1st sight, technically 2nd sight) but I knew I had a keeper if I could, well, keep her.

Anyway we ended up dating just about every day after that. Dexter had his interview and told me he was ready to go back to Los Angeles to get his things together before heading to Dubai for his new job. He thought we would be driving back together and finish our trip but he would be wrong. I told him I was serious about this girl and gave him money for a flight back to L.A. He wasn't too happy but understood and left w/o me. Somewhat sadly that would be the last time I'd see Dexter in my life. He did take the job in Dubai so I lost touch w/ him.

Part 3 and final part next time...

***Off topic, poker is meh...volume is horrible but I'll be looking to finish strong for the month. Also week 2 in fantasy football was not good. My 3dime team lost the hu match even though I got Michael Vick and started him. I lost all my weekly side bets except one in that league which hurt more. Edog has Mccoy and Best and it was torturous watching that game (Phi-Det) because both guys absolutely went off. It looked like those two were in a Madden game scoring 20+ yd td runs left and right. I also lost again in 1dime and am now befuddled because I thought I had a top 3 team. I still think I do and feel most of my guys have been underachieving so far (Flacco, Fitz, Crabtree, Zach Miller, Brandon Jackson, and getting 4 pts total from my kicker and def). I expect to make a run at the title in that league still. Nickel league was much better as I ended up high man which meant I swept all side bets. Peyton Manning, Best (it sucks to have a guy that conflicts in a diff. league w/ who I have a ton of action w/), Gore, Roddy White, and Pitt def. went off for me. Overall because of my team's lackluster showing in 3dime it was a bad weekend.

I was watching the games at a Buffalo Wild Wings and had my laptop open and my stattracker going (tracks stats of your players and teams) and the BW3 manager walks by and sees that and comments how bad his team is doing then asks me how my fantasy teams are doing. I truthfully reply, "I'm about to lose $10k because of their crappy showing". Obviously he was skeptical but then realized I wasn't kidding when I gave him that "does it look like I'm kidding?!" look. He gave his condolences and went back to his duties of trying to make sure all his customers were happy.

A road trip (Part 1)

Back in 1998 a buddy and I decided to take a road trip centered around poker. We were winning low stakes poker players living in Los Angeles and thought it'd be cool to spend the summer driving around North America playing poker in casinos, bar rooms, poker clubs, etc. while taking in all the sights Canada and America had to offer. We didn't have much money at the time but thought we'd be able to win on the road to sustain our trip. Anyway w/ a couple thousand dollars each in our pockets, we hit the road in my Nissan Sentra.

Starting from Los Angeles, the logical place for our 1st stop was Las Vegas. I remember we stayed at the Flamingo for free because my traveling buddy Dexter had some comps. I also remember going out on the balcony looking out towards the strip and taking in the view while thinking we were going to conquer the world, one poker hand at a time...lol. We were young and foolish and I guess at that age you tend to have a sense of invincibility and confidence. Anyway back then the only games spread were all limit games and we played limit hold'em and limit stud, stakes ranging from $3-$6 to $20-$40. We decided to pool our enormous resources, all $4k of it and make it a bankroll for both of us to use. I knew right away I was the better player and felt confident I'd be able to add to our roll, but did not feel the same way about Dexter, even though I felt like he was a winning player. He had tilt issues and a propensity to play higher than what our roll could manage.

Vegas was fun and we did what guys our age would do...gamble all the time (mostly poker but a little bit in the pit), drink when not gambling and hit up some of the strip clubs. This lasted for about 3 or 4 days and we set off on our adventure again. We drove past Hoover Dam and headed toward Arizona to take in the Grand Canyon. When I laid my eyes on the Grand Canyon I was in awe. It really is magnificent and for those of you that have not been there, it is definitely something that should be on your bucket list (things to see or do before you die). I know atheists point to the Grand Canyon and say that's a reason God doesn't exist because the bible only dates back a few thousand years while the Grand Canyon is evidence that the earth is millions of years old. I like to think something that magnificent and spectacular had to be created by a higher entity, and in my case God.

We decided not to head down to Phoenix and hit the casinos there because it was kind of out of the way. We headed to New Mexico next and thought we might come across some poker rooms or casinos on Indian reservations there. Wrong.

Next stop Texas. Now for sure there would be casinos or poker rooms in Texas, after all it is called Texas Hold'em...wrong again. Anyway we hit up Amarillo 1st where I almost got a speeding ticket but managed to talk my way out of it. Probably had something to do w/ the fact we were asian and the cop knew we were just driving through...after all, it is Amarillo, Texas. I remember we drove for countless hours in open grass land through Texas. I recall trying to keep myself awake driving during the day because there was nothing to look at for hours. We did end up spending some time in Dallas mostly because we were relieved there was an actual city in Texas after all the driving. We visited Dealey Plaza and the Texas School Book Depository. For non history buffs, the Plaza is where JFK was shot and assassinated and the Depository is where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly fired the gun that killed JFK.

Our next stop was Louisiana. We hit up Shreveport and Bossier City and found out this is where Texans came to gamble, and gamble they did. The games were very good. We played $20-$40 limit hold'em and remember the games having lots of gamblers. Next stop was Tunica, Mississippi. Tunica is a weird place in that it is a very small town comprised of 4-5 large hotel casinos. To be honest, I don't even think there are residential areas in Tuncia. Now we did ok playing poker but Dexter, being the degen he was, decided to make $500 bets on the Don't Come #4 in craps. Based on our roll, he had about 10 bets before going broke. Luckily he broke about even but more importantly, we got comped for a really extravagant suite in the Horseshoe. It beat the cheap motels or nights we spent sleeping in my car in order to save money. That was one of the best nights of sleep I ever got!

We also got comped for food and ate all the crawfish we could handle. It is the south after all and they make crawfish in every flavor you can think of. We hit the road afterward and stopped by a little southern town in the middle of nowhere to grab a bite. It was a small mom and pops BBQ place and when we walked in, we were surrounded by black people. That's right, 2 young asian guys in a small BBQ joint run by black people located in a small black southern town. Now if that isn't fish out of water, I don't know what is. I don't consider myself having a racist bone in my body and treat everybody as I would like to be treated but I'm not gonna lie and say we didn't feel a little intimidated being there. I will say this though, the BBQ was good and I can see where the term southern hospitality comes from. They were very friendly towards us, in fact I can't ever remember another time in my life where I got friendlier service. We left the place thinking that was awesome and I for one wouldn't mind going back.

Next we headed north. Along the way we took a detour and ended up visiting a monastery. I did not know about it but Dexter had visited it before. It was a unique experience being in a place where everything was deemed holy. There were a bunch of monks that lived there and travelers were welcome to sleep the night in one of their many dormitory like rooms but you were expected to give a donation. They also fed you lunch and dinner w/ food they harvested. The monks did a lot of farming when they weren't praying or worshipping. I did find out they made most of their money in technology (I think it was running a printer cartridge company)...go figure. I definitely took it as an opportunity to try to find the inner peace within me (along w/ trying to get closer to God) and enjoyed the experience. Anyway after spending a night there we made a fair donation and headed our way.

We ended driving up to Dexter's home city of Chicago next. I gotta say Chicago is one of the coolest cities I've been to. We drove through the north side and got to see Wrigley Field from the outside, but alas did not catch a game. Also we got an awesome view of Lake Michigan driving along some of the freeways. We also hung out at Michael Jordan's sportcafe 23. I left Chicago thinking it was one if not the best city I've ever been to.

Pokerwise it was not a very good time. We ended up visiting some local riverboats in the area and Dexter ended up losing nearly all our bankroll. We had to stay a couple of more days in Chicago waiting for money that was owed to him. After collecting we decided to head east, notably New York.

I felt the opposite toward New York w/ how I felt toward Chicago. I did not like New York at all. I remember being stuck on one of the bridges due to traffic and having to go bad. I ended up emptying a soda cup and relieving myself in it while stuck in the middle of traffic. We spent most of our time in Manhattan which was very crowded w/ cab drivers trying to run you off the road. I can see why everybody takes the subways. We spent a couple of days there visiting people we knew. Anyway the next logical place to go was Atlantic City and that's where we went.

We headed down on the New Jersey turnpike and ended up in Atlantic City. We spent a whole lot of time just playing poker and didn't really get to see the city. I'm pretty sure we didn't miss out on much though. Next we headed back to NYC for another day then headed for north of the border.

We reached another beautiful destination in Niagara Falls. It was another break taking site. I remember seeing scenes of it in Superman 2 and to see it in person left me in awe, again. Anyway Niagara Falls stood at the border of America and Canada and we decided to cross the border into Canada, eh.

Now this would be the mid point of our summer journey. Along the way we visited numerous casinos, riverboats, public poker rooms but for the most part we avoided any shady places that had poker. If you were expecting something akin to Doyle Brunson's travels through the south back in the 50's and 60's where he and his friends visited a bunch of shady places that spread poker, I'm sorry to disappoint you. After all it was the 90's and why risk getting cheated or robbed when you can go to a clean establishment.

To be continued... including how I met my wife and how I officially started my poker career.

Father's Day

I know it was a couple of days ago but I didn't have a chance to write so I'm gonna talk about it now. Actually the topic is playing poker professionally while having a family. I think I have the experience to write about that since I've been married for 12 years and have a 9 yr old girl and have played poker the entire time as a means to income. Also everyone that knows me will say that I have been a good family guy over the years, esp. my wife and kid. Those are the 2 people that I want to think highly of me so I'm happy w/ how I went about things the past 12 years.

Nowadays most professional poker players are in their 20s, single, and don't have much of an overhead. It is much easier to play poker as a living if you fall in this group. You only have yourself to look out for and usually don't have mortgages, health insurance, etc. to worry about, although some guys do have those. Also you can travel, take shots at bigger games, and live a pretty unrestrained lifestyle.

Now that doesn't mean that life can't be fulfilling or easy w/ a wife and kid(s). I'm very happy w/ my life and feel lucky to have a great family that are supportive of all things I do (as long as my wife approves). I owe my wife a lot as I was pretty degenerate when starting out in poker. I'm sure lots of guys were when starting out. I used to play long sessions and ignored life outside of poker but having my wife (gf at the time) added balance to my life and she set me straight, esp. when I was playing long overnight sessions constantly.

When my kid was born it really made me become a grown up. I gave up smoking..quit cold turkey...I remember throwing the pack that had half a pack still left into the trash can. I slowly played less and less all nighters. When she turned a certain age where she was aware of everything I stopped playing all nighters permanently. I did not want my kid to see her dad playing cards from the time she went to sleep to the morning she woke up. I wanted to be a responsible father and I took it seriously. In the abnormal world of poker, I wanted my kid to be raised in a normal like world.

Anyway since I was busy w/ the WSOP, my wife asked if she can go to Disneyland w/ her sister and the kids (our girl and her sister's boy) over the weekend. I said sure and they had a blast. I was ok w/ spending father's day w/ my buddies grinding online mtts since my family was out of town. For me, I spend a lot of time w/ my family since I play at home most of the time so we were all ok w/ that. They did come back w/ 3 disney tshirts for me but I told my wife I refuse to wear those outside of our house. I'm a poker player...I'm not gonna be wearing disney shirts in public, and hell no at the Rio during the WSOP.

Anyway Father's Day is nice and should serve as a reminder that there are great dads out there, even in the poker world. There are degenerate stories of poker players w/ families going broke, ignoring their kids because they're spending countless hrs playing poker, cheating on their families, etc. but there are poker players that are doing a great job balancing poker and family, and I'd like to think I'm one of them. For me poker is only a means of providing the best life I can for my family, and I hope all poker players realize that poker is not your life, but the family you have is.

***I'll be doing a write up on my WSOP soon...just won my $1500 nl shootout table today to cash for the 2nd time this WSOP...I resume tomorrow...follow me on twitter for those interested***

Most hands played? (History of online poker thru my eyes, tl;dr)

So I was reading the recent issue of bluff magazine and one of their writers reviewed Dusty Schmidt's (aka Leatherass) book (don't remember the name, something about treating poker as a business). Anyway he says a lot of positive things about it and says one of the reasons that aspiring pros should listen to Dusty is because he's done well and probably played more hands online than anyone. I've played some w/ him and he's basically what most good regs make him out to be.. a bumhunter that multitables well and plays solid most of the time. I have nothing against him and would back him in most online cash games if he ever came asking. I do agree w/ a lot of regs that he touts himself too highly and puts himself on too high of a pedestal.

Anyway I was thinking about the comment that he's played more hands online than anyone, ever. Tbh I think I've played more hands online than anyone in the world. I was playing poker professionally before online poker existed. I signed up when the very 1st online poker site started accepting real money (Planet Poker)...heck I played w/ free money on the beta poker sites before they allowed real money play. In the beginning I started putting in half my time online (other half still in brick and mortar poker rooms) then slowly transitioned to online full time , 1st w/ Planet Poker, then Paradise, followed by Party Poker and now Full Tilt and Pokerstars. This span is over 12 years. I'm not sure if they are many pros left from the Planet/Paradise Poker days..I would say the # is very slim. I would also say that I've probably avg'ed the most hands played and money won on an annual basis among guys that have played since the inception of online poker. Obviously guys have made more money than me in a limited time span but I don't think anyone's that's been around since the Planet Poker days have played more hands or made more money than me. Also since I've been multitabling anywhere from 4-16 tables since the beginning (actually the most tables you could play on the 1st couple of years was 2-4 if I remember correctly) I think I've played more hands online than just about anyone in the world.

What's the significance of this? Actually there is none except that I never thought about it and I guess I could pat myself on the back a little for making it through the years through all the different eras of online poker and making a good living doing so. There was no software like PT or HEM the 1st 5-6 years so there is no concrete evidence that I played more than anyone. Also I didn't start using PT until 3 yrs ago or so so I don't have a lot of the hhs I've played over the years.

Early on (starting around 1998 I believe), just like brick and mortar poker rooms, limit hold'em reigned and there were no tournaments online. I remember playing $5-10 or $10-20 limit hold'em games online for a couple of years, mostly on Paradise Poker since that was the big site at that time. Party Poker came unto the scene a couple of years later and I remember Mike Sexton promoting it like hell. When you thought of Party Poker, you thought of Mike, and vice versa (that's how he became a very wealthy man and from what I know, deservedly so for all that's he's done for poker and for being a classy guy overall).

Well Party started becoming the biggest site, mainly because of their affiliate program and rakeback (wow I wish I was more business savvy back then and started my own affiliate program w/ Party...eg Linda Johnson who made a fortune doing so). Anyway I took most of my action there because they had the most limit hold'em games and they had them as high as $15/30! (funny I know, esp. when you look at the biggest stakes online today). I also made the choice of becoming mostly an online player because I liked playing many hands/hr and I made more per hr than I ever did in a live game. Plus I got to stay home and spend more time w/ my wife and kid. I remember grinding several tables of $15/30 limit hold'em for a year or so. Then they introduced $30/60 limit and 6max games and I started playing in those. Grinded those games for another year or so before they added $50/100 and $100/200 limit hold'em games. I didn't play those as much because they were pretty tough. I table selected those games but they're weren't many of those games going. I would like to say that I was one of the biggest winners during that time but idk because no one really knew who was winning how much and who were losing.

Well shortly thereafter the sites started introducing tournaments. I think Paradise started it 1st. I remember thinking..suiiiiiiiiiiite.. because I enjoyed playing live tournaments and felt like I could win lots of money if I ran good in one (which I eventually did when I won a $640 buyin Party Mil on a sunday for $250k in '05). Well they introduced nl tournaments 1st and eventually the sites began introducing nl cash games. I was still focused on limit hold'em games since I was doing well in them and had no idea how to play nl (did well in nl tournaments because nobody knew what they were doing but I just happened to know a little more than most just by instinct and natural ability, I guess). Anyway the biggest games they had were $1/2 nl for awhile. Slowly they started adding $2/4nl and 6max games.

I didn't play in them because I was crushing $30/60 limit hold'em and $2/4 nl was still relatively small compared to $30/60 limit. Anyway Party added higher stakes and when $5/10 was added I started looking into it because the money won/lost was relatively similar to the limit games I was grinding at the time. All the games were 100bb max buyin although there were shortstackers (who invented these guys anyway?). So the limit games were getting tougher and my hrly was slowly going down so I started dabbling in the $5/10 nl games on Party. Right off the bat I did well even though I really had no clue what I was doing. I was just going off my reads and instincts and did well. Looking back at it, I played so fundamentally incorrect but so did just about everyone else. The winners were the guys that had good hand reading ability and didn't tilt (like me). Obv. a guy like Bldswtrs (or whatever) absolutely crushed because he figured out how to play fundamentally correct and knew how to 3bet and 4bet light before anyone else.

I remember multitabling $5/10 nl games for the longest time and doing well. That's when we decided to buy our 1st house (which we still own today and rent out). It was so efficient in the mid 00's. Play $5/10nl, win, cash out to Neteller, have Neteller xfer most of my money to my bank account, repeat (left some in Neteller for deposit bonuses across various sites..believe it or not, but there were actual "pros" that made their living breaking even in poker but taking advantage of all the different deposit bonuses available across the various sites back then).

A little before that time Moneymaker won the WSOP main event and wow what a ripple effect his win caused. NL cash games and mtts boomed. There were so many $5/10 and lower games spread across various sites but Party remained in the forefront. They started adding $10/20 nl games and I think that was the biggest stake they had for a long time. I never played that high on a regular basis because I was content on making what I was at that time (which was a lot) and I was providing a great and very stable life for my family and myself. I do regret not playing $10/20nl back then because I probably could've made more money. I guess I was too content ..meh. Party stuck to $10/20nl and $100-200 limit as their biggest games for the longest time. I remember reading that it was because they were afraid their customer base would shrivel if they introduced bigger games because the few elite winners would wipe out a big % of players if they had bigger games.

Anyway, more and more sites opened in this highly profitable but unregulated market inc. FTP and Pokerstars. Party continued to remain at the forefront and had the most # of tables by far, maybe more so than all the other sites combined. I was chugging along making lots of monies on Party but unfortunately not playing as much as I would and should have. Just plain laziness, family obligations, and being able to make money anytime I felt like it contributed to this.

Then boom! the USA unscrupulously passed the UIGEA (which was attached to a safe port bill that was supposed to prevent terrorism along our ports so just about every politician had to vote yes on it even though most had no idea what the UIGEA was about). Well Party didn't want to get in trouble w/ the US since it became a publicly traded co (on the London Stock Exchange) and withdrew from the US. I remember having money on there and not being allowed to sit down on any of their real money tables. I guess they were ok w/ leaving your money on their site (obv. to accrue interest for themselves) but you were forbidden to play on any real money table if you lived in the US. I remember thinking, well this sucks, and I made plans to xfer my money to FTP and Stars which catered to americans. Alas the games would not be as good as before because a lot of losing players got scared and stopped depositing money to online sites because of the UIGEA. The glory days of Party were over.

So I started grinding on the 2 big sites, mainly FTP because of the rakeback and the software. Then Taylor Caby came along and introduced Cardrunners and made the games infinitely tougher. For some reason I didn't subscribe nor improve my game during this time, maybe because I did well every year prior. Along came all these 20 year old's and college kids who thought poker was the easy way to make good money, and for a few it was. But for every Cole South or Tom Dwan, there are so many kids that fail that no one knows about. So now that's what online poker is nowadays...encompassed by a lot of college kids and 20yr old's and a select few making little to a whole lot of money while a guy like me that has gone through the times is a rarity. Oh but will the games get too tough for me, will I get pushed out by all the 20 yr old's? Obviously it's a very definite no because I've shown that I have what it takes to succeed year in year out and for most, they can't say that.

I've continued to grow as a player and have spent time improving lately as much as I can ever remember at any point in my career. Also I've finally decided that I wanted to aim higher and play as high as I can until I can't beat a particular limit. Heck I have no idea how I will fare at $25/50+ but if I was betting, I would bet on myself to succeed. Along the way I'll continue my expert (maybe nitty is a more appropriate word?) management of my bankroll and never risk a chance of going broke because my obligations to my family and our lifestyles will always come first. This will obviously make me wait a little longer on taking shots at the higher games but I'm young and only in my mid 30s....I have all the time in the world. :)

Also I totally flew under the radar in the world of poker even though I was making more money than just about anyone annually (I'm talking from '98-'08). 1 reason was because I didn't put enough volume in a given year to have a year like Leatherass did and win in the high 6 figs and get recognized. I was content on making a certain amount per year ($150-$400k) while having time for my family and whatever else I enjoyed doing (video games and sports mostly). Also I didn't play much higher than $5-10 mainly because I wanted to make sure I provided a stable life for my family and myself (and making low to mid 6 figs annually made me very content as mentioned before) and didn't ever want to take a chance of going broke (I guess I've always been a bankroll nit, but hey having a family will do that to you, or it should anyways).

Also since I was making such good money consistently year in year out I had no need to play in a bunch of live tournaments even though that was the surest and easiest way to fame as a poker player. Yes I played the occasional live tournaments and some of the WSOP events. I think I've played in about 3 or 4 10k WPT events and the last 6 or so WSOP MEs. Because of the limited # of live tournaments I played I didn't have a big recognized score. I have won $70k a couple of times and ft'ed a WSOP nl prelim (alas one of the few that wasn't televised during the boom) but did not do enough to garner any attention.

Tbh I did not care to become famous, even during the boom. My goal in poker was always to provide a great and stable life for my family and myself, which I have so far. It does bother me slightly that much less successful poker players get so much attention and even more so, secure endorsement deals where they make some kind of passive income or get freerolled into big tournaments while I've won more money and have succeeded on a consistent basis for the past 12 years but have yet to get any kind of offer or affiliation w/ a poker site. Can I live w/o it, sure but obviously would be nice to get some kind of deal w/ a site, especially if you measure success in poker the past decade or so and that there are probably less than 30 people, if that, that have made more money than me (although I realize the reason players get signed nowadays is because of exposure for the sites, not necessarily because how successful you are..meh). Also I've shown that I'm consistent and will win every year inc. all future years, which can't be said for a lot of pros, inc. well known ones. I do what it takes to adapt, learn, and stay one step ahead of the curve always, not to mention I have the intangibles to be successful always.

I will end this post on that note...I noticed I kinda strayed away from the original topic at the end, and ended up hyping myself a little...lol.

Q & A

I've been getting some questions and so I decided to write a Q&A to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about me or poker in general.

Q: I'm starting out, what should I read, how do I go about it, I want to be you in a couple of years! (ok, the last part was sorta made up, but that's the impression I've been getting)

A: This is such a broad question that there are so many answers to it. As in any line of work, it takes hard work and diligence to be successful at poker. I'd recommend signing up for an instructional site, eg Bluefirepoker, Leggopoker, DeucesCracked, and Cardrunners 1st. I'd probably rank'em in that order in terms of quality, although each site has its pros and cons. There are other sites out there as well that cater to different needs. I would browse online poker forums and read as much as possible..there is no excuse not to, especially when it's free to the public. I'd find other people w/ similar ambitions, especially in poker and have discussions. I would read certain books, but you have to be careful because there are some books that have bad information. I'd recommend just about every book that's published by 2+2. Most books do not teach you the fundamentals of online poker though. They're more catered to poker in general, especially live full ring poker.

If you really have the cash, you can purchase ebooks written by high profile online players, eg CTS's "Let there be range", Balugawhale's "Eazy Game", and a few others out there. They are pretty expensive though..ranging from $600 to $1800. I've read most of them and would say they have good content but I'm not sure if they're worth the price...def. not for beginners though. Also there are coaches available that may expedite the learning curve. They range anywhere from $25/hr to $1800/hr (don't ask me why and how anyone can charge that much per hour). You gotta do your homework before considering getting a coach. Some of them can not beat today's games and are coaching based on their reputation and results from years ago.

Q: Do you coach?

A: I have before, and charged a very moderate price relative to the market but right now am not coaching. I'm focusing on getting better and making as much money in poker this year. I can not make as much money coaching as I can playing poker so I am holding off coaching...for now.

Q: I play primarily mtts but want to transition to cash games...can you give me some advice? (or vice versa)

A: Similar answer to 1st question at top. Just study as much as possible and have an open mind. Be humble and try to be aware of what areas you need to improve on. With that said, it is much tougher to get good at cash games than mtts. One can learn how to be a winner in mtts in 1 month, whereas cash games may take many months. Cash games provide more stability and the best players in the world excel at cash games as well at mtts, while the best mtt players only excel at mtts. We cash game players salivate when we see mtt players, including good ones, jump into our cash games.

Mtts usually require you to know how to play 10-30bb stacks whereas cash games require you to know how to play 50-1000bb stacks which require a lot more skill. Also mtts emphasize survival, while cash games emphasize making +ev plays and correct decisions consistently. Again, the latter takes more knowledge and skill to execute well. I would not suggest avoiding mtts altogether though and there are some that make a decent living just playing mtts only, but there are a lot more cash game players that make a decent to great living.

Q: How do you handle taking a bad beat, the losing sessions, and the long break even stretches?

This is a tough question to answer because I think it depends on each individual. I happen to have a very even-keeled temper that helps me with avoiding tilt. Everybody has a different breaking point when it comes to tilt or just losing control of emotions. It's up to each individual to realize when that is and how to improve it. I think it's nearly impossible to get rid of tilt altogether. Even I'm guilty of it from time to time, although not nearly as most.

As I mentioned before, I went through a tough 300k hands break even stretch in the latter part of '08. I used that experience to take a step back and see what I may have been doing wrong, and I did see and fix leaks that I had. This has been said before, but I'll say it again... when one is running good, poker is easy and he (for sake of saving time, I will just mention he/him/his when appropriate even though women play poker as well and they have my utmost respect in all things) thinks he is good at it, but it's when one is running bad that determines whether he can make it in poker over the long run. It tests the spirit and heart of anyone when one is constantly taking beats and running bad. When you run bad, don't bemoan the poker gods, instead use it as an opportunity to improve yourself in all aspects of poker and just your overall makeup as a person.

Also, it is always good to take some time off when you're getting so frustrated w/ poker that it affects your play. Use that time to clear your head, improve your game, and come back stronger. I actually felt somewhat of a burnout at the end of '08 and played my fewest hrs I have ever played in a year in '09. I also stepped down to smaller stakes than I normally played and worked on my game for pretty much the whole year. I admit I did have many bouts of laziness during the year as well, but that's a topic for another issue. As you can see, if you've been following my blog, I've been crushing every game I've been playing this year, starting at 2/4 and now at 5/10 (and hopefully bigger games down the line). I can discuss this issue, the topic of tilt and mental stability for hrs on end, but I'm just gonna finish by saying that it is such an essential element of success in poker that most of today's games regulars' results are separated by just this...how strong they are mentally...eg look at me.

Q: Can anyone succeed in poker?

I'm going to be brutally honest here and answer it based on my experiences over the past 12 years. The answer is no. There are certain traits that one needs to succeed in poker and tbh, not everyone has the traits. These can include again emotional control, intelligence, discipline, self awareness, analytical ability, humbleness, and good memory. I'm sure there are a few other traits that I'm missing but I think I covered most of the key ones. I don't mention mathematical ability because it doesn't take complicated math to succeed in poker, just a basic understanding of it. Now I don't know if you need to be born w/ all these traits, or can learn and improve them over time. I'm thinking some are just inherently bestowed upon at birth, while some can be learned and improved upon.

I do however, do not discourage anyone from trying to succeed in poker. I get asked many times if he can succeed in poker and I always answer I don't know, because, well I don't know. I'd have to spend a lot of time and get to know the person well and maybe watch the person play and discuss poker w/ him often enough to get an opinion on whether I think he will succeed or not. I always say don't quit your day job until you have played enough hands and can base future results based on those # of hands. I don't have an exact # for the hands played, but it's a lot. For an avg. working person, I'd suggest 1-2 years of consistent success in poker on the side before even considering leaving the job for poker fulltime. Even that may be too small of a time frame.

Q: Do you have a set routine?

A: No. I play when I feel like it and more importantly, when I have the time. Having a family requires time and I emphasize being a good husband and father so I do spend some time doing so. One of the reasons why so many people want to play poker is that he can be his own boss and just play and go as he wants. At this point in my life, I don't think I can handle being on some kind of schedule...actually, at any point in my life, I couldn't handle it! With that said, I am trying to get some kind of routine going this year. I want to maximize (productivity wise) my days and not have any hrs where I feel like I'm just wasting time. For the most part, I think I've maximized my hrs this year, whereas last year I wasted half the year doing nothing productive.

Q: Where do see yourself and poker in 1 yr, 5yrs, 10yrs?

A: For me, I'll probably be playing poker. Essentially I feel like I'm retired now and can do whatever I want at anytime. Again that's one of the perks of being a pro. So if I'm retired now, I'll be retired the rest of the way. I just play poker because it's the easiest way for me to make money, and I make lots of it. It could be interpreted as a job, and technically it is, but being able to play whenever I want makes it feel like it isn't. I will look into getting a business or 2 as well. I almost bought one a couple of years ago, but elected to go with the bigger house (I'm obviously not that business savvy).

As for poker, who knows really. There is the impending UIGEA. They're supposed to implement the crappy rules starting sometime in July I think. There's talk about legalizing online poker. I'm not too involved in the political aspects of online poker so I'm not that aware of what can and will happen, but I don't think anyone really has a definite answer as well. I live in Vegas, so if need be I can always start playing at the casinos full time.

I'm going to show a thread that is very useful and informative to aspiring poker players as well. It was a well (Q&A) done by Phil Galfond, who is a highly successful high stakes player that primarily plays online. It's arguably the best thread on 2+2, and one of the more useful ones for poker players wanting to succeed.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/19/high-stakes-pl-nl/well-jman28-revisisted-88525/

I'd recommend going through the entire thread if you're serious about poker. He's more articulate than me and talks about what it takes to succeed in poker.

Also since he gave my blog props in his blog, I want to mention DoubleFly's blog. He is a winning full ring online player and his blog is very informative on some of the nuances of what it takes to succeed in poker. His blog is more entertaining than mine as well.

http://doubleflypoker.blogspot.com/

Also if anyone has any other questions they're interested in me answering, feel free to ask in the comments box or email me. I'm the type that tries to help anyone out as much as possible (but no monetary requests obviously, and that includes my friends!) as long as it doesn't take too much of my time. Finally, here is a picture I saw recently in a poker forum..no explanation needed...

Longevity in poker(w/ pics of a balla house..mine)

Been thinking of writing about this subject for awhile. I may not be one of the foremost experts in certain aspects of poker, like plo, hu nl, mtts, and even 6max nl, which is my bread and butter. I am however, qualified to talk about what it takes to succeed in poker over the years, in macro terms. As mentioned before, I've been playing poker professionally since '98 and have provided a good life for my family and myself over the years, w/ each passing year usually better than the previous one (pics of house below to show our standard of living, from our successes in poker).

Prev. link here for my story from '98 to '08 to those who haven't read it...

http://forumserver.twoplus/two.com/54/poker-beats-brags-variance/evolution-poker-player-right-way-368361/

I'm touching on this subject because I've read a couple of instances of successful poker players calling it quits or thinking about it because they are either burned out, or just not winning like they used to. Here are two excerpts I've read about recently..

http://www.leggopoker.com/blogs/boywonder/end-era-7461.html

http://blogs.cardrunners.com/BLAG/but-dont-forget-to-hold-me-1265853667

I've read about more instances on diff. poker forums and have seen the turnover of poker players over the years. This is a period of over 12 years. Obv. someone like Doyle Brunson can attest to how many pros and wanna be pros just never make it over the years more so than I can.

Nowadays I see a lot of aspiring poker players, thanks in large part to the poker boom during the mid years of this decade. The question will be how many will be around in 1, 2, 5, or 10 years? I can not estimate but there will be very successful poker players today that will call it quits eventually because the game will break them, as it has other successful players before. Or they may find other reasons to quit, eg boredom, lack of motivation, etc. It def. takes a certain type of mindset to make it in poker over numerous years, and this mindset is different than the actual mindset to beat poker on any given day or month, although there are similarities tied in between the mindsets, eg. emotional control and thinking about the long run.

I will discuss the mindset I am talking about to sustain a prolonged poker career (the mindset to beat the games in a short span is available everywhere, in the forms of videos, forums, coaching, etc.). I will point out times in my career to better illustrate this mindset. As mentioned in the post about my career, one must constantly strive to stay ahead of the curve in poker to be successful. To do so, one must always be aware of oneself and his/her abilities relative to the rest of the poker world. That's why you see a lot of break even and losing players question why they can't win. They are either not aware of their actual abilities, or overrate them....based on some of the 2+2 posts, sometimes overrate themselves immensely. This is why the very successful players state that awareness is one of the most important elements in being a successful poker player..eg Phil Galfond.

When I started out, I was humble enough to know that I needed to study the game in and out if I wanted to do well. I had success from the get go and just kept improving my game. Well, during the party poker years, my wife and I did very well and we both became a little complacent. When party poker closed shop to the US, we moved on to Stars and FTP. I continued to win at a good rate for a couple of years (I'm gonna leave my wife's story out for privacy reasons). I believe I was one of if not the biggest winner at $3-6 and $5-10 from Jan '08 to Aug '08 (somewhat thinly veiled brag) having cleared $400k during this timespan. During the latter part of this timespan, my winrate began dropping and I hit a 300k hand breakeven stretch over the next 4 months(next time you think you're in a bad stretch of hands over 20k, 50k, or whatever # of hands, try imagine being in one over 300k hands).

This was due to a couple of reasons. One was that I was actually running slightly bad, and probably the more impactful reason was that due to my complacency, I fell back to, or even behind the learning curve of winning poker players. I was not a member of any instructional site, nor did I participate in the poker forums. As you know, poker kept booming and young players were swallowing up all the info. on how to beat the games via videos, forums, books, and actual coaching. For the first time, I reached a point where the game was nearly passing me by. This sound familiar to the 2 examples I showed above?

For some players, this would be the reason why they would quit poker. They lose their drive and heart. They let their egos get the best of them and refuse to think they need to improve and revamp their games. They refuse to drop down in stakes. Eventually they are just another example of a poker player letting the game beat them down (granted, there are some successful pros that just leave to pursue different careers...Jason Strasser comes to mind).

For others, like myself, using the power of self awareness and observation, I rededicated to improve my game and come back stronger. I was somewhat burned out after the 300k hand stretch and played the fewest hrs I ever have in '09 (avg 13.5 hrs/wk) and even went through 3 months w/o having anything poker-related in my life. I guess in some ways this was good, as in that I came back fresh and motivated. It took a few more months to gradually get back in it full time. Along the way, I actually started to think about poker deeply, and began to watch videos, and read hhs and ensuing discussions in forums, and even hired a coach (albeit for 1 1hr session). I dropped down in stakes and stayed there for a few months while trying to improve my game immensely. By Dec. '09 I felt like my game was solidified to compete w/ the best of them and I set out goals for myself this year, armed w/ confidence and the knowledge that I was lacking in years past. Blogging was one of the ways that would keep me motivated and stay on this path to try to achieve my goals.

So far through nearly 2.5 months this year, I have played about 220k hands and have a winrate of close to 8bb/100 (4ptbb/100) while multitabling 8-14 tables at stakes ranging from $2-4 to $5-10. Granted I am running good this year (I did run below ev last year) and my actual winrate would prob. fall closer to about 7bb/100 if I ran at actual ev, but even so, most would agree this is a really good winrate at the stakes I play, esp. w/ the # of tables I play simultaneously (so far, a poor man's Nanonoko..but nothing poor about it really). As I mentioned before as well, I am planning on moving up as I continue to win and the year progresses.

So what do I attribute to my success over the years? Well, having the correct mindset as mentioned, which I believe I have is the vital factor of it all. This includes seeing everything for the long run, being emotionally stable, having the mental strength to withstand the long break even and losing stretches, the desire and motivation to get better always, the self awareness and honesty to know where you stand in the poker heirarchy, humbleness, discipline and tbh, some degree of intelligence (I may be missing an element or two, as I'm writing this in the wee hrs and am tired). Also management of your bankroll is essential to success, which is somewhat tied to one's mindset. If you are lacking in some of the aforementioned traits, you will prob. have a harder time being successful over the true long run and may become another instance of a poker player getting beat by the game of poker.

Ok, now that I got the serious part out of the way...here are pics of my house, thanks in all parts to my wife's and my successes in poker over the years....

In a golf course community, upgraded to the max, 4400sq feet, 3 car garage...

Only showing my front door because of the security camera at upper left corner..there are security cameras at every entrance to my home, plus you'll need to go through a man guarded gate, then a security coded gate to get to my home, also there are security patrol cars driving around around the clock...also because I'm mainly an internet player, I don't have much cash lying around the house...my cash roll is spread around in security boxes in the casinos (in case there are some unscrupulous people out there w/ some dumb ideas)

After you walk through front door...ding, spiral staircase...

Kitchen...

Living room...

Office, but temporarily a makeshift band hero room for my kid and her friends...

Dining room...

Piano room...

Loft, also my workstation, also video game room...

Wife's workplace on 3rd floor...

Master bedroom...

Master bathroom...

My kid's bedroom...

Guest bedroom 1 of 2...52" plasma tv courtesy of FTP...

Back of my house, overlooking hole #10...

Rec center inc. full gym, indoor basketball and racquetball courts...5 min walk from my house...

Community pool next to rec center...

If this isn't balla, I don't know what is...our own community water park next to the community pool...free to all residents...

Oh, and we own a 2400 sq ft 1 story house in Vegas that we rent out.

Have a nice day :)

Fixing leaks online and irl

I played one of my worst hands in recent memory last night.
No-Limit Hold'em, $4.00 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com



Hero (BB) ($438.80)

UTG ($844.70)

MP ($1281.50)

CO ($406)

Button ($551)

SB ($561.40)



Preflop: Hero is BB with A, 5

4 folds, SB bets $10, Hero raises $32, SB calls $24



Flop: ($72) J, A, 6 (2 players)

SB checks, Hero bets $44, SB calls $44



Turn: ($160) 4 (2 players)

SB checks, Hero checks



River: ($160) Q (2 players)

SB bets $95, Hero raises $358.80 (All-In), SB calls $263.80



Total pot: $877.60



Results:

SB had J, Q (two pair, Queens and Jacks).

Hero had A, 5 (one pair, Aces).

Outcome: SB won $874.60


My riv shove is absolutely bar none horrible. I am repping only 2 possible hands, KT and QQ and there are very few combos of both. Also I should bet the turn. I was prob. a little frustrated in the fact that I was up $3500 right off the bat and slowly gave it all back, w/ this hand at the end of my downswing. I am guilty of tilting from time to time, although I tend to do so less often than most. Also, I have been thinking about certain hands where I lost more than I should have. I think within the past 3-4 days, I have lost at least $1000 when I should have known better, whether it was spewing or paying off when I was obv. beat. I beat myself up over those mistakes cuz those are the mistakes that I can control and try my best to not make the same mistakes in the future.

Tilting is prob. one of the biggest leaks for any poker player. I remember reading a 2+2 thread in the hsnl section and the topic was, "What is the single most important attribute to be a successful poker player" (or something of that nature). You have choices like hand reading skills, mathematical ability, etc. Most of the successful high stakes guys said mental approach to the game was the most important, and I tend to agree. This inc. self awareness and tilting (or ability to not tilt). If you can get a firm handle on your mental approach to poker, you are on the right path. Anyway, after going up $3500, I went on a $4500 downswing, but managed to gather myself before I went monkey crazy and ended up $1300 winner. Also, I have started to mix in a $5-10 table or 2, so I am slowly moving up stakes (I'll be raising Ivey and Antonius in no time :) )

In real life news, I went to see my doctor the other day and the news wasn't that great. Turns out I am prediabetic, as well as on the verge of having high cholesterol. It wasn't that much of a surprise to me though, w/ my lifestyle the past 10 yrs. Just sitting on your ass all day playing poker while not getting much physical activity will do that I guess. Also, living in Vegas, you're just surrounded by temptations everywhere, good and bad. There are numerous good restaurants and buffets around. Don't get me wrong though, my family and I love living in Vegas. We live in a great area relative to the Vegas strip...not too close, but not too far, and also in a very family oriented neighborhood (brag: also on a golf course). Snapshots of views from my home, starting w/ my setup..

From the 3rd floor..yes, the 3rd floor...

From the balcony, over my backyard..



















Master bathtub, overlooking hole #10 I believe, w/ our cat in the corner...



















Growing up I was very much into sports and still am a big sports fan (NO winning the SB was great, inc. monetary wise for me). As the years passed, and I started playing more poker, I ended up getting lazier and getting less and less inv. in any kind of physical activity. It's prob. one of the pitfalls of playing poker professionally. You don't have a set schedule and no one telling you what to do (unless you have a gf or wife) and you end up getting lackadaisical. That's why I advocate having a great balance in your life if you are pursuing poker fulltime..and by balance, I don't mean going out to party every other night. I mean stuff like exercising, finding a hobby or two (golfing, skiing, etc.), spending time w/ gf or spouse, etc.

W/ that said, I have made some changes to my lifestyle this year and have started exercising on a regular basis and recently have started to watch what I eat (believe me, that's very difficult...growing up w/ a sweet tooth and all). Not only is it great for my health and well being, but it will help my overall poker results. It'll give me a clearer mind more often, and energy while I grind, which will keep me sharp and motivated. Also I look for every opportunity to go skiing w/ friends or family, and I almost never turn down an opportunity to get on the golf course (although my game leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm working on that as well). So along w/ poker, I'm hoping this year is a step forward in the right direction in all aspects of my life!